Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Royal Rumble 2010" is nothing special. Plain and simple. Most of this PPV lacked originality, and by the end of the broadcast, I was underwhelmed.
1) ECW Championship
Christian (champion) v. Ezekiel Jackson
---Undoubtedly the best match on the card, and I think the Atlanta crowd's participation will confirm that. I confess I haven't watched the SyFy program in a long while, but I think I will give it another look if it's going to produce solid matches like this. Christian has always been a great in-ring performer, but Jackson really stepped up to the plate. For some reason, his brutish strength is more appealing than most superstars with this kind of dominant gimmick. The action was back-and-forth, with both men coming up with some good counters to familiar spots. The pace was always quick, and the slower moments were still intense. I am very surprised at how much I enjoyed this match, and look forward to these two mixing it up some more.
"7.0 / 10"
________________________________________
2) United States Championship
The Miz (champion) v. MVP
---This match was added to the card because Teddy Long tired of Miz's backstage cockiness. Well...actually I later learned it was because of the squash Women's Championship Match, but more on that later. I like how The Miz has come along in recent months, and MVP usually entertains me. But tonight, these two seemed off. Miz was in top form, when he used his quick offense to impress the crowd, or when he sold MVP's attacks as well as he did. But MVP somehow didn't impress me. Even the Atlanta crowd started to cheer for Miz, especially when MVP's "babyface revenge" failed to get some fan sympathy. The match was pretty short, and it's not bad or anything. Just unremarkable.
"5.5 / 10"
________________________________________
3) WWE Championship
Sheamus (champion) v. Randy Orton
---This is a strange match to talk about, for a few reasons. First off, there were some neat backstage segments where Orton had heard from Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (separately) that the other was acting odd. Because of this, Orton decided to compete alone. Another strange factor is that we have two villain characters who are forced to somehow entertain a crowd, when neither has deserved any kind of heroic sympathy. It's a tough feat, and I credit the two men for trying. Did they pull it off? To me, they did. The physical showdown was a believable performance from both men, with sensible & patient strategy. But I think after Atlanta realized that Randy Orton refused to acknowledge their strong cheers --- true to his character, by the way --- the crowd lost interest until the end. I've heard many interviews from Orton, where he admits that he likes when people chant "Boring", and likes making a crowd agitated. I thought Orton's use of psychology was excellent; Sheamus again bores me as a character, but entertains me as a competitor. The disqualification finish will annoy most people, but I see it as a sign of things to come. I like this match, but I won't recommend to anybody.
"7.0 / 10"
________________________________________
4) Women's Championship
Michelle McCool (champion) v. Mickie James
---After a well-done video package and some smacktalk from McCool, we are treated a match that lasted less than 1 minute. Now, I normally hate squashes. I would've preferred a longer match from my two favorite Divas currently in the WWE. But frankly, I thought this victory from Mickie James was short and sweet. It was time for the "Piggie James" storyline to have its happy ending. I know this was a bait-and-switch from the WWE, but I was alright with it.
"No Score"
________________________________________
5) World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio v. The Undertaker (champion)
---This title bout has the right beginning, and the right ending, but is missing the middle. You will get to see Mysterio's struggle to gain an advantage over the larger Undertaker. You will get to see Mysterio's inspiring comeback, and Undertaker's impressive victory. Unfortunately, this match was missing that middle chapter, where you see Taker and Mysterio gain a series of advantages in order to make us believe that the championship is on the line. I've become sick of the shorter Undertaker matches; his health and age are no longer an acceptable excuse for me. This problem has made challengers like CM Punk, Batista, and Rey Mysterio look unimpressive, when all of those men are capable of entertaining the crowd. It is time for Undertaker to have his marquee matches free from the championship spotlight. This "SmackDown" main event is good while it lasts, but we deserved and expected more. And why the hell was Batista in the pre-match video when he never made an appearance?
"6.5 / 10"
________________________________________
6) 30-Man Royal Rumble
---These Rumbles are hard to evaluate, so let me tell give you the Pros/Cons list.
PROS
* CM Punk was easily the best part of the Rumble. He entered at #3, and used his Straight-Edge Society propaganda on numerous occasionss. He tried to convert a few, and he ended up suckering a few. If you remember Diesel's impressive 1994 appearance, or Steve Austin's 1997 dominance, then this will be a fun treat for you.
* Beth Phoenix became the first woman to enter the 30-Man Rumble since Chyna's 2000 appearance. It was a short but very sweet showing. How she eliminated The Great Khali is one for the history books.
* Some of the newer talent to the Royal Rumble got to show off a bit. Dolph Ziggler, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, and of course CM Punk made an impression. Granted, these appearances were mostly short ones, but they were the most memorable.
* The DX showdown between Shawn Michaels and Triple H was thankfully not held off until the very end of the Rumble. Unlike a lot of this 30-Man Rumble, the timing was unpredictable.
* I credit WWE for not taking the obvious route of having Shawn Michaels win the Royal Rumble to get the much-anticpated HBK/Taker "WrestleMania" rematch. I have no doubt we will see it. I believe most fans believe it will happen anyway. And HBK's final role in the contest was memorable.
* Edge is back! One of the greatest performers in pro wrestling history has returned months before he was rumored to be healed from his injury. Although there was a been-there-done-that feeling, seeing the Ultimate Opportunist sneak into another victory is always a pleasure.CONS
* About halfway through the 30-Man Rumble, there was very little pileup of wrestlers. At the most, you'd see 4 men in the ring from about #19 onward. I was disappointed to see this happen, because the past few Rumbles had a lot of exciting action with tons of guys in the ring. This time, they took a page out of the 2002 Rumble in Atlanta...fewer guys in the ring. Both times, I've been underwhelmed.
* John Cena was F___ing HORRIBLE! He got his tail whipped for pretty much the entire match, and the fact that he was the last guy eliminated is criminal. He tried the Attitude Adjustment like 8 times. He barely got any offense in. I like John Cena, but this was an embarassment.
* Nothing ever resulted from Legacy's involvement in the Orton/Sheamus title bout. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase just entered the Rumble, competed like a tag team, and got eliminated like a tag team. I wish their participation earlier in the evening would've resurfaced in some way.
* Quite frankly, the action got stale towards the end. Big Show and Mark Henry made little use of their giant-vs-giant showdown. A handful of eliminations were sloppy, espeically the most pivotal one in the match: Shawn Michaels'. No one really got to be the "star" of the Rumble, except for CM Punk in the early part of the Rumble. Gifted veterans like Chris Jericho and HBK didn't get much of a reaction out of me, while some other reliable guys like Batista and John Cena lacked a spark. Edge's surprise return (good as it was) didn't involve much action from him because he entered at #29.I think my overall reaction to the 30-Man Royal Rumble is that it started great, with some creative action and humorous spots. But then about halfway, it became a plodding affair with quick eliminations and no real rhythm to it. I felt like the 2010 Rumble was on cruise control.
"6.5 / 10"
________________________________________
OVERALL
"Royal Rumble 2010" continues two WWE PPV trends: familiarity and averageness.
You've seen this stuff before. An ECW Title Match that won't matter much after all is said and done. Impromptu matches that don't really entertain. A WWE Championship showdown ending in disqualification. Undertaker delivering another shorter PPV appearance. A squash match that develops storylines more than delivering the anticipated in-ring action.
Everyone responds differently to the 30-Man Royal Rumbles, but I was disappointed.
The PPV's quality was middle of the road. You're not thankful for spending your money on the event, and you're not angry to demand a refund. You admire the effort, but condemn the shortcomings. It's sad to see my love for WWE start to diminish.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
WWE: Royal Rumble 2010 (2010)WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2010 - DVD Movie
Get 12% OFF
Click here for more information about WWE: Royal Rumble 2010 (2010)
