8 Match Star Ratings For WWE Royal Rumble 2020

8. KICKOFF: Shorty G Vs. Sheamus

A broad story told in a way that wasn't particularly compelling, this was a disappointment, but perhaps one excused by Sheamus' ring rust and its position on the card.

Sheamus is taller and stronger, Shorty G is shorter and pluckier, and this dynamic was explored early when Sheamus continually threw Shorty to the canvas, with a thud, in exchanges fought at a glacial pace. This didn't work in generating a reaction from the crowd; the palpable lack of intensity made that power boring, and that guile all but impotent. This was a Kickoff match, and was wrestled in that gear as a result, but without Sheamus clubbing Shorty with his trademark stiffness, they failed to orchestrate and real sense of peril or drama early.

The hardway blood that emerged from Shorty's ear seems to undermine that take, but the sight of blood usually extracts some sort of reaction from the crowd. It didn't here. By the time the stiffness intensified, the pace never picked up to unglue the crowd. It was almost pointlessly painful.

Quintessentially solid, plodding WWE fare, this was a dire night for the returning Superstars on SmackDown. At least John Morrison had an easier shift.

Star Rating: ★★¾