19 Results and Review

This week Smackdown Live started with a recap of Becky Lynch’s Royal Rumble win, and her confrontation with Ronda Rousey on Monday. When we went to the live arena we saw Becky Lynch come to the ring. The crowd had paper signs that said “The Man,” similar to last night. I think this is one of those things that the WWE production hands out to the crowd. After Becky did a short promo Charlotte Flair came out. Flair taunted her, saying that she finally made it off the kickoff show. I thought Charlotte didn’t come off as a believable heel in this scene. Just the way she delivered lines, I guess. After Charlotte finished talked she got punched in the face. Lynch walked away confidently but then got hit from behind on the ramp. They brawled until it was broken up. This was a good way to start the show. I wished that they had some sort of lead into what was happening in the next segment. Like when the brawl was being broken up they could have made someone have their entrance.

R-Truth vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship Match)

After the break R-Truth and Carmella came out to the ring. R-Truth was angry about how his #30 Royal Rumble spot was robbed by Nia Jax. To make up for this, he was granted a United States Championship match. After a commercial break there was a confusion as R-Truth did a roll-up pin where Shinsuke kicked out but the ref counted three. There was a pause, and then R-Truth was declared the new champion. After that Rusev came out with Lana. Rusev challenged him to a match, whatever the reason was I didn’t catch cause my feed cut out for a minute. Carmella shoved Lana which made her fall over, and then my feed cut out again, and then after the break we came back to a match. My feed cut out again, and apparently R-Truth beat Rusev. That seems hard to believe, and if it was true seems sad. Rusev lost clean to R-Truth? Also, was Rusev the heel in this? Because he certainly wasn’t a heel on Sunday. Truth was jumped after the match by Nakamura and Rusev. Backstage we saw Becky Lynch leaving the venue. When asked why she wouldn’t let the doctors evaluate her, she said she’s done being sidelined.

Andrade Attacks Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio came out for a match. Before his opponent came out, Zelina Vega said that she knew Mysterio orchestrated her getting banned from ringside with the last match between Mysterio and Andrade. Andrade tried for a Three Amigos but Mysterio escaped the third one and tried for a 619. The 619 was blocked, with Andrade landing his Hammerlock DDT to finish off Mysterio. I hope that these two guys get built for a PPV match because they deserve that sort of a stage for this.

The Miz and Shane McMahon Celebrate Their Title Victory

The Miz and Shane McMahon came out to celebrate their tag team Championship victory. As a present for The Miz, Shane showed a video package on the team’s journey to becoming champions. Shane then brought out The Miz’s father. On a mic, Miz’s dad said he loves him and is proud of him. Backstage we saw Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose declare themselves for the Elimination Chamber Tag Team Championship match. So people on RAW have to win a match to qualify, and they just get the walk into it? Mandy Rose showed a clip from 2015 on the show Tough Enough, showing Naomi criticize Rose, which is apparently why Rose has held a grudge against her. This felt dumb since the Tough Enough clip at hand was people taking wrestling moves and having no reaction to them.

The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bar vs. Heavy Machinery (Elimination Tag Team Match)

We had a fatal-four-way elimination tag team match next with Heavy Machinery’s first match on Smackdown. They beat The Ascension last week on RAW. The two big guys in this match were Otis Dozivic and Big E, who faced off for some time in this match. The commentary team continued to talk about Mandy Rose minutes into the match. Kofi was the first elimination as Heavy Machinery gave them their double team move “The Compactor.” Before a commercial break The Usos were planning to do double dives to the outside, but only one of them dove since the other one was distracted that they got tagged out by Sheamus. Because of this, the one that dove got picked on outside the ring. Sheamus gave Tucker Knight a Brouge Kick to eliminate Heavy Machinery. Right after that Jimmy Uso gave both Sheamus and Cesaro a Superkick, dove to the outside to take out Cesaro, and then Jey did a Frogsplash to win the match.

Closing Segment

Daniel Bryan came out to the ring to cut a promo on his WWE Championship win on Sunday. He said that this win was a win for everyone. He then introduced Erick Rowan, his new henchman. Bryan talked about how he is a hypocrite for carrying around the WWE Championship. He talked about the cow that was killed to make the belt, calling it Daisy. He threw it in the garbage and then unveiled a new belt that was made of rocks, wood and hemp. While talking about the belt he was interrupted by AJ Styles. Randy Orton came out as we went to a commercial break. After the break all of the sudden Jeff Hardy is in the ring, and Mustafa Ali is coming to the ring. Samoa Joe came out right after, and everyone was talking trash to each other. After Joe mentioned Styles’ wife, everyone started brawling. As Bryan is on top of the announce table saying that he won’t let any of them fight him, Triple H appears on the big screen and says that Bryan will defend his belt in an Elimination Chamber match. This was such a poorly constructed ending to the show. There was explainable reason why so many people came out at the end.

WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Results and Review

It’s time to review what is easily my favourite show every year. Of course I am talking about the Royal Rumble. Along with the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, the third biggest match on the show was Brock Lesnar versus Finn Balor, who is replacing Braun Stroman after Stroman angered Vince McMahon on RAW three weeks ago. On the Smackdown brand, AJ Styles was challenging for the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan. Also, Asuka faced Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Let’s start with the pre-show matches.

Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Rezar w/ Drake Maverick & Scott Dawson

At the analyst desk for the Royal Rumble Kickoff was Johnathan Coachman, Beth Phoenix, Booker T and Jerry Lawler. After 45 minutes of the pre-show, we had our first match. The match that kicked off the show was an odd one. Since Akam, one-half of The Authors of Pain is injured, he teams with Scott Dawson from The Revival for a tag match. I can only assume this is to remind people that AoP exists. There was some sort of stipulation announced that if Rezar and Dawson won they would both get title shots for their teams or something. Early on there seemed to be issues with the team of Rezar and Dawson as Rezar gave a shocked expression when he was involuntarily tagged out. Roode was on a roll late in the match, hitting a Blockbuster. Dawson pulled the tights during a roll-up but it didn’t help him. Rezar got hit with Dawson’s move by accident and then was taken out of the ring by both Roode and Gable. With the help of Roode, Gable hit a Moonsault on Dawson to end the match. This was a dumb match. Why bring back Rezar while his partner is injured just to lose? The finish didn’t feel like it was proper, and the bad chemistry between Rezar and Dawson existed but wasn’t really shown enough, especially at the end.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (WWE United States Championship Match)

The first championship match of the show was Nakamura versus current champion, Rusev. During this match Nakamura wore a very red outfit. Rusev was dominant early on, clotheslining Nakamura out of the ring after a couple of suplexes. He then threw Nakamura towards the steel stairs, but Nakamura dodged it and came back with a kick. He threw Rusev into a barricade and then kneed him in the chest. Back in the ring, Rusev got hit with a knee in the corner for a two count. Rusev got himself back together and got on a roll. He landed a Spin Kick off the ropes for a two count after a combo of moves. They must have cut to Lana 20 times during this match. Nakamura escaped an Accolade attempt and landed some kicks. Was there a “kicks only” stipulation for this match that I missed? Rusev landed a Matchka Kick and than a slam move which got turned into an Armbar by Nakamura. Shinsuke turned the Armbar into a Triangle Choke, and then a Guillotine when Rusev tried escaping. Rusev landed a Suplex to finally escape. The pin attempt following it got a very close count. Nakamura went to the turnbuckle after a near fall and took off a pad. Lana got on the apron and tried to let the ref know. Nakamura got in her face, and Rusev tried to attack him during this. Shinsuke dodged Rusev, and hit Lana instead. This distracted Rusev, letting Nakamura hit a Kinshasa to win the match. This match could have cooled down on the kicks. It’s hard to tell if the crowd is quiet or they are just hard to hear.

Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami vs. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match)

The final pre-show match was a fatal-four-way for the Cruiserweight Championship. Early in the match there was a nice move where Tozawa dove to the outside and hit Kalisto, who Huricanrana’d Murphy. Later on Murphy did a dive onto all three opponents. Hanging off the second rope Murphy was hit with a Huricanrana and seemingly planted his head in the canvas. Murphy landed a Powerbomb onto Kalisto but Tozawa broke up the pin. Kalisto gave Itami a Salida del Sol for a two count. Murphy gave a good knee to Kalisto as he was coming off the ropes. After a combo of moves against Itami he hit Murphy’s Law for the win. This match had some good stuff in it, with a lot of impressive spots.

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match)

Opening the PPV was Becky Lynch versus Asuka. Early on in the match Asuka was kicked off the apron, landing flat on the floor. Outside the ring Lynch did a Beckslpoder onto the barricade. Lynch went off the second rope and was hit with a knee. Asuka landed a close count after a hit attack. Asuka went off the top rope but Lynch avoided her, and then hit a Rock Bottom for a two count. Lynch fell into an Armbar and almost escaped but then got put in an Asuka Lock. Lynch rolled to the ropes to get out. Back on the apron, Asuka gave Becky some sort of Suplex onto the floor. Becky made it back into the ring before the ten count. They traded slaps in the ring until Asuka landed a spinning kick for a two count. The fight found its way onto the top rope, where Lynch landed a Super-Becksploder for a two count. Asuka dodged a Leg Drop off the top rope into an Asuka Lock. Lynch did a Disarmer and then turned it into an Asuka Lock of her own. Asuka got out and then did a kick. After a chain of moves Asuka did a Chokehold to retain. I thought Lynch would win, but she didn’t. This match had good moments but felt like it wasn’t always entertaining. Like I mentioned before the crowd sounded dead, which didn’t help this match.

The Miz & Shane McMahon vs. Sheamus & Cesaro (The Bar) (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match)

The next match was for the Smackdown tag titles. Right off the bat Sheamus was caught off guard was Shane speared him. Outside the ring Cesaro was put on a commentary table for an Elbow drop but got out of it. Instead, Shane did an elbow drop to Sheamus, who was standing. Late in the match Shane got a hot tag and did a ton of moves, including his horrible punches. Shane was going to give both members of The Bar a Coast-To-Coast, but Cesaro caught him and did his spinning move. Shane put in a Triangle Choke which Sheamus broke up by going off the ropes. The Miz went after Sheamus but was given a Clothesline outside the ring. Sheamus got tagged in, and then the team did a Double Team move for a two count. Sheamus tried for a Brouge Kick but The Miz shoved Cesaro, letting him get hit with it. The Miz gave Sheamus a Skull Crushing Finale, and then Shane surprisingly hit a Shooting Star Press to win the match.

Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey (WWE RAW Women’s Championship Match)

After the Smackdown Women’s Championship match started off the show, the RAW women’s title match was two matches later. Near the start the fight went to the outside where Ronda punched a ringpost because Sasha dodged a strike. Sasha landed a dive and then put Ronda back in the ring. After a Double Knees in the corner Sasha got a two count. After Ronda dodged another Double Knees she tried for a Pipers Pit which was turned into an Armbar. She turned it into a Banks Statement, which Rousey eventually got out of. Rousey landed a Pipers Pit. Rousey was really selling her injured arm from the ringpost spot. Rousey went to the top rope, and Banks went up to it as well. Banks landed a Superplex for a two count and then went right back into another arm move. Ronda did Judo Throws and then got thrown outside of the ring. Rousey put Banks in a move outside the ring after catching a dive. Banks tapped out of this but that didn’t matter since they were outside of the ring. Banks put Rousey in a Banks Statement and used part of her attire to choke Rousey. This was transitioned into an Armbar which Rousey escaped and turned into a Gutwrench Powerbomb. She then landed a Pipers Pit to win the match. This was a good match in my opinion. It’s wild to think that Rousey debuted at the Rumble a year ago and put on a match like this only a year after.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

The first Royal Rumble match of the evening was the women’s one. Beth Phoenix was a guet commentator for this match. #1 Lacey Evans was the first entrant, starting against #2 Natalya. Evans did a promo before the match started. #3 Mandy Rose was the next entrant. Evans missed a Moonsault while Mandy was coming out. Natalya gave both of them a Sharpshooter. #4 Liv Morgan. Morgan charged at Natalya and was thrown out. Evans gave both Mandy and Natalya a Bronco Buster. #5 Mickie James. #6 Ember Moon. #7 Billie Kay. Kay refused to get in the ring once arriving. She told the English announcing team that she was waiting for Peyton Royce. #8 Nikki Cross. Cross attacked Kay at ringside and then did a Crossbody off the top onto everyone in the ring. #9 Peyton Royce. Royce went in and tried to aid Kay. They teamed up on Nikki Cross. #10 Tamina. Tamina gave Nikki Cross a Frogsplash.

#11 Xia Li. Mickie James was kicked off the apron and eliminated by Tamina. #12 Sarah Logan. Ember Moon resisted elimination by having her feet hung on the bottom ropes. Nikki Cross was taken out by The Iiconics. Cross came off as very weak in this match. #13 Charlotte Flair. Xia Li was taken out with a kick from Charlotte. #14 Kairi Sane. Sane gave Logan an InSane Elbow Drop. #15 Maria Kanellis. Kanellis was hit with a Spear from Charlotte after doing a dance or something. #16 Naomi. Naomi and Mandy fought early on since they are currently in that homewrecker story. On the apron Naomi kicked Rose and then shoved her to the floor. Naomi was almost taken out by Rose but got onto the barricade, and then jumped to the steel steps. Rose shoved her eventually, eliminating her anyways. Charlotte eliminated Lacey Evans. #17 Candice LeRae. #18 Alicia Fox. After Fox gave a few people dropkicks Maria Kanellis tried forming an alliance. This worked, as they both worked on Sane. Maria stomped on Alicia’s hat, which made her freak out. This was a comedy spot that fell flat. Maria was eliminated shortly after #19 Kacy Catanzaro. #20 Zelina Vega.

#21 Ruby Riott. Ruby Riott came out with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, who were eliminated previously. They pulled Charlotte out of the ring (still in the match) and then teamed up on her. They did the same thing to Fox. Vega went under the ring on the other side. Fox was thrown out of the ring by Ruby. Candice was Powerbombed into a barricade, brought back into the ring and then eliminated. #22 Dana Brooke. Kairi Sane was eliminated by Ruby Riott. They kept cutting to Vega who was smugly hiding under the ring. #23 Io Shirai. Shirai went after The Riott Squad immediately, who were beating up Sane at ringside. Shirai landed a Moonsault off the top rope to the trio. #24 Rhea Ripley. Catanzaro was given a Baseball Slide to the outside but did a Handstand to the corner and got back in the ring. This match felt like a Best of John Morrison and Kofi Kingston with all of these close call eliminations. She was eliminated only moments later. #25 Sonya Deville. Ripley kicked Brooke out of the ring. Vega poked her head out of the ring again but this time Hornswoggle came out as well. Hornswoggle chased Vega, making her get into the ring and get thrown out by Ripley. #26 Alexa Bliss. Up to until this point Charlotte felt like the only person who had a realistic chance of winning. Deville was eliminated after getting hit with a punch from Bliss. #27 Bayley. Bayley took out Ruby Riott and Rhea Ripley. Not sure where the rest of the Riott Squad went. #28 Lana. Lana was playing up her injury from Rusev’s match. She had to get checked by medical staff halfway down the walkway. #29 Nia Jax. On the way to the ring Nia Jax attacked Lana and her leg. Jax caught a Moonsault from Io Shirai and threw her out of the ring. Shirai sort of folded when hitting the floor. Natalya was thrown out shortly after. #30 Carmella.

