Royal Rumble (2015) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on January 25, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the twenty-eighth annual Royal Rumble event and the first to air on the WWE Network.
Like the previous year's event, it was marked by an extremely negative audience reaction to the main Royal Rumble match. However, there was high praise for the event's WWE World Heavyweight Championship triple threat match between Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Seth Rollins.
Let's go ahead and address the elephant in the room and talk about all of the negativity surrounding this event shall we?
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Pre-Show: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (with Natalya and Adam Rose) defeated The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods)
Some of the Rosebuds working WWE Royal Rumble in Philadelphia were former TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix, Ring of Honor star Mandy Leon and other women's stars Heather Lynn, Renee Michelle and Jenna Rose.By the way, I'm LOVING the new shirts worn by Adam Rose and Cesaro for this stable. Where can I get one, WWE?
I think this has been one of the better matches that both of these teams have had since starting this feud. It's a damn shame that it was reduced to being on the preshow, littered with commercials like it was on RAW or SmackDown! Great exchange from both teams at the end for the finish. If WWE wants to make this into a serious, legitimate feud then I'm all for it.
Speaking of the Bullet Club, it was reported that members of that gaijin stable in New Japan Pro Wrestling were supporting Tyson Kidd and Cesaro on social media after the event. If I were to pick two Superstars who I know who would be able to transition and be successful in NJPW it's Kidd and Cesaro.
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The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) defeated The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn)
Pretty bland match, but I can't complain. After jobbing out to every tag team on RAW Reunion a week prior, it was good to see the Ascension pick up a win. I personally thought those guys were boring in NXT and it's more painfully obvious on the main roster. If I were WWE, I would have brought the Ascension in as the Authority's bodyguards, much like how the Shield were during their infancy of their careers. |
The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) defeated The Miz and Damien Mizdow Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
If you've seen one Usos vs. Miz/Mizdow match, you've seen them all. I felt this match was a complete throwaway and a complete waste of time. This should've been on the preshow and the New Day vs. Brass Ring Club match should gotten this air-time.Now I know what some of you would say something negative about the WWE Tag titles being defended on the preshow, but if they are going to treat that title along with that division as filler then it might as well be on the preshow. I'll just say this much - Miz/Mizdow deserve better than this shit, and the Usos - the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions - deserve even better.
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The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Nikki Bella) defeated Paige and Natalya
This wasn't a bad match at all, but the Philly crowd weren't into it in the least. It did feel like a match that should have been on either RAW or SmackDown! the following week, but I thought the Bella Twins showed some great teamwork from start to finish. I only had two gripes about this match: 1) why did Paige have little to no involvement in the in-ring action? That seemed a bit odd that she was screaming to get in to no avail when the finish came up. 2) Speaking of the finish, that was just awkward. Natalya got pinned off a Running Forearm Smash? That was just too lame to end the match with there. Everything else about the match was solid until that one point. It seemed like they were pressed for time and told the Divas to wrap it up ASAP for they could move onto the WWE title match and Rumble matches.That being said, I wouldn't mind if they continue this feud until WrestleMania 31, where it turns into a Fatal 4 Way for Nikki's Divas Championship after Brie Bella shows her true colors as she was waiting for the opportune moment to stab her sister in the back after being reduced to her sidekick and servant while Paige and Natalya fall out and it turns into a rather heated rivalry between all 4 women involved.
I for one would be all for this as we don't have AJ Lee anywhere near the Divas Championship as I think she's worn out her welcome in that position over the past two years and it gives the Divas Division the opportunity to have a legitimate SERIOUS match on the grandest stage of them all instead of a piss-break match.
At the same time, it frees up AJ Lee's agenda if WWE were to do that Stephanie McMahon vs. AJ Lee feud that people have been clamoring for. In my humble opinion, it would be overkill as it would pretty much DEMAND that Triple H and CM Punk get involved at some point or another. I doubt both sides would be comfortable airing that dirty laundry in storyline this close to his UFC debut and on top of that, it would do nothing but start the "CM PUNK" chants that have died out for the most part.
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Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated John Cena and Seth Rollins (with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury) Triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
This was easily the match of the evening, topping the Rumble Match itself. While I wish there was more "wrestling" to it, it was a superb match and easily the best WWE title defense in a LONG time. Let's be serious here though - from start to finish, this match was a spotfest.
