WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review
January 30, 2012
By Ricky Dozan
Daniel Bryan vs Big Show vs Mark Henry - World Heavyweight Championship - Steel Cage Match
Given their limitations with Mark Henry's injury, they did what they could. This wasn't even ten minutes long. Bryan carries on playing his new character to perfection and he really portrayed the underdog role very well. I'm always intrigued to see how Bryan will take down the bigger men in his matches. The ending came as a surprise and I'm pretty certain it was a botch. Not the worst match I've seen.
2.5/5
Kelly Kelly, Eve, Tamina & Alicia Fox vs Beth Phoenix, Natalya & The Bella Twins
Terrible, just terrible. I can't believe the WWE has managed to make eight good looking ladies completely unlikeable, minus for Eve. She doesn't come off as annoying unlike the rest of the woman. Still, this was an awful match which I'll give half a point to for Kelly's semi-acceptable plancha.
0.5/5
Kane vs John Cena
Cena took me by surprise and actually carried Kane to a pretty impressive match. I'm sure the unpredictability of what could of happened really did wonders for the match, but Cena really did show why he's one of the best workers of the company. This wasn't a five star Flair versus Steamboat classic, but it showed that Cena can carry anyone to a good match if he puts his mind to it.
3/5
Brodus Clay vs Drew McIntyre
A pointless squash. This match wasn't even originally scheduled to be on the card, and was probably added at last minute. It would've been far better if these two had instead made an appearance on the Royal Rumble match itself, and Brodus could've eliminated Drew to instigate a feud.
DUD
CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler - WWE Championship - John Laurinaitis is the special guest referee
Very different from what we have come to expect out of a WWE title match. Punk and Ziggler both attempted numerous finishing moves in the first ten minutes, but each other countered their efforts with some sick-looking mat wrestling. I can't say I'm a fan of the referee stuff. A few of the spots were mistimed, so they looked very awkward. Nonetheless, this doesn't take away from the fact this was a very good match.
3.5/5
The Royal Rumble Match
I was enjoying this match initally as WWE wouldn't go a few entrants with a big name coming out or a return, keeping it exciting, but they really went into overkill. There was no need whatsoever for all three commentators to enter and Hacksaw to make a pointless return. A lot of spots could of went to guys like McIntyre, Clay and Kane, but WWE seemed more focused on getting the crowd to pop with the pointless one night returns. One thing I loved about the match was the finishing stretch with Sheamus and Jericho. I was literally on the edge of my seat. Fantastic ending, but lackluster Rumble.
3/5
Overall:
That's the first PPV of 2012 done. It was quite underwhelming, but I enjoyed it. Some of the matches I was looking forward to weren't as good as I expected, and their was a considerable amount of filler content throughout the show. Thumbs straight in the middle.