Carmella earned her #30 sport because she won the second season of the Mixed Match Challenge. Becky Lynch came out and negotiated with Fitt Finlay, and replaced Lana in the match. Bliss and Ember battled on the apron for some time. Bliss did a leg sweep to take out Moon. Bayley and Carmella teamed up to eliminated Bliss, but got clotheslined by Nia Jax right after. Charlotte kicked Carmella off the apron, making it only four left. Jax picked up Bayley and the got kicked, making her drop Bayley out of the ring. The final three were Jax, Lynch and Charlotte. Charlotte lifted Nia Jax and then dropped her. Charlotte put Jax on the apron, and then Lynch pushed her off the apron since she was outside the ring. Lynch was pushed by Jax which made her fall and get hurt. Just before Charlotte’s hand was raised, Lynch came in and the match continued. Charlotte targeted the injured leg frequently. Charlotte went over the ropes after charging Lynch, and then was hit, making her fall the floor. Becky Lynch won the Women’s Royal Rumble.

I enjoyed this Rumble. I thought it was good that they laid off the legends since they were a big focus of the women’s Rumble last year. Instead they gave many spots to NXT wrestlers. I thought the stars or potential contenders for the Rumble were a little too stacked at the end of the list. In the first ⅔ of the Rumble, Charlotte was the only real big name that came out. Lynch was the right one to win, as she will most likely challenge Asuka.

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship Match)

The WWE Championship was in the unfortunate position of cool-down. In this match Styles started bleeding through his nose. Bryan got a close pin attempt after a good looking Dragon Suplex. Later on, Bryan stopped a Springboard 450 by putting his knees up, and then put on the Lebell Lock. During the match Erick Rowan came to the ring. The ref was taken out, which gave Rowan the opportunity to give Styles a Chokeslam. Bryan pinned Styles to win. This was very disappointing. For one, the match placement was horrible. Also, the match was way too long and the crowd didn’t like it.

Finn Balor vs. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman (WWE Universal Championship Match)

Right off the bat Balor jumped Lesnar as he had his back to him. Balor eventually lost control of the match, with Lesnar throwing him around. Lesnar took apart a commentary table, but then was rammed into it by Balor. Balor did two dives to the outside at one point, with the second one looking really good. Back in the ring Finn tried for a Coup de Grace, landing it, but Lesnar kicked out. Lesnar put in a Kimura right after, with Balor tapping. After the match he beat up Balor further. This match also felt like it didn’t have a ton of hype behind it, but didn’t have the cold reaction that Bryan versus Styles got. This was okay, I guess. Lesnar won, which is predictable. They kept it short, which was nice.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

The main event of the evening was the men’s Royal Rumble match. #1 Elias was the first entrant. He was going to perform for the crowd, but was interrupted by #2 Jeff Jarrett. Elias asked Jeff if he wanted to do a duet with him. Before it start Elias attacked Jeff, making the match start. Elias smashed his guitar on Jarrett’s back and then threw him over the ropes. #3 Shinsuke Nakamura. #4 Kurt Angle. Angle came out to a good reaction. #5 Big E. Nakamura kicked Angle on the ropes and took him out. #6 Johnny Gargano. #7 Jinder Mahal. Mahal was accompanied by the Singh Brothers. Mahal was eliminated very quickly by Gargano via kicks. #8 Samoa Joe. Big E was thrown out by Joe. #9 Curt Hawkins Hawkins came in and out of the ring making weak attacks. He got caught in a Cohena Clutch from Joe, but escaped it because of Elias. Hawkins went under the ring. #10 Seth Rollins. Elias was eliminated by Rollins because he was holding onto a corner post but then got his hands hit.

#11 Titus O’Neil. When running out to the ring Titus was cautious to avoid falling. O’Neil went under the ring because he saw Hawkins, and then chased Hawkins into the ring and then went over the ropes. Hawkins celebrated, but was thrown out right after. #12 Kofi Kingston. #13 Mustafa Ali. Ali dropkicked Nakamura off the top rope and to the outside. Ali was thrown into a corner by Joe brutally. #14 Dean Ambrose. Kofi got thrown to the outside but avoided elimination by keeping his feet on the apron and rolling to the stairs. Ambrose eliminated Johnny Gargano. #15 No Way Jose. No Way Jose came out with his big conga line. When coming in the ring he was eliminated immediately, possibly breaking the Santino record. He barely missed a beat, partying with the conga line to the back. #16 Drew McIntyre. McIntyre headbutted No Way Jose and threw around a few conga line members on the way to the ring. He took out everybody when entering the ring. #17 Xavier Woods. Kofi avoided elimination by giving Xavier a Sunset Flip but keeping one foot in the air. Xavier held on to Kofi, putting him on the stairs. Once entering the ring they were both taken out by Drew McIntyre. #18 Pete Dunne. Dunne had a good combo of moves on many guys when coming in. #19 Andrade. #20 Apollo Crews.

