WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Preview

 

WWE Royal Rumble 2021 will be taking this Sunday at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay. There are 6 matches on the card, including 2 Royal Rumble Matches so let's take a look.

Asuka and Charlotte Flair vs Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

This should be an entertaining contest. A tough one to call but I'm going for Asuka and Flair to retain.

Predicted Winners: Asuka and Charlotte Flair

Sasha Banks vs Carmella

Smackdown Women's Championship

I think that Sasha will win here.

Predicted Winner: Sasha Banks

Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens

Last Man Standing Match for the Universal Championship

I'm quite looking forward to this one. Owens will put up a good fight but I think that Reigns will retain.

Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

Drew McIntyre vs Goldberg

WWE Championship

I really want McIntyre to win but it's more likely that WWE will book Goldberg to win.

Predicted Winner: Goldberg

Women's Royal Rumble Match

I might be thinking out of the box here but I think that Alexa Bliss will win.

Predicted Winner: Alexa Bliss

Men's Royal Rumble Match

A lot of people think that Bryan will win and I tend to agree with them. He is probably his last run as a full-time superstar and I feel that he will go into a feud with Reigns.

Predicted Winner: Daniel Bryan

Due to being (technically) a key worker, it might be a while before I review it. Having said that, I hope you all enjoy the show.

Royal Rumble 2020 Review

The Road to Wrestlemania officially got underway at the 2020 Royal Rumble, which took place on Sunday 26th January at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Let's take a look and see how Wrestlemania will start to form.

The first match on the Kick Off Show is Sheamus taking on Shorty G. Sheamus is easily able to deal with Shorty G's offence at the beginning before he slams him into the ring post to get the advantage. Shorty G goes to make a comeback and comes close after hitting a moonsault. In the end, it wasn't enough as Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick to get the win. I thought it was a pretty decent match.
Winner: Sheamus (1 for 1)

The next is for the United States Championship as Humberto Carrillo challenges Andrade. After a fast paced beginning, Andrade pushes Carrillo off the top turnbuckle to the floor to get the advantage. Carrillo has a brief comeback starting with a cross body but Andrade shuts it down. Andrade goes for the Three Amigos but Carrillo reverses it into a suplex of his own. Carrillo tries for a harracarrana into a pin, but Andrade turns into a pin for himself to get the win. The match was pretty good between the two.
Winner: Andrade (2 for 2)

The first match of the show is a Falls Count Anywhere Match between King Corbin and Roman Reigns. During the match they go all over the place and use various things such as steel steps against each other. Corbin has a great opportunity when he choke slams Reigns through the Spanish announce table. Later on, they go to the international announcer area and go through a couple of tables there. When the match goes into the technical area, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler come out to help out Corbin and The Usos come out to even the odds. The match ends when Reigns spears Corbin on top of the away team dugout to get the win. I thought the match was ok but I feel that it went for too long.
Winner: Roman Reigns (3 for 3)

The second match is the Women's Royal Rumble Match. The first two entrants were Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair. Highlights of the match include:

• The return of Mighty Molly, Kelly Kelly (why?) and Beth Phoenix
• Lana and Liv Morgan eliminating each other so that shit will continue
• Mandy Rose being saved from elimination by Otis appearing seemingly out of thin air in probably my favourite moment of the match
• Belair eliminating 8 wrestlers and lasting over 33 minutes
• Beth Phoenix getting injured when she bangs the back of her head against the ringpost 
• Naomi, making her return from injury, almost gets eliminated but managing to jump and hang onto the barricade. She then manages to use the top of one of the announce tables to get back to the ring.
• Santina Marella makes his return. What. The. Fuck? Luckily, he doesn't last long and eliminates himself.
• Shayna Baszler coming in at number 30 and also eliminating 8 wrestlers in less than 5 minutes.

The final 4 ends up being Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler. Phoenix eliminates Natlaya and Baszler eliminates Phoenix. Charlotte goes to eliminate Baszler to get the win.

I thought the Rumble was quite fun and it was nice to see some NXT wrestlers such as Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler get a chance to shine. However, a couple of participants bothered me, especially Santina Marella. He is the personification of the low point of the women's division in WWE, and I'm not happy that, despite the ton of women that they had available, they would go with that. Despite that, it didn't overshadow the match. As for Charlotte, everyone assumed that she would go to face "The Man" Becky Lynch. However, it's looking more like she will challenge NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley instead. Whilst I think it will be a good match, I wonder if it's a step backwards and whether it's another example of doing something with the women that they would never do with the men.

Winner: Charlotte Flair (4 for 4)

We stay in the women's division as the next match is Lacey Evans challenging Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Bayley tries to cheat at the first opportunity by removing a turnbuckle but the referee stops it. She then fiegns injury to lure Lacey in and hit her with a right hand to get the advantage. Bayley goes on to miss a cross body and this gives Lacey the chance to make a comeback. In the end, Lacey does a springboard moonsault but Bayley gets her knees up and rolls her up to get the win. I didn't think it was a good match as it seemed sloppy and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 5)

We now get a Strap Match for the Universal Championship as Daniel Bryan challenges "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.  Wyatt hits a power bomb early on to get the advantage and goes on to use the strap against him. Bryan gets back the upper hand and whips Wyatt with the strap at the German announce table. The match goes back into the ring and Bryan continues his assault with Yes kicks. Wyatt puts on the Mandible Claw but Bryan gets out of it and applies the LeBell Lock. In the end, Wyayy no sells being whipped by the strap and hits a Mandible Claw Slam to get the win. I thought this match was pretty decent, although I feel that they can do better.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (5 for 6)

The penultimate match is for the RAW Women's Championship as Asuka challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch.  The match goes back and forth in the beginning before Asuka bounces Lynch's neck off the ropes with a neck breaker to get the advantage. Later on, Lynch reverse suplexes Asuka onto the floor to get back the momentum. Asuka manages to apply the Asuka Lock but Lynch gets to the ropes. In the end, Lynch almost runs into the referee and this gives Asuka the chance to spray the green mist. However, Lynch avoids it by kicking Asuka in the stomach then gets her to submit to the Dis Arm-Her to get the win. I thought this was a good match and I hope they have another match on the near future.
Winner: Becky Lynch (6 for 7)

The main event is the Men's Royal Rumble Match with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar coming in at number 1 and Elias coming in at number 2.  Brock doesn't have time for Elias' song and eliminates him quite quickly then goes on to eliminate the next 12 wrestlers, including his best friend Shelton Benjamin. Eventually, Ricochet and Drew McIntyre combine to eliminate him. The only other major highlight after that is the return of Edge. Yes, you read that right. Edge returned from a career ending neck injury for the first time in almost 9 years. Thanks to Lesnar's elimination, it led to more wrestlers being in the ring. Seth Rollins comes in at number 30, and with the help of his lackeys, AOP and Buddy Murphy, eliminate Aleister Black, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. Joe and Black fight Murphy and AOP all the way to the back, leaving Rollins by himself. Rollins gets destroyed and then eliminated by McIntyre, leaving him along with Randy Orton, Edge and Roman Reigns. Edge and Orton team up before Edge eliminates Orton. Edge and Reigns end up on the apron and Reigns manages to knock Edge off to the floor. McIntyre then eliminates Reigns to win the Rumble...? Holy fucking shit!! Wow!

While there wasn't anything special that stood out, I quite enjoyed the match and the stories that they told. My mind is still blown that Edge made his return and I'm happy that he came back. As for McInytre, I'm shocked that he won but, as a fellow Scotsman, I'm so happy for him. McIntyre has the potential but I was getting worried that WWE was going to keep him in the mid card. This is McIntyre's biggest opportunity since he came back and hopefully, he grabs it with both hands.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (6 for 8)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was quite good, and I enjoyed the 2 Rumble matches.  It just sometimes I find some of the matches not particularly exciting and it's hard to be positive about them. Hopefully, they might start to look at NXT  TakeOver and see how they do their matches.

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Preview

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 will be taking place at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. How will the Road to Wrestlemania start? Let's take a look at the card.

Shorty G vs Sheamus
I think that Sheamus will win this one.
Predicted Winner: Sheamus

Bayley vs Lacey Evans
Smackdown Women's Championship
I might be in the minority here but I feel that Evans might win this.
Predicted Winner: Lacey Evans

Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
United States Championship
I feel that it's too soon for Andrade to lose this so I think that he will retain.
Predicted Winner: Andrade

Roman Reigns vs King Corbin
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Hopefully Reigns will win and end this feud.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

"The Man" Becky Lynch vs Asuka
RAW Women's Championship
I would love to see Asuka but I think that Lynch will retain.
Predicted Winner: Becky Lynch

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan
Strap Match for the Universal Championship
A tough one to call but I'm going for Wyatt to retain.
Predicted Winner: Bray Wyatt

Women's Royal Rumble Match
The only person that I can see winning is Charlotte Flair. Let's see if I'm proved wrong.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte Flair

Men's Royal Rumble Match
The interesting one in this is that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is entering at number 1. I can see him winning but I feel that Roman Reigns will win instead.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

It will be a while before I get to post my review so until then, I hope you all enjoy the show.

WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Review

The Road to Wrestlemania 35 got underway at the 2019 Royal Rumble from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. There are 10 matches on the card so let's take a look.

There were 3 matches on the Kick Off Show and we start with an unusual one. Rezar from AOP teams up with Scott Dawson from The Revival to challenge "Glorious" Bobby Roode and Chad Gable for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Gable misses a dropkick then gets swung into a chokeslam by Rezar to give him and Dawson the advantage. Eventually, Gable gets to tag in Roode and they go on to get the win after they hit a neckbreaker/moonsault combo on Dawson. The match was ok, nothing special.
Winners: Bobby Roode and Chad Gable (1 for 1)

The second match was Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Rusev for the United States Championship. After a quick start, the match goes to the outside and Nakamura does a kick off the steel steps to gain the advantage. Rusev gets back into it and goes for the Accolade but Nakamura avoids it and the match goes back and forth. Nakamura resorts to cheating by removing the turnbuckle and Lana gets involved, standing up on the apron, trying to tell the referee. Rusev accidentally knocks Lana off the apron and Nakamura takes advantage, hitting Rusev with the Kinshasa to the back of the neck to get the win. The match was pretty good but the ending made the referee Danilo Anfibio look like an idiot. Nakamura is cheating right next to him, yet Anfibio thought that Lana standing on the apron was more serious. A bit stupid if you ask me.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (1 for 2)

The final match on the Kick Off Show was for the Cruiserweight Championship as Buddy Murphy faces the challenges of Akira Tozowa, Kalisto and Hideo Itami in a Fatal 4-Way match. Murphy uses his strength to dominate Kalisto and Tozowa before he takes on Itami. There were a couple of really cool spots including Kalisto monkey flipping Tozowa into Murphy on the outside. After Murphy knees Tozowa and Kalisto, he knees Itami then hits him with Murphy's Law to get the win. This was a really fun match to watch.
Winner: Buddy Murphy (2 for 3)

The first match of the show is for the Smackdown Women's Championship as "The Man" Becky Lynch challenges Asuka. Lynch goes well in the early going before the fight goes to the outside and she hits an exploder suplex, sending her into the barrier. After she puts Becky in the Asuka Lock through the ropes, Asuka is able to get some more offence in. The match goes back and forth and Lynch comes close after hitting a super Bex-ploder for 2. Both women trade submissions before Auska is able to put on the Asuka Lock and then bridge it to put on more pressure and force Lynch to tap out. This match was really good and a great way to start the show.
Winner: Asuka (3 for 4)

The next match is for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships as Hollywood Miz and "Best in the World" Shane McMahon challenge The Bar. Cesaro hits Miz with a running European uppercut to get his team the advantage and they continue to beat the fuck out of both of them. Eventually, Miz hits a back body drop to Cesaro, giving him the chance to tag in Shane. Sheamus accidentally hits Cesaro with a Brogue Kick and this gives Shane the chance to hit the Shooting Star Press on Cesaro to get the win...? Oh, for fuck's sake. I felt that the story of the match was all wrong,. I feel that it should have been Shane who got beaten up and Miz get the win. Hopefully, this will be a short title reign.
Winners: The Miz and Shane McMahon (3 for 5)

We now get our second Women's Championship match as Sasha Banks challenges Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women's Championship. Early on, they both to do their submissions then when the fight goes to the outside, Ronda accidentally elbows the ring post. This gives Sasha the opportunity to take the advantage, focusing on that elbow and arm. Sasha goes on to avoid the Piper's Pit and put on a brutal armbar. Ronda gets back into it but Sasha manages to apply the Banks Statement followed by an armbar. However, Ronda gets out of it and hits a gutwrench slam followed by the Piper's Pit to get the win. This match was pretty good between the two.
Winner: Ronda Rousey (4 for 6)

