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WWE Royal Rumble PPV Reax #1: "When Cena came out, I nearly jumped off the couch." Jan 28, 2008 - 2:06:57 AM
Michael Moore of Casper, WY (7.0). Best Match: Royal Rumble. Worst Match: Flair vs. MVP. That's 7.0 for the rumble match itself, absolutely nothing for the undercard. This is only the fourth WWE PPV I've ordered in the last six years, and all of those matches were prime example of why: botched spots, rest holds galore and a slow, boring style that's stuck in the late 1980s. Torch writers and readers are always complaining about the overbooked finishes to TNA matches, but Flair-MVP had a false finish, JBL-Jericho ended in a DQ and Edge-Mysterio ended with a run-in. How is that supposed to be better than what TNA offers? WWE did a great job of killing off Jeff Hardy's momentum, by the way. All that said, the Royal Rumble is the only single match that can sell a PPV, and just like last year's, it delivered. The finish was fantastic, with two guys you believed could win and one who maybe had an outside shot (Batista). Good match with a great ending.
Randy Ledesma of Hollywood, California. (8.5): Best match: Rumble. Worst match: Rey vs. Edge. I ordered this PPV to see if Hardy would get the strap, but once I saw that the Rumble would be the main event, I knew Orton would win. I was sad to see Hardy lose cleanly -- so much for that push. It seemed like the Rumble would be anti-climatic with Triple H getting his WrestleMania spot. And then came Cena! I'm not a Cena fan, but I marked out big time when he showed up. Flair vs. MVP was okay, but not great. I liked the ending sequence though - it was nice (and surprising) to see the figure-four actually work for once. Looks like Kennedy is "next." Y2J vs. JBL was pretty dead until Y2J started swinging the chair and choking JBL. I know JBL is a good talker, but I really can't take him and his man-boobs seriously. I was very disappointed with this PPV until the match that I was least interested in seeing saved the day.
Peter Young of Sydney, Australia (8.5): Best match: The Rumble. Worst match: Jericho vs. JBL. Cena's return was truly surprising but is also the death knell of Hardy's refreshing push. Shame. Triple H's WrestleMania fate is also up in the air. A feud with Batista perhaps? Poor Mike Adamle's mistake with "Jeff Harvey" suggests his stint at WWE may be a short one. MVP did what no other major superstar has done recently - tap out to the figure 4. JBL and Jericho will continue their feud, which was the right choice. A few missed spots with Rey and Edge were made up for with a great ending. The snap finish to the Orton and Hardy match was unexpected, but quite emphatic, and final in regards to the feud. Otherwise, a solid PPV worthy of repeated viewing.
Eleanor Reid of Gander, NL, Canada (7.5): Best Match: The Rumble. Worst Match: Ric Flair vs. MVP. As first I was planning to be disappointed by this PPV, seeing how there were only five matches (counting the Rumble), and there weren't any tag matches. But boy, I was surprised. The Flair-MVP match was OK, except for the fact I knew who was gonna win. I was hoping the JBL-Y2J match would have been longer, but I liked what came at the end. Rey-Edge was good, but only because the REALLY played up Ray's busted knee, that was some good acting. I really thought it was Hardy's time to win that belt, but hopefully he'll get another chance. As for the Rumble, I had guessed at the beginning that HHH would win that, and that really under whelmed me, but when Cena came out, I nearly jumped off the couch. The fact that he won made my night. So happy he's back!
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