Royal Rumble 2019: Rating every match on the main card

This year, the Royal Rumble took place on January 27th at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Fans were speculating that this could be the best Royal Rumble PPV of all-time despite being quite predictable. It wasn’t too long ago that Vince and his family stood in the ring and promised to give the WWE Universe what they wanted.

But did they do that? And was this the best Royal Rumble PPV of all-time?

To be honest, the PPV as a whole was way too long, stretching to 7 hours including the pre show which made it one of the longest PPVs in history. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t exciting.

Despite a couple of matches being predictable, WWE threw in an element of surprise every now and then which caught fans off guard. Fans indeed got what they wanted and everyone left feeling satisfied.

Hence, we’ve decided to reflect on this amazing PPV by rating every match that took place on the main card to let you know what we think of this year’s Royal Rumble PPV.

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#1 Asuka (c) Vs. Becky Lynch

Winner: Asuka

Rating: 3.5/5

Asuka

Normally it would’ve been disappointing to see a match of this caliber start the show, but I understood why they did so during the Women’s Royal Rumble match.

This match was very physical as both women were quite vicious. Asuka was relentless with her kicks and Becky Lynch threw some nasty elbows of her own. The matchup was very intriguing and involved multiple submission attempts.

At one point, Asuka was tangled up within the ropes and out of nowhere, locked in the Asuka lock. Becky reciprocated by locking in the Disarmer to Asuka when she (Asuka) was stuck between the turnbuckle. They even locked in each other's submission moves.

Tensions were rising between both women throughout the match and even fans seemed to be torn between both women.

Asuka won by locking in a different version of the Asuka lock where she bridged to increase the torque. The important thing is that ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ won clean, solidifying her reign as champion. This match also planted seeds for what would unfold later on in the PPV.

#2 The Bar (c) Vs. Shane McMahon and The Miz

Winner: Shane McMahon and The Miz

Rating: 3/5

Shane McMahon and The Miz

This match was a bit confusing as it was thrown together just a few weeks prior to the PPV. Right out of the gate, Shane McMahon jumped Sheamus with a flurry of fists which is all he seems to do nowadays. Everyone was waiting to see what dangerous spot would Shane McMahon attempt during the match.

Shane tried to hit a double coast-to-coast on Cesaro and Sheamus, but was caught by Cesaro mid air, who turned it into the Cesaro swing. Immediately following the Cesaro swing, Shane locked in the triangle choke on Cesaro.

Towards the end of the match, Sheamus accidently hit Cesaro with the Brogue kick and The Miz then hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Sheamus. Shane McMahon then climbed up to the top rope and surprised everyone with a shooting star press to get the pinfall victory.

The match itself was quite good and involved some good heel tactics from The Bar. At one point during the match, Cesaro was taunting Miz’s father who was at ringside. It was disrespectful but added to an already brutal and exciting match.

#3 Ronda Rousey (c) Vs. Sasha Banks

Winner: Ronday Rousey

Rating: 3.5/5

Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks

This was probably the best singles match of the night. Both women left it all in the ring in a very grueling match. At one point in the match, Rousey attempted to hit the three amigos but was countered by Sasha. Sasha showed a bit of a heel side to her throughout the match and even slapped Rousey. It was quite nice to see this side to Banks.

‘The Boss’ kept working on the arm of Rousey throughout the match which would tie in perfectly well into the finish. Sasha attempted a suicide dive, but was caught by Ronda who locked in the armbar, and Sasha tapped out but it didn’t count as it happened outside the ring. This was something new and added another layer to an already exciting match.

When Rousey tried to hit the Piper’s Pit, Sasha countered into a DDT, leading to a very close finish which was then turned into a Banks Statement followed by a Fujiwara armbar.

The match ended when Ronda pinned Banks after hitting the Piper’s Pit giving Rousey her first televised pinfall victory which was perfect when you consider the fact that her arm was supposed to be hurt after the beating she received which prevented her from utilizing her armbar. This was a well though out finish from WWE and tied in quite well in to the whole match.

After the match was over, Sasha Banks did her Four Horsewoman signal to Rousey, probably signaling a possible feud in the future.

#4 30 – Woman Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Becky Lynch

Rating: 3.25/5

Becky Lynch won the Women's Royal Rumble match

The women’s Royal Rumble match got off to a very slow start and almost felt like a glorified battle royal. WWE decided that Lacey Evans would start the match, which was good because she got a lot of time to showcase her skills.

The match picked up pace once Charlotte Flair entered at number 13. Charlotte looked absolutely dominant throughout the match which showed why she is a class above the rest.

WWE played well on the Naomi – Mandy Rose storyline. Naomi chucked her rival out of the ring but almost got eliminated in the process. Somehow, she evaded elimination only to be eliminated by Mandy Rose. This was lovely to watch and got Mandy Rose a lot of heat.

This match also had a lot of silly spots like Maria Kanellis and Alicia Fox fighting over a hat and Zelina Vega hiding under the ring only to be chased out by Hornswoggle. While these spots were silly, they just made the match more fun to watch.

This match involved women from NXT and NXT: UK like Rhea Ripley and Kacy Catanzaro, who at one point climbed up the turnbuckle to avoid elimination.

What lacked at the start of the match, WWE made up for with a 5-star finish. The match really got interesting when Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Nia Jax and Carmella entered the rumble. Lana was injured during Rusev’s match on the pre-show and couldn’t enter the match. Guess who took her place.

It was Becky Lynch, and once that happened, we all knew who was going to win the Royal Rumble match. The match came down to Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch before ‘The Man’ eliminated Charlotte to win her ticket to WrestleMania.

#5 Daniel Bryan (c) Vs. AJ Styles

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Rating: 2.75/5

AJ Styles hit his moonsault DDT outside the ring

It was expected that fans would be exhausted after the Women’s Royal Rumble match and any match that followed that would have to be really good. Hence, WWE thought it would have been a good idea to follow the Women’s Royal Rumble match with the WWE Championship match.

This backfired, as the match ended up being a snooze fest. No one seemed interested, and the match itself was very slow and methodical, which was different from the fast paced action we are used to seeing. It just felt like any championship match you would see on Smackdown Live. Both men were well matched and countered each other’s moves quite a bit.

The best spot in the match was when AJ Styles hit his moonsault DDT outside the ring in absolute fluidity, and even that didn’t draw a good enough reaction from the crowd. Even when Erick Rowan walked out during the match, there was total silence. Maybe because most people were confused as to why is Rowan was out there.

The match went on for 25 minutes before Rowan got himself involved allowing Bryan to get the win. It would’ve been better had they removed this match from the card altogether as it did nothing for both men.

#6 Brock Lesnar (c) Vs. Finn Balor

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Rating: 4/5

Brock Lesnar sold his injury quite well

Despite being one of the most predictable matches on the card, there was a fair bit of surprise elements in the match that made you think otherwise. As soon as the bell rang, Finn Balor launched himself at Lesnar with a drop kick followed by multiple strikes. Surprisingly, Balor took control for most of the match and didn’t allow Lesnar much room for offense.

During the match, Balor shoved Lesnar into the exposed corner of the announce table and Lesnar sold his injury to perfection. Fans actually thought he was really injured. This is where people started to “believe” that Balor could actually pull of the upset.

When Finn hit the Coup de Grace on Lesnar, it looked like the match was over but Lesnar kicked out of the pin and locked in the Kimura Lock, which is a legitimate submission move used in MMA. Balor had no option but to submit.

Even in defeat, Finn Balor looked quite strong. After the match, Lesnar hit Balor with multiple German suplexes and a F-5. While the match lasted only 8 minutes, it was a nail biting encounter that left the fans wanting more.

#7 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Seth Rollins

Rating: 4.25/5

Seth Rollins after winning the Men's Royal Rumble match

Elias and Jeff Jarrett started the match and Jarrett was eliminated quickly after being struck with Elias’ guitar. This time, WWE relied solely on its in-house talent rather than nostalgia by including superstars from NXT and NXT: UK. The NXT superstars performed quite well.

WWE brought in the storylines from RAW and Smackdown, and included them in this match which was amazing to watch. For example, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins brawling with each other, Mustafa Ali eliminating Samoa Joe, and Ziggler eliminating Drew McIntyre.

You can’t talk about the Royal Rumble match without talking about Kofi Kingston, who did his usual spots not once, but twice.

There were a couple of shock eliminations but none more shocking than when Bobby Lashley was eliminated within 15 seconds. He got upset and slammed Seth Rollins through the announcers’ table.

Things really got interesting after the 30th entrant was supposed to enter the match. We all knew that R-Truth would be the 30th entrant, but no one could’ve predicted that Nia Jax would ambush R-Truth out of nowhere and take his place.

As soon as she stepped in the ring, she attacked everyone and even eliminated Mustafa Ali. Nia Jax had a proper stare down with Randy Orton and even dodged the RKO. How many women can say they did that? Zero!

It took three men - Rey Mysterio, Dolph Ziggler, and Randy Orton - to finally eliminate Jax. Nia Jax was hit with a superkick, 619 and a RKO before being chucked over the top rope.

The match came down to Ziggler, Andrade, Strowman, and Rollins. As expected, three of them tried to gang up on Braun but in vain as he (Strowman) eliminated both Andrade and Ziggler before being eliminated by Rollins after a curb stomp on the apron. Seth Rollins won the match and punched his ticket to WrestleMania.