Royal Rumble 2012
Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry vs Big Show Steel Cage Match
I didn't see this match when I first watched the PPV (just missed it on my stream), and to be honest, I felt like I didn't miss much. I saw **-** 1/2 ratings for this match, and that was about it. So I turned it on, not expecting much, but this actually exceeded my expectations. Sure, it only comes in at 9 minutes, but just like the WM 22 main event, that's all it needs to be a good match.
The story here is simple, how will Bryan (a tweener at this point), survive the two monsters. Show and Henry continue their great chemistry here, while Bryan flies around and does a majority of the selling and work, which is a fantastic thing. They keep the story solid throughout, with Bryan trying to take the easy way out. I LOVE the ending as it was so unexpected and made alot of people say "was that supposed to happen?". I wish it had to be 5-10 minutes longer, as this could have been a borderline **** match, but nonetheless....
***
Bella Twins/Natalya/Beth Phoenix vs Tamina/Eve/Kelly Kelly/Fox
Completely standard Divas filler tag match here, although it is quite decent by today's standards. Eve does her standard offense, the Bella Twins suck at normal moves such as chinlocks (as usual), Beth looks like a monster heel, but Kelly gets an awesome dive to the outside. Decent, only about five minutes long, just filler really.
**
John Cena vs Kane
I wasn't expecting much from this match either, but Cena ALWAYS seems to deliver a decent match on PPV (well, most of the time, depending on the circumstances), and this was no different. The trouble coming into this match was the booking: how could both Cena and Kane come out of the match looking strong (Or atleast not looking weak).
The answer is simple: make the ending a double countout. Yeah that's how the match ended, but before that, this match was your standard messy brawl, with some stiff shots from both men (remarkable, given Cena has to main event mania), but that's what makes this match work. Kane looks like an absolute monster here, while Cena dosen't look weak. This is more about the angle than the match itself, which led to a great blowoff match at Elimination Chamber. All in all though, this match was a good, messy brawl, with a good story and no real direction. Average.
** 1/2
Drew Mcintyre vs Brodus Clay
What can I say about this ? A squash match, complete with many jiggles and dancing from the Funkasaurus himself. One simple question though: Why does it have to be Drew ? I mean, this guy has a decent amount of talent, am I right ? And he gets fed to Brodus Clay ? REALLY ? I obviously can't rate it because it's a minute long, but it's really just pointless filler.
NO RATING
CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler
Laurinitis is special referee(on the outside),Here we go. Punk getting huge pops here, while this match starts off more mat based then alot of other Punk matches that I've seen. Fast paced here, as both men exchange sleepers, false finish attempts, and dives. Both Punk and Dolph take some really stiff looking bumps on the ropes here. The psychology is solid, as Ziggler is being the annoying little "show-off", while Punk is just looking for his opening to unload.
These two have some really good chemistry, as this match is moving along quite nicely. Ziggler and Punk both sell like champs here, making each other's punches,kicks, and various other basic moves look lethal. At the climax of the match however, the pace slows down, as it becomes more of a ref bump/storyline based match, with Punk beating Ziggler THREE times with Laurinitis's back turned. Not sure if that was the route to go, as it makes Dolph look INCREDIBLY weak. However, Dolph gets the counter of the night, a GTS into a fame-asser. Great false finish. GTS ends this. If the whole "Laurinitis" story wasn't involved in this match, I'm willing to bet it would have been a classic. Nevertheless, it is still awesome, and shows what can happen if you put two world-class workers in the same ring.
*** 3/4
Royal Rumble Match
Miz starts us off here, a pretty good choice, but does Alex Riley have to start this off too? Really ? Cody Rhodes enters at 4, so now we have our two ironmen of the match, Miz and Rhodes. One of my personal favorites, R-Truth, gets eliminated rather quickly by Miz, a bad move IMO. Here is the problem with this rumble: after Cody Rhodes enters at number 4, the next wrestler that could even be considered to win the rumble, is Dolph Ziggler, who enters at number EIGHTEEN. I'm sorry, but that is a HUGE number of jobbers, mid-carders, and comedy acts, but not enough talent to sustain a Royal Rumble match.
Mid-way we get a painfully unfunny comedy portion of the Rumble featuring Mick Foley and Santino, which goes on WAY too long. I mean, damn, this takes up a good 5-10 minutes of the total rumble. Okay, even I will admit, The Ricardo Rodriguez imitating Alberto Del Rio is PRICELESS, but Foley looks old, slow, and horrible out there. Spot of the rumble goes to Kofi's handstand, while not quite as good as Jo-Mo's spot last year, it is damn impressive.
All 3 announcers enter the Rumble, which is a unique gimmick. Never cared too much for Lawler or Cole's appearances, but seeing Booker T is always a treat, so is a rare Kharma appearance. The surprise entrants were REALLY lackluster this year. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Road Dogg ? really ? I understand they got big pops, but is that honestly the best WWE can do ? Was D'lo Brown or Gangrel not available or something ? Sheamus's entry finally gets the rumble to heat up.
By the time Orton makes his entrance, the Rumble finally starts to feel like the Rumble... AT NUMBER 28, took them long enough didn't it ? Jericho then enters, leaving a completely anti-climatic Big Show appearance at number 30. Seriously, that was extremely lackluster. The way Show just throws Miz, Cody, And Ziggler out of the Rumble makes me kind of sick. You have three extremely bright young superstars, and you have them eliminated by BIG SHOW ? Couldn't have given them to Sheamus or someone ? Anyways this is moving along rather quickly now, as the final four are Show, Orton, Jericho, and Sheamus.
Orton and Show are gone faster then you can say "Cornish Hens" as the final two in the rumble are Jericho and Sheamus. What proceeds to happen is one of the most climatic finishes in Rumble history. Seriously, this ending is AWESOME, second only to the 07 ending IMO. Sheamus wins after a hard fought ending. So here's a summary: Too many jobbers and pointless cameos, Cody/Ziggler/Miz were the workhorses, the number 30 spot was lackluster, the comedy portion was terrible, but the last 15 minutes of this are AWESOME. This rumble was GOOD, but not one of the best, not even close. Entertaining enough.
***
Thoughts
The Royal Rumble PPV and the quality of it, boils down to the Rumble match itself. While the Rumble match was a step down from the last few years, it still managed to be a good encounter, mainly due to the ending. Still, with two GREAT championship matches, a messy Cena brawl, and some filler, you can't go WRONG by watching this show. There are a TON of better shows out there, but if you have some time watch this. It's worth a buy if you are a Punk, Ziggler, Bryan, Sheamus, or just a RUMBLE fan in general.
7/10