#21 Aleister Black. Black eliminated Ambrose with a kick. #22 Shelton Benjamin. Joe was thrown out by Ali after being hit with a very nice kick from Benjamin. #23 Baron Corbin. Crews was eliminated by Corbin. #24 Jeff Hardy. Corbin threw out Black, catching him off guard. Dunne almost did a finger breaking spot on Corbin but was hit with a kick from McIntyre. Drew threw out Dunne after. #25 Rey Mysterio. Corey Graves talked about how Rey has had a “career resurgence” as of late, as if Rey was in a slump recently. #26 Bobby Lashley. Bobby Lashley was accompanied by Lio Rush. Lashley was thrown out the match very quickly, and the took Seth out of the ring from the bottom rope. Rush and him took apart commentary tables. Seth was Chokeslammed through the English table. #27 Braun Stroman. Stroman took out Corbin since he costed him the title shot that he was supposed to have. He took out Benjamin shortly after. #28 Dolph Ziggler. Jeff Hardy was eliminated at Ziggler came out. Ziggler immediately eliminated McIntyre. #29 Randy Orton. There was a four man Superplex spot involving Rollins, Andrade, Stroman and Mysterio. #30 R-Truth.

While coming out Nia Jax attacked R-Truth. Nia Jax took R-Truth’s spot. Jax took out Mustafa Ali. She turned around and had a face off with Randy Orton. He tried for an RKO, but was shoved against the ropes by Jax. Jax told Rey to do a 619 but then caught him when running. When Rey was held by Jax she was Superkicked. She then was hit with a 619 and then an RKO. She was taken out shortly after. Orton gave Rey and RKO and then eliminated him. Andrade took out Orton right after. Ziggler and Andrade were duking it out until Stroman came back in the ring. Rollins gave Stroman a Frogsplash. Stroman took out Andrade, making the final three Stroman, Ziggler and Rollins. Stroman threw Rollins and Ziggler over the ropes but they hung on. Stroman charged at them, which eliminated Ziggler. Rollins tried flipping Stroman over but he escaped the perdicament after Chokeslamming Rollins. Both guy went over the top rope and fought on the apron. Stroman was shoved into the post, kicked him and then did a Curbstomp to eliminated Braun Stroman. Seth Rollins won the 2019 Men’s Royal Rumble Match.

This match was okay. I was hoping that there would maybe be one or two more surprise entrants that weren’t NXT wrestlers. One small production thing that ticked me off was how they never showed the entrance stage when someone’s music hit. They would only ever show the stage after someone appeared, like it was a WWE video game.

In general the Royal Rumble had a lot of good stuff. There were some matches that didn’t do as well as they could, with only some of that being their fault (match placement, etc). I know it most likely won’t change so there’s no point in complaining about it, but the show was just too long. Even if it’s great wrestling, more than five hours of it is asking for a lot of viewers.

Smackdown Live 1/22/19 Results and Review

Smackdown began with Becky Lynch coming to the ring. She said that she should be main eventing Wrestlemania. She said that Asuka is one of the best in the world, but she is better. Shortly after Asuka came out to interrupt her. Without a microphone, Asuka screamed at Becky in Japanese. Charlotte Flair came out only seconds later. Charlotte said that she will win the Rumble match. As Charlotte was finishing her promo, Asuka jumped Lynch, making them brawl until they were separated. This opening was okay, but nothing too compelling. After the break backstage, we saw that another brawl broke out. This felt a little too over the top.

Naomi vs. Mandy Rose w/ Sonya Deville

This first match got a video package as if the match was on a PPV or something. Well, if it ever was on a PPV it would most likely be a weak card. Naomi attacked Mandy on the ramp before the match began. The finish of this match was that Mandy was shoved into the ref, letting Sonya Deville distract Naomi. Mandy shoved Naomi into a corner post for the win. This felt sort of lame, and maybe didn’t even do the already poor storyline justice.

Rey Mysterio cut a promo backstage about his match tonight. He said that during his rematch with Andrade this week, Zelina Vega will be banned from ringside.

The Miz w/ Shane McMahon vs. Cesaro w/ Sheamus

As a preview for this weekend, The Miz faces one half of The Bar, Cesaro. During this match, it was the ringside guys that were the centre of attention. Cesaro won with a Neutralizer after Sheamus kicked The Miz when the referee was not looking. So that’s how we’re finishing all the matches tonight? Shane and Cesaro started brawling after the match. Shane tried for an Elbow Drop off the top rope to the commentary table, but Sheamus stopped him. Cesaro held Shane in place for a Brogue Kick. The Bar dropped Shane on to the commentary table where The Miz was laying.

WWE Championship Face-To-Face

Vince McMahon came out to oversee a face-to-face between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan ahead of their Championship bout at the Royal Rumble. When Bryan came out he refused to come in the room because he didn’t want to step in the ring with “a sociopath.” Bryan called himself the “planet’s champion” and said that the world needs him. After an extensive back and forth between the champ and the challenger, Vince told Bryan to get into the ring. Styles eventually chased Bryan. Styles tried to do a Phenomenal Forearm but didn’t do it since Bryan hid behind Vince. Bryan landed a knee to end the segment. What I find odd about this rivalry is how Bryan is making some legitimate points. In a promo tonight he mentioned how Vince’s generation hoards wealth and doesn’t share it, which is true.

