WWE Royal Rumble 2018 fan feedback
Thumbs up
- Best match: Men’s Royal Rumble
- Worst match: Raw tag title match
One of the best WWE shows in years, possibly since Wrestlemania 31 in Santa Clara.
Rousey had no aura, charisma, presence, or whatever tonight. Very awkward. The idea was good, but she couldn’t pull it off. Camera work during her cominappearance was terrible- did Kevin Dunn fall asleep in the production truck?
Both battle royals were great. Some of the best they’ve put on in years. Dolph Ziggler coming out at #30 then getting promptly eliminated made him look like such a geek. I didn’t expect DB to be in the match, but why Ziggler? It seems like this happens every year, but this match really exposed the overall lack of star-power on the full-time men’s roster.
The men’s tag division is a mess. The only team on the show tonight who was over was the Usos. Cesaro & Sheamus and the Revival were deader than dead. Chad Gable needs to move up to a singles role. Instead of having two divisions with no depth, why not combine them and have one champion team work both brands? Then, when they lose the belts, they go back to their normal brands.
– Marcus Origer
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Just wanted to give some quick feedback on the Royal Rumble. I gave the show a thumbs up as the Rumble is usually a good and entertaining show every year. Best match was the men’s rumble match and worst match was probably the tag title match with The Bar winning the tag titles from Rollins and Jordan. Maybe the tag match appeared to be worse then it was since it was put in a bad spot after the men’s rumble and the crowd was just exhausted from the Rumble match. Good win for Shemus and Cesaro though, since I was not really into Rollins and Jordan as champs and the whole angle didn’t really work from the beginning.
Anyway, I thought it was a good show, I would have booked some things different, especially the women’s rumble match. I thought Asuka was a great choice for the win, and the match had some nice surprise returns with Lita, Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson, etc. But I think it was a mistake putting the women on last since the crowd was pretty much deflated at that point from the previous big matches, especially the men’s rumble match which was great and the Universal title match with Lesnar.
Also, the segment with Ronda Rousey kinda fell flat in my opinion. Yes the crowd popped for Ronda, but not nearly as much if the crowd had not been drained by that point. I think it would have worked better if the women’s rumble match went on first or prior to the men’s rumble match since the men’s match was so much better. And honestly Ronda kinda “no selled” the segment, or maybe it was just how the segment was booked? Not sure what the point was to have her come out and steal the moment from Asuka and not let the crowd really enjoy the moment with Asuka winning. Maybe it would have worked better if Ronda came out prior to the match and challenged the winner to a match instead? Not sure. But the segment didn’t really work that well in my opinion and it seemed Ronda wasn’t really into it or maybe it was the crowd being burned out.
The men’s rumble match was great, worked to perfection in my opinion and great choice with Shinske winning the match and then making it clear he wanted to challenge Styles in a title match at Mania. The same thing should have been done with Asuka, and maybe both Shinske and Asuka celebrating in the ring together or something as both winning Rumble matches. Ronda then could have come out and been more aggressive and challenged the other champion to a match. But overall it was a good Royal Rumble, typically the Rumble is my favorite match and PPV of the year, even more so than Mania itself usually. I enjoyed the show and the surprise returns, but would have liked to see a few things booked differently.
– Jon Southerland
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This is probably sort of weird and I don’t know how often you get this but I thought the best match and worst match were both the men Royal Rumble. The first 2/3 was horrible but the last 20 minutes or so were really great and dramatic.
– Aaron Poliwoda
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Phew, that was a lot of pro wrestling in the past couple of days!
I enjoyed this “marathon” WWE big show PPV moreso than usual, as there was more intrigue to the two Rumble matches and the relative surprise appearances to keep me interested/invested, but jeez it’s still way too long of a show when you start at the preshow.
I personally felt that this Men’s Rumble was one of the best Rumble matches I’ve seen in quite a long time (it helps that Nakamura went over) and a lot of guys I highly enjoy get some showcase time.
Royal Rumble 2018 – Thumbs Up.
- Best Match: Men’s Royal Rumble Match
- Worst Match: Gable/Rollins vs. The Bar – Just too darn late in the show and felt utterly dead.
– Jeff.Parker
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Thought the Rumble show was pretty hit and miss, but the Men’s Rumble really saved the show. They really got the pacing and “Titan Time” intervals down perfectly this year, there were absolutely no lulls in the match and no dead spots with guys just sitting in the corners with one leg over the rope. Despite the lack of star power, in terms of just an in-ring Rumble match, I thought it was one of the best ever.
Hated another wasted AJ title match. Being the opener and the stipulation and premise of co-champions was preposterous. The 3-way Universal match was great and horrible all at the same time.
