|Date: January 25, 2015
|Venue: Wells Fargo Center |City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|Attendance: 17,164 |Buys: 145,000

|tweet me: @BastionBlogger

The Royal Rumble, a historical successful pay per view headlined by the Royal Rumble match. There have been a few names already announced for the match which include the likes of Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, The Miz, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, The Big Show and Dean Ambrose. The winner goes on to headline Wrestlemania.

The WWE Championship will be defended in a triple threat match. John Cena beat Seth Rollins at TLC to solidify himself as number one contender to the title held by Brock Lesnar and it was announced that the two would meet at the Royal Rumble event. John Cena has since been put in a situation where he had to bring back The Authority in order to save his friend Edge from being curb stomped by Seth Rollins. When The Authority returned, they announced that Seth Rollins would be added to the match, making it a triple threat. Since then the three men have been embroiled in brawls with all three men getting the upper hand at one time or another.

There will be three tag team matches tonight too. The Miz and Damien Mizdow get an opportunity at the WWE Tag Team Championships that they lost to The Usos. The new team of The Ascension have been claiming that they are better than any tag team in history, especially The Road Warriors, Demolition and The Powers Of Pain. One tag team that would like to prove The Ascension wrong is The New Age Outlaws who attacked The Ascension on Raw Re-union a couple of weeks ago. And there will also be a divas tag team match as The Bella Twins take on the team of Paige and Natalya. This seems more focused around the new series of Total Divas a show that I’ve never watched so couldn’t tell you what the beef is about.

On the Royal Rumble kick-off show Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E).

A video package kicks us off focusing on being the one. The one that wins the Royal Rumble. The focus then shifts to the triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Michael Cole welcomes us to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn) vs. The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)

This is a pay per view debut for The Ascension who go up against The New Age Outlaws who are back in pay per view for the first time since Wrestlemania 30. Billy Gunn starts the match against Viktor. Gunn gets the first knockdown in with a shoulder charge and then reverses a hiptoss. Billy hits an arm drag and applies an armbar. Billy tags in Road Dogg and Viktor tags in Konnor. Road Dogg hits some of his trademark jabs and then hits the shaky leg kneedrop for a two count. Road Dogg hammers Viktor off the apron but Konnor then hits Road Dogg with a splash before tagging in Viktor. Viktor applies a chinlock but Road Dogg manages to get out of it. Viktor hits a knee and a fistdrop before tagging in Konnor. Konnor gets a one count on a pinfall and then applies a chinlock. This isn’t the hottest way to kick off this show but there are a lot of tag team matches to get through. Konnor looks for a sideslam but Road Dogg counters with a cross body.

Road Dogg avoids an elbow drop and Konnor quickly tags in Viktor. Viktor forces Road Dogg away from his corner but Road Dogg ducks a clothesline and tags in Billy. Billy Gunn hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Viktor and disposes on Konnor. Viktor avoids a fame-asser and Konnor tags himself in. Konnor drops Billy on the top rope and The Ascension hit their finisher which is enough for the three. The crowd boo. These guys used to get a good reception in NXT but it really hasn’t translated to the main roster. A big win on their PPV victory tonight though. Not a great match to kick things off. Too many chinlocks.

Rating: 3/10

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are backstage. They’re not happy about Sting showing up last week. Paul Heyman shows up and says the solution to Sting is Brock Lesnar.

The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) (c) vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow – WWE Tag Team Championship match

This is the second pay per view match between these two teams. The Usos won the previous match between the two teams at TLC last month by disqualification. Damien Mizdow gets a huge pop as he comes out. The Miz starts the match with Jey Uso. Miz gets the first shots in, kicking down Jey in the corner. Jey counters an Irish whip and hits a big uppercut. Jimmy tags in and hits a double axe handle on Miz before nailing a big chop in the corner. Miz reverses an Irish whip and hits his trademark clothesline in the corner before heading up top but Jimmy crotches him. Damien Mizdow copies Miz and crotches himself on the other corner. Miz comes off the top but Jimmy hits him with a right hand. Damien Mizdow continues to copy Miz. Miz hits a jawbreaker on Jimmy and then sends Jimmy into the middle rope which looked painful. Miz stomps down Jimmy and then hits a snapmare before locking on a chinlock. Mizdow looks to tag in but Miz refuses.

Jimmy fights out of the chinlock but Miz hits a backbreaker and a neckbreaker for a near fall. The Miz turns around to Mizdow who wants the tag but Miz refuses again. Jimmy hits an enzeguri on Miz and tags in Jey who hits a couple of clotheslines and kicks to boo’s from the crowd. Jey hits a Samoan drop and then the running booty splash in the corner. Jey disposes of Mizdow and Miz rolls him up for a two count. Jey counters and gets a two count but Miz is first up and hits a DDT for a two count. The Miz looks for a figure four but Jey counters and hits an enzeguri which sends Miz all the way to the outside. Jey then looks to dive out but Miz drops him on the top rope. Jimmy Uso then dives out but Miz moves and Jimmy hits Mizdow. Jey Uso then dives out and hits Miz, just. Jey rolls Miz into the ring and attempts the splash but Miz moves. Miz then hits the skull-crushing finale and hooks the leg but Jey kicks out at 2! Miz lays in some left hands and then looks for a clothesline but Jey hits a thrust kick. Jey then heads to the top and hits a splash but Mizdow makes the save.

Mizdow disposes of Jimmy Uso and then hits a skull-crushing finale on Jey! Miz covers Jey who kicks out at 2! All four men are down now and it’s Miz that gets to his feet first. Miz pulls Jey up to the top rope for a superplex but Jey fights him off. Jey then has to kick Mizdow away which gives Miz time to get up and attempt the superplex again. Jimmy tags himself in, Jey hits a sunset flip powerbomb on Miz and Jimmy goes to the top and hits a splash for the three! The Usos retain the WWE Tag Team Championships tonight!

Rating: 5.75/10

Renee young is with the Royal Rumble kick-ff panel Booker T, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves. Booker T is looking forward to the Royal Rumble match, Corey looks forward to the triple threat match for the WWE Championship and Byron Saxton wonders how John Cena will be feeling later.

We’re shown some footage from the Royal Rumble kick-off show with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro beating The New Day.

Joey Mercury is playing a game on his iPad backstage. Jamie Noble asks if he can get it on his phone. It’s a plug for WWE Immortals the game. Seth Rollins turns up and Mercury shifts the blame to Jamie Noble. Seth Rollins wants everyone focused on Seth Rollins winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Paige & Natalya vs. The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie)

The third consecutive tag team match of the night. Fourth if you count the kick off show. The Bella Twins are teaming up as a tag team for the first ever time on PPV tonight. Nikki Bella and Paige kick off the match and Nikki gets the first knockdown in. Paige kicks Nikki and tags in Natalya and they hit a double snapmare for a two count. Natalya applies a hammerlock which Nikki gets out of with an armdrag. Nikki, the DivaS champion, tags in Brie who lays in some kicks. Natalya picks up Brie and tags in Paige and they hit a double suplex. Paige pins Brie seductively for a two count. Paige hits some headbutts and then some knees before tagging in Natalya who hits a dropkick on the apron. Natalya tags in Paige who doesn’t come in. I think Paige thought that was just a high five. Brie drops Natalya and pins her but the referee won’t count it. Paige finally comes in and kicks Brie down to the mat before pinning her for a one count. Paige tags. Natalya who looks for a powerslam but Brie counters.

Nikki tags herself in, Brie hits a snapmare on Natalya and Nikki pins Natalya for a two count. Natalya hits some forearms but Nikki kicks Natalya down and applies a chinlock. Natalya gets. out of the chinlock but Nikki drops her back down with an uppercut. Nikki hooks the leg for a two count and then tags in Brie who hits a clothesline for a two count. Brie applies a chinlock but Natalya elbows her way out of it. Brie takes the advantage with a knee and then a running knee for a two count. Brie tags in Nikki and the girls hit a rolling slam of sorts for a near fall. Nikki applies a head scissors but Natalya powers up to her feet and hits an electric chair drop. Nikki looks for another rolling slam but Natalya counters and looks to apply a sharpshooter but Nikki kicks her away. Nikki hits some shoulder charges and a clothesline in the corner but misses with a second. Natalya kicks Nikki away and looks to make the tag but Brie pulls Paige off the apron. and that looked painful. Nikki drops Natalya with a big forearm and pins her for the three! The Bella Twins win this match decisively.

Rating: 3.75/10

We get a video montage of the superstars involved in the Royal Rumble match. Roman Reigns says the only thing that matter is winning the whole thing. Stardust says it is written across the sky that the cosmic key will be in his grasp. Goldust agrees. Rusev says that tonight is rise to power will be complete. The Miz says that it is his year. Mizdow agrees. The Big Show says that he is not mortal, he’s a giant and he will annihilate everyone. Fandango says that the roster under-estimates the power of the tango. Daniel Bryan says that he will win the Royal Rumble tonight.

There’s a video package next for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins – Triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

This is a first time triple threat match between these three men. The bell rings and Seth Rollins scarpers out of the ring. Lesnar then hits John Cena with a German suplex. Brock hits a second German suplex and Rollins gets in the ring but Lesnar sees him coming and sets up for an F5 but Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury save Rollins. Lesnar hits both members of J & J security with a German suplex and then goes to work on Seth. Lesnar hits a German suplex on Rollins and then gives Cena another one. Brock hits Cena with a suplex and then gives another one to Rollins who lands on his side. Lesnar suplexes Cena and then suplexes Rollins as he continues to dominate this match. An “E-C-Dub” chant breaks out as Paul Heyman watches on. Lesnar locks a kimura on Cena who manages to stand up to his feet but Rollins dives off the top with a knee and takes out both men. Seth kicks away at Lesnar but Lesnar hits back with a knee.

John Cena and Seth Rollins double team Lesnar, hitting him with a suplex. Cena then hits Brock with an attitude adjustment! Seth throws Cena out of the ring and pins Lesnar who kicks out at 1! Brock throws Rollins out of the ring and hits Cena with a suplex which sends him out of the ring. On the outside and Seth dropkicks Lesnar and Cena follows up with a dropkick on Lesnar of his own. Rollins then runs back into the ring and Cena follows, hitting two shoulder charges, a side slam and then motioning for a five knuckle shuffle but Seth tries to kick Cena who catches his foot and then motions a second time for the five knuckle shuffle but Lesnar hits cena with a German suplex and then a second. Rollins kicks Brock in the face and then hits him with a running knee, sending Brock out of the ring. Cena hits Seth with a Michinoku Driver but a two count. Rollins hits Cena with a blockbuster for a two count. Brock throws Rollins out of the ring and then gets hit with three clotheslines courtesy of John Cena.

Seth Rollins drags John Cena out of the ring and then looks for a springboard knee on Lesnar but Brock catches him and hits Seth with an F5! He hooks the leg but Cena breaks it up. Brock hits Cena with another German suplex and then steps outside the ring and takes apart the Spanish announce table. He gets back in the ring but Cena hits him with not one, not two but three attitude adjustments. He hooks the leg but Rollins drags Cena out of the ring and throws him into the ring steps. Rollins hits Lesnar with a curb stomp and hooks the leg but Cena breaks up the cover. Lesnar rolls out of the ring but Cena spears him through the barricade. Cena then throws Lesnar into the ring steps before picking up the ring steps and ramming then into Lesnar, sending him on top of the Spanish announce table. Seth Rollins then goes up to the top rope and hits an elbow drop on Lesnar through the table! Cena gets in the ring but Rollins rolls him up for a two count. Seth then hits a kick to the face and gets another near fall. Rollins looks for a splash but Cena counters, catching Rollins on his shoulder. Seth counters an attitude adjustment but Cena hits a pop-up powerbomb for a near fall.

