Opinion

WWE Week in Review: February 25-March 3, 2019

Tiffany breaks down the week that was for WWE. Do you agree with her assessment?

Published

6 years ago

March 4, 2019

TiffanyMC

Tiffany breaks down the week that was for WWE. Do you agree with her assessment?

RAW

Roman Reigns: It’s been a LONG time since I’ve heard a pop THAT loud for any one superstar. The Big Dog was back after being gone for months due to a battle with leukemia and he brought the best news possible: The leukemia is in remission! Great start to RAW. Loved Seth coming out, a complete 180 from October 22. Welcome back, Big Dog!

Aleister Black and Ricochet vs Revival: This was a study in contrasts on several levels. It was a great match, but it doesn’t feel like the whole point is to showcase the individual NXT talents as members of the main roster so much as it is an ad for NXT.

Baron Corbin: I’m honestly not sure what someone felt the need to have Corbin do that interview and I don’t care. I muted it as soon as I heard his name.

Elias: I LOVED this segment and I love that Dean’s back and is funny again. Him planting Elias with Dirty Deeds just made me happy. The challenge to McIntyre is interesting after last week, but we’ll see how it goes.

Riott Squad vs Ronda Rousey and Nattie: This was a really good match, but it was also one we’ve seen too many times. Sarah Logan has really improved a lot and Riott was impressive, as always. The real story of this match was Becky Lynch beating the holy hell out of anyone within reach with her crutch. I’m a little curious as to why Lynch was in the same outfit she was arrested in at Elimination Chamber.

Ronda and Stephanie: This was a really cool segment. There had been speculation that Lynch would make an appearance at Ric Flair’s birthday party, but Rousey demanding that Lynch be added to WrestleMania and threatening to vacate the title if Stephanie refused was very interesting, but I hope they aren’t doing this to protect Rousey at the expense of the match.

Jinder Mahal vs Kurt Angle: I really enjoyed this match. A lot of people were getting frustrated with Kurt Angle’s booking lately and this match seemed like a way to right the ship somewhat, but it’s clear that the Wrestling Machine has gotten a little rusty over the years, but it was fun segment and sometimes that’s all that matters.

A Moment of Bliss: After a few weeks’ absence, the cringe-fest that is A Moment of Bliss is back. I loved Bliss’ little dig at Rousey’s segment. The interview with Balor was…interesting, though I’m not sure I WANT to know what Bliss was going to show him.

Rush’s inclusion was the most interesting part of the segment due to Rush’s performance. He didn’t have his usual fire and swagger and was playing it like he was being forced to go out there. Balor came across as a bit of a jerk, but that’s understandable, all things considered.

Balor vs Rush: This was SUCH a good match and it was fun to watch Rush perform without Lashley. Rush vs Balor for the IC title could be a show-stealer for WrestleMania.

Ascension and Heavy Machinery: This was a very random segment. The Ascension hasn’t exactly set the main roster on fire since their debut a few years ago, so I’m not sure what the point is. The whole segment was just very strange and not funny.

Rush and Lashley: I loved how this segment played out, you really felt bad for Rush getting berated by Lashley. I couldn’t have been the only one going ‘Go get your own title shot, dude!’ The look on Rush’s face implies that Lashley’s going to be sorry for treating Rush the way that he is.

Strowman vs Lashley: Apparently, someone in WWE has finally realized that Strowman can’t do long matches with people not named Roman Reigns, so they’re building him up by having super short matches that accomplish nothing and the match with Lashley was no exception. The most that can be said is that it added more to the Lashley vs Rush story when Rush dove out of the way of Strowman and let Lashley take the hit.

Seth Rollins: This was a good segment. It established how happy Seth is about Roman being back and that they’re celebrating. I did find it interesting that Ambrose wasn’t mentioned at all in the interview, nor was his absence explained.

Dean Ambrose vs Drew McIntyre: This was a much better match than the mess last week. Dean had a chance to get out of the box and the two belt thing was hilarious. I’ve said before that I don’t believe Ambrose is really leaving and the way he lost, which actually protected him by having McIntyre need help, solidified that feeling further.

The Reigns/Rollins run in was very intriguing because they ran in and saved Dean, but left him alone in the ring. Clearly, Seth brought Roman up to date on Dean’s shenanigans, but Roman didn’t want to leave Dean to suffer a 4-1 beatdown, despite what he’d done and said. This is an interesting and intriguing story and I’m fully invested.

Bayley vs Nia Jax: Before I talk about this match, I have a question: Why did Sasha look like a mid-2000s teenager last night? Anyone know? Anyone? Bueller? Seriously, I liked the look, but it was just so out of character for her that I had trouble getting my mind around it.

The match was really good. WWE seems to be very invested in building Sasha and Bayley as tag champions, which is always good thing. I’m not sure about Nia and Tamina as challengers, but we’ll see come Fastlane.

Ric Flair’s Birthday: Well, we all knew SOMETHING was going to happen at Ric Flair’s birthday party, especially with so many legends in the ring, but I don’t think any of us expected what happened. I think the going theory even as the segment started was that Becky and Charlotte were going to be involved, no one expected that Batista was going to turn heel by beating up Ric just to get Trips’ attention. Ric Flair might still call himself ‘The Man’, but his health scare a couple of years ago really aged him and seeing Batista beat up a 70 year old man was really disturbing, which was the point. Guess we’re getting Batista vs Triple H after all.

Thoughts: What a difference a bit of good news makes! RAW has been struggling to keep the fans involved and hearing that Reigns was returning seems to have woken everyone up.

Reigns’ triumphant return aside, WWE does seem to be building the Fastlane card with an eye toward WrestleMania on all fronts, which is nice.

I’m intrigued by the probability of another Shield reunion, and hope it means that Dean Ambrose will continue to hang his hat in WWE for the foreseeable future since it seems silly to tease a reunion storyline for the Shield if one-third of them is leaving. Again, I firmly believe that Ambrose isn’t leaving, but a little confirmation of that would be nice.

SmackDown

Daniel Bryan/Kofi Kingston Contract Signing: Okay, I think I can see where this storyline is going, but it still angers me that Kofi got screwed out of the title shot he earned fair and square for Kevin Owens just because Vince decided that three amazing performances in a week isn’t good enough. Logically, I know that this SHOULD mean that Kofi will get his shot at WrestleMania, but you never know with Vince.

Kevin Owens/Stephanie and Shane: This segment solidified another way this whole storyline could go, which is Shane, Stephanie, and Triple H doing a hostile takeover because they’re tired of Vince’s antics and him overruling them and making them look bad to the locker room.

The idea to put Kofi and Owens in a match as a team is really adding insult to injury on Kingston’s end because he’s being asked to be a good sport and team with the man who stole the opportunity he’d busted his ass to earn, which puts Owens firmly in the heel column.

The Bar vs The Hardy Boys: This match was supposed to be Johnny Gargano vs Cesaro, but that was changed for North Carolina’s own Hardy Boyz vs the Bar. It was great to see Matt Hardy back and healthy. Rumor is that WWE has decided to not pick Matt’s contract up for a third year, but we’ll have to see. If that was the last time we saw the Hardy Boyz, they went out with a victory.

Ricochet, Aleister Black, and Lana: I like that they’re starting to put the NXT guys with some of the more established talent on SmackDown, but they still haven’t gotten away from putting them with recent-ish NXT guys.

That said, this was a really good segment. Black and Ricochet’s reactions to Lana were funny. Good way to set up the tag match and let Black show off his promo skills.

United States Championship Match: This match was so much fun. R-Truth is such a fun character to watch, it’s hard to jibe that with his NWA-TNA persona. Him tagging Cena in his decision to do an Open Challenge and an Open Challenge Triple Threat is exactly something Cena would’ve done. I loved the interaction with Carmella and Vega and hope that leads to a feud down the road. I was a little surprised by Truth’s win, but very happy for him. Guess the Mysterio/Almas feud is continuing though.

Charlotte Flair: I’m going to get heat for this, but I don’t care: Charlotte Flair needs to be taken out of the RAW Women’s Triple Threat. She’s adding nothing to it. Her promo was the same tone deaf, entitled princess crap she’s been doing for months and I’m sick of it. Let her stay and suffocate the SmackDown Women’s Division like she’s suffocated every women’s division she’s been in and let Rousey and Becky steal the show at WrestleMania because Charlotte is an albatross in this and she’s not needed or welcomed.

Aleister Black and Ricochet vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev: I really enjoyed this match. It gave both teams a chance to get their games in order and gel. Plus, there seemed to be some dream matches in the offing a little. Nakamura vs Black was incredibly good and I hope we see some more of that down the road.

