Royal Rumble 2015 had everyone talking but, for all the wrong reasons. Much like everyone who watched the Royal Rumble I was irritated with the ending of the pay-per-view. WWE was handed a Wrestlemania story on a silver platter and flushed it down the drain. #CancelWWENetwork trended on Twitter the rest of the night and the majority of Monday. I did not cancel my subscription. There’s too much content on the network to throw away for a bad pay-per-view ending. Cancelling the network really doesn’t stick it to Vince like we think it does. It hurts the wrestlers more. The majority of the people who cancelled their subscription will be back either for NXT, February 2nd for the Live Steve Austin Podcast with Triple H, or on February 11th for Owens versus Zayn. I’ve had a s day to digest what I saw on Sunday and fairly examine the Pros and Cons of the show.
Pros
Operation Save The Ascension
source: wwe.com
I have to admit that I had a bad feeling that Vince had already lost interest in Konnor and Viktor and was going to use the outlaws to dust them under the rug. Thankfully, that didn’t happen and the Ascension had a great showing. The Ascension is back on the right track.
Divas Got Some Time
source: wwe.com
I was happy to see the divas get some to work. I know that nowadays the focus for main roster divas is Total Divas drama, but for me, I want to see the girls wrestle. I miss the days of Trish Stratus, Lita, Mickie James, and Victoria. Bellas, Paige, and Natalya put some work in on Sunday. I think a Fatal 4 Way at Fast Lane would be interesting.
Triple Threat
source: wwe.com
This match was AMAZING! This was one of the best Triple Threat matches I’ve seen in a long time. After this match I’ve come to the conclusion that Brock Lesnar is an android! After all the abuse he took he kept bringing the pain. After Rollins’ put him through the table I thought we were seeing a new champion. This match has solidified Rollins as a main event star. I marked out big for the Phoenix Splash. I almost started chanting for Tyler Black instead of Seth Rollins. I would love to see Rollins bring back his God’s Last Gift Cradle Driver too.
Bubba Is Back!
source:wwe.com
One of the most exciting parts of any Royal Rumble are the surprise entrants. The Philly Crowd and wrestling fans around the world were excited for Bubba Ray Dudley. I really hope that WWE and Bubba can land on an agreement for Bubba to come back full time. He has established himself as a single star in TNA, which most WWE fans probably didn’t see. WWE should capitalize on the rejuvenated Calfzilla.
Diamond Cutters For Everyone
source: wwe.com
BANG! It was also great seeing the return of DDP. The former WCW Champion was in rare form. There were no RKOs, but they were plenty of Diamond Cutters out of nowhere.
The Eater of Worlds
source: wwe.com
Bray Wyatt has been a victim of bad booking throughout his career. That was not case on Sunday. Wyatt had a dominate performance by eliminating six competitors. WWE is building Bray for something big at Wrestlemania.
Cons
Awesome Truth?
source: wwe.com
The number 1 and 2 spots are very important for a Royal Rumble match. It sets the tone for the match. When Miz came out number 1, I was anticipating Mizdow at number 2. Instead, we got R-Truth. Usually starting off with two former partners is a good thing, but how many people remember the Awesome Truth tag team? Also, I don’t recall the announcers bringing up their former alliance. This was a wasted opportunity to further the Miz and Mizdow storyline.
Where was The Viper?
source: wwe.com
We’ve been waiting and waiting for the return of Randy Orton. It was reported that he was in the building and ready to wrestle. Why is WWE waiting so long to pull the trigger?
Boogeyman
source: wwe.com
Seeing Bubba and DDP were great, seeing the Boogeyman wasn’t. In my opinion, I think this was a waste of a spot.
Bryan Eliminated? NO! NO! NO!
source: wwe.com
The man whom all the fans wanted to see win was eliminated after only being the Rumble for ten minutes. He didn’t look like a former World Champion, he looked like a mid carder with no direction. WWE knows how much the fans love Bryan. Having eliminated so fast and without shenanigans was a big middle finger to all the fans. Bryan should have been eliminated due to outside interference from the Authority or his rumored Wrestlemania opponent Sheamus. Another option would be for him to get “hurt” during the match and being forced to seek medical attention. Two years in a row Daniel Bryan was screwed.
Kofi’s Spot Ruin
source: wwe.com
Year after year Kofi has impressed us with his gravity defying elimination saves. This year we didn’t get that. Kofi was saved by the Rosebuds.
Dominate Kane & Big Show
source: wwe.com
Coming on to the end It looked like we were stuck in 1999. Big Show and Kane were menacing giants destroying the competition. Eliminating fan favorites like they were yesterday’s trash. I have respect for all the years these two giants have put in, but it’s hard to believe that they could be so dominant when they’re getting beat down by Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns every week.
Reigns Wins
source: wwe.com
Roman Reigns winning over Daniel Bryan but, how he won was worst. Reigns came in at number 19 and pretty much took a nap until it was down to the final four. Then WWE made him look really really strong when Kane and Big Show together couldn’t eliminate him. Reigns continued to look strong by eliminating both men with the greatest of ease. Then Big Show and Kane get back in for a beat down and Cousin Rocky comes to save the day. Then you have Rusev, who has been lying down outside, come in and try to eliminate Reigns. The Philly crowd was supporting the anti-American brute, but in the end Reigns disposed of Rusev and took his thrown on the Roman Empire.