Paul Heyman is screaming for a doctor for Brock Lesnar on the outside. Cena sets up Rollins for a superplex but Rollins counters and looks for a sunset flip powerbomb but instead runs across the ring and hits a buckle bomb for a near fall. Cena counters a cub stomp and ties Rollins up in an STF! Mercury and Noble break up the STF and beat down John Cena. A stretcher is wheeled out for Brock Lesnar as Seth Rollins hits a triple powerbomb with help from J & J Security. Seth grabs his Money In The Bank briefcase and runs at Cena who back body drops Rollins out of the ring. Cena then hits both Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury with a double attitude adjustment. Seth gets back in the ring with his briefcase but Cena sees him coming and hits him with an attitude adjustment! Cena hooks the leg but Rollins kicks out! Cena and Rollins get to their feet and slug it out. Rollins counters two attitude adjustments and hits a curb stomp! He hooks the leg but Cena kicks out! Seth heads to the top and hits a phoenix splash but Brock Lesnar comes out of nowhere and hits both men with German suplexes!

Brock tries for another German on Rollins but Seth lands on his feet, grabs his briefcase and nails Lesnar with it twice! He then looks for a curb stomp on the briefcase but Lesnar counters and hits an F5! He hooks the leg and gets the three! Brock Lesnar wins the match and goes on to Wrestlemania! A fantastic match from these three.

Rating: 9/10

There’s a numbers VT for the Royal Rumble. I enjoy this packages because I love a statistic.

The 2015 Royal Rumble match

I say it every year and will continue to say that this is my favourite match of the year! Entrant #1 is The Miz! He’s entering his 8th Royal Rumble match. #2 is R-Truth. A fair under-whelming start to the match, they have gone bigger with the first two in the past. Former tag team partners though in The Awesome Truth. It’s a 7th Royal Rumble for R-Truth. Both men take a second to stare at the Wrestlemania sign and then get into it. A small “we want Mizdow” chant breaks out. Miz pulling double duty tonight. Both men nearly eliminate the other but neither man go out yet. Miz takes Truth down with a kick and then tries and fails to eliminate Truth again. Truth hits a corkscrew dropkick and then goes up top but Miz crotches him.

#3 is Bubba Ray Dudley!

He gets a huge pop in Philadelphia! He’s dressed in full old school camouflage gear. He races down and hits Miz with clotheslines and a back body drop. This is a first time Royal Rumble match for Bubba Ray. He hits his trademark jabs and then hits a powerslam and holds Miz wide open for R-Truth to hit the Wassup drop! A big “E-C-Dub” chant breaks out and Bubba screams for Truth to get the tables! Miz stops Truth from getting the tables but instead gets caught with a Dudley Death Drop from Bubba Ray and R-Truth! Bubba Ray Dudley then eliminates The Miz and eliminates R-Truth!

#4 is Luke Harper.

Harper is wrestling in his second Royal Rumble match. Bubba Ray and Luke Harper square off and then slug it out. Bubba looks for the Bubba Bomb but Harper counters and hits a big kick to the face. Bubba Ray hits a clothesline but misses with an elbow drop.

#5 is Bray Wyatt!

A former running buddy of Luke Harper. A first Royal Rumble for Bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt and bubba Ray go toe to toe until Luke Harper helps out Bray Wyatt and they beat down Bubba Ray. A “we want D-Von” chant breaks out as Bubba Ray gets double teamed. Bray Wyatt then eliminates Bubba Ray Dudley from the match. Wyatt and Harper then go toe to toe but decide to wait for the next man to come out.