AJ Styles: This was a good, if slightly formulaic, promo for Styles. It hit all his usual talking points, except for the part about Reigns’ cancer being in remission. Randy Orton’s inclusion in the interview was interesting and sets up their feud, but it didn’t do more than that.

Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan: There’s a lot that can be said for the racial politics of making an African-American play the good sport and work with the white person that got the opportunity, just for showing up, that the African-American had to bust his ass for, but this isn’t the place for it. This was a really good match for everyone involved. The crowd was firmly in Kofi’s corner, though there were some cheers for Owens. Even though Owens ‘earned’ the match by pinning Bryan, I really wanted Kingston to snap and lay Owens out, but that will probably wait until Fastlane.

Thoughts: The questionable decision about Kofi Kingston aside, this was a very random feeling SmackDown. I think having the fans see Kingston get screwed over on the whims of Vince McMahon sucked a lot of life out of the crowd. Owens’ return was interesting, but it got overshadowed by the fan rage over Kofi.

205 Live

Tony Nese vs Kalisto: This was such a good match, I wish it could’ve gone longer. Nese and Kalisto are great athletes but that often gets overlooked by their gimmicks. I’m not surprised that Nese won, Kalisto’s been involved in several of these #1 Contender tournaments, so it was nice to see someone new in the pack. I am interested to see what will become of the Murphy/Nese friendship if Nese becomes #1 Contender.

Jack Gallagher and Humberto Carrillo: I’ve stated my opinion on this storyline before and I’m still uncomfortable with it, but they’re making it clear that Carrillo doesn’t want to give up what’s worked for him. Hopefully, we’ll get an actual match soon.

Drake Maverick’s Office: It seems that Mike Bennett might be turning tweener or face if the conversation in Drake Maverick’s office was anything to go by. Bennett had a legit complaint and it was basically dismissed, PLUS Maverick pulled a dingy trick by promising a match but not promising that it’s a tournament match. If they do it right, Bennett COULD fill the Mustafa Ali, super over underdog role that 205’s been desperately needing since Ali moved to SmackDown.

Drew Gulak vs Brian Kendrick: Well, I can’t say this pairing was a surprise, but I’m surprised by how much I didn’t like it. Given how nasty the rivalry between Gulak and Kendrick had been back in the fall, I expected more ‘oomph’ in this match and it didn’t happen. I’m also surprised that Gulak won, but they seem to be trying to include guys who HAVEN’T been Cruiserweight Champion, with the exception of Cedric Alexander.

NXT UK

Tyler Bate vs Jack Gallagher: This was a great match! Jack Gallagher hasn’t been featured on 205 all that much lately, so it was nice to see him get some time to shine away from Gulak and he did a great job doing that with Bate. I was a little disappointed that Gallagher lost, but that doesn’t take away from a great match. I also hope it means that Gallagher will be moving to NXT UK and establish himself separately from Gulak.

Nina Samuels: This was another ‘Huh?’ promo, at least in my opinion. Samuels is a great competitor but I can’t say she’s been a barn burner. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. The dance thing was nice though.

Eddie Dennis: It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from the Headmaster from Hell and there’s a reason for that: He tore his pectoral muscle (Ouch) and was unable to wrestle and feed his family. Part of me felt really bad for Dennis because torn pecs suck, but I had trouble buying that he couldn’t feed his family since WWE still pays their performers if the performer is injured. However, his threat to the NXT UK locker room sound real enough and he’s still creepy.

WALTER vs Kassius Ohno: I think I’ve said before that I don’t get the hype for Walter, who I still think looks like a character from an old WWII movie, and that sentiment still stands. I also don’t like Kassius Ohno, so this match, even though it was pretty good, was a big ‘Meh’ for me. WALTER won, of course, building him for a match with Pete Dunne, but Ohno gave him more of a fight than most of his opponents do, so there’s that.

El Ligero: I really liked Ligero’s promo, but it’s still disconcerting to hear a British accent coming out of a guy in a Luchador mask, but I’m getting past it. I really like this feud between Ligero and Joseph Conners, so I’m happy to see that getting continued.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs Lorcan and Burch: When it was announced that GYV would be taking on Lorcan and Burch, I think we all knew that this was going to be a fight between two very brawly teams and it was certainly that. Lorcan and Burch, or Burch at least, have been in the business for a long time, but they kept up with GYV and put on a hell of match. GYV may have won, but just barely and Burch and Lorcan looked really good.

