WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Royal Rumble Match
Result: Randy Orton eliminates Roman Reigns to win the Rumble (1:02:06).
Rating: Well, that was underwhelming. Though touted as one of the most potentially unpredictable Rumble matches in years, this was severely lacking in fun and surprising spots for the most part.
Stand-out moments include Braun Strowman's absolutely monstrous run early on, Baron Crobin getting a big rub by eliminating him, Tye Dillinger's much-expected arrival at #10 and Luke Harper taking on Bray Wyatt.
It really feels like WWE blew the Lesnar-Goldberg confrontation, with Lesnar getting made to look like a chump once again and not even returning to the ring to catch him off-guard. Is this really the most compelling way to build their inevitable WrestleMania rematch?
The lack of truly great surprise entrants was also a major bust here, and Roman Reigns entering at #30 felt like a giant middle-finger to fans, especially with Samoa Joe actually being in Texas for the NXT taping the night before.
The Reigns vs. Undertaker tease was dread-inducing, but at least Reigns didn't win, even if Orton's two probable WrestleMania opponents (Cena or more likely Bray Wyatt) are difficult to get much excited about.
The Rumble is rarely outright bad because the concept is so inherently fun, but this felt quite low-effort. It didn't deliver on the promise of having so many big marquee names in the ring, good surprises were lacking and the winner was uninspired. 6/10