Next is the second ever Womens' Royal Rumble Match. The first two to come out were Lacey Evans and Natalya. Liv Morgan, who came in at number 4, is the first one to be eliminated by Natalya after 8 seconds. Other highlights of the match include:

• Billie Kay coming in at number 7 and refusing to get in the ring without her friend Peyton Royce.  She doesn't have to wait long as Peyton comes in at number 9. 
• Getting to see NXT wrestlers Xia Li, Kairi Sane, Candace LeRae, Kacy Catanzaro, Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley
• Ember Moon saving herself from elimination by hanging on to the bottom rope with her toes.
• Naomi trying to save herself from elimination by doing a handstand onto the barrier, walking along it then jumping onto the steel steps. Unfortunately, Mandy Rose, who Naomi had just eliminated, pulls her from the steps to eliminate her then beats down on her.
• Zelina Vega hiding under the ring leading to a cameo by Hornswoggle.
• Catanzaro saving herself from elimination by landing on her back (both feet have to touch the floor), doing a handstand to the ring post then climbing up it.
• Alexa Bliss making her return to the ring for the first time since September

The match takes an interesting turn when Lana comes in at number 28. However, despite her best efforts, her earlier injuries mean that she is not able to go down the aisle. The following participant Nia Jax  doesn't help by attacking her when she comes out. "The Man" Becky Lynch, being inspired by Edge's manual "How to be the Ultimate Opportunist", offers to take her place and road agent Fit Finlay agrees.The final 5 end up Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Nia Jax and Becky Lynch. Charlotte eliminates Carmella and then helps to eliminate Bayley. Lynch eliminates Jax, leaving just her and Charlotte. Jax doesn't take that well and pushes Lynch off the steps into the barrier, injuring her right knee. Becky insists on continuing and Charlotte goes on to attack the knee. Becky manages to eliminate Charlotte to get the win.

I thought this was a really good Rumble Match and I liked the twist with Becky replacing Lana and going on to win. Becky goes to challenge Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania but recent events have put that in jeopardy.
Winner: Becky Lynch (N/A)

Now we get AJ Styles challenging "The New" Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. The match is pretty even to begin with before Bryan starts to focus on the left shoulder of Styles. The match then goes back and forth with Styles doing a beautiful moonsault into a reverse DDT on the outside. When Styles hits a Pele Kick, we see Erick Rowan come down. Bryan accidentally hits the referee with an enziguri and, after Styles hits Bryan with a Styles Clash, Rowan hits Styles with a Chokeslam. The referee conveniently recovers when Bryan covers Styles and gets the win. Afterwards, Bryan hits a running knee on Styles. Whilst it was at a slower pace than I expected, I quite enjoyed it. However, I wasn't a fan of the ending as I don't think that Bryan needs someone like  Rowan to be a sidekick.
Winner: Daniel Bryan (5 for 7)

The penultimate match is for the Universal Championship as Finn Balor challenges Brock Lensar. Balor goes after Lesnar as soon as the bell rings. However, Lesnar hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, sending Balor flying out of the ring. Despite getting thrown into the corner of the announce table, Lesnar continues to hit Balor with brutal overhead belly-to-belly suplexes. Unfortunately, Lesnar's injury starts to hamper his offence, giving Balor an opening. Balor goes to hit the Coup de Grace but Lesnar kicks out and immediately applies the Kimura to get the win by submission. Lesnar celebrates by suplexing Balor to death. This match was short as I expected but quite fun to watch.
Winner: Brock Lesnar (6 for 8)

The main event is the men's Royal Rumble Match. The first two to take part are Elias and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett. Other highlights of the match include:

• Seeing NXT wrestlers Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne and Aleister Black
• Titus O'Neill not tripping and sliding under the ring to the cheers of the crowd
• Kofi Kingston saving himself from elimination from keeping his feet on the apron and cartwheeling himself to the steps. Later on, Xavier Woods saves him from elimination. 
• No Way Jose dancing his way to the ring with a conga line, getting eliminated almost immediately by Samoa Joe, then dancing on his way back. Unfortunately, Drew McIntyre attacks him and most of the conga line when he comes out.
• Bobby Lashley gets eliminated almost immediately by Seth Rollins. Lashley doesn't take that well and chokeslams Rollins through the German announce table. 

The match takes an interesting turn when R-Truth comes in at number 30. Nia Jax takes him out and replaces him. Jax eliminates Maustafa Ali before getting hit by a super kick by Dolph Ziggler, a 619 by Rey Mysterio and a RKO by Randy Orton. Mysterio goes on to eliminate Jax. The final 4 end up being Strowman, Andrade, Ziggler and Rollins, who is still at the German announce table. Strowman eliminates Andrade and then Ziggler. Rollins eventually manages to eliminate Strowman to win the Rumble.

This match was pretty decent with nothing too much that stands out. What I found interesting was having Nia Jax in the match. I was annoyed that both Rumble matches had wrestlers getting replaced near the end. Despite that, it was refreshing to see some actual intergender wrestling in the WWE. I don't know if they will but I hope that WWE will explore that further.
Winner: Seth Rollins (7 for 9)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was pretty good. Most of the matches were good and I'm interested to see how the Road to Wrestlemania will go.

WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Preview

WWE Royal Rumble is taking place this evening at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. There are 10 matches on the card so let's take a look.

Bobby Roode and Chad Gable vs Scott Dawson and Rezar
Yeah, Bobby and Chad to win.
Predicted Winners: Bobby Roode and Chad Gable

Buddy Murphy vs Akira Tozowa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto
Fatal 4-Way for the Cruiserweight Championship
A tough one to call but I think that Buddy will retain.
Predicted Winner: Buddy Murphy

Rusev vs Shinsuke Nakamura
United States Championship
I don't think Rusev will lose on Rusev Day so I think he'll retain.
Predicted Winner: Rusev

The Bar vs Hollywood Miz and Shane McMahon
Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Bar had better fucking win this or I'll be pissed.
Predicted Winners: The Bar

Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks
RAW Women's Championship
This should be a good match and I'm going for Ronda to win.
Predicted Winner: Ronda Rousey

Asuka vs "The Man" Becky Lynch
Smackdown Women's Championship
Another good one to look forward to. I really want Becky to in but it's more likely that Asuka will retain.
Predicted Winner: Asuka

Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor
Universal Championship
After 2 and a half fucking years, Finn has the chance to regain the Championship that he never lost. Unfortunately, I think that Brock will suplex his way to victory.
Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

"The New" Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles
WWE Championship
I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm going for Bryan to retain.
Predicted Winner: Daniel Bryan

2019 Women's Royal Rumble Match
I can't really any one person that stands out in winning this. I'm probably going out on a limb but I'm going for Charlotte Flair to win.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte Flair

2019 Men's Royal Rumble Match
I can only see one person winning this and that's Seth Rollins. However, they could go in a different direction.
Predicted Winner: Seth Rollins

It will be a while before I see the show as I have to watch Takeover first. I hope you giuys enjoy tha show.