#6 is Curtis Axel! But he gets attacked from behind by Erick Rowan! Rowan throws Curtis Axel into the barricade and then runs down to the ring!

Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt double team Erick Rowan as the three Wyatt Family members slug it out. Rowan takes the advantage and hits both men with splashes. We’re then told that Erick Rowan isn’t officially in the match. But Bray Wyatt eliminates Erick Rowan anyway so I guess he was official! Wyatt also eliminated Luke Harper there.

#7 is The Boogeyman!

Another surprise entrant! Boogeyman crawls out and hits himself with his clock. This is a weird guy and someone we haven’t seen for a long time. We get a weird off as Bray Wyatt started crawling upside down and then takes Boogeyman down with a clothesline. Bray then tosses Boogeyman over the top, eliminating him from the match.

#8 is Sin Cara!

A second Royal Rumble for sin Cara who hits a springboard elbow on Wyatt and some kicks. Sin Cara heads to the top but Wyatt hits him with a right hand on the way down. Bray Wyatt then hits Sister Abigail on Sin Cara and tosses him over the top, eliminating Sin Cara from the match. Bray Wyatt gets on the mic and tells everyone that this is Bray Wyatt’s year before singing “he’s got the whole world in his hands”.

#9 is Zack Ryder!

Zack Ryder gets a big pop. He slugs it out with Bray Wyatt and hits a missile dropkick off the middle rope. Ryder hits a splash in the corner and then the broski boot. Ryder pulls Wyatt up to his feet and looks to throw him out but Wyatt counters and eliminates Zack Ryder from the match!

#10 is Daniel Bryan!

Daniel Bryan unsurprisingly gets a huge pop too. Daniel Bryan quickens the pace and hits a clothesline and four running dropkicks before laying in some kicks. Bryan then hits a top rope hurricanrana as the crowd join in a “Yes” chant.

#11 is Fandango

Fandango lays in some right hands and a dropkick to take down Daniel Bryan. Fandango hits a hard Irish whip on Daniel Bryan and then looks for a side suplex but Bryan counters and kicks Fandango in the head. Bryan then lifts Fandango up onto his shoulder and spins around and around!

#12 is Tyson Kidd

Tyson Kidd pulling double duty too as he wrestled on the kick off show. He hits a springboard dropkick on Daniel Bryan and then a hard Irish whip on Fandango. There’s some accidental teamwork from Daniel Bryan and Tyson Kidd until they decide to slug it out with each other. They then hit cross bodies on each other and both men go down.

#13 is Stardust

Michael Cole claims that it’s a first Royal Rumble for Stardust but come on, we all know it’s Cody Rhodes. Stardust takes down Tyson Kidd and Daniel Bryan as the ring starts to fill up a little. Stardust hits an uppercut on Fandango and then throws him over the top but Fandango holds on and looks to eliminate Stardust who holds on. Daniel Bryan hits a side suplex on Tyson Kidd which eliminates him from the match! Bray Wyatt is on the outside for some reason so Daniel Bryan hits him with a suicide dive. Neither man eliminated.

#14 is Diamond Dallas Page!

Another surprise entry! And a second Royal Rumble for Page. Stardust stomps down DDP as he tries to get into the ring but DDP counters and hits Stardust with the Diamond Cutter! Fandango takes down DDP and looks for the flying legdrop but DDP crotches him on the top rope. DDP then hits a top rope Diamond Cutter on Fandango! Bray Wyatt attacks DDP from behind but DDP hits him with a Diamond Cutter too! A popular entry into this Rumble.

#15 is Rusev!

