WWE Royal Rumble 2019: Star Ratings For All 10 Matches
1. Men's Royal Rumble Match
A strange, strange match counterproductive to what it set out to achieve, the Men's Royal Rumble sought laughs and gasps when it really should have striven for sustained high drama, anxiety and triumph.
The opening comedy segment, while amusing in a vacuum, was much too cute for an occasion of this magnitude. The 'Legend' spot is best reserved for the mid-match lull, to broaden but not dilute the tone, but the Elias versus Jeff Jarett standoff - some coincidence, that, both troubadours drawing numbers one and two - instead set a tone of What The F*ck.
Seth Rollins is a performer who gets over as the exciting stamina machine. Drawing number 10, he didn't influence enough of the action to put this over as the fight of his life, and nor did he steal it. By some distance, the best moments in another wildly uneven Rumble were performed by Andrade and the various NXT stars making cameo appearances.
The divisive, shock value finish, in which WWE bungled an easy moment of catharsis by pitting Nia Jax in the maw of several male wrestlers, again detracted from the main plot: her run was gimmicky sports entertainment in a match ostensibly designed to get Rollins over as the wrestling fan's favourite wrestler. WWE rescued the finish, the prelude to which was as rushed as it was tonally off. Braun Strowman displayed real athleticism, informing the suspense of the finish, and Rollins belatedly entered a damn good babyface shift from underneath.
The Dolph Ziggler cameo was only strange to those keeping up with the rumour and innuendo; viewed strictly as fiction, it made sense. Aleister Black looked like a star. Rey Mysterio lit up the back stretch. Pete Dunne excels in every context.
It was just...a bit...weird.
Star Rating: **3/4