Royal Rumble 2018 Review

The 31st Royal Rumble took place on Sunday 28th January at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.  Not only is the start of the road to Wrestlemania 34, but we will see the first ever Women's Royal Rumble. So, who will win the Rumbles and go on to have a Championship match at Wrestlemania? Let's take a look.

The first match on the Kick Off Show was a six-man tag match with Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik taking on Drew Gulak, TJP and Gentleman Jack Gallagher. TJP manages to take down Dorado, giving his team the advantage. Gallagher misses a splash, after getting distracted by Gulak, and this gives Dorado the chance to tag in Metalik. In the end, TJP tags himself in and goes for the Detonation Kick on Kalisto. However, Kalisto avoids it and hits the Salida Del Sol to get the win. This was a fun way to start the event.
Winners: Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik (1 for 1)

The next match was Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson taking on The Revival. Dawson and Wilder focus on Anderson's knee to get the advantage. Eventually Gallows tags tagged in and they go for the Magic Killer on Wilder but Dawson stops it. In the end, Anderson is punching Dawson in the corner but Wilder chop blocks him then covers him to get the win. This was quite a good match and it was nice to see The Revival get the win after getting fucked over at the 25th Anniversary RAW.
Winners: The Revival (1 for 2)

The final match on the Kick Off Show was an open challenge for Bobby Roode's United States Championship. Mojo Rawley takes on the challenge. Roode goes for the Glorious DDT early on but Rawley avoids it and sends Roode to the outside to get the advantage. After some back and forth, Roode manages to hit a DDT to get the win. This match was pretty good, although I do wonder if Rawley's heel run has stalled.
Winner: Bobby Roode (2 for 3)

The first match of the Rumble event is for the WWE Championship with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens challenging AJ Styles  in a handicap match. After some mind games, Zayn and Owens ge the advantage and keep Styles down. In the end, Styles takes out Zayn and Owesn goes for the pop up powerbomb. Even though Zayn was the legal man, Styles rolls up Owens to get the win. Owens and Zayn complain to Shane McMahon, who gives a grand total of zero fucks about it. Whilst it would have been interesting to see Zayn and Owens as Co-Champions, I feel that Styles winning is the best decision and that match itself was pretty good.
Winner: AJ Styles (3 for 4)

The second match is a 2-out-of-3 falls match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship as Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin challenge The Usos. Both teams come close to getting the first fall but The Usos avoid Chaos Theory and superkick Gable to death to take the lead. A couple of minutes later, Jey rolls up Gable to get the second fall and the win. Even though I was surprised at the 2-0 win, this match was a lot fo fun. However, the finish fell a little flat for me.
Winners: The Usos (4 for 5)

We now get the Men's Royal Rumble Match. Highlights of the match include:

• Rhyno who came in at number 3, being the 1st to be eliminated thanks to Baron Corbin. Corbin gets eliminated seconds later by Finn Balor. Corbin doesn't take well and after, beating up Balor and Rusev, brutally destroys Heath Slater as he makes his entrance.
• Seeing NXT Superstars Andrade "Cien" Almas come in at number 7 and Adam Cole at number 23. 
• Tye Dillinger was scheduled to come in at number 10. However, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens beat him up and Zayn's takes his place.
• Slater's day doesn't get any better. He gets attacked by Elias, Almas, Bray Wyatt and Sami Zayn as he makes their entrances. Sheamus shows sympathy and throws Slater in the ring and Slater returns the favour by throwing him out. Slater is eliminated by Wyatt seconds later.
• Kofi's spot this year was one of the best that he's done. Jinder Mahal throws him over thr top rope but he lands one foot on Xavier Woods. After getting a plate of pancakes to keep his foot off the floor, Big E and Woods vault Kofi over Mahal back into the ring.
• We saw the return of The Hurricane at number 21 and Rey Mysterio at number 27.

The final four ended up being Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamua, John Cena and Roman Reigns. Cena eliminates Balor, who lasted 57 minutes and Nakamura eliminates Cena. In the end, Nakamuura eliminates Reigns to win the Rumble. 

I really enjoyed this Rumble and it had some really cool spots. I'm quite surprised that Nakamura won but I think it's the right choice. That means that we will have AJ Styles taking on Nakamura at Wrestlemania and that is a match that I'm really looking forward to seeing. Well, unless WWE find a way to ruin it for us.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (4 for 6) 

Our 3rd Championship match was Cesaro and Sheamus challenging Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan for the RAW Tag Team Championship. During the match, Cesaro sends Jordan into the ring post. Because of that, Rollins does 99.9% of the match. Jordan does tag in but it's for less then 20 seconds before Rollins is tagged back in. Cesaro and Sheamus go on to get the win and become the new Champions. I thought this was an interesting match and it wasn't known at the time but Jordan has a neck injury that led to what happened during the match. Here's hoping Jordan makes a full
recovery and goes on to cement the heel turn that has brewing for a while.
Winners: Cesaro and Sheamus (5 for 7)

The penultimate match is Bruan Strowman and Demon Kane challenging Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match for the Universal Championship. The match starts at a fast pace and everyone gets fucked up. Strowman powerslams Lesnar through a table but he gets F-5'd  through the German announce table by Lesnar. After tipping the English announce table on top of Strowman, Lesnar then sends Kane through the Spanish announce table with a F-5. In the end, Lesnar sends Kane into Strowman then hits him with a F-5 to get the win. This was a fun match to watch.
Winner: Brock Lesnar (6 for 8)

The main is the first ever Women's Royal Rumble Match. During the match, we saw NXT Superstars Kairi Sane and Ember Moon; plus the return of Lita, Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Vickie Guerrero, Kelly Kelly, Jaqueline, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella and Trish Stratus. One of the highlights is Nia Jax, who almost eliminated Naomi but she landed on a group of wrestlers then ends up on the barrier. She manages to get back into the ring thanks to a chair but Nia eliminates her anyway.

The final four end up being the Bellas, Asuka and Sasha Banks. The Bellas eliminate Sasha than Nikki betrays Brie and eliminates her. In the end, Asuka and Nikki fight on the ring apron and Asuka kicks her off to get the win.

Even though there wasn't much that really stood out, I quite enjoyed this match. It was nice to see people such as Beth Phoenix, Molly Holly and Brie Bella make an appearance. Asuka winning was no surprise but it means she will go on to destroy Alexa Bliss at Wresrtlemania.
Winner: Asuka (7 for 9)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was a pretty good event and a good way to start the year. We are now officially on the Road to Wrestlemania and at the minute, I'm quite looking forward to it.

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Preview

The 31st Royal Rumble will be taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Not only will we get 5 Championships on the line; but we will have the 1st ever Women's Royal Rumble Match. So, who will get a Championship opportunity at Wrestlemania 34? Let's take a look at the card.

Bobby Roode vs TBA

United States Championship 

At the time of writing, we do not have a challenger for Bobby Roode. Regardless, I feel that the Glorious One will be victorious.

Predicted Winner: Bobby Roode

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs The Revival

Whilst The Revival are awesome, I can't see them winning. Therefore, I think that Gallows and Anderson will win.

Predicted Winners: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik vs TJP, Drew Gulak and Gentleman Jack Gallagher

This should be a good match and I think that Luchador Trio will be victorious. I expect to see TJP spit the dummy afterwards.

Predicted Winners: Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik

The Usos vs Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin

2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship

This is one match that I'm really looking forward to. It's a tough one to call but I think The Usos will just pull it off.

Predicted Winners: The Usos

Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan vs Cesaro and Sheamus

RAW Tag Team Championship

Another tough one to call but I think that Cesaro and Sheamus will win. The question is: will this start Jordan's heel turn or will they delay the inevitable?

Predicted Winners: Cesaro and Sheamus

Brock Lesnar vs Demon Kane vs Braun Strowman

Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship

This should be a short, brutal match and I think that Lesnar will retain here.

Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Handicap Match for the WWE Championship

This will be an interesting match to watch. It does depend on whether Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will get involved. Despite that, I feel that Styles will overcome the odds.

Predicted Winner: AJ Styles

The 2018 Women's Royal Rumble Match

So far, the following are confirmed to take part: Naomi, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke. Hopefully, we will get to see some returning legends and some NXT wrestlers take part as well. Despite that, I pretty much guarantee that Asuka will win this.

Predicted Winner: Asuka

The 2018 Men's Royal Rumble Match

So far, the following are confirmed to take part: Elias, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, "Broken?" Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Aiden English, Apollo Crews, Titus O'Neil, Hollywood Miz, Tye Dillinger, Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.  Unless we get a surprise, I feel that it will be between John Cena and Roman Reigns. I'm going for Reigns to win because WWE want us to feel miserable.

Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

I will hopefully get to see it during the week so the review will be up by the following week. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the show.

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Review

The first match on the Pre Show was Becky Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella taking on Mickie James, Alexa Bliss and Natalya. Mickie throws Becky into the barrier to get her team the advantage. Eventually Becky gets the hot tag to Naomi and gets the win after hitting Alexa with a split legged moonsault. I was surprised that Naomi got the win as I thought that she would take the pin. Anyway this was quite a decent match.
Winners: Becky Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella (0 for 1)

Next was the match for the RAW Tag Team Championships as Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson challenge Cesaro and Sheamus. The match had two referees for some reason (sorry, I don't regularly watch RAW). Gallows and Anderson focus their attacks on Cesaro before Sheamus gets the hot tag. Sheamus goes to hit Anderson with a Brogue Kick but he hits referee John Cone instead. The second referee then gets involved. Anderson then rolls up Cesaro after hitting the Magic Killer on Sheamus to get the win and become Champions. This was another decent match and I wonder if they will continue the Cesaro/Shemaus partnership

The last match on the Pre Show was Sasha Banks taking on Nia Jax. Jax soon gets the advantage, focusing on Sasha's injured knee. However, despite Sasha's best efforts, Jax hits her with a pop up Samoan drop to get the win. The match was a bit short but it was pretty decent.
Winner: Nia Jax (2 for 3)

The first match was for the RAW Women's Championship as Bayley challenges Charlotte Flair. Charlotte gets to wear down Bayley after sending into the steel steps. Bayley starts to make her comeback and comes close to winning after hitting a Macho Man elbow drop. In the end, Charlotee hits Natural Selection to get the win and become 16-0 in PPV matches. This was quite a decent match between the two.
Winner: Charlotte (3 for 4)

Next is Roman Reigns challenging Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship with the Gift of Jericho in a shark cage above the ring. Owens and Jericho beat up Reigns before Jericho is thrown into the cage and the match gets underway. They fight all over the crowd and they use tables and chairs in this no disqualification match. Reigns gets inspired by Super Cena as he gets frog splashed through a table, thrown head first into a chair and punched by brass knuckles and he still kicks out. Reigns goes on to Superman punch Owens onto a pile of chairs then powerbombs him through an announce table. Reigns goes on to finish it with a spear however, Bruan Stroman comes in and destroys him, culminating in putting him through a table with a running powerslam. Owens then rolls over and pins Reigns to win the match. I quite enjoyed the match although I got pissed off with Reigns getting hit with everything but the ktichen sink and still cam close to winning. As for Stroman getting involved, it made no sense until you find out the next night that it was because Owens promised him a title shot.
Winner: Kevin Owens (4 for 5)

We now get Neville challenging Rich Swann for the Cruiserwieght Championship. Neville proceeds to brutalise Swann before Swann goes on to hit a Phoenix splash and a roundhouse kick. However, Neville manages to get through it and after a superplex, gets Swann to submit with the Rings of Saturn. This was a good match although the crowd didn't seem really into it.
Winner: Neville (5 for 6)

The last match before the Rumble is for the WWE Championshup as John Cena challenges AJ Styles.The match goes back and forth with both guys countering each other's moves. Cena does avoid a phenomenal forearm to hit the AA but Styles kicks out. Styles goes on to apply the calf killer but Cena manages to get out of it and put on the STF. They then go through a load of submission moves before Cena powerbombs his way out of a cross armbreaker. Styles does go on to hit the Styles Clash but Cena kicks out. Styles then kicks out of a Super AA, which surprised me as I thought that would end the match. In the end, Styles hit another Styles Clash then goes for the phenomenal forearm. However, Cena grabs from the ropes then hits 2 consecutive AAs to win the match. This was definitely the best match of the night and congratulations to John Cena in tying Ric Flair, becoming a 16-time World Champion.
Winner: John Cena (6 for 7)

