WWE Royal Rumble Review - January 26, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: Sheamus def. Shorty G

I'm glad this got moved from the main card to the Kickoff show considering their "rivalry" has barely been focused on in recent weeks on SmackDown. It was nice to see Chad Gable in a singles match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but this Shorty G gimmick is death. The longer it lasts, the more damage it'll do. At any rate, this was a decent match, but nothing worth writing home about, unfortunately. I applaud their effort, but the arena was barely half-full and the fans that were there didn't have much of an incentive to care. They picked up the pace a bit down the stretch, but it never reached that next gear they're capable of. Sheamus winning in his first bout back was hardly surprising.

Kickoff Show: United States Champion Andrade def. Humberto Carrillo

This was another match that had no business being on the main card after just being announced earlier in the week. Don't get me wrong, it made sense from a storyline standpoint given their history from late last year, but I would have built up the feud a bit more before having them face off for the United States Championship. In fact, this felt like it hindered from being rushed. There were some fun moments and was well wrestled on the whole, but it wasn't their smoothest encounter. I'd like to see Andrade hold onto the gold at least through WrestleMania where he can defend against Aleister Black.

Roman Reigns def. King Corbin in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

I've voiced my displeasure of this feud over the past two months, but to their credit, this was their best bout to date. It definitely benefited from the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation and allowed them to get creative with some of the spots. It wasn't incredibly exciting from start to finish, but at least they held my attention throughout. Plus, the involvement of The Usos, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode was logical and well done. Here's hoping Reigns winning clean means we can finally put this rivalry to rest once and for all.

Charlotte Flair Won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought this was the strongest of all the women's Rumbles WWE has done to date (even though there's only been three). Granted, that doesn't exactly speak highly to the current women's rosters on Raw and SmackDown (as surprise entrants made up most of the match), but I thought the layout was strong overall. Bianca Belair shined with eight eliminations, the Otis angle was furthered when he saved Mandy Rose from getting eliminated (which was hilarious), Santina Marella's appearance was an amusing comedy spot (though I realize I'm in the minority on that), Naomi finally returned, Lana and Liv Morgan were out quickly, Beth Phoenix looked like a badass for continuing on a bloody mess despite suffering a head injury, the NXT girls got great exposure, and Shayna Baszler had a hell of a run before being tossed out. Do I agree with the outcome? Absolutely not, as I firmly believe the win should have gone to Baszler and because she made the most sense. That said, I have a hard time imagining Charlotte will choose either Becky Lynch or Bayley, so I assume Baszler works her way in there somehow.

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Lacey Evans

I felt bad for these two because of the position they were put in. There was virtually no chance they were going to top that Rumble, so they were at a disadvantage from the get-go. Furthermore, the match wasn't very good to begin with. There was no sense of urgency whatsoever and nothing really wowed me about it. Worse yet, the finish was flat and went over like a fart in church. Bayley's heel run, while refreshing, hasn't been the best so far and her matches are proof of that. The feud will likely continue since Bayley cheated to win, but I'm not sure many people are clamoring for that after this.

Universal Champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan in a Strap Match

Strap matches are tough to pull off, not to mention that Wyatt hasn't had many (if any) above-average matches since becoming The Fiend. This had all the makings of a potential dud, but Bryan made it as entertaining as it could be. That's not intended to be a knock against Wyatt, but Bryan did a majority of the work here and kept the crowd engaged. Props to the two of them for making the most of the stipulation. Bryan selling for all the abuse with his slow walk to the back afterward was a nice touch. Six years removed from their last outing at the Royal Rumble, their chemistry is still off the charts.

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Asuka

This has probably been my favorite feud with the women in some time, and quite honestly, I would put this up there with their original encounter at the Rumble a year ago. This told a stellar story with Asuka having Lynch's number and the outcome wasn't as predictable as many thought it might be. Flair's Rumble victory earlier in the evening put the ending to this in doubt and both women had phenomenal performances. It's terrific to see ruthless Asuka back for a change and Lynch was the perfect babyface here. Needless to say, this was Lynch's most memorable match since that Hell in a Cell clash with Sasha Banks in October.

Drew McIntyre Won the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

Everyone is entitled to their own, but it's difficult to call this anything less than a top-notch Rumble. It may not have been the greatest of all-time, but it's among the best in recent years I'd say. The first half was always going to be reserved for Brock Lesnar dominating everyone and I thought it went on for just the right amount of time. Seeing John Morrison thrown out in under 10 seconds so soon after his return to the company was disheartening, so he probably should have been switched out for The Miz or someone like that. Otherwise, I didn't have many issues with Lesnar going on a tear for as long as he did. It made his eventual elimination mean that much more. Kofi Kingston, Big E and Rey Mysterio all going after Lesnar was a blast given their history with him, MVP had a cool return, and Lesnar's mini reunion with Shelton Benjamin was a nice nod to their Minnesota Wrecking Crew days. Additionally, Lee squaring off with Lesnar was a legitimate "Holy shit" moment. I appreciated how Lee was protected with his elimination by being distracted by Braun Strowman when the both of them were tossed by Lesnar. Then came what everyone was waiting for: McIntyre eliminating Lesnar. The execution couldn't have been better and the crowd reacted accordingly. Even if he didn't go on to win the whole thing, that alone would have cemented his star status! The middle portion was slightly slow, but things amped up again when Edge's music hit and the roof basically blew off the place. Good lord! I haven't been so happy to see someone back in ages, and the emotion on his face (as well as the entire audience) was priceless. Rumors have been swirling for months, but I didn't fully believe anything until it happened. If Edge can be cleared to compete again, anything is possible. The remainder of the match was beautifully laid out with Seth Rollins and his minions taking out Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Aleister Black before Rollins was swiftly eliminated. Matt Riddle being tossed in under a minute by King Corbin was a bummer, but it was a treat to see him, nonetheless. The final four with Reigns, McIntyre, Edge and Randy Orton was masterful and the Rated-RKO reunion was awesome. Reigns winning was something most fans feared, so WWE was smart to have him be the one McIntyre eliminated to win the whole thing. What a beautiful piece of business this was, and not just because of the outcome. WWE seems to be going all the way with McIntyre at long last and I'm thrilled. Now the key is continuing to build him and having him beat Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Overall Show

Between the two Rumble matches and Lynch vs. Asuka, this was one of my favorite Royal Rumble pay-per-views in recent years (which is saying something because I was at the 2018 installment). Thankfully, they didn't go past the four hour mark for the main card this year and the undercard was entertaining on the whole. Bayley vs. Evans was a bit of a dud, but the Falls Count Anywhere and Strap matches both exceeded my expectations. I also can't stress enough how much I enjoyed those Rumble matches, specifically the men's. The surprises were well done, but more importantly, the layout for each of them was wonderful and the crowd never turned once. Flair winning was questionable, mind you, but I have no doubt it will led somewhere interesting. Meanwhile, McIntyre ending the evening as the men's Rumble winner was amazing and gave me faith WWE will do the right thing in making him "the guy" on Raw. Hell, Edge's return alone would have made this a two-thumbs-up event. Fingers crossed this show was a sign that this road to WrestleMania will be a good one.