I'm guessing that Seth Rollins is going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania 31 after Brock Lesnar defeats Roman Reigns in a post-match assault.
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Roman Reigns won by last eliminating Rusev in the 30-man Royal Rumble match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31
(Whistles) You KNOW it's bad when you're booed out of the building even after The Rock joins you in the ring. Unlike the live audience in attendance and most fans watching around the world, I wasn't pissed off. Instead I was disappointed. I was disappointed mainly in the fact that WWE (namely Vince McMahon) hasn't learned his lesson from last year. Vince refuses to listen to the fans. Instead, he insists on shoving who he wants us to cheer for down our throats. I still find it pretty ironic that a year ago, everyone was clamoring for Roman Reigns to win the Rumble. If you go back and read my write-up on last year's Rumble match I even named him the MVP for the match last year. After the Shield's break-up Roman Reigns is the only one who remains stagnant. I'm not saying that's a good thing. Previously, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins didn't have anything I could credit them for as individual characters. Now they both have come to their own after refining their own individual gimmicks and personas. As for Roman Reigns, he's the same character that he has been since the Shield's debut. I think fans (myself included) are waiting for Roman Reigns to leave the Shield gimmick behind and become his own Superstar, but instead WWE (namely Vince McMahon yet again) wants to keep him as this one-dimensional character with no substance. That's why fans aren't buying into him as WWE's next big star. Roman Reigns needs more time to grow on us. A World title win this early into his career is only going to doom him to a bland career that Sheamus can easily relate to.
As for this match itself, it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. While it was cool to see Bubba Ray Dudley (Bully Ray from Impact Wrestling) back home in WWE, Diamond Dallas Paige (who looked like he was getting quickly winded in the short duration that he was in this match), and The Boogeyman (even better to have him confront Bray Wyatt in a Biggest Weirdo stand off), I wish WWE spaced out these "surprises" a bit further apart instead of jam packed in the beginning with the Wyatt Family reunion tease/swerve.
I wasn't mad with the Roman Reigns being the winner I was more disappointed with how this match (starting with the moment Daniel Bryan came into it to the finish) played out. In my opinion, I felt like the final six survivors in this match should have been Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Daniel Bryan. Out of those 6 Superstars, they could have had the brief Shield reunion to eliminate the reunited tag team of Big Show and Kane (whom I wish WWE does something with long-term as it would be a great challenge for the Tag Team division if they were pushed like they were in 2005 as legitimate threat). This would have been a more climatic finale to this match between those six Superstars as they represent the future of WWE. No matter who you were pulling for out of those six Superstars, it would have been a nail-biting dynamic to have the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner (Cesaro), the man who vanished the Authority (Dolph Ziggler), the former Shield brethren (Ambrose & Reigns), the Eater of Worlds (Bray Wyatt) and the man with the Cinderella-style return story (Daniel Bryan) all butting heads in this finale.
Hell, there was an even better option. Don't even have Daniel Bryan in this match at all and spare everyone the disappointment of him getting eliminated prematurely. I personally didn't see the point of even having him in this match when he got eliminated quicker than most of the jobbers and guys in midcard hell (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Jack Swagger, etc.) in this match. That would have lessened the blow and outrage of Roman Reigns picking up the win.
I still find it hilarious that after all of the time that WWE insults our intelligence as fans, THIS was the straw that broke the camel's back. On top of that, most of these "upset" fans were the same people wanting Roman Reigns to win the Rumble LAST year when Batista won. Damn, can't please everyone huh?
If I'm completely honest, I feel that WWE shouldn't have split up the Wyatt Family nor the Shield over the past year. Think about how long the Hardy Boyz, Edge & Christian, Too Cool, D-Generation X, and several other stables stayed together before going their own separate ways. There was still a lot of good both of those factions could have done as a single unit but WWE is in such a panic mode to create the next John Cena, or rather CM Punk, in his absence instead of allowing these guys to mature first. To be quite honest, that's exactly who Ambrose reminds me of with a sprinkle of Steve Austin and Brian Pillman.
To be fair, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have come into their own and I'm cool with that, but I think the tag team division and the entire landscape of WWE as a whole would have benefited as a whole with those two stables still in mix for competition, especially with the sudden formation of all of these 3+ member groups popping up left and right: Los Matadores (Epico & Primo w/ El Torito), New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods), Brass Ring Club (Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Adam Rose, Natalya), The Usos (Jimmy & Jey, Naomi), and even Big Cass, Enzo Amore, and Carmella down on NXT.
To those who are truly fed up with WWE programming, consider it a blessing in disguise. Now you have a bit more free time to check out a lot of the alternatives out there in professional wrestling today - that is IF you're willing to take the time to look for them. Much like the #RAWlternative event on social media last week, a TON of independent promotions, such as FWE Wrestling and even CHIKARA Pro held free streams (or continuing to offer free samples of their programming) to draw in new viewers. If you have the El Rey Network you can check out Lucha Underground, or if you have the AXS Network you can check out New Japan Pro Wrestling's new programming block that just started. Unlike most people on social media, I'm not going to make fun of those who are fed up because I was there before. I took a break from WWE programming shortly after the Invasion angle ran its course. I took the time to explore what else was out there outside of WWE's kingdom. When I eventually came back to WWE's product, I had a deeper appreciation for what I like and dislike in professional wrestling as a whole - not just limited to WWE's product.
As for the interview between Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar, I applaud WWE for this as the snow day cancellation of Monday Night RAW was a blessing in disguise and forced them to think outside of the box to sell this match for WrestleMania. Reigns gave his best promo to date (that's not saying much I know...) while Paul Heyman set the stage for a match that should be monumental, if not historic for both of these Superstars careers. I'm personally pulling for Reigns to lose here, but in the back of my mind I feel like Lesnar will lose the title here regardless to Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank at the last moment after Reigns does all of the work to wear Lesnar down. On top of that, I would not be surprised if The Rock is in Reigns' corner at WrestleMania. I can't be too surprised that this segment was good - after all, Paul Heyman was attached to it. 'Nuff said.
As for this match itself, it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. While it was cool to see Bubba Ray Dudley (Bully Ray from Impact Wrestling) back home in WWE, Diamond Dallas Paige (who looked like he was getting quickly winded in the short duration that he was in this match), and The Boogeyman (even better to have him confront Bray Wyatt in a Biggest Weirdo stand off), I wish WWE spaced out these "surprises" a bit further apart instead of jam packed in the beginning with the Wyatt Family reunion tease/swerve.
I wasn't mad with the Roman Reigns being the winner I was more disappointed with how this match (starting with the moment Daniel Bryan came into it to the finish) played out. In my opinion, I felt like the final six survivors in this match should have been Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Daniel Bryan. Out of those 6 Superstars, they could have had the brief Shield reunion to eliminate the reunited tag team of Big Show and Kane (whom I wish WWE does something with long-term as it would be a great challenge for the Tag Team division if they were pushed like they were in 2005 as legitimate threat). This would have been a more climatic finale to this match between those six Superstars as they represent the future of WWE. No matter who you were pulling for out of those six Superstars, it would have been a nail-biting dynamic to have the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner (Cesaro), the man who vanished the Authority (Dolph Ziggler), the former Shield brethren (Ambrose & Reigns), the Eater of Worlds (Bray Wyatt) and the man with the Cinderella-style return story (Daniel Bryan) all butting heads in this finale.
Hell, there was an even better option. Don't even have Daniel Bryan in this match at all and spare everyone the disappointment of him getting eliminated prematurely. I personally didn't see the point of even having him in this match when he got eliminated quicker than most of the jobbers and guys in midcard hell (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Jack Swagger, etc.) in this match. That would have lessened the blow and outrage of Roman Reigns picking up the win.
I still find it hilarious that after all of the time that WWE insults our intelligence as fans, THIS was the straw that broke the camel's back. On top of that, most of these "upset" fans were the same people wanting Roman Reigns to win the Rumble LAST year when Batista won. Damn, can't please everyone huh?
If I'm completely honest, I feel that WWE shouldn't have split up the Wyatt Family nor the Shield over the past year. Think about how long the Hardy Boyz, Edge & Christian, Too Cool, D-Generation X, and several other stables stayed together before going their own separate ways. There was still a lot of good both of those factions could have done as a single unit but WWE is in such a panic mode to create the next John Cena, or rather CM Punk, in his absence instead of allowing these guys to mature first. To be quite honest, that's exactly who Ambrose reminds me of with a sprinkle of Steve Austin and Brian Pillman.
To be fair, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have come into their own and I'm cool with that, but I think the tag team division and the entire landscape of WWE as a whole would have benefited as a whole with those two stables still in mix for competition, especially with the sudden formation of all of these 3+ member groups popping up left and right: Los Matadores (Epico & Primo w/ El Torito), New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods), Brass Ring Club (Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Adam Rose, Natalya), The Usos (Jimmy & Jey, Naomi), and even Big Cass, Enzo Amore, and Carmella down on NXT.
Closing Thoughts
Truth be told, I was sitting at my computer laughing at the entire #CancelWWENetwork hashtag's popularity after this event Sunday night - even more so after word got around that the amount of unsubscribes crashed the Unsubscribe page on the Network's site. I think some of the reactions were a bit overboard and blown out of proportion, but whatever as long as people stop telling me how or what I should be spending my money on as a wrestling fan. Just to clarify, I had one or paid for a WWE Network subscription in the first place outside of the free trials. My $9.99 is currently going towards NJPW World.To those who are truly fed up with WWE programming, consider it a blessing in disguise. Now you have a bit more free time to check out a lot of the alternatives out there in professional wrestling today - that is IF you're willing to take the time to look for them. Much like the #RAWlternative event on social media last week, a TON of independent promotions, such as FWE Wrestling and even CHIKARA Pro held free streams (or continuing to offer free samples of their programming) to draw in new viewers. If you have the El Rey Network you can check out Lucha Underground, or if you have the AXS Network you can check out New Japan Pro Wrestling's new programming block that just started. Unlike most people on social media, I'm not going to make fun of those who are fed up because I was there before. I took a break from WWE programming shortly after the Invasion angle ran its course. I took the time to explore what else was out there outside of WWE's kingdom. When I eventually came back to WWE's product, I had a deeper appreciation for what I like and dislike in professional wrestling as a whole - not just limited to WWE's product.
As for the interview between Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar, I applaud WWE for this as the snow day cancellation of Monday Night RAW was a blessing in disguise and forced them to think outside of the box to sell this match for WrestleMania. Reigns gave his best promo to date (that's not saying much I know...) while Paul Heyman set the stage for a match that should be monumental, if not historic for both of these Superstars careers. I'm personally pulling for Reigns to lose here, but in the back of my mind I feel like Lesnar will lose the title here regardless to Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank at the last moment after Reigns does all of the work to wear Lesnar down. On top of that, I would not be surprised if The Rock is in Reigns' corner at WrestleMania. I can't be too surprised that this segment was good - after all, Paul Heyman was attached to it. 'Nuff said.
Where do we go from here?
There's some buzz and rumors floating around about the following four matches:
- Triple H vs. Sting
- Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker
- Another Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Triple H vs. Sting
Even though I don't even want to see this, it seems like it's going to happen either way. I just hope that this sets the stage for Sting vs. The Undertaker next year at WrestleMania since they confirmed it's in Taker's home state of Texas.
Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler
These two have been reportedly teasing this across social media over the last few days, but I don't see any benefit from this rather than being the "show-stealer" match that has no purpose on the undercard.
Dolph Ziggler's career has pretty much gone back straight onto the back burner, despite his win at Survivor Series, only to be overshadowed by Sting's debut and everyone else getting a chance to move up the ladder but him. Daniel Bryan's renewed Cinderella story already got derailed before it even started again, so I would love to see how they try to sell this match outside of the wrestling aspect of it, which I know is going to be awesome no matter how stupid the build is.
Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker
I think it's time that Taker passed on the torch of being WWE's iconic haunting figure to Bray Wyatt. I would love to see how these two figures interact with each other in a WrestleMania build-up.
Another Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
I honestly don't see a point with this. Cesaro got next to no push nor opportunities after this and he's still in the same spot he was at last year before winning it. If the winner got a title shot or something that would move them up the ladder or through the glass ceiling instead of the trophy, then I'm all for it. Otherwise, use the time to for huge Tag Team Turmoil match or something.
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