Samoa Joe vs. Mustafa Ali

The next match was a repeat from last week. The match last week never happened between Mustafa Ali and Samoa Joe because Joe jumped Ali before the bell. Ali was on a roll near the end of the match, hitting many highflyer moves before trying his Reverse 450. His Reverse 450 was turned into a Cohena Clutch by Joe for the win. This was a good match, but I wonder why they decided to give Joe the clean win.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade (2 out of 3 Falls Match)

After their great match last week, Rey Mysterio and Andrade (leave the “Cien” and “Almas”), but this time under different conditions. Mysterio got a close count after landing a Canadian Destroyer. On the second rope, Andrade stopped a Huricanrana, climbed to the rope and then landed a Powerbomb to score the first fall. Mysterio landed another Canadian Destroyer to score a fall of his own. Andrade tried to put away the match with his Hammerlock DDT, but Rey put his leg on a rope to break the pin attempt. After Mysterio and Andrade did many more moves the match was ended by Samoa Joe. Of course, a full match between these two would be too good to be true. As Joe was cutting a promo, Randy Orton gave him an RKO out of nowhere. This ended Smackdown.

The 09′ Revision: 2009 Royal Rumble Review

These days there is so much to watch. On Monday nights, there’s a three-hour episode of Monday Night RAW. Tuesdays, there’s Smackdown, and the many small shows that follow it (205 Live, Mixed Match Challenge, etc.). On Wednesday there is NXT, NXT UK and tournaments sometimes put on by WWE. Of course, there is also many PPV’s a year on Sundays as well. That just scratches the surface, as there are many promotions worth watching these days as well. You always have the chance to think about the past but you never get to relive it. It’s not that you physically can’t do so, because the WWE Network has nearly every show in their database. It’s that you don’t have the time. You’re too busy staying with the times to live in the past, even just a little. So, this is where this new series comes in. Looking back a decade you can see where the WWE was in 2009. Personally, I thought 2009 was the best year for me to do this. It’s the first full year that I started watching wrestling. I look back on the shows fondly, but who knows how they hold up, or if they were good in the first place. Since we will follow a timeline that started in January, the first review will be of the 2009 Royal Rumble.

Leading up to the Rumble there were many storylines that were taking shape even into the final segments of go-home shows. On RAW the main story that was carried out in the final weeks had no involvement in the Rumble. The go-home RAW ended with Randy Orton punting Vince McMahon in the head after frustration with Stephanie McMahon as a general manager. He was stretchered off as the show came to a close. Orton’s faction called “Legacy” which was himself and his two henchmen Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase had only formed recently. They were chosen to be in Randy’s group through tests. Sim Snuka would have been in the faction if it wasn’t for Cody getting the pinfall in a tag match against Cryme Tyme.

The RAW storyline that tied into the Rumble was John Cena versus JBL. JBL had recently hired Shawn Michaels as his client since Michaels had run into financial issues. This was their way of showing how Shawn had sold out. In the contract signing before this fight, Cena tried to convince Michaels that he is better than this.

Jeff Hardy’s life was being ruined by who everyone presumed was Edge. One week he was involved in a car crash, and the next week he got hit by pyrotechnics on his way to the ring for Edge’s talking segment “The Cutting Edge.”

In 2009 the commercialized version of ECW was on its final legs. The show died out in 2010 and turns into the original game show version of NXT. Heading into the Royal Rumble ECW had a new heel champion in Jack Swagger. Swagger defeated Matt Hardy on ECW TV two weeks before the PPV, using an exposed turnbuckle to help pick up the victory. Matt Hardy gets a rematch at the Royal Rumble. Also, the final match besides the Rumble itself was the WWE Women’s Championship being defended by Beth Phoenix against Melina. This feud seemed to play such a background role in the buildup to the PPV that I honestly didn’t even know it was on the card.

The opening of the Royal Rumble PPV had a compilation of old Rumble matches to the tune of “Let It Rock” by Kevin Rudolf. And also, despite Orton in any big matches, the video package diverts into the recent Orton rivalry. After that, we go right to the commentary table who say the show will go on despite Vince’s current condition. After that, we get the usual pyrotechnic show at the start. The no longer open Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan was the host for this event. The stage includes a road on the floor that leads to the ring. The Wrestlemania 25 logo is opposite to the stage, which is a tradition for WWE starting at the Rumble every year.

Matt Hardy vs. Jack Swagger (ECW Championship Match)

The first match on the show is Matt Hardy versus Jack Swagger. As mentioned before, this is Hardy’s rematch after being defeated on ECW TV two weeks before. Early on in the match, Matt was swarming Swagger, making him leave the ring for a breather at one point. After Swagger targeted Hardy’s left arm early on, Hardy was basically fighting with one and a half arms. Late in the match, Hardy hit a moonsault for a two count. After reversing many moves, Swagger threw Matt into the post, then hit a Gutwrench Powerbomb to retain the belt clean in 10:27. Hardy looked defeated, maybe even crying when leaving the ring. Not sure what made them think this would be a good way to start the show. It feels odd that Swagger felt the need to cheat in his first match against Matt yet cheat in this one. We went from thinking that Swagger was a cheating heel who wasn’t as good as a title would make most people, to cleanly considering him the champion. The match itself wasn’t horrible but just made no sense.

