Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane (Triple Threat Match for the WWE Universal Championship)
Reactions: I’ve been a huge fan of WWE’s monster mash matches for the Universal Championship lately. Lesnar’s finally gotten some worthy competition in the form of bruisers such as Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Goldberg. Ever since then, these giants have clobbered each other and delivered some of the best matches contested for Raw’s title. This Triple Threat Match joins that collection of entertaining big match contests. Strowman, Kane, and Lesnar looked as if they were auditioning for the role of the next Godzilla film as they destroyed themselves and everything around them. Strowman looked as horrifying as always, Lesnar tapped into his “Suplex City” prowess and Kane even put in some worthwhile work. The broken tables and broken bones all equaled up into an awesome brawl that was better than I expected it to be. Lesnar won of course, but I was still pleased with the pure chaos all three men got involved in. Strowman still looks unstoppable since he wasn’t pinned and Lesnar is still the Universal Champ, so this match accomplished what it set out to do.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
2018 Women’s Royal Rumble Match (30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women’s Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)
Reactions: History was definitely made with the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble. And what made this this bout even more special is the fact that it got the main event spot. Banks and Lynch as the first two entrants made the most sense as they’re some of WWE’s best workhorse competitors. After their opening match portion concluded, the fun truly began. Faces we haven’t seen in a while popped back up (The Bella Twins, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Jacqueline etc.), plus Hall of Famers (Trish Stratus, Beth Phoenix, and Lita) returned. A lot of fun moments were seen throughout, such as Nia Jax’s domineering performance, Trish and Mickie James rekindling their 2006 beef, and Naomi’s Kofi Kingston-like Rumble elimination save. While it wasn’t as action-packed as the Men’s Rumble, this all-ladies battle royale still showed and proved in the main event spotlight. Asuka got the expected victory, but the unexpected happened when former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey came out and pointed at the ‘Mania 34 sign. The theme of this entire segment was “shock and awe.” It certainly delivered on that front.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match (30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)
Reactions: The 2018 Royal Rumble turned out to be much better that I expected it to be. I didn’t really picture any surprise entrants popping up, but I was shocked to see the welcome returns of The Hurricane and even Rey Mysterio! The action never faltered here as the ring stayed full at all times. On the comedy front, I got a good laugh out of watching Heath Slater continuously get assaulted by incoming entrants. And then he got a huge pop from me and the live crowd after he got rid of Sheamus with little to no effort! Rusev Day was in full swing, too! Him and Finn had one of the better showings this year as they lasted a good while from numbers #1 and #2. NXT played a part in the Rumble proceedings as well due to the surprising arrivals of Adam Cole and Andrade “Cien” Almas. The final six entrants made the last stretch of this battle royale match a nail biting affair. Finishing moves were unleashed and popular contenders got thrown over the top rope in quick succession. Once Reigns and Nakamura became the last two men, they played with everyone’s emotions by going back and forth in a mini-match. Their closing encounter provided a fitting end to an engrossing Royal Rumble that ended with Nakamura getting the big win and taking aim at the WWE Champion, AJ Styles.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars