Day Late Royal Rumble Review
Editor’s Note: This Article was Written by Tommy “The Yeti” Cook. Check out his show on the 10 Count Network “Yeti Outta Nowhere” On iTunes, Soundcloud and right here at 10countblog.wordpress.com.
Royal Rumble weekend 2017 is in the books. Love it or hate it, a lot went down in San Antonio between Takeover and the Rumble, including FIVE title changes! Whether you missed the action, are still in a state of shock, or are looking for a second opinion, fear not! The Yeti is here to break down all of this weekend’s action for you match by match. Let’s jump into it!
Eric Young vs. Tye Dillenger
“The most over guy in NXT with the least to do” is not as good of a nickname as “The Perfect 10”, but Tye Dillenger has served his purpose as the hype man well for two Takeovers in a row. Eric Young, along with Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe of Sanity, proved to be too much for Dillenger. After distraction shenanigans, EY hit his wheelbarrow neckbreaker, Youngblood, for the victory. Solid match. No complaints.
Rating: 7.5/10
Roderick Strong vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Although this was another match that was thrown in for filler, somebody forgot to tell Strong and Almas that. Out for blood and out to improve their spots on the card, these two put on a great little match. Again, no complaints. Roderick Strong wins with his Sick Kick.
Rating: 7.75/10
#DIY vs. The Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championships
“The Title vs. The Streak” was not used once in the buildup to this match, so kudos to Tom Phillips and company. The absolute hottest tag team in the world right now is Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. They, of course, have to collide with the unstoppable forces of Paul Ellering’s undefeated Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar. I had a few concerns going into this match that DIY would expose the greeness of AOP and that AOP would run through DIY without much of a fight. While AOP did look a bit clunky at times, they still put on a whale of a match and showed that they are well ahead of the curve on telling a fantastic in-ring story. #DIY looked great even in defeat and this will be a program that could, and should, run for at least two more Takeovers. The Authors of Pain win the NXT Tag Team Championships and remain undefeated by hitting the Last Chapter on DIY.
Rating: 8.5/10
Asuka vs. Billie Kay vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce for the NXT Women’s Championship
As weary of this match as I was before hand, as it got going I realized it’s potential. It was booked to perfection, but then it just stopped. “WHAT!?” I couldn’t believe it! Nikki Cross was one-on-one with Asuka until Peyton and Billie isolated each factor. Great! Nikki through the random table, the Aussie duo beating on Asuka was great. But then, SuperAsuka won with a roundhouse kick out of nowhere. For a match I wasn’t particularly looking forward to I was still left wanting more. No buildup to a program between Cross and Asuka. Ember Moon was nowhere to be found. Nothing. Asuka may have to become Ryback and request to be Fed More.
Rating: 6.75/10
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship
The biggest money match in NXT history may be a stretch, but somehow these guys turned a mediocrely built match into a GLORIOUS work of art. Aside from Nakamura’s seizure inducing entrance, there was not a thing wrong with this match. Just a touch under a half an hour long with a hot crowd, Bobby Roode worked Nakamura’s leg for the latter half of the match and would end up taking the victory after hitting two Glorious DDTs. Great match. Now, NXT has THREE undefeated champions, all of whom will bring the now struggling brand out of obscurity.
Rating: 9/10
Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Nikki Bella vs. Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya
Well, they moved this to the preshow. That’s good…I guess. The Main Roster comeback match of Mickie James resulted in her getting Zero offense in. Naomi also pinned Alexa Bliss, THE WOMEN’S CHAMPION, clean as a whistle for a second time (dating back to No Mercy). Huh…
Rating: 4/10
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. The Club in a match with two Officials for the Raw Tag Team Championship
I’ll take “Matches That Should Never Be On the Preshow” for 2000. Why? It’s for a title, it has a stipulation, and it’s for a title. Did I mention it was for a title? Nonetheless, Shesaro and the Clubski put on a great match and still managed to void the stip and end with a few shenanigans. The Club are your new Raw Tag Team Champions after Cesaro got rolled up by Karl Anderson.
Rating: 7.75/10
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
All things considered, this was a squash match. Here comes the Sasha redemption angle. And here comes a Nia Jax title push. Nia wins with a pop-up Samoan Drop. Not the worst showing for her, but she still has a ways to go.
Rating: 5.75/10
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley for the Raw Women’s Championship
After a two-hour preshow, I was very happy to see that this was the opening match they went with because I knew it would deliver. Even though this match ended up being Thirteen minutes long, I still felt like they left a little on the table. No doubt, this feud will continue, but Charlotte wins after a Natural Selection on the ring apron.
Rating: 7.25/10
Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns in a No DQ Match with Chris Jericho suspended in a Shark Cage for the Universal Championship
Everything about this match was right. There was a real sense of danger, the uncertainty of if Jericho would weasel his way into the match or not, if the Big Dawg could overcome the odds. For the first time in a long time, I felt like they had a grip on the proper way to book Roman Reigns. Although the ending with Braun Strowman was questionable at the time (and even more so after the Rumble) it shouldn’t take away from the incredible bout that these two put on. Owens wins.
Rating: 8.75/10
Rich Swann vs. Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship
Hooray for flips! A good Cruiserweight match no doubt. Neville showcased why he is now the King of the Cruiserweights. He brought brutality to the match as well. While there are some matches on Raw that bring too much of that and not enough flippy stuff, this match struck the balance perfectly. Neville is your new Cruiserweight Champion.
Rating: 7.25/10
AJ Styles vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship
Two words: Instant Classic. On the Yeti Outta Nowhere podcast I said that this would be a WWE Match of the Year contender and boy oh boy is it. These two didn’t even leave the ring! It was 18 minutes of brutal blows followed by rage Cena pulling out some incredible offense (He hit the best Sunset Flip I’ve ever seen). A 25 minute classic. On top of all that, Cena now ties Flair’s record for most World titles. This blurb is short because there isn’t a whole lot I can say. Well done.
Rating: 10/10; Instant Classic; Match of the Year Contender
2017 Royal Rumble
There was some serious hype this match had to live up to. This Rumble, no doubt, crumbled under the pressure. There were so many head-scratchers in this one my scalp started bleeding. Let’s look at some positives: The Dean Ambrose/Sami Zayn bit before the rumble was gold. We got to see the Main Roster debut of Tye Dillenger at Number 10. And the final takeaway from that was The Big Show looked pretty good…even though he was gone in about a minute. And the rest of the Rumble was just..not. Eight “Surprise” entrants ended up being 5 throwaways, Mark Henry, Tye Dillenger…and ROMAN REIGNS, who effectively no sold three table bumps, brass knuckles, and plentiful amounts of chair shots to come in at #30 and put over Randy Orton. He was brought in to PUT OVER Randy Orton. The only reason he was in there was for Randy to get cheered and to jump-start The Undertaker’s retirement angle. So much potential in this Rumble, but it will go down as the spaghetti stain on this otherwise fly Tuxedo of a Rumble weekend.
Rating: 6.25/10
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