By Dot Net Staff

WWE Royal Rumble 2012 – One Shot Reactions

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Ryan Kester (Twitter - @TheRyanKester):

Show Grade: C+

• It would have been interesting to see what the World Heavyweight Championship match could have been if Mark Henry wasn't injured. Big Show and Daniel Bryan did what they could to cover for him, but their match was so short and anticlimactic that it didn't do the feud justice.


• John Laurinaitis hindered the WWE Championship match. The build to the match was great, but when it came time to deliver he simply got in the way of a very well wrestled match.


• While there was too much comedy for my liking, the Mr. Socko vs. The Cobra spot had me laughing. I wish Foley was used for something more than a crowd pop and a comedy spot, but that was still entertaining.


• It's good to see Sheamus win the Rumble. He's been floundering for half a year despite his considerable abilities. I look forward to seeing him get a renewed push.


• This year's Royal Rumble felt lackluster due to the heavy reliance on comedy and undercard wrestlers. It speaks to the state of WWE's roster that they have so few guys that are over and feel like they belong in the Royal Rumble.

• First of all, I have to discuss the Rumble match, which I found to be quite exiting and very fun to watch. The drama was well built and the winner was a big surprise.


• The surprise matches featuring the Diva's and Brodus Clay were nothing more than I would expect to see on Monday Night Raw, which is not a compliment.


• On top of the filler matches matches, there were a ton of filler video packages that made the time between each match feel like an eternity.


• The undercard of the Rumble was ultimately disappointing with none of the matches living up to expectations.


• Sheamus' win was exciting, which might make up for a Rumble match where all three commentators ended up being entrants. There was a lot of wasted time in this match, although the end was great, the lead up was not.

• The opening cage match was entertaining while it lasted, but Bryan and Big Show could only do so much to cover for the obviously hurting Mark Henry. I like that Bryan retained, and I think the Big Show story line is worth continuing, but the finish was rushed and the match as a whole didn't feel PPV worthy.


• The filler matches and video packages littered throughout the show to pad its length really hurt the overall presentation. This felt very much like a very expensive episode of Raw.


• The match between John Cena and Kane wasn't completely awful, but the post match stuff was cringe worthy. The cardboard door on Zack Ryder's locker room was bad enough, but then we're supposed to believe he's in a temporary sheet rock and 2x4 room directly behind the main stage alone in his wheel chair. Then the awful acting from Eve set the whole thing off. Set this on fast forward and play some Benny Hill music and you'd have a dark comedy.


• I really appreciated the effort put out by Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk. Both guys wrestled their asses off tonight. I could have lived without CM Punk having 758 visual pins on Ziggler before he finally beat him, but I guess that was part of the story. Laurinitis in his no sleeve referree shirt felt a little too McMahon for me, as well.


• The Rumble Match itself was kind of flat for me. I liked some moments, like Kofi's great handstand spot and the dueling socks with Mick and Santino, but there were a few too many comedy moments and not enough top guys wanting to go to WrestleMania. Sheamus winning the match didn't so much surprise me as disappoint me, as it doesn't feel like they have anything ready made for him. They better strap a rocket on him.

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