-- WWE Royal Rumble Reax 1/29

Dave Harlequin of Charlotte, N.C. (6.0): Best Match: C.M. Punk-Dolph Ziggler. Worst Match: Clay-McIntyre. Overall, I thought this was an okay PPV, which honestly makes me glad I didn't pay for it. It felt like a really good episode of Raw, but not worth paying to see, which is a bad thing for a PPV. I thought the Punk-Ziggler match and triple threat cage matches were good, Kane-Cena was okay, though. If it were booked to end in a big No Contest brawl, I would have preferred more hardcore action. PG WWE really isn't the place for brawls, as it just doesn't look believable being so protected... The Eight-Divas tag match was my cue to hit the bathroom, and the Brodus Clay squash was just a waste of everyone's time. As for the Rumble itself, it seemed to really show the lack of roster depth, but other than that, I thought it was a good match that actually surprised me with the Sheamus win. I hope they push Sheamus-Bryan at WM28 to go with Jericho-Punk.

Mathieu, PWTorch reader: Best Match: Ziggler vs. Punk. Worst: Royal Rumble. I put Ziggler-Punk as best even though they could have done much much better. Ziggler receiving about eight finishers in a row made him look weak. The Rumble was one of the most pathetic I've seen, yet no big surprise. Michael Cole is not what I was waiting for, plus, no Kane? Really? The other matches don't need comments. I thought it was a very bad PPV.

Luis Flores of East Elmhurst, N.Y. (8.0): Best Match: Royal Rumble match. Worst Match: Eight-Divas tag. Overall, the event was exactly what I expected in match quality. I understand why the matches were placed that they were, and it worked out fine. The triple threat cage was solid, given that lack of mobility for Mark Henry and Big Show. Both men displayed a good amount of power to make themselves look like possible winners. Bryan’s spot in the match quickly working on an opponent and scurrying for an escape was very good... I thought the Cena-Kane match was really good, with the expected double count-out and brawl at the end. I originally thought that Cena was going to get disqualified in order to “embrace the hate.” ... The Brodus-McIntyre match wasn’t the most amazing match, but it works for Clay so his character can be elevated. McIntyre’s stock continues to drop... Punk and Ziggler pulled off an excellent match, but not a show-stealer. The match went south after Big Johnny’s interaction, but, thankfully, that didn’t last long. Sadly, this was another loss for Ziggler; I thought a title change would have been the best way to good... I thought the Royal Rumble match was well booked, starting with The Miz as Number 1, with hopes of making Miz look less likely as a possible candidate to win the match. Kofi Kingston’s performance overshadowed Morrison’s Royal Rumble spot from last year. The ring never got full, but there was a decent amount of action and a number of unsuspected entrants to keep things interesting. When the match came down to Jericho and Sheamus, excitement filled the air. The booking was excellent, having Jericho look like this year’s winner, only to have Sheamus win over the veteran. Smackdown's WM27 main event looks like Bryan vs. Sheamus for the World Title.

Chris of Tyler, Tex., student (2.0): Best Match: Punk-Ziggler. Second Best: Funkasauras. Worst Match: It's the Divas. But, I fast-forwarded through it. This is the last PPV I buy from Vince McMahon. I don't know where to start. I had it at a 10.0 for the Jurassic Park Funkasaurus logo, but they lost a point for every farcical Rumble competitor. I thought the Rumble was a bland episode of Superstars. At some point during the mid-20s, I started doing the math and realized they needed to hit a home run every time the clock hit zero just to be mediocre. Then, Otunga came out. Kill me. I thought Road Dogg was one of a few bright spots. He looked great. Foley needed a walker to get to the ring. If the roster is so shallow, why get rid of Truth so quickly? The comedy break was expected and fine, even Ricardo coming out in a POS car. But, if you're going to go that route, then Cole, Lawler, and Duggan have no business in the match... The Hvt. Title match was okay, but it felt like watching Smackdown... Cena-Kane was okay for what it was, but didn't do anything to bring closure to the story. That's basically my complaint with the whole night. Why did I watch this? Nothing was settled at all. This rivals last year's WrestleMania as the biggest letdown of a major PPV I've ever seen. No star power in the Rumble. No storyline developments. No clue what Laurinaitis was trying to accomplish. No more PPVs for me.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here or email us at pwtorch@gmail.com.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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