NXT

DIY Reunion: Since this took up a couple of segments I’m just going to put them together. This was an interesting storyline because we didn’t get to hear who or what Gargano blamed for his lack of success in terms of titles in NXT. Since Ciampa interrupted him, I’m going to guess he was going to blame Ciampa. Ciampa was his manipulative best, but it was clear that Gargano knows he’s being manipulated, or I hope he does and he’s not truly that stupid and/or naïve.

My one genuine beef with this angle is Candice LeRae. I like Candice and she’s a good competitor, but it seems that Creative can’t think of anything to do with her besides being Gargano’s worried wife, which is a waste of her talents.

Taynara Conti and Xia Li vs Aliyah and Vanessa Borne: These were two seemingly random match ups that produced a surprisingly good match. Conti and Li have the technical backgrounds but Aliyah and Borne are nasty fighters and held their own. I’m glad to see Aliyah finally get some success in NXT have being cannon fodder for so long. If this was a proof of concept for an NXT Women’s Tag Division, they did a great job.

Velveteen Dream and Undisputed Era: This was an odd promo. I’m not sure why Cole thinks he still has a claim to the North American Championship or why he thinks he should get a match. Dream’s gimmick I don’t really get anyway, but they seemed to have laid the groundwork for an…interesting feud.

William Regal: Honestly, this segment was just for the Shirai/Belair argument. I’ve said before that I don’t like Belair, so her whining that she should get another shot before Shirai, who PINNED the NXT Women’s Championship falls on deaf ears with me. Belair got her chance and she lost, end of discussion. If Belair should get another shot because of what happened during her match, Kairi Sane should be getting another chance before anyone else.

Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic: This was a really good, really physical match between these two behemoths. I’m not a fan of either guy, but it was a really great match for both of them and the Double Countout protects both of them until they can meet in NY (I assume).

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Brackets: As someone who comes from a state where basketball is king, I LOVE tournaments and I love brackets. The brackets for this look pretty good, but I was a little sorry to not see as many teams as I thought I would see. However, all the teams are good, so this should be a great tournament.

Boss-Hug Connection: I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how this segment was going to go since Sasha and Bayley haven’t been in an NXT ring in nearly four years, as hard to believe as that is, but I LOVED the reaction they got. The NXT Universe hadn’t forgotten who the REAL Four Horsewomen of WWE were, rather than the MMA wannabes.

The promo was really good, Sasha and Bayley seemed genuinely touched that they’d gotten such a great reception, but I was a little disappointed that no one from the Women’s Division came out to challenge them, but Sasha and Bayley seem to be making good on their promise to defend their titles on all of WWE’s brands, except for 205, which doesn’t have a women’s division.

Shayna Baszler vs Mia Yim: After last week’s encounter, the fact that that this match got made so quickly was a surprise, but I’m glad it happened. I’ve become a big fan of Mia Yim and I was glad to see the HBIC get a title shot. It was a good match and Yim proved that she had what it took to hang in the title picture. I was disappointed at how she lost, but she gave Baszler quite a fight, so hopefully that’ll mean something down the road.

Overall thoughts: This was a really good week for WWE programming. The return of Roman Reigns seems to have been a shot in the arm for RAW. SmackDown struggled, but still managed to build storylines for Fastlane. The NXTs and 205 were really good. There were a few snags on each show but that’s to be expected. Since we’re still more than a month away from WrestleMania, WWE’s still playing it safe, but that’ll change once we get past Fastlane in a week or so.

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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2025 WWE Royal Rumble Results, Review & Reaction

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

Published

3 weeks ago

February 2, 2025

Greg DeMarco

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

It’s the first Royal Rumble in an NFL stadium (thanks to the WWE calendar change), and both Rumble matches feature a star-studded line-up that makes it much harder than you’d think to pick a winner. I was lucky enough to attend one Royal Rumble live, 2019, and it’s always the best way to set the stage for WrestleMania.

If @whoislaniee‘s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is any indication, we are in for one hell of a night with one hell of a crowd!

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Always great to see Stephanie McMahon kicking off a show–the more Stephanie, the better. Apparently we’ve managed to pack 70,000 fans into Lucas Oil Stadium, and if you didn’t know, Pat McAfee loves him some Indianapolis.

