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The Royal Rumble is my favourite pay-per-view of the year. And this year, I must say that I quite enjoyed the show. But the fact of the matter is that it was a 7-hour long WWE show. If this was not my job, I would have probably watched the show in parts.
That said, for a 7-hour long show, I felt it delivered. There were ups and downs through the course of the night. But then again, I felt there were a lot more positives than negatives.
And now I, completely exhausted and sleep deprived, will present the 'Best and Worst of Royal Rumble 2019'. I apologise for the delay in getting this article out, but I do hope that you enjoyed the two other pieces that came out prior to this one.
Without further ado, I begin...
#1 Best: Giving fans what they want
The Royal Rumble has always been a great device to build up a star and have them compete on the Grandest Stage of all. It works when the Superstar is someone that the crowd roots for. It does not when someone like Roman Reigns is shoved down the throat of the WWE Universe. I'm glad to report that two crowd favourites stood tall at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
Becky Lynch would compete for the second time in the night and pick up a massive win. The crowd was so worn out by her victory, that I felt that every subsequent match suffered. They came alive once again for the Men's Royal Rumble match.
Seth Rollins defied the odds and stood tall at the end of the night. It is clear that he'll be facing Lesnar at WrestleMania 35.
Or will he?
#1 Worst: Putting the US Title on Shinsuke Nakamura
Let's ignore for a minute that automatic rematches were supposed to be a strict no. WWE conveniently ignores this rule when it doesn't fit the narrative anyway. But didn't Rusev win the United States Championship only a few days back? It makes absolutely no sense for him to drop the US Title already.
But he did in the Kickoff show. The title goes back to Nakamura and I wonder what the point of this switch is. Nakamura did not set the world on fire back when he was Champion.
Are we going to get an extended feud between these two men where they trade wins back and forth? If so, I daresay I'm not very intrigued to see how it pans out.
For Nakamura's sake, I hope he has a proper feud with someone like Ali in the coming months.
#2 Best: The surprises
There was more than one surprise on the show, and I must say that I was thrilled with most of them. Elias vs. Jeff Jarrett was definitely the highlight for me because I've been a Double J fan for most of my life and always wanted this confrontation. But how cool was it to see Hornswoggle under the ring, chasing after Zelina Vega?
And how can one forget about Nia Jax in the men's Royal Rumble match? I love the fact that the girls are finally getting a chance to mix it up with the guys at long last. Inter-gender wrestling has been a big deal in the independents and I'm glad that WWE is finally accepting it
Finally, the fact that Becky Lynch came back to participate in the Royal Rumble was a predictable event, but still a pleasant one. I expected something like that to happen.
#2 Worst: The Maria Kanellis vs. Alicia Fox showdown
Now, before you think that I don't like goofy wrestling, let me assure you that I do. In fact, I am a huge fan of silliness in sports entertainment and think that there isn't enough of it. But what happened between Maria Kanellis and Alicia Fox in the Women's Royal Rumble was just cringeworthy.
The two women teased an alliance to take out the opposition. And then Maria Kanellis turned on Fox by stomping on Fox's hat in the middle of the ring. If that wasn't enough, Alicia Fox threw a tantrum in the ring, which looked absolutely terrifying.
I quite liked the Women's Royal Rumble match, but while women like Naomi were defying the laws of physics, Alicia Fox was giving me a headache. Did any of our readers care for the interaction? If so, please let me know in the comments below.
#3 Best: New SmackDown Tag Team Champions
Shane McMahon still cannot throw a convincing punch after so many years in the business. But he is one of the most entertaining characters in WWE history and so is The Miz.
While I was apprehensive about the group a few weeks ago, the act has grown on me. Cesaro and Sheamus carried the match but I loved how it played out and the eventual result.
This match may have also had the best Cesaro Swing I remember seeing in some time. I loved the fact that the team of Shane McMahon and The Miz only came together because of The Miz's dad and WWE brought him to ringside to catch the action.
I don't know if The Miz and Shane McMahon are WrestleMania 35 opponents as is being speculated, but if so, I anticipate an entertaining feud in coming weeks.
#3 Worst: Rezar and Scott Dawson team up?
I genuinely thought that every match on the main show was pretty solid. I did not care for the matches on the pre-show, with the exception of the Cruiserweights who tore it up.
But the worst match on the Kickoff Show was certainly the strange alliance of Scott Dawson and Rezar from the AoP. The pairing was weird, to begin with, and the two men lacked any semblance of chemistry at all.
It was a mess overall, and the RAW Tag Team Division has never seemed so insignificant as it is at the moment. All WWE needed to do was just bring out Heavy Machinery and have them tag against Gable and Roode.
Or this match could have just been left off the show and the show could have been made significantly shorter.
#4 Best/worst: The Universal Championship match
I don't know why Finn Balor would deck up as The Demon King to take on Baron Corbin but not for the biggest match of his career. I don't know why he would tap into his dark side to take on Styles in an exhibition match, but not against the monstrous Brock Lesnar. We all knew the result of Lesnar vs. Balor before the match even got underway.
But I loved the way this match played out, however. Just how good is Balor as an in-ring performer! Also, how good is Lesnar at selling his injuries and the offence Balor inflicted upon him, during the match!
I had a blast watching the Royal Rumble and I'm guessing so did you. I just wish it was shorter because that certainly watered my experience down.
I'm glad that The Goddess is back in action, however!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
