5 Match Star Ratings For WWE Royal Rumble 2023
1. Roman Reigns Vs. Kevin Owens - Undisputed WW Universal Title Match
The main event was pretext to a fantastic angle, and WWE realised that. They didn't short change Kevin Owens, who has a significant part to play in the events to come. Nor did they take the piss and pretend this was some epic in and of itself, which meant - thankfully - the rest holds, narration and stalling were kept to a minimum.
The balance was ideal.
The big bombs were arrived at quickly, and the Stunner spot extracted an improbably believable near-fall, given that nobody thought KO was actually winning. This was an unfussy, physical greatest hits - enhanced by two gruesome bumps against the steel steps, which justified the sell-job cuffed to the ropes - the real intrigue of which lay in Sami Zayn's performance on the outside. He was exceptional. Subtly conflicted, he's so over now that he didn't have to play it broad. The fans were already drawn to him, and he knew it. He passed his test, just, when he eventually passed a steel chair to Roman Reigns following a ref bump.
He failed it in an exceptional post-match angle, which was an immortal WWE moment.
Zayn could not bring himself to smash Kevin Owens in the face with a chair. There are babyface turns, and then there is this. Zayn in one seminal moment - and what a nuclear eruption of a pop it generated - stood up to his bully and forgave a man, in Owens, who might not even be worthy of it. Reigns was superb too. "You just wanna do Jackass sh*t?" he said to a conflicted Sami, locating a sacred cow even in this major moment.
The Jey Uso twist - he walked out on Roman and a very well-executed beat-down - was exceptional. Inconceivable a few months ago, heartwarming on Saturday, it was a shocking, fascinating plot development.
It was thought for certain that this was going to be the last big scene before the Sami/Roman match in Montreal and the Sami/Owens Vs. Usos match at 'Mania, but they've blown the whole thing wide open and executed a monster of an angle at the same time.
Sami and Owens Vs. the Usos might now have to take a similar form to the classic Elite melodrama at Revolution 2020, if that match is even happening. This Bloodline saga was incredible when the predictable, but good, ending was in sight. WWE took its best story in years to even greater heights on Saturday night.
Star Rating: ★★★½