With each match you’ll see my picks, in my traditional “Who Should Win?/Will Will Win?” format. I made them in this week’s solo edition of The Greg DeMarco Show, which you can listen to here:

Women’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Bianca Belair
Who Will Win: Bianca Belair

Last year’s winner was Bayley, entering at #3, and she went on to defeat Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Iyo Sky enters #1, and I do love the elevated platform–it’s not really a stage, but it does enhance the overall feel of the show. Old school fans will remember the entrance from Montreal watching Prime Time Wrestling.
I feel like Liv Morgan always enters these matches early. I also didn’t realize she’s been in all 8 Women’s Royal Rumble matches.
I do love the “ticker” across the bottom of the screen with stats and info during the entrances. Very ESPN, very “Wrestling As A Sport” to me.
Gotta say I was hoping for the black canvas (I’m biased), but I’ll always take grey over light blue.

Roxanne Perez has “Iron Woman” written all over her entering at #3. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

We even get “Active” and “Eliminated” in the ticket? I am REALLY digging this.
Lyra Valkyria enters to very little reaction–she’s a fantastic talent but has not connected on the main roster.
Lyra with the early wardrobe malfunction and we are already slightly derailed, kudos to everyone for getting it together.
Interesting to have the secondary champions enter back-to-back, and Indianapolis doesn’t seem to care much about her, either. Maybe I was wrong about this crowd, and maybe my criticism of Lyra was premature.
Chelsea thinking she’s dumped everyone and pointing to the sign is a great piece of business.
B-Fab enters at #6, and I would assume she has the lowest chance of winning of anyone in the field.
Man, B-Fab is still very NOT good.
Ivy Nile enters #7, the 5th straight entrant who has zero chance of winning this thing.
Also, we are still without an elimination, but probably 10 “hanging on the rope” spots already.
Ivy Nile is already more over in Indy than the Intercontinental and United States Champions.
Zoey Stark, complete with Barry Windham’s “Stalker” facepaint, enters eighth to continue our run of women with zero chance of winning.
Lash Legend enters at #9, and I have a feeling she’s about to win this crowd over.
LASH POINTED TO THE SIGN.
“Get her on the Fever” – Pat McAfee.
Chelsea Green gives us our first elimination, of B-Fab.
Bianca Belair enters at #10, really hurting my chances of being right.

And here’s my pick to win the Women’s #RoyalRumble, Bianca Belair. At #10? Doesn’t look good for me!

(Seth Rollins won his from #10, I believe.)

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

The crowd definitely picked up with Bianca being in the match.
BIANCA IS A MACHINE.
Shayna Baszler enters #11, reminding me she works for WWE. Which is sad, I really thought she’d have a hell of a run in WWE.
Bayley is #12, and we still have quite the group in this match. Personally I don’t see Bayley being a back-to-back winner.
Sonya Deville is in at #13 to complete the PFC trio in this match. I’m sure that’ll work out well for them!
Iyo Sky is so good, she saved Sonya’s knee spot and I am sure no one noticed.
Maxxine Dupri in at #14, another non-winner, but to her credit she only keeps getting better.
With 12 women thill in this match, I have a feeling we’re getting Nia Jax or Charlotte Flair soon to give us a bunch of eliminations.
Ivy Nile out, followed by Maxxine Dupri, and the countdown is on!
Naomi brings the halfway point with her, entering at #15.

Naomi is a former women’s champion and had an amazing WrestleMania moment back in Orlando–why does Michael Cole keep saying 2024 was her breakout year? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

All of PFC is gone, and nothing of value is lost (from this match–they are valuable as people).
Jaida Parker, entering at #16, comes in to a better reaction than half of the field. Miss Parker has a hell of a WWE career ahead of her.
Chelsea Green is so damn good at what she does.
And here comes Piper Niven at #17.
Will Piper somehow eliminate Piper?
Yes – the answer to that question is yes.
Naalya enters at #18, her eighth Royal Rumble. She’s a little over 20 minutes away from 3 cumulative hours in Rumble matches.

If anyone “deserves” a Royal Rumble win, it’s Natalya. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

FANTASTIC reaction for Jordynne Grace–that has to raise some eyebrows among leadership.
JORDYNNE GRACE IS A STAR.
Michin in at #20, as we are up to 10 eliminations.

