RHODES BROTHERS vs. THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS
The WWE kicked off the 2014 Royal Rumble with a Tag Title match during the free pre-show that featured The Rhodes Brothers vs The New Age Outlaws. I watched the match on my ipad and it was really great to see 3 veterans wrestlers (plus Cody) from the 'Attitude Era' in what turned out to be a solid match. In the end, a blind tag by Road Dogg to Billy Gunn resulted a surprise attack and a pin by Mr Ass. The new Tag Team Champions of the World The New Age Outlaws!
DANIEL BRYAN vs. BRAY WYATT (w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan)
By far the most popular wrestler in the world; Daniel Bryan should not be in the ppv opener, but he and Wyatt delivered a show stealing 21:30 minute match. Bray Wyatt ultimately won, after delivering 2 of his Sister Abigail finishers. It was a very good opening match. The crowd was hot and chanting "Yes" or "Daniel Bryan" throughout. It is amazing how far Daniel Bryan has come in the last few years. He is being held down but it is only a matter of time before he rises to the WWE Title. This was an elevation for Bray none the less.
BROCK LESNAR (w/Paul Heyman) vs. BIG SHOW
I was not looking forward to the Big Show vs Brock Lesnar ( with Paul Heyman). Something about the way Big Show has been portrayed these last few months has rubbed me the wrong way. Lesnar hit the ring quickly and attacked the Big Show assaulting him with repeated chair shots before the ref finally started the match. After some trash talking, and punches from Show; Lesnar hit a F-5, ending the match. Post match, Lesnar retrieved another chair and wore the Big Show out. The obviously injured Show sold the chair assault well, putting Brock Lesnar over as a dangerous villain.
RANDY ORTON vs. JOHN CENA
Randy Orton's vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was a good match with 2 competitors in the prime of their careers. The Wyatt family caused a distraction to Cena, leading to Randy Orton retaining the title. Orton won the match with his signature RKO, then slithered out of the ring. Bray Wyatt led the rest of the Wyatt family in a systematic beat down of Cena, setting up a future feud with the leader of the Cenation.
ROYAL RUMBLE
We found out on Raw that CM Punk was the number 1 entrant in the Royal Rumble match up. This allowed a bit of retribution against the number 2 entrant, Seth Rollins. As the match progressed, some wrestlers like Koffi Kingston and Dolf Ziggler had standout performances, while others like R Truth and JBL were very forgettable. There were a few surprise entrants like Sheamas, Kevin Nash and El Torrito. Two of the final four; Punk, Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Batista would have been a great winner, but the WWE went with the predictable move. Kane returned to eliminate Punk and then put him through a table at ringside. Next, Sheamus was eliminated. The final two, Roman and Batista had a battle of the spears, with the returning "Animal" getting the win. No real surprise with Batista winning the match (I wish it had been Roman or Punk) The Rumble match itself was a bit disappointing to me. Maybe I would have liked it better if Batista had been a surprise entrant, but after his appearance on Raw, it was clear he was going to win the match. It seems as if he is on a collision course with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. (Boring)
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