Rusev walks out waving the Russian flag. Lana is left at the top of the entrance ramp. Rusev counters a Diamond Curter and kicks DDP in the face. Rusev then eliminates Diamond Dallas Page and Fandango from the match! Rusev and Bray Wyatt go toe to toe but Daniel Bryan dives off the top with a dropkick. Bryan then hits both men with kicks as Stardust watches on. Bray Wyatt and Rusev get the better of Daniel Bryan, double teaming him. Rusev then throws Daniel Bryan on to the apron and Bray Wyatt hit him with a clothesline, eliminating Daniel Bryan from the match. Not a popular elimination there. But a good shout having Bray Wyatt as the man to eliminate him.

#16 is Goldust

A tenth Royal Rumble for Goldust. He hits Rusev with a powerslam and then lays into Bray Wyatt as the crowd boo. Goldust then looks for shattered dreams on Bray Wyatt but stardust throws goldust trying to eliminate him only for Goldust to hang on. Goldust and Stardust then slug it out as the crowd chant for Daniel Bryan. Goldust and Bray Wyatt then go at it as Stardust and Rusev pair off in another corner.

#17 is Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston gets boo’d as he walks out. He comes in with a cross body on both Goldust and Stardust and then hits both men with dropkicks. Bray Wyatt tries to eliminate Kofi but fails. Kingston hits a springboard clothesline on Wyatt and then goes after Rusev. Stardust and Bray Wyatt go at it on one side.

#18 is Adam Rose

Adam Rose is led out by the Rosebuds. Rose is wearing more black these days then the usual colour he has worn in the past. I think that’s to signify his heel turn. Rusev tries to eliminate Kofi Kingston but Kofi is caught by The Rosebuds! They carry him around the ring and throw him back in! Rusev then eliminates Adam Rose! Rusev then eliminates Kofi Kingston! We’re back down to four men, Rusev, Bray Wyatt, goldust and Stardust.

#19 is Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns gets a mixed reaction as he comes out through the crowd. Reigns slides into the ring and straight away Stardust and Goldust pounce on him. Reigns fights off both men as the crowd boo. Reigns then gives Rusev and Wyatt clotheslines before hitting Goldust with a Samoan drop. Reigns then eliminates Goldust and Stardust from the match! The crowd are really booing Roman Reigns so far. Rusev and Bray Wyatt double team Reigns but he fights off both of them too.

#20 is Big E!

A second royal Rumble match for Big E. Rusev fights him down as he tries to get into the match. Big E hits a belly to belly suplex on Rusev and then looks for the big ending but Rusev fights him off. Reigns hits Bray Wyatt with right hand sin one corner. Rusev hits a rolling senton on Big E in the corner.

#21 is Damien Mizdow

Mizdow gets a big pop as he walks out. The Miz then runs back out and tells Mizdow to go to the back, he’s taking his post! Miz gets up on the apron but Roman Reigns hammer shim back down to the floor. Damien Mizdow then slides into the ring to a big pop. He hits Bray Wyatt with a DDT and Big E with a neckbreaker. Rusev then eliminates Damien Mizdow from the match. Reigns stomps down Rusev in the corner to more boo’s.

#22 is Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger entering his fifth Royal Rumble match. So far we’re yet to have a previous winner of a Royal Rumble match. Swagger takes down Rusev and hits him with a Swagger Bomb. There are some big guys in the match at the moment. Bray Wyatt takes shots at Swagger and then Rusev. Wyatt and Rusev then go back to helping each other out, double-teaming Jack Swagger.

#23 is Ryback

Another big man. A third Royal Rumble for Ryback. Ryback hits Rusev with a spinebuster and then takes down Bray Wyatt and Jack Swagger. Rusev hits Big E with a belly to belly suplex and then hits Rusev with the meathook clothesline. Ryback looks to eliminate Rusev but can’t. Bray Wyatt and Ryback then go at it. Two former member of The Nexus there. Big E and Jack Swagger are going at it in one corner.

#24 is Kane

Kane is one elimination away form equalling Shawn Michaels all-time record. A 16th Royal Rumble for Kane. Kane takes shots at everyone and then focuses on Ryback. Rusev and Bray Wyatt double team Roman Reigns. Big E and Jack Swagger are still going at it.