We now get the Royal Rumble match. Understandably, a lot happens so here are some highlights of the match:

• Big Cass comes in at number 1 and The Gift of Jericho comes in at number 2
• Jack Gallagher comes in at number 5 with his umbrella William III. He goes on to be the first wrestler to be eliminated by Mark Henry, who came in at number 6.
• Braun Stroman comes in at number 7 and goes on to eliminate 7 other wrestlers. He eventually gets eliminated by Baron Corbin
• Tye Dillinger makes his main roster debut at number 10 (obviously)
• James Ellsworth comes in at number 11 (for fuck's sake). When he eventually gets into the ring, he gets eliminated almost immediately by Stroman
• Cesaro comes in at number 19 and does the swing on almost everyone in the ring, including almost his partner Sheamus.
• Randy Orton comes in at number 23 and later on, Brock Lesnar enters at number 26
• Goldberg comes in at number 28 and eliminates Brock Lesnar
• The Undertaker enters at number 29 and eliminates Goldberg.
• Roman Reigns enters at number 30 (fuck you WWE) and eliminates The Undertaker (seriously, fuck you WWE) 
• The final 4 end up being Roman Reigns, The Gift of Jericho, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton.
• Reigns goes on to eliminate Jericho and then Wyatt but Orton eliminates Reigns to win the match

I thought that this was a decent Rumble. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of surprises but that was it really. As for Reigns coming in, that really annoyed me. I don't hate him as much as other people do. However, him coming in after already having a title shot earlier in the night is another example of WWE shoving him down our throat. As for Orton winning, it's an interesting choice. It looked like we're going to Cena vs Orton at Wrestlemania, which we've seen a million times. However, after finding out at Elimination Chamber, I guess that isn't happening.
 Winner: Randy Orton (6 for 8)

I thought that the Royal Rumble was a decent event. Except for the Styles vs Cena match, none of the matches were anything special. We have two more PPVs before Wrestlemania, so hopefully it will get better. 

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Preview

The 30th Royal Rumble takes place this evening from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. How will the start of the road to Wrestlemania 33 look after this event? Let's look at the card.

Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax
This could be a good match and I'd like Banks to win. However, I think that with Sasha's injury, tnat Nia Jax will win here.
Prediction: Nia Jax

Cesaro and Sheamus vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
RAW Tag Team Championship
I think this is the time for Gallows and Anderson to be Champions, so I'll predict them to win.
Prediction: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella and Naomi vs Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Mickie James
I'm quite looking forward to this one and it's a tough one to pick. After some consideration, I'll think that the team of Bliss, Natalya and James will win.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Mickie James

Rich Swann vs Neville
Cruiserweight Championship
I'm quite looking forward to this one and I feel that Neville has to win here and be the King of the Cruiserweights.
Prediction: Neville

Charlotte Flair vs Bayley
RAW Women's Championship
This could be a really good match and I feel that Charlotte will continue her undefeated PPV record and win here.
Prediction: Charlotte Flair

Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns
WWE Universal Championship
Due to recent matches, The Gift of Jericho will be in a shark cage above the ring. Despite that, I feel that he will find some way to help Owens win.
Prediction: Kevin Owens

AJ Styles vs John Cena
WWE Championship
I really, really want Styles to win. However, I feel that Cena will win and become a 16-time World Champion.
Prediction: John Cena

Royal Rumble Match
At the minute, there are 22 confirmed competitors, including Goldberg, Hollywood Miz and The Undertaker. I think that The Undertaker will win and go on to face John Cena at Wrestlemania.
Prediction: The Undertaker

I'll be watching the Pre Show live and watching the event during the week. Hope you guys enjoy the show.

WWE Royal Rumble 2016 Review

The Road to Wrestlemania is once under way as The Royal Rumble took place at the Amway Center in Orlando on Sunday 24th January. Will Roman Reigns make history by successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble match? Let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show was a fatal four way tag team match. The teams of The Dudley Boyz, Damien Sandow and Darren Young, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger and The Ascension faced each other with the winners taking part in the Royal Rumble match. In perhaps a surprise move, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger get the win after being inspired by Edge's book "How to be the Ultimate Opportunist". The Dudley Boyz hit the 3D on Konnor but Swagger pulls Bubba Ray off from covering him. Henry then splashes Bubba Ray and pins Konnor to get the win. I thought that the Dudleys would win but Henry and Swagger have been teaming up on Main Event recently so I think the WWE wanted to give them a slight push. We'll see how they do in the Rumble match later on.
Winners: Mark Henry and Jack Swagger (0 for 1)

The event officially with Kevin Owens challenging Dean Ambrose in a Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental Championship. An early highlight was Amborse sending Owens over the announce table. After that, they proceeded to beat the fuck out of each other doing moves such as Owens cannon balling Ambrose into the timekeeper's area; Ambrose reversing a powerbomb into a back body drop, sending Owens onto 2 steel chairs; and Ambrose hitting dirty deeds twice, once onto a steel chair. In the end, Owens tries to splash Ambrose onto some chairs. However, Ambrose manages to push him off the turnbuckle, sending him crashing through some tables that had been set up earlier to get the win. Once again, this was a really good match and I can watch these two wrestle all day long.
Winner: Dean Ambrose (1 for 2)

Next was The Usos again challenging The New Day for the Tag Team Championship. The New Day get the advantage after Xavier Woods (who wasn't part of the match) hitting Jey Uso with a tornado DDT on the outside. Jimmy Uso does get eventually tagged in and gets back some momentum. However, it was all in vain as Jey goes to splash Kofi but he's caught by Big E, who hit the big ending to get the win. This was another enjoyable match between the two and I really liked the ending.
Winners: The New Day (1 for 3)

We now get the United States Championship match as Kalisto challenges Alberto Del Rio. During the match, Del Rio does some moves that throw Kalisto round like a rag doll. He tries to do his double stomp in the corner but Kalisto gets out of it and hits the salida del sol for a 2 count. In the end, Lakisto sends Del Rio into an exposed turnbuckle then hits another salida del sol to get the win. I was honestly surprised that Kalisto won. Hopefully his reign will last a lot longer than a few days.
Winner: Kalisto (1 for 4)