Melina vs. Beth Phoenix w/ Santino Marella (WWE Women’s Championship Match)

Before the next match, we see a clip of when Randy Orton entered the building tonight. I was surprised by how much they were playing up this storyline despite it not having much significance on this card. It becomes huge later in the year, but not right now. The next match was Melina versus Beth Phoenix. In this match Beth did some interesting submission where she stretched Melina’s leg backward, making her kick herself in the back of the head. Other than that, this match had nothing. Melina pulled a quick one and won the match via roll-up in 5:57 to become the new Women’s Champion. Feels like WWE got their two least interesting matches out of the way quickly.

JBL w/ Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship Match)

Before our next match, we have a promo package recapping the relationship between Shawn Michaels and JBL. Backstage JBL promises Michaels that if he wins tonight Shawn will have a spot in the Rumble. As JBL leaves the room The Undertaker comes in and tells Michaels that “sometimes it’s hell gettin’ to heaven.” This is (I think) the first encounter between these two, which matters in the coming months. Despite this being RAW’s title match, it feels almost like an afterthought because of how much attention the Orton vs. McMahons segment is going. As the match was happening Michael was watching at ringside with a dead expression. JBL was having such early match success that the commentary team thought that Michaels might not have to do anything to help JBL win. Cena landed a Five Knuckle Shuffle then tried for an Attitude Adjustment only for JBL to escape. Moments later JBL found himself in an STF. Cena let go of the hold after Michaels distracted the ref by holding the ropes. After JBL escaped another AA, he accidentally kicked the ref, knocking him down. As the ref was down Michaels came into the ring and was set up to give a Sweet Chin Music. You expect him to give it to Cena, but instead, he gives it to JBL. Before leaving the ring he gives Cena a Sweet Chin Music as well. He put JBL’s arm over Cena, letting a ref that came from the back do the count. Cena surprisingly kicked out which let the match continue. Cena picked up JBL and hit an Attitude Adjustment to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 15:34.

The match was fought at a very slow speed but it was obvious to tell the story of Michaels at ringside. I can’t explain why Michaels seemingly changed his mind, but I can assume that will be explained in coming weeks. While I feel the reason that Michaels is in this storyline seems odd, I thought this specific match did a good job at explaining it. Besides the story, there wasn’t much to say about the wrestling.

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge w/ Chavo Guerrero (WWE Championship Match) (No Disqualification Match)

The next match was the biggest match coming from the Smackdown brand. Hardy got the unconventional champion first introduction which Jim Ross pointed out. Before Edge came out Vicky Guerrero came out and said that the match will now be a No Disqualification match. Chavo was at ringside in support of Edge.

Right out of the gates Jeff was all over Edge. Jeff was the first to test the no DQ rule by going for a chair but wasn’t able to use it. Edge became dominant after taking Hardy outside of the ring, including a spot where he hit Hardy’s head on each commentary table once. Hardy did a Twist of Fate on the ring apron which looked painful for Hardy. After that, he tore apart the RAW commentary table and took out a ladder. You can see what’s coming next. Hardy went to the top of the ladder but got distracted by Chavo Guerrero. Hardy did a Frogsplash off of the ladder onto Guerrero, who was on the table. This took Chavo out of the situation at least for the moment even though he was watching the match from a distance for most of the time. Hardy did a crossbody off the top rope to Edge for a two count. Edge tore a turnbuckle pad off of a corner and then tried using it, but Hardy instead used the corner for a Whisper In The Wind. Edge reversed a Twist of Fate into a DDT where Hardy kicked out too late, but in storyline kicked out in time. Edge was able to use his exposed turnbuckle while reversing a move for another close count. Edge was setting up for a Spear, but Hardy reversed it into a very informal Twist of Fate. Hardy then went to the top for a Swanton Bomb, with Vicky Guerrero trying to interfere. She failed to stop the move but pulled the ref out during the count. Matt Hardy came out with a chair in what looked like to be in support of Jeff. He gave Jeff a chair then went and got his own. He then hit Jeff in the head with his chair. This allowed Edge to get the win in 19:27. Matt left the arena with a deadpan expression.

Well, there’s your next big non-title Smackdown program. The match wasn’t amazing but the storytelling was well done. The commentary team gave the finish the silence treatment for a good minute which made it a little more dramatic. Chavo felt sort of useless in this match even when you take into account his commentary table spot. Him sitting there obediently for most of the match made sense because it was completely within the ruleset for him to intervene at any point. Backstage before the main event, Randy Orton is being interviewed. He is asked about if the McMahon’s will take legal action on Monday against him. Chris Jericho shoos off the interviewer. Jericho sides with Orton on the McMahons issue. Jericho says he thinks this is Orton’s last night working for the WWE. What I found interesting was what Dave Meltzer reported. In the Observer Newsletter a week after the show he said the plan was for Christian to interfere, but that was changed since it would be too obvious. There was even “we want Christian” chants at the start of the match.