BUT THE INTERNET TOLD ME ALEXA BLISS WASN’T GONNA COME BACK DUE TO A CONTRACT DISPUTE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Wade Barrett, Michael Cole, and Pat McAfee crapping all over the wrestling newz sites is amazing.
And you can tell Alexa Bliss is THRILLED to be back.
Zelina Vega in at #22 to not win the Royal Rumble.
HUGE SPOT for Zelina Vega and Jordynne Grace.
If you happen to rewatch this match, watch Bayley very closely. It’s a look inside the business–she’s basically an agent in the ring.
Candice LeRae enters at #23, and I am reminded that she’s the WWE Women’s Speed Champion. I also wonder if they’ve started piping in crowd noise for these entrances.
Of note, we haven’t closed a Royal Rumble PLE with the Women’s Royal Rumble Match since the first one in 2018.
Of the 10 women eliminated so far, 6 of them entered #4-5-6-7-8-9.

Great reaction for Stephanie Vaquer–Indianapolis seems to be an NXT crowd. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LET STEPHANIE VAQUER HER WIN YOU COWARDS. (Personal opinion, she’s the best women’s wrestler in the world.)
#25 already–we are trying to make up some time.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it’s Trish Stratus.

Honestly, did we need Trish Stratus? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Kinda wanted Jordynne Grace to toss Trish Stratus right there.
Piper Niven just kncoked the SH*T outta Trish!
Raquel Rodriguez in at #26, and we have 4 more entrants left.
Nia, Charlotte, and…..Becky? Nikki? (Bella, that is.)
The crowd is NOT HAPPY about Alexa Bliss’ elimination.
#1-3 all still in the match.
Charlotte Flair and her new face at in at #27.

Listen, I’m going to hell, but Charlotte Flair’s entrance reminds me of when JR returned from his stroke. Lay off the plastic surgery. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Love Wade Barrett pointing out that Charlotte got pyro. I hope Roman gets his, too.
Took Charlotte forever to get her robe off, apparently.
Like I’m supposed to believe Jordynne Grace can’t suplex Charlotte Flair?
Charlotte definitely brought some fire to this match.
Giulia getting almost no reaction is surprising given the reaction of some other NXT talents.
Iyo and Liv approaching an hour in the match, along with Roxanne Perez.

Giulia eliminated Jordynne Grace, which makes me think Jordynne might be spending some time in NXT. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Nia Jax enters at #29, leaving a surprise for #30? Becky Lynch?
Good for Nikki Bella! And she gave someone in the crowd one hall of a souvenir.
And now it’s time for the “World vs Nia” spot.
Forget Superkick It’s an APRON PARTY.
Roxanne Perez just snuck back in without being eliminated.
Given who is left, it does seem like this is Charlotte’s match to win.
ROXANNE PEREZ IN THE FINAL THREE?

This company obviously believes in Roxanne Perez. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LOLCHARLOTTEWINS

Winner of the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Flair

I don’t love the decision to have Charlotte Flair win the Women’s Royal Rumble Match after being gone for over a year, but she IS Charlotte Flair. This should shock nobody. I know Charlotte Flair is a dream match opponent for Tiffany Stratton in the eyes of many, and if she were to put Tiffany Stratton over at WrestleMania, then I will eat my words and say it was worth it.

Hell of a performance for Roxanne Perez, I haven’t seen the tally yet but I do wonder if she broke the record for longest time in one Rumble.

I could go for a Slim Jim meat stick right about now.

Why was Mickie James in the crowd, and not IN THE MATCH??? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, champions)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)
Who Will Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)

(I won’t be live tweeting or doing a bulleted list for these two matches, likely just the two Rumbles.)

Had to laugh seeing the drone in front of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin during their entrance.

DIY wins 2 falls to 1, making my prediction accurate. That is small change, though. I liked the match for what it was, but it’s a reminder of Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey from WrestleMania 38–great match, wrong setting. This was an arena match, not a football stadium match. Yes, that DOES matter. Setting is a huge part of pro wrestling.

NXT Black and Gold will always hold a place in my heart, but part of what made that what it was was the crowd. This wasn’t the crowd for this match. Plus it got around 15 minutes, which is about right for a 1-fall match featuring these four. On TV, counting commercial breaks, these guys get 25-30 minutes.

The Street Profits got involved, eventually attacking everyone. I fully expect a WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania, with DIY, MCMG, the Street Profits, and possibly Pretty Deadly and Angel/Humberto. This was really just the beginning–it was just misplaced on this card.

Winners AND STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: DIY

Michael Cole did also inform us that Roxanne Perez is the new record-holder for longest Royal Rumble performance. Score one for the good guy (me, from my tweet above).

Ladder Match for the WWE Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes (champion)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Kevin Owens
Who Will Win: Cody Rhodes

Love that Kevin Owens took down the Winged Eagle Championship during SmackDown last night, and entered with it. Granted, Cody Rhodes has his, too. But KO has a certain edge to him when carrying that title.

That little ladder is HILARIOUS. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This match was brutal, and whatever they are paying Kevin Owens isn’t enough. Cody Rhodes was beating on KO as a heel would, but he’s a babyface? I know everyone wants “Homelander” Cody, but really he might be more like “Patrick Bateman” Cody. Either way, as great as Cody is (and he is great), there is one missing element. At this point, it’s obvious to me that Cody is the worst babyface in the company. Look at him: THE MAN IS A HEEL.

While I’m glad Cody is fully out of The Bloodline’s shadow, he just needs to beat John Cena at WrestleMania, turn heel, and truly hit his stride. And I want true heel Cody. Chicken sh*t, goons, the whole thing.

Winner, AND STILL WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is gonna buy Kevin Owens a lot of cigars, booze, or meat. Whatever that man wants. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

You gotta think Sami Zayn not stopping Cody Rhodes from winning will be a major sticking point for Kevin Owens. Seems like we’ll get Sami vs Kevin at WM41.

Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Jey Uso
Who Will Win: John Cena

Last year’s winner was Cody Rhodes, entering at #15, and he went on to defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Rey Mysterio (Jr) enters at #2, and it’s obvious that gone are the days where randoms would enter at #1 and #2.
I believe I said on my podcast (if not, I meant to) that Penta would need to enter #1 or #2 so he can have his pyro.

I am so happy for Penta in the WWE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I really hope we get a Lucha Underground reference on commentary.
LET PENTA WIN YOU COWARDS! (I know, it didn’t work for Stephanie Vaquer.)
PENTA IS A STAR.
I do appreciate how they didn’t fight on the apron, instead just got right back into the ring.
Chad Gable in at #3, and all we need is for Dominik Mysterio to be #4.
That spot looked NASTY, I hope Chad Gable’s knee is okay.
Carmelo Hayes in at #4, and I am reminded that we likely get Trick in this match.

Trick Williams’ #RoyalRumble entrance is gonna be ICONIC.

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I know they have a temporary alliance at the moment, but Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes would be an absolute BANGER.
KING CUERNO vs PENTAGON JR! #IYKYK
That spot was far too similar to what we saw in the Women’s Rumble.
Otis in and had some fun.
BRON BREAKKER IS A MACHINE.
The crowd reaction to Bron Breakker tells me the WWE might make even MORE money in the future.
What if Breakker won this match? He won’t, but What If?
If not for WWE, I wouldn’t know who IShowSpeed was.
Honestly, nothing wrong with what they did with IShowSpeed there.
Sheamus enters at #9, and I assume we will see some Beats Of The Bowery.

Gotta play the hits, pal. (Sheamus.) #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This is the most normal Sheamus’ hair has ever looked.
Crazy that this is only Jimmy Uso’s 3rd Royal Rumble.
Big Jim definitely got a bulk discount on his new gear. I wonder how many color combos he got???
Andrade in at #11, and Wade Barrett points out what I’ve been thinking–why run to the ring?
Jacob Fatu enters at #12 and gets his pyro. The rocket ship has been strapped, pal.
Ludwig Kaiser enters at #13 and no one not named (Greg DeMarco Show co-host) Patrick O’Dowd cares.
Kaiser immediately dumped by Penta, and he’ll probably lose to him on Monday’s Raw, too.

Here comes the most underappreciated wrestler in WWE history, @mikethemiz. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

We lost Michael for a minute there.

The fact that Joe Hendry’s fact on the ticket is “Say His Name And He Appears” is amazing.

Great pop for him, too.

And Michael Cole references Nic Nemeth! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d actually forgotten that we’d likely get a Joe Hendry appearance, so they got a little pop out of me.
I acknowledge you, my Tribal Chief.

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️ #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk would be one hell of a match at WrestleMania, just sayin’.
Showdowns like Roman Reigns and Bron Breakker is what the Royal Rumble is all about.
SPEAR TO ROMAN.
That might have been the greatest spear ever.
After Joe Gendry and Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre gets very little reaction entering at #17.
Drew McIntyre with the very silky smooth hair tonight.
Finn Balor in at #18 and we have our second drone sighting of the night.
Something is wrong with Pat McAfee’s headset. Hell of a showing by Penta, by the way.
Jey Uso in at #20 to a HUGE pop.
LET JE YWIN YOU COWARDS.
Poison Rana by Jey???
Let’s hope AJ Styles can stick around for a bit this time. (Not necessarily in the Rumble, but in general.)

