6 Match Star Ratings For WWE Royal Rumble 2022
5. Women's Royal Rumble Match
An actively horrendous match for the vast majority of the duration, it also doubled as an indictment of WWE's progressive (if belated, arrogant and hypocritical) "Women's Revolution".
Beyond genuinely encouraging strides in parity and the distribution of TV time, it was only ever a vehicle for the Four Horsewomen - and one of them, Sasha Banks, was eliminated as if she was just another midcard act in a promotion teeming with them. Even if her elimination was pitched as build towards a Tag Team title pursuit with the returning Bayley, that's still well below her star aura. Her character work in reaction to Melina was fabulous. It wasn't rewarded.
This didn't register with the importance and prestige of a Rumble match, even the all too comedic modern evolution of the genre. Between the not exactly illustrious personnel and so many botches, it felt more like the WrestleMania X-Seven gimmick battle royal, only not as fun, not as knowing, and with staggered entrances. The spot-calling, the hesitation, the awkwardness: this was just woefully lacking in quality.
If that scans as harsh, it's only a slight exaggeration; much of the action was truly dismal, appallingly and glaringly sloppy. Tamina actively tried to save her opponents from elimination at various points. Is she that incompetent, or was that a rib?
Because this is WWE, both scenarios are likely. Sarah Logan returned, and, in another presumed rib, enjoyed an emotional moment with former Riott Squad stablemate Liv Morgan. They didn't team up and run through some tandem spots to charm their cult following. They were swiftly dumped by the Bella Twins. They looked so staggeringly stupid and feckless. The cruelty behind this sequence was notable even by WWE's cold standards.
Bianca Belair emerged from the debacle with a degree of credit, as one of the few performers to work a style that remotely resembled impactful. Elsewhere, this was just dire, and the finish was nothing if not fitting. There's a good reason why Ronda Rousey didn't look anything like she did in 2018, but there's no good reason why her elimination of Charlotte Flair was so strikingly anticlimactic.
Charlotte effectively no-sold it, as if it didn't even matter or even hurt.
Ronda's win will draw numbers and interest, and criticisms of less importance, but it didn't feel like an achievement.
Star Rating: ★