Women’s Rumble I thought was pretty terrible. Having so many unknown/new Women in the match and with so many entrants with music the crowd didn’t recognize didn’t help either. I thought it was very strange than a lot of the A.E. stars (now in their 40s and inactive in the ring) from the bra & panties era like Trish, Torrie, Molly Holly were all coming across not only as bigger stars, but also better and crisper workers in their spots than a lot of the girls today. Trish definitely has another run in her if she wants, I thought her and Nia were the two stars of the match.
Glad to see Ronda in WWE, but the debut came off really lame and Cole telling us on a PPV to go to social media to find out what was happening was the worst. As if they couldn’t just announce it on the show and then print the exact same planted article on ESPN after?
Thumbs in Middle
- MOTN: Men’s Rumble
– Tim Dudley
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Actually found this a pretty fun show.
World Title: Styles vs. Owens/Zayn: this was actually pretty entertaining and good. I wasn’t jazzed about the concept but they pulled it off and continued the storyline with Zayn/Owens
Smackdown Titles Usos vs. Gable/Benjamin: some really good spots in this. Gable is so good. I actually enjoyed the 2-0 as it broke the regular pattern.
Men’s rumble: different but in a good way. Thought it was super fun and entertaining. Some great surprises with Almas, Helms, Cole and especially Rey. Rey looks great. Finish 4 was very well done as everyone had it in their mind it was probably Roman or Cena. Great moment for Nakamura
Raw Tag Titles: Rollins/Jordan vs. The Bar. Death spot. Had to have the out with Jordan’s injury. Was fine. Crowd was dead
Universal Title: Brock vs. Kane vs Braun: car crash. Entertaining. Will probably most be remembered for Brock’s receipt on Braun’s knee.
Women’s Rumble: They pulled it off. Tons of surprises and crowd super into it. A lot of fun. Rousey surprise was well done. Was smart to not have her in Match and take away from the women.
Very glad to see simple things like Cole and Moon selling injuries from nxt. This Philly crowd deserves a lot of credit for being fantastic both nights.
Thumbs up show. Not the best wrestling show but it went by quick for me and was plenty of entertainment. One best rumbles in awhile for me.
- Best match: men’s rumble.
- Worst match: the bar vs Seth. Crowd was very dead for this.
– Mike Flynn
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I really enjoyed the Royal Rumble tonight. Both Rumble matches were amazing in my opinion. I loved Trish Stratus was number 30 and not Rousey. Showed WWE has some trickery.
My favorite entrant in the Male’s match was Rey Mysterio. Was thinking all week they might bring him back in the match and in return for him being 205 Live GM. But after his performance tonight I think WWE needs to sign him to the face of 205 Live and hire Daniel Bryan as 205 Live GM.
My one disappointment is bringing guys in the Royal Rumble like Heath Slater and Aiden English that aren’t used for nothing important really. Think those spots should go to people more deserving. Bobby Lashley, Daniel Bryan, Shane McMahon, Kurt Angle, The Undertaker make sense for not putting them in the Royal Rumble for storyline purposes. But I feel Goldberg and Batista would have been two entrants good to replace Slater and English.
But I thought it would have been great to see the lights go out when Roman and Cena had the stare down and Undertaker eliminate them both. Also kind of wished Mickie James and Beth Phoenix had a stare down.
But overall I thought the Royal Rumble was amazing and just hope Wrestlemania can deliver also.
– John Davis
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Thumbs Up
- Best Match: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs AJ Styles
- Worst Match: Strowman vs Kane vs Lesnar
They kind of wasted Ronda Rousey. I know they want a huge media pop for her presence tonight. And they want a huge media pop for her first promo tomorrow. And they also want a huge media pop for her first IN-RING performance at WM. But pointing at the WrestleMania sign THREE times and SHAKING HANDS WITH STEPHANIE (shades of Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon) only shows the lack of originality in their booking.
Yeah, they “surprised” everyone (except the minority of hardcore fans). But the mainstream sports media wants to cover sports NEWS. And it will get old if they don’t immediately give the media something to cover past pointing at signs.
– Jeff Cohen
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Thumbs Up
- Best Match: Men’s Royal Rumble
- Worst Match: Sheamus and Cesaro vs Rollins and Jordan
Most satisfying WWE main roster show in a long time. Is Pat Patterson agenting the Rumble again, cause both of them (mostly) worked in a way that they haven’t for a long time in WWE.
Nakamura and Asuka winning were very exciting moments for me. I think they went a bit overboard on the nostalgia in the women’s match. Speaks a lot to Trish’s starpower that she could take a crowd chanting Ronda Rousey and keep them invested. Was a fan of the closing angle, and I think it may get less press than Rousey entering the Rumble but works better long-term (I think Rousey vs Asuka is going to be one of the biggest matches WWE puts on in a long time).
– Kevin Chiat