All these megastars, and Jacob Fatu might be the most over guy in the match right now. #ROYALRUMBLE

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d be okay if Braun shaved his head again.
Jacob Fatu can literally do ANYTHING and it makes sense.

JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!#RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

CM Punk, John Cena, and Roman Reigns all in the ring all at the same time? YES PLEASE.
Now add in Seth Rollins? This is the greatest Royal Rumble of all time.
The current field: Seth Rollins, CM Punk, John Cena, AJ Styles, Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, and Roman Reigns. That is ABSURD.
The only man who can follow all that talent is indeed Dominik Mysterio. This is about to be amazing.
Imagine if Dom wins. I mean, just imagine it.
With the addition of Sami Zayn, the storylines in this Rumble right now are insane.
Damian Priest, who is probably challenging Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, enters at #28.
Two more to go. Any surprises?
LA Knight, who I forgot was in this match, enters next.
I kinda expect him to move to Raw in this transfer window.
Ah yes, Logan Paul. I also forgot he was on this.
We’ve had a Nic Nemeth and now a Ricochet reference tonight. I love when you’re WWE, and you are comfortable talking about (almost) ANYBODY.

If I’m WWE, I have Logan Paul wait until the final two before jumping back into the ring. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

He didn’t, by the way. Opportunity missed.
Final 6: Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, John Cena, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul… STAR. STUDDED.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – the WrestleMania Main Event we never got.
YESSS!
Brilliant spot to have Logan Paul eliminate CM Punk.
Final 3: John Cena, Jey Uso, and Logan Paul. Two of my picks are left.
The action on the outside between Rollins, Roman, and Punk drives home how important the Rumble is to the competitors.
And then there were 2: my Who Should Win vs. my Who Will Win.
Please God let Jey Uso win this thing.
(And that’s not a slight against John Cena.)
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

IT’S JUST YOU, UCE! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Winner of the 2025 Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match: Jey Uso

Just like the sign said: EAT. SLEEP. YEET. MANIA. I am so damn happy for Jey Uso. You can tell John Cena was as well, along with Michael Cole. And probably everyone in the entire company. Jey Uso is the success story.

As for the match? Well obviously this is a knee jerk reaction, but eff it–this is the best Royal Rumble Match they have ever put on. The early action was fun and exciting. But from the time Joe Hendry’s music hit to the moment Jey Uso pushed John Cena off of the apron, this match was insane. I think Roman Reigns coming in at 16 was a huge part of that. Once Roman is in the match, you are watching to see a) what he does, and b) if he’ll get eliminated. CM Punk eliminating Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns was beautiful, and then Logan Paul tossing CM Punk was even better. If that leads to Rollins vs. Reigns and Logan vs. Punk at WrestleMania, you can take my money.

My money is a Peacock membership, which is automatically charged. But still. Take it.

If John Cena wins it’s still probably the best Royal Rumble Match of all time. But Jey Uso winning makes that an undisputable fact.

Overall Thoughts on the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble

The Women’s Royal Rumble was decent to good. Loved Roxanne getting the Iron Woman treatment, but in the end it’s another chapter of LOL Charlotte Wins.
I need to rewatch DIY vs MCMG because I was on the phone when my son called. Maybe I will enjoy it more on a second viewing.
The ladder match was brutal but the end result was expected. Cody is still missing something, and I think that something will continue to be missing until he turns heel. He’s just overshadowed by too many of the other babyfaces.
The Men’s Royal Rumble Match was the best Royal Rumble match they have ever put on. Great action in the early half, and from 15 (Joe Hendry) on, it was amazing. The storyline movement with CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins was (here’s that word) cinema, and having the most over wrestler in the company not named Roman Reigns win, and doing so by eliminating the odds-on favorite, was perfect. I’m biased because Jey Uso was my pick, but it was the perfect ending to what was probably as close to perfect as a Rumble match has been since 1992.

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TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Crown Jewel Immediate Reactions

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Crown Jewel. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

Published

4 months ago

November 2, 2024

PC Tunney

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Crown Jewel. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM