Was there ever a less welcome end to a WWE pay-per-view than Royal Rumble 2014? Certainly the fans in attendance were quick to show their, erm, disappointment in it before it had even ended and it wasn’t long before seemingly the entire internet was voicing their displeasure too.
But at a distance, when it seems that the WWE “got it right” after all in the end, does the Rumble fare any better when put under the microscope?
To that effect we might as well tackle the Rumble first. I wasn’t one of the throng who were devastated that Batista came back and won the thing on his first night in. It clearly wasn’t the right choice, but perhaps if his return hadn’t been leaked by one of the ticket promoter’s that WWE work with and he had been able to return in the match itself things might have been slightly different. Still, there were some good things to report about the Rumble watching it back. Roman Reigns was given a beast push, the other two members of The Shield were given their moments to shine and there were a couple of other exciting moments, including some always impressive power spots by Cesaro.
The problem is that the list of what wasn’t good is much longer. The surprise guests were a poor bunch; Nash had done his return spot a few years earlier to much bigger applause, JBL’s entrance from the commentators table seemed awfully familiar and even the debut of Alexander Rusev, which I was looking forward to, didn’t exactly shine him in the best light. Worst of all there were just so many competitors who didn’t seem to do anything. They were just there. Even CM Punk, who lasted a very long time, didn’t actually do much you’d actually remember even the minute after it’s over. And that’s the biggest waste of all. The WWE does actually have a lot of talent, but you wouldn’t have thought it by the way they were used, or perhaps more pertinently NOT used, here.
There was some improvement elsewhere. The opener between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt was very good indeed. The two were given over twenty minutes and they certainly made the most of them with a stiff, back and forth encounter that showed a lot of good from both men. It goes without saying but if the WWE let its talent loose like this a little more often it would benefit the fans, the wrestlers and the promotion at large.
By contrast the Title match between Randy Orton and John Cena, whilst acceptable, simply felt too much like something we’d seen a hundred times before to actually make any lasting impression. The fans certainly let the WWE know what they thought about it with their chanting that referenced almost everything but the match itself The two put in an effort, which might have been noticed in a less hostile environment, but the end result was proof that, once again, the WWE got it wrong. When the reaction to your World Title bout on the second biggest PPV of the year is like this, you cannot avoid that fact.
Brock Lesnar and The Big Show was more of an extended angle than an actual match. Lesnar smashed Show before, during and after the match and if the intention was to make Lesnar look like an indestructible beast it worked…at least until Show was able to walk back to the locker room. Still we’re in an era where selling anything for more than three seconds is a lost art so you can’t expect anything better.
Even with the benefit of hindsight this is an average show. Only Bryan/Wyatt really excels in the ring and when fans completely turn against the action and results in the World Title match and the Rumble itself like they did, you know you are not getting the best of the WWE.
The DVD adds a decent Kickoff match between Cody Rhodes and Goldust against The New Age Outlaws, although even by now the NAO were outstaying their welcome. We also get interviews from Randy Orton and Batista and a segment on the superstars drawing their numbers for the Rumble. The Blu-Ray adds Raw and Smackdown highlights including Batista’s return to Raw and a steel cage match between the Uso’s and Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. As ever, if you have the technology, the extra few pounds is probably worth it.
– By Matthew Roberts | @IWFICON
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