|
Post by Mid-Carder on Jan 28, 2019 6:08:53 GMT -5
For once, the predictable winners was a good thing, I was pleased with both Rumble winners, but the matches themselves felt like a slog.
|
|
|
Post by HMARK Center on Jan 28, 2019 6:59:59 GMT -5
I admittedly only saw from the Raw women's title match onward, but of what I saw I'd give is a 6.
The Rousey/Banks and women's Rumble matches weren't bad, but man did they get sloppy out there. Far too many moments where people seemed to set up for spots that didn't happen, lost track of what they were doing or, obviously worst of all, people seemed to be about an inch or two off from breaking their neck or legs. That said, that criticism made Io Shirai stand out all the more for being so damned great; that woman can do no wrong in the ring, so hopefully they make good use of her in the booking. Still, solid job keeping up Becky's momentum, that absolutely had to be booking's #1 job during this and they made the right call, even if it's likely leading to a 3-way at Wrestlemania.
Bryan/Styles was the main match I tuned in for, and good God what a disappointment. Wasn't the story supposed to be "Vince coaxes AJ into acting more like his vicious, heel self in preparation for the Bryan match, since AJ should want revenge for losing his title in a dirty finish"? If so, why the hell did the match open so slowly and revolve around Bryan working the arm, which factored into nothing later on? Why didn't AJ come out guns blazing looking for payback, or force Bryan into being extra violent leaning into his "new" personality? And will an AJ Styles PPV match ever, ever have a clean, satisfying finish? Honestly, outside of a couple solid spots it was a really sad lack of storytelling going on in the ring, and it was the type of match I point to when people question why I get sad when my favorites go to or re-sign with WWE: Bryan and Styles might be main eventers, and good for them that they are, but these WWE main event matches, by and large, suck.
I didn't pay close enough attention during Lesnar/Balor, I think (was getting tired at that point), but it did precisely what it needed to do and did it pretty well: go fast and furious right away, play up Brock's physical advantages, also play up that Balor has a legitimate chance to knock off Lesnar without it being a fluke (loved Balor's double stomp and gut-focused offense playing off Lesnar's real life ailments), but in a mad dash to the finish Brock just manages to slap on his finish and escape. Nicely done, and a much-welcomed change of pace from the usual drudgery of WWE main events, which usually are booked to go on forever but have nothing interesting to say for the entire time. Keeps Brock over as a monster, but Balor still comes out looking like he's for real and can go toe-to-toe with the beast despite his size, and all in just about ten minutes, I dig it.
Men's Rumble was probably better than most of their men's Rumbles in recent years, but it definitely could have been a bit more exciting, I guess. There was a nice, long run there where it felt like everybody who entered was someone you could buy as a winner, and it made me realize how deep WWE's roster is, then made me sad to realize that none of these guys, besides maybe Rollins, are as over as they should be thanks to WWE's booking style. Not letting the ring get TOO crowded was a solid choice, but it did keep things a bit bland and predictable. Still, on the whole pretty good, and Rollins winning is the right call.
I still have issues with how they book the Rumbles nowadays, though: way too many "avoiding elimination on a technicality" spots, for one. They're impressive, yes, but the people who do them never win so there's not much reason to care anymore. Second is the "eventual winners/final two guys take a nap midway through" section; seriously, if you're that worried about a guy having gas in the tank for the finish, then have him enter later, it's fine.
The big criticism, though, is the camera work and the way the ring is laid out during the matches, because holy hell were there a lot of times when I completely forgot who was in the ring or straight up couldn't see who was doing what. I mentioned Io Shirai before, who's beyond insanely talented, but after her opening two minutes in the match she fell off the face of the Earth until her elimination; it happened with a lot of guys in the men's Rumble, too. Just get in there and show us what's happening, even if it's just someone taking shoulder drives in the corner or something, because with the current camera angles the physical toll of the Rumble doesn't come across at all, it just feels more like a video game where somebody comes in, hits a couple signature spots, then vanishes into the crowd until their elimination or victory spot.
|
|
Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
Unique and Special Snowflake, and a pants-less heathen.