2009 Royal Rumble Match

After playing the “By The Numbers” video, we had the main event of the evening, the Royal Rumble match. The first two entrants were 1. Rey Mysterio and 2. John Morrison. Mysterio found himself nearly eliminated early on but fought out of it and delivered a Crossbody and Huricanrana. Morrison almost got eliminated before the third entrant of the Rumble came in. Entrant number three was 3. Carlito. He did a Springboard Moonsault to Morrison early into his appearance. 4. MVP. MVP just picked up his first win in a long time this week on Smackdown. 5. The Great Khali. Khali did a spot where he beat everyone down individually then got his cheer in. Khali hit a Punjabi Plunge on Carlito. 6. Vladimir Kozlov. Kozlov battled Khali since they were the two biggest and standing guys in the ring. Kozlov made the first elimination of the match, taking out Khali. MVP got taken out after thinking he could mount an offense on Kozlov. Carlito was taken out moments later by Kozlov as well. 7. Triple H. The first big name of the match was Triple H. HHH took out Kozlov after they squared off for a minute. 8. Randy Orton. Orton went right after HHH while Morrison and Mysterio hung out at ringside. HHH reversed an RKO into a Pedigree, but the move was stopped by Morrison. Mysterio hit the 619 on Morrison. 9. JTG. JTG comes in at #9 after winning a coin toss with Shad Gaspard. As JTG ran to the ring Shad found out both sides of the coin was a head. 10. Ted DiBiase. Despite Orton being near elimination DiBiase did not help him out.

#11. Chris Jericho. #12. Mike Knox. DiBiase and Orton might have figured out that they were a team because they strategize to both attack JTG. #13. The Miz. Orton hit an RKO on Morrison, Miz, JTG and then got hit with a Pedigree by HHH. Morrison and The Miz were both eliminated by HHH. #14. Finlay. Mysterio did a spot where he got thrown over the top but landed on the eliminated Miz and Morrison, but it was sort of missed because of Finlay’s entrance. #15. Cody Rhodes. Legacy was in full effect with Rhodes in the ring. Mysterio went off the top rope but was met by an RKO. #16. The Undertaker. The match came to a halt as The Undertaker came into the ring. He got a punch in on everyone in the ring. Undertaker eliminated JTG. #17. Goldust. Goldust battled with the weaker members of Legacy before being met with an RKO from Orton. Goldust was eliminated by Rhodes after he was instructed to do so by Orton. #18. CM Punk. He gave HHH a GTS shortly after his entrance. #19. Mark Henry. #20. Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin gave Punk and Jericho a Double DDT off of the top rope as they were both setting something up before.

#21. William Regal. Mark Henry got eliminated but it didn’t get covered. Regal went right after Punk as he lost his belt to him. #22. Kofi Kingston. A now bloodied Undertaker eliminated Shelton Benjamin. #23. Kane. There were too many people in the ring at this point. Mike Knox was still in there despite having no memorable spots. Kane and The Undertaker teamed up and Double Chokeslammed a DiBiase and Kingston. Regal got taken out by Punk, making Regal basically inferior to Punk at this point. #24. R-Truth. #25. Rob Van Dam. This was the first surprise entrant of the Rumble. He got a spotlight hitting tons of his signature spots. #26. The Brian Kendrick. Kendrick eliminated Kingston immediately but got eliminated right after by HHH. #27. Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler got thrown out by Kane after trying to shake his hand. Easy night for him. #28. Santino Marella. Marella broke the record for quickest Royal Rumble appearance with this spot, being taken out by Kane in roughly a second. #29. Hacksaw Jim Duggan. The second and final surprise entrant was Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He had another surprise entrance in the 2012 Rumble. #30. Big Show. The crowd seemed somewhat deflated as Big Show’s music hit.

Jim Duggan was eliminated by The Big Show after Duggan tried the opposite. Show threw R-Truth over the top rope over his head a minute or so later. You’d expect the build-up of people in the ring was for a big clearout spot when it was really for nothing. Punk got taken out of the match by a Knockout Punch by Show. Mysterio and Knox got eliminated after. Hornswoggle played as a distraction to help Finlay but got eliminated anyway. It was Kane that took him out. Orton gave HHH a draping DDT. Van Dam hit a Frogsplash but got thrown out by Jericho afterward. Jericho got taken out by Undertaker. Legacy teamed up to take Kane out of the match. Now there were only six left: Legacy, Big Show, The Undertaker, and HHH. After The Undertaker took out all of the little guys he had a face-off with The Big Show. Orton tried RKO’ing The Undertake while he was trying to eliminate The Undertaker. The Undertaker reversed it. Big Show got RKO’d onto the ropes, taking him out of the match. Big Show pulled Undertaker’s leg off of the mat, eliminating him as well. The two brawled to the back. The final four were Legacy and HHH. Of course, the three teamed up on HHH. He eliminated DiBiase and Rhodes, but in the process allowed himself to get eliminated by Orton. Randy Orton is your 2009 Royal Rumble winner in 58:50.

Orton a huge spotlight on this show. You could tell just by how much they were talking about Orton that he would win the Rumble. I can’t guess where the title picture goes from here on since Cena has the belt and Orton is feuding with the McMahons. If I had to predict, I would guess that something will happen at Elimination Chamber. I thought this was a decent Rumble match. They went pretty easy with the surprise entrants, with the only two being RVD and Jim Duggan. This was the first time that Legacy was operating as a full unit in a match, so not only did Orton get a push but his goons did as well. I didn’t understand the purpose of some guys just hanging around for so long. Mike Knox was an example where he was there for a long time but had no real purpose.

The top match besides the Rumble was Edge versus Hardy. Both big title matches shared a similar theme in that they weren’t based around the in-ring action. Both matches were all about the finish with the wrestling taking a bit of a background. The match to forget was, of course, Melina versus Beth Phoenix.