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This past Friday, we got to experience the first ever Greatest Royal Rumble match and event. I’m going to quickly recap each match, but first, I wanted to talk about a few things that came up this week as we were waiting for Friday.
The first thing that came up was the lack of women’s matches. Now, I’ll admit, until someone asked me about it, I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, of course the women would fight. But, I was wrong. And what I came to find out that the law in Saudi Arabia states that women cannot compete in sporting events. And professional wrestling is definitely included in that. So, watching this pay-per-view, I do feel that the women’s events were missed.
The second point that was brought to my attention was the event being held on a Friday rather than a Sunday night. Now I am aware that there is a time difference between the United States and Saudi Arabia, so seeing the event at 12 PM EST didn’t get to me. But, why a Friday? I am fortunate to know someone who lived in Saudi Arabia for years growing up. She informed me that the reason is because Saudi Arabia’s weekend is Thursday and Friday. So, their “Sunday” night is on Friday.
So, there are my initial thoughts, let get to the card.
John Cena v. Triple H
This match was a strong one to kick-off the show. Both men got a huge reaction as they entered the arena. The match featured an old school start and a slow build. I think one of the most exciting things is waiting for John Cena to kick out of a pin, he gets so close to 3! In the match, Triple H kicked out of an AA and reversed it. Cena kicked out of a pedigree. So how do you beat someone who kicks out of the AA? Give them two in a row. Cena gets the pin.
Cruiserweight Title – Cedric Alexander (c.) v. Kalisto
A traditional cruiserweight match with lots of high-flying, very athletic moves. In the end, Cedric Alexander retains.
Raw Tag Team Titles – The Bar v. Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
The Bar got a big pop from the crowd. We got a lot of information in this match. For one, the Bar has held the tag team titles longer than the New Day. I had no idea! Throughout this match, you got some classic “Bar” moves. A couple of cheap shots from the apron by the non-legal man. But, in the end, an elevated twist of fate sealed theirs, and the Bar fell to Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.
United States Championship – Jeff Hardy v. Jinder Mahal
A pretty hard-hitting match between these two. Jeff is able to retain after hitting a swanton bomb off the top rope.
Smackdown Live Tag Team Titles – The Bludgeon Brothers v. The Usos
After a quick start by the Usos, it ended up being all Bludgeon Brothers. Bludgeon Brothers retain.
Intercontinental Title – Ladder Match – The Miz, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, and Samoa Joe
In my opinion, this was one of the best matches of the night (day?). But, it’s hard to not be. 1. It’s a ladder match, we love those. 2. You have the 4 best competitors in the match, all with very different styles. 3. It’s a ladder match. And it did not disappoint. Joe did a great job improvising when the unruly ladder didn’t stay propped up against the ropes. Miz delivered a skull-crushing finale on a ladder – ow! And Rollins came from out of nowhere to beat Finn Balor up the ladder and grab the Intercontinental title, retaining.
WWE Championship – AJ Styles v. Shinsuke Nakamura
I would say this match was highly anticipated. After Shinsuke’s heel turn following his loss at WrestleMania 34, I expected him to be on the war path for the WWE Championship. And we definitely got some hard hits between the two. The match ended in what I thought was a disappointing fashion when both men got counted out. And of course, Shinsuke got another low blow in. So, this story will be continuing on Tuesday nights.
Casket Match – Rusev v. The Undertaker
With the changes in this match that we’ve had over the past few weeks, I was very excited to see how this match played out. And, it was good, but not great. The Undertaker looked solid, but I think he and Rusev are too different in their styles. Rusev was really made to look like a heel in this match, and Aiden English provided some comic relief as he interfered regularly in this no-disqualification match. Taker would of course go on to win by delivering a choke slam to Rusev and then rolling him into the casket, followed quickly by doing the same to English. Another fun moment was Taker lifting English. It seemed he didn’t realize how light he would be compared to Rusev.
Universal Championship – Cage match – Brock Lesnar v. Roman Reigns
After the response and what we heard and saw at WrestleMania 34, this match needed to be one for the books. I believe I like most people was considering what will come of Roman Reigns should he lose to Brock again. Check back for my post when I explore some of those ideas. Back to the match at hand.
This match was very exciting. To start, we got several German suplexes and F5’s. Both men at one point were on top of the cage deciding whether they would or could get down. But the end of the match came when Roman hit Brock with a spear through the cage, sending them both to the ground. By rule of the referee, Brock’s feet (or knee, or something) touched first, and he was declared the winner, “and still, Universal Champion”. I have a feeling that on Raw, Roman will not be satisfied with that end, and will demand another shot. And, honestly, I think Roman’s feet hit first.
The Greatest Royal Rumble
Aside from the few NXT entrants and Hornswoggle, there were no surprise entrants to this rumble. Daniel Bryan was the first entrant and was able to stay in the match for a record-setting 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 5 seconds. Braun Strowman had the most eliminations with 13. But there were two parts of this match that were better than all of that.
- Braun Strowman choke slams Shane McMahon off the top rope and onto the announce table.
- Titus O’Neil trips on a ring mat and slides under the ring.
After a whopping 77 minutes, Braun Strowman comes out victorious at the first ever Greatest Royal Rumble winner.
Some backstage events:
- It is great to have Jericho back. Tom, whose real name is Mike, should count himself lucky that Jericho doesn’t know his real name. Tom made the list, so Mike is in the clear.
- 4 prospects from the tryouts in Saudi Arabia make their in-ring “debut”, but get interrupted by the Iranian team – which adds some real heat
- Aside from the vacant Raw Tag Team titles getting a new owner, no belt changed hands at this pay-per-view.