Perpetually Constipated
Posts: 39,333
|
Post by Push R Truth on Jan 28, 2019 7:08:33 GMT -5
That was the best JJ has been for 20 years.
|
|
|
Post by Super Duper Dragunov on Jan 28, 2019 7:10:03 GMT -5
Gonna go with 8. Strongest PPV in ages.
I'm not going to let the length of the show determine my number since the contents of that length were actually fan friendly, and really good moments.
That being said I had to watch the replay, and pause it halfway through to take a break. So that helped. I did reactions videos for both Rumbles and by the time the men's came around I was beat.
But I still enjoyed it, but the women's RR should have main-evented IMO.
I'd rather a long PPV where cool shit happens rather than sitting through the equally long PPV's before where it was Vince booking for himself. Becky wins. Rollins wins. I wish it was Balor instead of Rollins, but it's okay. They've set up the triple threat about as good as you could for the women without treading the old ground of "eliminating both at the same time" and Bex looked like a goddam beat.
Asuka looked AMAZING, and her and Becky had fantastic chemistry together. Easily the second best match of the night behind the Women's RR.
Rowan ruining what was building to a great match was stupid. Like seriously? The only person you could think to put in that position is clunky charisma vacuum Erick Rowan? Lame. Joe not getting back in and immediately eliminating Ali was a missed opportunity. RuRu losing the title back to Shinsuke was just mind-boggling.
And I HATED #30 being known in advance. Other than that, yeah it was long, but the quality overall was still there.
The biggest disappointment for me though? The camerawork. It was atrocious.
|
|
|
Post by abjordans on Jan 28, 2019 7:44:45 GMT -5
I voted 7. Fun night of graps, but way too long. I fell asleep before the Rumble ended, so that sucked kind of.
|
|
|
Post by Malibu Stacy on Jan 28, 2019 8:37:45 GMT -5
7
I liked both of the women title matches, LOVED the womens' Rumble. But the show went too long, and that's with me skipping the preshow. I guess I'm glad that I didn't pay much attention to Bryan/AJ, seeing the consensus here. Mens' Rumble was fine, though I'm in the minority on wanting Drew to have won (plus he was one of my random number pics). Oh, and I enjoyed Nia's spot in the mens Rumble.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2019 9:27:14 GMT -5
5. It was shaping up to be a pretty decent show until it went off a cliff at the WWE Title match.
Asuka/Becky, as I said in the appreciation thread for the match, was excellent and the best match of the night IMO. Excellently wrestled and booked.
Miz/Shane vs the Bar was my bathroom break match, so no comment.
Ronda/Sasha had decent moments but was really, really sloppy overall.
The Women's Rumble was fine - wish Alexa had a better showing and really wish Nia hadn't been so dominant but overall it was fine. Kacy Catanzaro was probably the biggest surprise for me, had no idea she was so athletic. Rhea Ripley looking beastly was great to see too. And of course Becky overcoming Charlotte to win was perfect.
AJ/Bryan was almost impressive in how it managed to be so, so boring while featuring two of the best wrestlers in the world.
Finn/Brock was alright in a vacuum but the lack of the Demon made Finn look like a total idiot, and made the outcome even more obvious. Really could've done without Finn getting jobbed out post-match too.
The Men's Rumble was largely awful, save for Andrade and Mustafa having really good showings. Aleister eliminating Ambrose was great until he got eliminated by living heat vacuum Baron Corbin. Drew getting eliminated by Dolph goddamn Ziggler was laughable, the Nia stuff was incredibly stupid, and I have absolutely zero interest in a yet another Seth Rollins main event.
So yeah, first half wasn't bad, but everything from the first world title match on was pretty dreadful.
|
|
|
Post by Hypnosis on Jan 28, 2019 10:05:31 GMT -5
God, it's so long/10.
Okay, I did like Becky vs. Asuka, Becky winning the Women's Rumble, and Ali's showing in the Men's (Intergender?) Rumble.
Big E got eliminated too early, though.
|
|