**30-Women Royal Rumble Match** A genuinely good Rumble for a majority of the runtime, with plenty of stories weaved throughout that can play out on not only Raw and SmackDown, but NXT as well, that is until we got into the last 5 entrants. The final 4 was absolutely terrible. Charlotte Flair not only returning, but winning was just bad. It felt like booking that would've happened in a Vince McMahon era show. The Royal Rumble should be an opportunity for new stars to shine, not for old ones to hog the spotlight. This took the winds out of the sails for a highly anticipated show. Luckily the show recovered from this low. ★★★½ **2 out of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships -#DIY vs Motor City Machine Guns** A really entertaining match between these two, with both teams getting to showcase why they are so special in the ring. The interference laden finish in a Big 4 PPV match was kind of ridiculous, but it made sense in the context of the story being told. Hopefully, this leads to a triple threat match for the titles at WrestleMania. ★★★½ **Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship - Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens** Them taking their time to start the match was kind of annoying, not only because of Charlotte winning beforehand, but the tons of commercials put in this PPV. But, it ended up being absolutely worth it. There are some insane spots in this match, made all the better because of Rhodes' and Owens' intensity. The ending shot of this match has me thinking that things are not over between these two. ★★★★½ **30-Man Royal Rumble Match** Thanks to rumors before the show, I spent this entire match thinking John Cena was going to win (because Charlotte was also named as a winner), and thank God they were wrong. While my favorite didn't win, unfortunately, Jey Uso is definitely a good choice to win given they've been pushing the guy. This Rumble also had some great surprises, like TNA World Champion Joe Hendry making his Royal Rumble debut (wish he was in longer), and the return of AJ Styles. I wonder how the fallout between CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns is going to play out on Raw. ★★★★ **PPV Grade:** **Match Quality: 77/100** **Show Structure: 90/100** **Atmosphere: 85/100** **Story: 55/100** **Production: 85/100** **Overall: C+ (78/100)** Hampered by the terrible booking decision in the first match, this was unfortunately the worst Rumble PPV of recent memory. This wasn't a complete waste of time, though, as the Men's Rumble and the WWE Championship Ladder match definitely hold this show up. The neat addition of the ticker tape at the bottom helps people keep up with Rumble stats, which I hope they keep in the future.
