10 WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Impulse Reactions
3. The Real Erick Rowan
Vince McMahon is right about wrestling, you know. The pr*ck.
For the umpteenth time in a row, a seriously excellent professional wrestling match was not well-received by a live crowd (or at very least, not recieved well enough for the excitement to be picked up watching on television). In the interest of providing a bias-free assessment though, it has to be understood that no party is without blame.
WWE can cop some grief for booking this particular title match for the Rumble pay-per-view, and for having it follow the tiring Women's Royal Rumble. The wrestlers too - despite some luxurious sequences - failed in-part to pull the crowd out of the slump by the time the closing stretch arrived. Much of the match felt like everything else in AJ's year-long reign. It was serviceable at its worst and sublime at its best, but there were honestly times that it was hard to tell which of the two emotions the match was triggering as it lumbered on before the bizarre finish.
Former Bludgeon Brother Erick Rowan turned up and flatted Styles with a chokeslam as the referee was otherwise engaged. The emerging alliance will yet again test Bryan's heel capabilities - he has gotten over alone but can he also carry a heater he doesn't particularly need? Regardless of how the pairing works out, he can hopefully wash his hands of 'The Phenomenal One'. Phoenix wasn't the place to pull that from the flames.