#25 is Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose gets a good pop. Ambrose goes right after Kane and then hits Bray Wyatt with a clothesline. Ambrose takes down Rusev and hits Kane with a big boot. Ambrose heads to the top and hits a flying elbow. Ambrose and rusev go back at it as Roman Reigns hits Bray Wyatt with a splash in the corner. Big E has Ryback teetering on the top rope. Kane hits Jack Swagger with an Irish whip.

#26 is Titus O’Neil

Titus O’Neil makes a lot of noise on the way down but Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose hit him with a clothesline, eliminating Titus O’Neil form the match. They made a bit of a mess of that. Dean Ambrose hits Bray Wyatt with a running dropkick. Rusev beats down Ryback until Roman Reigns takes Rusev away.

#27 is Bad News Barrett

The reigning Intercontinental Champion. He goes straight for Bray Wyatt and then Roman Reigns and then basically takes shots at everybody. Ambrose hits Barrett with lefts and rights. Big E and Jack Swagger double team Rusev as Bray Wyatt goes after Roman Reigns. Ryback tries to eliminate Kane. Ambrose hits Barrett with an elbow drop.

#28 is Cesaro

Cesaro gets a decent pop. It’s a third Royal Rumble for him. Cesaro hits Kane with uppercuts and then does the same to Ryback and Dean Ambrose. Cesaro then turns his attention to Jack Swagger. Rusev has Big E down in the corner. Cesaro hits his pop-up uppercut on Dean Ambrose. Ryback beats down Rusev as Cesaro takes down Bad News Barrett. Rusev then eliminates Big E with a dropkick.

#29 is The Big Show

It’s a tenth Royal Rumble for Big Show. Big show is 0-15 at Royal Rumble events. All of the other men in the match try to take down Big Show but he fights them all off. Kane chokeslams Dean Ambrose and Big show chokeslams Roman Reigns. Kane and Big Show then eliminate Ryback. Big Show eliminates Jack Swagger. Kane chokeslams Rusev. Kane has now equalled the all time record. Big Show chops Cesaro.

#30 is Dolph Ziggler

The final entrant gets a good pop. Dolph races down to his 7th Royal Rumble match and superkicks Big Show, Kane and Bray Wyatt. Dolph then hits a double DDT on Kane and Big Show. Dolph Ziggler eliminates Bad News Barrett. Cesaro swings Dolph Ziggler around and around. Cesaro clotheslines Dolph over the top but Ziggler manages to hang on. Ziggler then pulls Cesaro over the top and the two men slug it out on the apron. Ziggler hits a superkick which eliminates Cesaro from the match. Ziggler runs at Kane who back body drops him over the top but Dolph land son the apron. Ziggler heads up top but Big Show hits him with a KO punch on the way down. Kane and Big Show then pick up Dolph Ziggler and throw him out, eliminating him. Bray Wyatt looks for a Sister Abigail on Kane but Big Show hits Wyatt with a KO punch! Big Show and Kane then eliminate Bray Wyatt from the match. The crowd javen’t liked these past couple of eliminations.

We’re down to Kane, Big Show, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. I think the crowd will be behind Ambrose. The four men slug it out and Ambrose clotheslines both Kane and Big Show. Reigns hits a superman punch on Big Show. Reigns looks like he has blood on him. Reigns and Ambrose try to eliminate Big Show but fail. Kane big boots Reigns and Big Show beats down Ambrose. Big Show then chokeslams Ambrose. Big Show and Kane then dump Dean Ambrose, eliminating him from the match. The crowd are shitting all over this. Bullshit chants. Kane and Big Show look to eliminate Roman Reigns but Reigns fights them off to boo’s from the crowd. Reigns nearly eliminates Kane but Big Show saves his Authority mate. Kane thinks Big Show was trying to eliminate him and the two big men start going at it. Roman Reigns then eliminates both Kane and Big Show to win the match. And the crowd absolutely hate it.

Big Show and Kane beat down Roman Reigns after the match, hitting him with a double chokeslam. A “we want Rusev” chant breaks out. But instead the music of The Rock hits and the crowd go nuts! The Rock beats down Big Show and Kane. The Rock hits a people’s elbow on Kane and then a Rock Bottom on Big Show! Rusev then gets into the ring! I didn’t realise he was still in! Reigns hits Rusev with a spear and then throws him out of the ring to eliminate Rusev from the match! Roman Reigns wins the Royal Rumble match! I hadn’t realised Rusev was still in the match. The Rock celebrates with Roman Reigns at the end as the music is turned up to drown out the boo’s from the crowd. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon then show up and don’t look happy. A nice Royal Rumble match for the surprises but not one of the best.

Rating: 7/10

And that was Royal Rumble 2015. In short it was a poor undercard, an amazing triple threat match and a disappointing Royal Rumble match. The opener was poor with The Ascension beating The New Age Outlaws. I’m not buying The Ascension. They were popular in NXT but they’re not transitioning well to the main roster. I don’t mind this gimmick of them beating old tag teams though, it could be an interesting way to bring back some older tag teams. A fairly poor match though. The Usos then beat The Miz and Damien Mizdow to retain the tag team championships. I don’t think The Usos have had as much chemistry with this team as they have with the likes of Harper & Rowan in the past. The Usos won but the crowd didn’t seem too happy. Damien Mizdow is red hot at the moment. The inevitable split of Miz and Mizdow will be a lot of fun. There are plenty of tag teams in the running to challenge The Usos and maybe Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, who beat The New Day on the kick-off show, will be next in line?

The Divas tag team match was next and I think I would have preferred a divas title match. The Bella Twins won this one pretty decisively, beating Natalya clean. That probably takes Natalya out of the title picture but I can see Paige staying in the title picture. I have no idea where they will go for Wrestlemania, last year was the multi-diva match so maybe another one of those? There isn’t a strong enough looking singles match for the biggest event of the year yet but there are still a few months to go. Then came the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match which was fantastic. It’ll already be tough to beat this one for match of the year. I loved the psychology behind this match. Brock wins and goes on to Wrestlemania to defend the title and I’m not sure where this leaves Seth and Cena. Seth took the fall but he still has that Money In The Bank briefcase and probably limited dates to use it so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on him whenever Brock is about.

The Royal Rumble match was next and this was memorable for all the wrong reasons. The start was fun with Bubba Ray Dudley coming in as a surprise entry at number 3 and using R-Truth as his D-Von. That was a great surprise and got one of the pops of the night. Bray Wyatt then dominated for a while and even we got The Boogeyman surprise too. The match started to settle at the mid-point but the fans didn’t like Daniel Bryan being eliminated. They couldn’t win with this. If Bryan wasn’t in the match the fans would have boo’d, if he was then they’d have boo’d when eliminated. Bray Wyatt was a good choice to eliminate him because he’s a really over character and the crowd won’t boo him. But they would boo Roman Reigns. And he got boo’s all the way to the end. It’s the first time he’s really been boo’d like this and I’m not sure he was expecting it. The Rock came out to try and get some cheers but it didn’t work. Reigns goes on to Wrestlemania and I think Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns is a really strong main event. The WWE Championship match tonight saves the show from being a complete failure.

Overall Rating: 57/100 (ranked 186th out of 310)

Match Of The Night: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Worst Match Of The Night: The New Age Outlaws vs. The Ascension
Surprise Of The Night: Bubba Ray Dudley in the Royal Rumble match
Worst Booking Of The Night: Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble match in the manor he did
Superstar Of The Night: Roman Reigns
Royal Rumble 2015 Will Be Remembered For: Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble match and getting boo’d