WWE is holding their Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah. The venue is completely sold-out with men, women and children as well as leaders of the Saudia Arabian community.
WWE went all out, the stadium looks high-end very modern, and the electricity from the start of the show has been beyond. They opened the show with a huge firework show, and it looked VERY special.
HHH VS. JOHN CENA OPENED THE SHOW
This match opened the show which added to the incredible hype and energy of the show. Overall, the match was pretty basic. It was a slow build-up to a bunch of near falls. The crowd was into both guys, and cheered for both Cena and HHH. HHH kicked out of the AA, Cena kicked out of the pedigree. John Cena then won with two more AA’s and pinned HHH. John Cena then took the mic and said he was so proud to be there, thanked the kingdom of Saudia Arabia and also said that no matter what is going on his universe that he would not have missed this night.
Cruiserweight Championship: Kallisto vs. Cedric Alexander
This match didn’t get as big of a reaction even during some of the cooler spots. Both guys went out there and did the best match they could given that they were following the big HHH/Cena match. Cedric Alexander retained.
Raw Tag-Team Championship Match:Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy vs. The Bar
And yes the crowd even did the fireflies entrance! It’s pretty cool to see the fans do things that some of us might have not expected. And Matt Hardy even got the crowd do a few “delete”chants!
This match was a basic Raw match, the crowd wasn’t into this match at all. At some points it was silent. Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy ended up winning and are now the new Raw Tag Team Champions.
U.S Title- Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal
If anyone expected for Jinder to get any sort of reaction they were wrong. Including myself. Jeff Hardy entered first and got fireworks and the crowd popped for him. But then again, you cheer for the guy with a huge firework display (haha.) And then the Singh brother came out to introduce Jinder and he was welcomed with BOOS! Then Jinder came out to zero reaction. As he made his was to the ring , I even noticed a few people giving him the thumbs down.
As for the match itself, Jeff Hardy carried the match and ended up winning with the Swanton Bomb. Pinning Jinder clean. It should also be noted that prior to the start fo the show, they started with a few second promotional clip of Jinder, so I don’t know if they excepted him to be over.
After this they played a video that many can seem to be quite controversial, considering it was a propaganda video on how Saudia Arabia is progressing, yet not allowing any WWE women employees to work on the show.
After that Chris Jericho came out and did a backstage interview, said he would win the Greatest Royal Rumble, this was great.
Then Daniel Bryan also had a backstage interview saying he would win.
Smackdown Tag Match: The Usos vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (c)
Not the best Usos match, but honestly it wasn’t terrible. I still haven’t been sold on the Bludgeon Brothers but the way the past matches have been going on today’s show, this match was in right there with them. In terms, of being basic, nothing incredibly special. The Bludgeon Brothers retained.
IC Title Ladder Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
This ladder match was pretty good, each man held their own and each had a moment of domination thoughout the match. There were a few cool ladder spots and the crowd held a momentary “This IS Awesome” chants, Seth Rollins retained his title after spring-boarding from the ropes to the ladder blindsiding Finn who almost won, and taking the belt out of his reach. This was a good out-of-nowhere ending because now this can push a Rollins/Seth program further. Finn was robbed and you bet he’s going to want his revenge.
Then they introduced the newest additions to the WWE Roster;Nessar, Hussein, Mansoor, and Faisal. They were at the Saudia Arabia try-outs. The crowd popped huge for them which was nice.
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This is the rematch after their “dream match” at Wrestlemania in New Orleans. Shinsuke is officially a heel now, and this fued has mophed into a more personal matter.
This re-match was better than there Wrestlemania match, they moved at a faster pace and had some really nice back and forth strikes. The crowd responded well to this match. Shinuke low blowed AJ when the referee had his back turned. Then they took the match outside the ring and they ended up being counted out. This turned into a brawl, well technically a beat down to Shinsuke by AJ. Instead of this program being a superior wrestling match it has evolved more into a “hatred” between both guys. By that I mean they are focusing more on the story. From the looks of it they are carrying this feud for a while more and possibly another rematch at Backlash, maybe an “I Quit” or some sort of stipulation match.
Casket Match: Rusev vs. The Undertaker
Huge pop for the Undertaker.
Possibly one of my fave matches of the night, it was simple and entertaining. Taker and Rusev had great chemistry and Aiden English added a lot to the match. They got off to a good start, and I loved how freaked our Rusev was near the casket, it played really well.
Taker got Rusev in the casket, but Aiden stopped him from closing it. Aiden also worked the crowd to get heat for him and Rusev. Taker got Rusev back into the casket and then tombstoned Aiden and rolled him into the casket with Rusev. He closed the casket and took the win.
Universal Championship Steel Cage Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
So far best match of the night! It was exciting and controversial.
First the with the intros, the crowd did care for Roman. They didn’t boo him like in the states. He had a few cheers but Brock was still more over.
The match opened with Brock doing 4 suplexes on Reigns and an F5.Then Reigns did 3 Superman matches. Then he speared Brock 4 times after they both tried escaping the cage. There were quite a few near falls, and in the end Roman speared Brock to the cage and lost the match because Brock’s “feet” touched the floor first.
This was a good finish I think even though there is controversy surrounding it.
50 Man Royal Rumble Winner: Braun Strowman
Entrant// Eliminated By
- Daniel Bryan \\ Big Cass
- Dolph Ziggler \\ Kurt Angle
- Sin Cara\\ Ziggler
- Curtis Axel\\ Mark Henry
- Mark Henry\\ Ziggler & Bryan
- Mike Kennelis\\ Mark Henry
- Hiroki Sumi\\ Mark Henry
- Victor (Ascension)\\ Daniel Bryan
- Kofi Kingston\\ Elias
- Tony Nese\\ Kofi & Xavier
- Dash Wilder (Revival)// Bryan &Ziggler &Hornswoggle
- Hornswoggle\\ Tony Nese
- Primo Colon\\ Kurt Angle
- Xavier Woods\\ Elias
- Bo Dallas\\Kurt Angle
- Kurt Angle\\Elias
- Scott Dawson (Revival)\\ Bobby Roode
- Goldust \\ Bobby Roode
- Konnor (Ascension)\\ Elias
- Elias \\ Lashley
- Luke Gallows\\ Rey Mysterio
- Rhyno \\ Roderick Strong
- Drew Gulak\\ Tucker Knight
- Tucker Knight (Heavy Machinery) \\ Big E Langston
- Bobby Roode\\ Baron Corbin
- Fandango\\ Mojo Rawley
- Chad Gable\\ Apollo Crews
- Rey Mysterio\\ Baron Corbin
- Mojo Rawly\\ Orton
- Tyler Breeze\\ Mojo Rawley
- Big E Langston \\ Braun Strowman
- Karl Anderson\\ Orton
- Apollo Crews \\ Orton
- Roderick Strong \\ Baron Corbin
- Randy Orton\\ Elias
- Heath Slater \\ Braun Strowman
- Babatunde\\Braun Strowman
- Baron Corbin\\ Randy Orton
- Titus O’ Neil\\ Braun Strowman
- Dan Matha \\ Braun Strowman
- Braun Strowman —– WINNER
- Tye Dellinger \\ Braun Strowman
- Curt Hawkins \\ Braun Strowman
- Bobby Lashley \\ Braun Strowman
- The Great Khali \\ Strowman & Lashley
- Kevin Owens\\ Braun Strowman
- Shane Mcmahon \\ Braun Strowman
- Shelton Benjamin \\ Jericho
- Big Cass \\ Braun Strowman
- Chris Jericho \\ Braun Strowman
Overall, this royal rumble was good, it was very entertaining. One of the highlights that had everyone talking was Titus O’ Neil tripping and missing the ring. Daniel Bryan lasted the longest and in my opinion should have won. However, the rumble was won by Braun Strowman.
Instinct Culture 