Kevin Owens - Dean Ambrose (C), last man standing match for the Intercontinental Championship.
When WWE put these two men in a feud there were no doubts that the rivalry would be anything other than spectacular, and this match highlighted the main event prowess that both these men possess. The match was fast paced with back and forth action between the two men, both men had the upper hand several times throughout the match and both men beat the 10 count several times, making the pair look very strong.
The confrontation towards the end of the match between the pair resulted in Kevin Owens being thrown through the table on the outside from the top rope. It looked like a nasty bump to take and showed both competitors as the real deal. Throughout the match, several tables were destroyed in the midst of the mayhem which gave fans a lot to enjoy, as the hardcore style of both men was refreshing to see after such a long time without it. Dean Ambrose ended up on top but with both men looking strong, it's hard to see either of these men fighting for this title this time next year. Expect one of these two men to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion or feuding for it going into next years rumble.
Interesting moment of the match:
The most interesting and unique moment of the match weren't the hardcore bumps or the several inventive finishers that happened, it was a very well thought out way of Owens beating the 10 second count while looking like he wasn't going to make it. He slowly rolled out of the ring and landed on his feet, which for this author is very nice to see. New spots are hard for these type of matches which is why this minor thing is the interesting moment of the match.
Match Rating: 9/10
New Day (C) - The Usos for the Tag Team Championship
This match pretty much writes itself. Throughout the WWE you have seen several comedy wrestlers/stables not being able to transition between being taken seriously to being taken lightly and acting foolish. The New Day do not have this problem as they have this art down to a fine art. They are perfect at changing there level of intensity and level of comedy to suit the moment. This match was a perfect example of how the New Day do this so well.
Xavier Woods introduced the new and improved Francesca 2.0 prior to the match, which meant a lot of trombone happened. The New Day did there usual comedy routine before the match and The Usos followed. What amazed the fans was the quality of the match. The spots were incredible, the outside tornado DDT of the barricade by Woods was very well executed, and the mixture of obnoxious heel tactics and foolish heel tactics played perfectly well with the match.
Throughout most of the match The Usos were outnumbered, which left no doubts about the way in which the match was going to end. But the way it ended was perfectly done, with Big E catching one of the Usos in mid air after a blind tag and hitting the big ending to pick up the win for the Tag Team Champions. This match was the perfect match to follow the high intensity match between Ambrose and Owens.
Interesting moment of the match:
The mid air catch from Big E and the big ending which ended the match was so perfectly executed that the fans rejoiced in the result, despite the heels taking the win. New Day, you did well.
Match Rating: 8/10
Kalisto - Alberto Del Rio (C) for the United States Championship
It's weird to see a match on a WWE PPV these days that is almost impossible to predict the outcome, as the first two matches of the evening were predictable despite being very well executed and fun. This match wasn't and it had all the factors to be a great match, and the outcome wasn't the best but it was still very enjoyable.
The underdog Kalisto winning the U.S. Title for the second time is something that could be very crucial to his career, and it was a feel good moment to see this happen. Throughout the match there were several minor botches that distracted the flow of the match, including the high flying power bomb that turned out terrible but both men somehow saved the match with some nice spots.
For reasons unknown, Alberto Del Rio hasn't been booked very strongly since coming back, which is weird for most fans to see as he was once one of the biggest heels in WWE. Regardless of that, a win over Del Rio will be huge for Kalisto. It took two Salida Del Sol's to finish the job for Kalisto, after he avoided the double foot stomp in the corner making both men look strong going into the granddaddy of them all.
Interesting moment of the match:
After Kalisto executed the second Salida De Sol, every fan was wondering, "Is this it?" Is WWE going to go with Kalisto as one of the major marquee stars going into Wrestlemania? Thankfully, the answer was yes and everyone was left with a feel good underdog moment.
Match Rating 7.5/10
Charlotte (C) - Becky Lynch for the Divas Championship
This match was average but the aftermath was perfect and crucial to the WWE fans taking the divas seriously. The match consisted of hellish tactics from Charlotte and Ric Flair, which angered the fans in attendance as many just wanted to see a fair wrestling match between two very good women wrestlers.
A fairly large portion of the match was focused on Flair's influence on her daughter, rather than her daughter being dirty and cheating to win. This interrupted a lot of the wrestling which shows that this match was there to tell a story rather than a wrestling match to wow the audience.
The story was brilliantly told and is something that the Divas division is missing, which is why you can overlook the lackluster wrestling that went on. Charlotte obviously came out victorious due to cheating, but what happened after the match is what got the fans out of there seats. Sasha Banks, a woman that seemed to have been forgotten about by the WWE, came out after the title bout and tricked Charlotte into thinking they were on the same side then when The Nature Boy left the ring. Banks hit her with the bank statement seemingly hinting towards a rivalry between the two going into Wrestlemania. This left the name Sasha Banks on the fans lips.
Interesting moment of the match:
Ric Flair giving Becky Lynch a big ol' kiss. That speaks for itself.
Match Rating: 6/10
The Royal Rumble Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
What Happened:
Roman Reigns and Rusev started off in the ring, paralleling the last two left alone in last years rumble.
The long awaited appearance by A.J. Styles finally happened. Styles made his first PPV appearance for the WWE, lasting 26 minutes and eventually being eliminated by Kevin Owens.
Chris Jericho makes his glorious return to the Royal Rumble, lasting 50 minutes. A face off between Styles and Jericho was applauded by the fans
Tyler Breeze was eliminated quickly, showing his career is on a slow decline.
Curtis Axel finally gets eliminated from the Royal Rumble after a whole year.
R Truth once again found himself in a sticky situation, as he believed that the match was a ladder match and brought a ladder into the ring. He began to climb it only to realize it is not a ladder match, then quickly eliminated by Kane (interesting moment of the match, hilarious).
Kofi Kingston does it again, but in New Day style.
The League of Nations arrive with the boss to take out Roman Reigns, and subsequently left on a stretcher. You know where this is going.
Kane and The Big Show passed on the torch to Braun Strowman.
Owens arrives and eliminates Styles (huge pop) then Ambrose follows suit.
Sami Zayn arrives, eliminates Kevin Owens (huge pop) then gets eliminated shortly after by the Wyatts (sigh).
Brock Lesnar arrives, suplex city commences.
The Miz eyes up Lesnar and decided against going into the rumble straight away.
Lesnar eliminates the Wyatt family, until Bray Wyatt orders they get back in and take out the beast (Wrestlemania?).
Dolph Ziggler steals the show and looks as good as always.
Reigns comes back out delivers Superman punch to entrant 29 Sheamus.
Number 30 was none other than the COO Triple H. Reigns would eliminate Sheamus, and would then be taken by Triple H. That left two men, Dean Ambrose and The Game Triple H.
Triple H would go on and win but Dean Ambrose looks a million bucks, as the man lasted till the end after a grueling Last Man Standing Match (does The Undertaker need an opponent?).
Match Rating: 9.5/10
This was one of the best Royal Rumbles of all time. It had everything a Royal Rumble needs. The WWE Universe should be excited, as this Royal Rumbles makes for an exciting Road to Wrestlemania.
PPV Rating: 9/10