WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Reactions & Review

Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)

Reactions: This was good, but it should have been great considering the two men who were competing here. We enjoy heel Neville, but his newfound focus on slow and methodical strikes and submission holds made the opening a bit dull. Once Rich began to make his comeback, the match truly began to pick up. Rich and Neville exchanged kicks, high impact splashes, nasty elbow strikes and more during the more exciting half of this Cruiserweight battle. Rich pulled off the more exciting maneuvers this match gave us all, including his snap kicks and Tadpole Splash. But Neville assaulted Rich throughout this bout with stiff kicks of his own, a Superplex and finally a Rings of Saturn submission hold. We wanted to see some more WCW Era-like Cruiserweight action here (the slower pace of this match’s beginning threw us off). But by the end, it got a bit better. Neville’s taken the throne and is now YOUR new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley (WWE Raw Women’s Championship)

Reactions: This title encounter was decent at best. It looked as if Charlotte and Bayley’s NXT chemistry didn’t fully translate to this main roster meeting. The action that took place here was a bit sloppy at times, which took us out of the usual excitement we feel for new age women’s wrestling matches. The only part that truly stood out here was Charlotte’s cool use of the Natural Selection on the ring apron. Charlotte predictably retained here after a pretty average match.

Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars

AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena (WWE Championship)

Reactions: After all is said and done, history will look back fondly on the much heated rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles. During this WWE Championship match, SD Live got represented in the best way possible. We knew things were going to get even more intense as soon as Cena stiffed AJ with a clothesline. Once the ball got rolling, both Superstars laid into each other with nasty strikes and every move included in their wide arsenal. They had us and the live crowd in the palm of their hands as they exchanged a cavalcade of counters. AJ locked John in his own STF, but John responded in kind with more stiff clotheslines and several AA’s. AJ held on long enough to land two Styles Clashes, lock in his Calf Crusher and even pull off a Phenomenal Elbow. What AJ was unable to land was his Springboard 450 Splash, which began to signal the beginning of the end. John tok advantage of AJ’s more weakened stated and captured the championship after two impressive AA’s. We’re sad to see AJ’s reign as “The Face That Runs The Place” end, but at least it concluded after another amazing match against WWE’s resident mega star.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns (No Disqualification Match for the WWE Universal Championship; Chris Jericho Will be Suspended in a Shark Cage Above the Ring)

Reactions: We’ve sat through thus meeting between Raw’s top two Superstars for a good while now, so we weren’t jumping for joy at seeing them fight again. But we were presently surprised at how good this turned out to be. While the opening moments were in full slow-burn mode, everything began to pick up as more hardcore elements began springing up. Kevin’s use of steel chairs and his “Stone Cold” callbacks added some nice wrinkles to the whole affair. Roman turned into a beast on several occasions as he pulled off big Powerbomb’s and threw Kevin onto his own cavalcade of steel chairs. The biggest shocker to erupt from this whole match was the sudden introduction of Braun Strowman! Braun, who was still visibly pissed after getting speared by both Roman and Goldberg, came out to destroy Roman. He succeeded and helped Kevin get another cheap win. The combination of all the match’s hardcore action and the surprise element of Braun Strowman interference made this match better than past encounters between Kevin and Roman. Kevin did it once again!

Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars