-- 1/31 WWE Royal Rumble PPV Reax

B.P., student (9.0): Best Match: Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson, Royal Rumble. Worst Match: Miz vs. MVP. First of all, I didn't have hugely high expectations going into this. I thought it might be decent, but I didn't expect a new star to win the Rumble. They won't take that chance with TNA going live soon, as they don't want to risk a new star main-eventing and possibly lowering ratings. That said, I would've settled for HBK, but I didn't want Cena or Batista to win. We've seen these combinations, and Batista-Sheamus would be worse than Batista-Big Show. Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson exceeded my expectations by a long shot, and some of the moves (that DDT especially) were great. However, when #29 entered, and Edge came back, my night was made. I don't care if the rest of the show sucked, hearing the crowd's reaction for Edge, seeing him eliminate Jericho, and knowing Cena wasn't going to win made my night. Great, great Rumble, with some cool spots and C.M. Punk's promos were interesting. Edge wins, and I hope, sincerely hope, he stays babyface heading into Mania and faces Jericho somehow.

Justin Shook of Columbia, S.C. (8.0): Best Match: The Rumble. Worst Match: Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool. This was a very focused PPV that progressed all major storylines. The undercard was fine. Rey vs. The Undertaker wasn't what I expected as the announcers called Rey an underdog with no chance every other second so it seemed Rey would defy the odds and win. Sheamus vs. Orton was better then expected and it proved the crowd will accept Orton as a face if that's where WWE wants to go with him. The Divas match wasn't a match, Christian carried Zeke in a fun match, and MVP vs. The Miz gave us a taste of what these guys could do with 20 minutes. As I said, the undercard was pretty solid. The Rumble itself was very well done. C.M. Punk really stood out with his eliminations and subsequent promos. A lot of guys got in strong offense that I didn't expect to. Of course the crowd thought HBK was going to win. They teased him being eliminated well throughout the match. With him not winning, it sets up the DX fall-out from the surprise elimination of Triple H so early on and also continues Shawn's quest for a match with Taker at Mania. I see HBK costing Taker the belt at Elimination Chamber to set up the WM26 match. Edge returning and winning was the perfect way to go. I think it shocked a lot of people that Cena didn't win. Overall, a pretty awesome Rumble with a shocking result that has me ready for Raw and Smackdown this week.

Alex Roberts of the U.K. (2.5): Best: World Heavyweight Title. Worst: WWE Title. The Royal Rumble was easily the worst WWE Pay-Per-View I can remember watching in a long time. The ECW opening was middle of the road and forgettable, but it turned out that it was one of the better matches on the show. Try as I might, I cannot buy into the logic of the Smackdown General Manager booking an impromptu Raw title match, nor can I understand why WWE threw Miz-MVP away like this. With that said, the post-match interaction between the two men was better than their match. Miz has a lot going for him but he needs to start stepping it up in the ring. The WWE Title match was the worst Pay-Per-View title match I've seen in years. I thought it was slow, plodding, and lacked any sense of heat or drama and then WWE ended it with a DQ that screwed over their struggling young champion. The post-match was vaguely interesting although if that was how WWE opted to split Legacy, I'm disappointed. I'm also not sure a lunatic/unhinged face, which is what Orton seemed to become tonight, works in a PG company, but we'll see where WWE takes that. The Women's Title match was a quick pay-off to an offensive angle that should never have made the air. It does however need to be said that Michelle McCool just spent weeks ripping into WWE's most popular diva and still can't get heat. It's time for her to take a backseat. The World Title match was the best of a bad lot primarily because Mysterio bumped like a trooper and also because of some great work by Striker and Lawler on commentary after Taker's nose was busted. It however remains ridiculous to have a World Champion who can't wrestle more than ten minutes. I thought the Rumble match itself was horrible. It started strong with C.M. Punk's run and his work on the mic, but came to a crashing halt when that all led to Triple H eliminating him. The lack of a crowded ring for almost all of the match was a disappointment for me. Equally disappointing was the lack of focus on younger stars. This was all about the established guys having their time in the spotlight and it was depressing to see. WWE could have given us a big surprise winner and shook up the established order a little heading into Mania, but instead we get Edge. Granted, given his injury status, this comes close to a surprise, but it doesn't match the Cena surprise of two years ago. Frankly, none of the options going forward with Edge has me excited. I felt the Rumble match itself was a boring mess that didn't feel like it accomplished anything. WWE needs to hit a home run on Raw this week and produce something big at Elimination Chamber before WrestleMania.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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