WWE Royal Rumble 2019: Star Ratings For All 10 Matches
8. Buddy Murphy Vs. Hideo Itami Vs. Akira Tozawa Vs. Kalisto - Cruiserweight Title Match
An unapologetic spot-fest showcase, all four men worked hard, fully, sadly aware that the audience holds no emotional investment in their acts, their brand, or the nominal prize for which they fought.
They compensated for this with a collective balls-to-the-wall performance. “Spot-fest” is probably harsh; Hideo Itami played the energy-conserving vulture role early, watching on as Kalisto and Buddy Murphy locked themselves in an exciting battle of agility and power. It’s sad, watching Itami as a long-time fan of KENTA. Compromising his old, gruesome offensive game for an impression of a WWE physique designed to adjust to a company that will never do anything of significance with him, he did well to keep up with the younger opponents he paved the way for.
He’s nowhere near as sharp, or as formidable, but he’s still game: he took a sick ‘rana bump and absorbed the full brunt of Akira Tozawa’s bullet of a suicide dive. He played the role consistently throughout, as if recognising that he’s no longer physically up to the task. Clever storytelling with not inconsiderable pathos and bravery on Itami’s part, punctuated by a swarm of athletic, bruising set-pieces, this wasn’t just big, dumb fun.
Murphy, too, absorbed ridiculous head-first bumps to put himself over as the most overlooked Ace on the scene. Some of those bumps were positively frightening, and again, sad.
His effort is commendable, but wasted.
Star Rating: ***1/2