The penultimate match was for the Divas Championship as Becky Lynch challenges Charlotte. As expected, Ric Flair did fuck with Becky a couple of times. In the end, Becky had Charlotte in the dis-arm-her and Ric throws his jacket onto her head (which bizarrely, doesn't cause a disqualification). This gave Charlotte the chance to rake Becky's eyes then spear her to get the win. Afterwards, Charlotte beats down on Becky and "The Boss" Sasha Banks comes out, who beats up Becky then puts Charlotte in the Bank statement. This was a good match and I'm looking forward to seeing what Sasha Banks can add to the feud.
Winner: Charlotte (2 for 5)

The main event was the Royal Rumble match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Number 1 was the Champion Roman Reigns and number 2 was Rusev. Here are the highlights of the match:

• Number 3 was the debut of the Phenomenal One AJ Styles. I saw him in TNA and it was a shame that he left. Despite that, it was great to see him in a WWE ring.
• R-Truth comes in at number 11 and he proceeds to grab a ladder and climb up to grab the belt. The slight problem with that plan was that it's not a ladder match. It was stupid but it was quite funny.
• Kofi Kingston, who came in at number 10, almost gets eliminated by Kane but he lands on Big E's shoulders, who then walks round the outside of the ring with him.
• The League of Nations. under the direction of Mr McMahon, come down and drag Reigns out of  the ring (but don't eliminate him). It ends with Rusev splashing Reings through the Spanish announce table.
• We see the return of Sami Zayn at number 20 who went after Kevin Owens, who came in at number 18 and eliminated him.
• Brock Lesnar came in at number 23 and destroyed people before getting eliminated by the Wyatts
• Remember Mark Henry and Jack Swagger who won their places in the Rumble match earlier? Yeah, they were in the match for a total of 1 minute and 16 seconds.
• Sheamus came in at number 29 and gets hit by a Superman punch by a returning Reigns and number 30 was Triple H.
• The final four ended up being Reigns, Triple H, Ambrose and Sheamus. Reigns eliminates Sheamus but is immediately eliminated by Triple H. Triple H then eliminates Ambrose to become a 14-time World Champion.
 

I thought that, up until the end, it was a good Rumble match. The main issue I had was with the ending. WWE seem determined to portray Reigns as an underdog and I thought that Reigns being the runner up would be a better story. Anyway, it looks like it will be Reings vs Triple H at Wrestlemania.
Winner: Triple H (2 for 6)

Except for some minor issues, I thought that the Rumble was a good event. It looks like it will be Reigns vs The Authority being the main story going into Wrestlemania. I'm not sure how I feel about that but it will interesting to see where they go with it.

WWE Royal Rumble 2016 Preview

The Road to Wrestlemania 32 officially begins as the Royal Rumble begins this evening at the Amway Center in Orlando. For the first time since 1992, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line in the Royla Rumble match. So, let's look at the card.

The match on the Kick Off Show is a tag team match for a place in the Royal Rumble. The team of Darren Young and Damien Mizdow will take on The Dudley Boyz, The Ascension and the team of Mark Hnery and Jack Swagger. This is a tough one to call but I think that the Dudleys will win here.
Predicted Winners: The Dudley Boyz

Kalisto will get the chance to regain the United States Championship from Alberto Del Rio. I would like to see Kalisto win it and have the Title for more than a few days. However, I feel that Del Rio will retain here.
Predicted Winner: Alberto Del Rio

The Usos will  challenge, for what seems like the billionth time, The New Day (Sucks!)  for the Tag Team Championship. I really want The New Day to win here but I don't think they will so The Usos to win here.
Predicted Winners: The Usos

The Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose continues as they face each other in a Last Man Standing match for the Intercontinental Championship. I am really looking forward as I like Last Man Standing matches and I feel that they have the ability to steal the show here. I'm going for Ambrose to win here.
Predicted Winner: Dean Ambrose

Becky Lynch will face Charlotte  for the Divas Championship in what could be a good match. I would like to see Becky win it here but I feel that it's not going to happen til Wresltemania. Therefore, Charlotte to win here.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte

The main event will be the Royal Rumble match as  Roman Reigns will defend his World Heavyweight Championship. The announced participants so far are: The Big Show, Curtis Axel, Bray Wyatt, Braun Stroman, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, Stardust and Sheamus. Even though Roman Reigns has been drawn at number 1, he is definitelyt going to win it here and become only the third man after Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit to do it from number 1.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

My New Year's Resolution is to do the reports within 10 days of each event so  you should get a review of the show soon. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the show.

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Review

The first Pay-Per-View of 2015, the Royal Rumble, took place on Sunday 25th January at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. We will get to see who will main event Wrestlemania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Will they be able to defend Brock Lesnar? Let's review.

The Kick Off match was between Kofi Kingston and Big E Langston from The New Day versus Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. A great highlight was Cesaro doing the giant swing on Kingston, which ended with a dropkick by Kidd. In the end, Kingston gets hit with an European uppercut by Cesaro followed by a swinging fisherman's neck breaker to get the win. It was quite a good match and the crowd was really into it.
Winners: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro
Predictions: 0 for 1

The first match was between The New Age Outlaws and The Ascension. The Outlaws put up a decent fight and tried to win it by Gunn going for a fameasser on Viktor. However, he missed and Ascension hit the Fall of Man to get the win. The match wasn't anything special as it seemed to just be used to put The Ascension over.
Winners: The Ascension
Predictions: 1 for 2

We now get another tag team match as Hollywood Miz and Damien Mizdow challenge The Usos for the Tag Team Championships. As usual, the crowd was cheering on Mizdow, who spent most of the match on the apron. Miz did a great job of teasing the tag to Mizdow but refusing. Later on, Mizdow broke up a pin but looked like he wasn't suppose to do that. Mizdow then hit the skull crushing finale and positioned Miz for the pin. However, that plan only creates a 2 count. In the end, Jimmy hits a Superfly splash on Miz to get the win. The match was pretty good but it's more memorable for Mizdow's actions, which were the best parts of the match.
Winners: The Usos
Predictions: 2 for 3

Next is the Divas tag team match with The Bella Twins take on Natalya and Paige. The Bellas work over Natalya before she cuts off Nikki. Natalya tries to tag out but Brie pulls Paige off the apron. Nikki then hits Natalya in the throat to get the pin. The match was a bit too short and I feel that it didn't play to their strengths.
Winners: The Bella Twins
Predictions: 3 for 4

We now get a triple threat match with John Cena and Seth Rollins challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Lesnar continues his fetish for German suplexes by hitting Rollins and Cena. Noble and Mercury try to help Rollins but they're easily dispatched. Cena hits Lensar with 3 consecutive AA's but Rollins breaks up the pin. Rollins later on, hits an elbow sending Cena and Lesnar through the Spanish announce table. The end comes when Rollins hits Lesnar twice with the MITB briefcase then tries the curb stomp. However, he misses and Lesnar hits the F5 to get the win. I really enjoyed this match and I wouldn't mind seeing a singles match between Lesnar and Rollins
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Predictions: 4 for 5

We now get the Royal Rumble match. Miz comes in at number 1 and R-Truth comes in at number 2. We get our first surprise entrant as Bubba Ray Dudley came in at number 3 followed by the Boogeyman at number 7. Our third surprise entrant was Diamond Dallas Page at number 13. During the match, the crowd were not happy with some of the eliminations. Daniel Bryan, my pick for the Rumble, came in at number 10 and got eliminated by Bray Wyatt. This generated a chorus of boos from the crowd. Kofi Kingston, who came in at number 17, had a pretty cool annual elimination avoidance spot. Rusev threw him over the rope into the Rosebuds. They carried him around the ring then put him on the apron. Rusev then eliminates him. There was a nice bit later on, when Mizdow comes in at number 21. Miz comes in and demands that he will take Mizdow's place. Miz doesn't get a chance to enter the ring so Mizdow enters but quickly gets eliminated by Rusev.

Later on, Corporate Kane came in at number 24 and Big Show at number 29. Number 30 was Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler eliminates Cesaro and Bad News Barrett. Unfortunately, this was when Kane and Show joined forces and eliminated Wyatt, Ziggler and Dean Ambrose, massively pissing off the crowd.

The final four were Corporate Kane, Big Show, Roman Reigns, who came in at number19, and Rusev, who was laid out outside the ring. Reigns eliminates Kane and Show and the bell rings. They return to attack Reigns and The Rock comes down to help Reigns. After that happened to boos from the crowd, Rusev recovered and attacked Reigns. However, Reigns dealt with it with a spear and eliminated Rusev to win the match.

I thought it was a pretty decent Rumble. The problem was that the crowd clearly were not into Reigns. I thought that maybe Bryan or Ziggler would win it as I believed into a classic David vs Goliath story. However, WWE feel that Reigns is the next guy and I'm not sure if he is ready for that.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Predictions: 4 for 6

I thought that the Rumble was a good way to start the year with some pretty good matches and it was refreshing to see a few tag team matches on the card. As for the winner of the Rumble, I'm not sure if it was the right decision. Brock Lesnar is an unstoppable juggernaut right now and I can't see Reigns being the one to topple him and become Champion. They now have two months to make the fans believe that he can be Champion. The question is, will they succeed? (Spoiler alert: they don't)

Royal Rumble 2012: The Stats

After an entertaining Royal Rumble last night, I thought I would give the facts and figures from the Rumble match.

Order of Entrances

Order	Participant	Brand
1	The Miz	RAW
2	Alex Riley	RAW
3	R-Truth	RAW
4	Cody Rhodes	Smackdown
5	Justin Gabriel	Smackdown
6	Primo	RAW
7	Mick Foley	RAW
8	Ricardo Rodriguez	RAW
9	Santino Marella	RAW
10	Epico	RAW
11	Kofi Kingston	RAW
12	Jerry Lawler	RAW
13	Ezekiel Jackson	Smackdown
14	Jinder Mahal	Smackdown
15	The Great Khali	Smackdown
16	Hunico	Smackdown
17	Booker T	Smackdown
18	Dolph Ziggler	RAW
19	Hacksaw Jim Duggan	Legend
20	Michael Cole	RAW
21	Kharma	RAW
22	Sheamus	Smackdown
23	Road Dogg Jesse James	Legend
24	Jey Uso	Smackdown
25	Jack Swagger	RAW
26	Wade Barrett	Smackdown
27	David Otunga	RAW
28	Randy Orton	Smackdown
29	Chris Jericho	RAW
30	The Big Show	Smackdown

Order of Eliminations

Order	Participant	Eliminated by
1	Alex Riley	The Miz
2	R-Truth	The Miz
3	Primo	Mick Foley
4	Justin Gabriel	Mick Foley and Ricardo Rodriguez
5	Ricardo Rodriguez	Santino Marella
6	Epico	Mick Foley
7	Santino Marella	Cody Rhodes
8	Mick Foley	Cody Rhodes
9	Jerry Lawler	Cody Rhodes
10	Jinder Mahal	Great Khali
11	Ezekiel Jackson	Great Khali
12	Hacksaw Jim Duggan	Cody Rhodes
13	Booker T	Cody Rhodes/ Dolph Ziggler
14	The Great Khali	Cody Rhodes/ Dolph Ziggler
15	Michael Cole	Booker T/ Jerry Lawler
16	Hunico	Kharma
17	Kharma	Dolph Ziggler
18	Kofi Kingston	Sheamus
19	Road Dogg Jesse James	Wade Barrett
20	Jey Uso	Randy Orton
21	Wade Barrett	Randy Orton
22	David Otunga	Chris Jericho
23	Jack Swagger	The Big Show
24	Cody Rhodes	The Big Show
25	The Miz	The Big Show
26	Dolph Ziggler	The Big Show
27	The Big Show	Randy Orton
28	Randy Orton	Chris Jericho
29	Chris Jericho	Sheamus
30	Sheamus	WINNER

Top 3 Wrestlers with the Most Eliminations

1.      Cody Rhodes with 6 (including 2 assists with Dolph Ziggler)

2.      The Big Show, Mick Foley, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler all with 3

Top 3 Wrestlers Who Spent the Most Time in the Rumble

1.      The Miz (45 minutes and 40 seconds)

2.      Cody Rhodes (41 minutes and 57 seconds)

3.      Sheamus (22 minutes and 20 seconds)

Top 3 Wrestlers Who Spent the Least Time in the Rumble

1.      Epico (11 seconds)

2.      Jerry Lawler (43 seconds)

3.      Hacksaw Jim Duggan (57 seconds)

Other Facts and Figures

·         Sheamus is the first European-born wrestler to win the Rumble. The last American to win it was Randy Orton in 2009.

·         Sheamus won it at number 22.  The last person to do so was Triple H in 2002.

·         The Wrestlemania XXVIII logo was pointed to 6 times during the match.