WWE Royal Rumble 2013 Review

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship - Last Man Standing - Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. The Big Show
The third Last Man Standing match in Royal Rumble opens up the night! Del Rio beat Show in this match on a SmackDown to capture the title and defends it here in the very same match. Cool choice to open the night since these matches tend to drag and a hot crowd is much needed in order to enhance the match to its fullest. The two did a great job of keeping things interesting and took the fight up upon the stage where Show landed a nasty Chokeslam through a table. Very awesome spot and Del Rio barely got up in time where they took the fight back to the ring. Del Rio scored the victory when Ricardo Rodriguez used duct tape to tape Show's legs on the bottom rope. Personally, I'm not a fan of the finish but it works since Del Rio is still in the early phases as a face and is trying to get over with everyone. A better match than expected and likely not the end of the feud.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Rating: ***1/4

Match 2: WWE World Tag Team Championships - Team Hell No (c) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
Team Hell No looks to continue their hot streak against Cody Rhodes along with Damien Sandow by his side. Simple match just placed to kill time and get us to lick our lips from the two main events that are next. Team Hell No is such a goofy time and such a great team at the same time, so good at what they do. They pick up the easy win after Daniel Bryan locks in the No Lock!
Winners: Team Hell No
Rating: *1/2

Match 3: 2013 Royal Rumble
Kicking things off with the return of Chris Jericho was awesome! Him starting against Dolph Ziggler was such a great choice. The crowd is insanely hot for this one and Jericho has never looked so pumped. As I always say, this match isn't the easiest to review but I will do my best to give you my thoughts! I love the surprises we get from this match and seeing Goldust enter with a huge pop was awesome! Him going against his brother, even better! Let us not forget about Kofi. The man who always does something crazy and this time around, he jumps onto the back of Brodus Clay who was eliminated earlier. Then he jumps onto JBL's chair and bounces back into the ring before being eliminated by Rhodes seconds later. Kofi always does something cool and it's a shame he doesn't hang around longer. Guess who always made an appearance. The Godfather! He entered the ring and got kicked out by Ziggler quickly. His entrance alone was worthwhile and reminds us why this match is so awesome. The funniest part was when Daniel Bryan eliminated Kane before Bryan was pushed out and landed into the arms or Kane. They argued until Kane simply dropped him onto the floor. Hilarious. Just another missed opportunity by having Bryan eliminated so early. Ryback is quickly losing popularity within the audience and him entering at #30 killed much of the momentum. The crowd barely gave him a reaction and they popped huge when Jericho hit him with a Codebreaker. Jericho continued to get huge reactions and Ziggler kicked him out in a fantastic sequence that got the crowd even louder. The final four was between Cena, Ryback, Sheamus, and Ziggler. Sheamus quickly took care of Ziggler with an awesome Brogue Kick to eliminate Ziggler out of the Rumble. This is where the match kicks it up a notch. Sheamus looks exhausted but pumped to the max. Crowd is still hot and Sheamus tries to hit a Kick on Ryback but gets tossed out! Ryback vs. Cena! A few exchanges but Cena overcomes the odds and eliminates Ryback and becomes the winner of the Royal Rumble for the second time. A bit of a disappointing match in my eyes, the ending was pretty anticlimactic and predictable. Jericho, Ziggler, Sheamus, and Kofi all stood out but it's hard to predict how they will be looked at heading into WrestleMania.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: WWE Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. The Rock
Finally... Ten years off his last WWE Championship run, The Rock looks to regain the gold against CM Punk. This crowd remains hot and both men look pumped and ready to go. Punk is amazing as a heel, his mannerisms with the crowd look so simple but are so awesome at the same time. And Paul Heyman in his corner only helps him miles more. Great storytelling early on in the match as a battle-tested champion in CM Punk looks to be in complete control against a rusty Rock. Punk does everything in his power to injure the rib area of Rock and Punk looks like a ruthless heel. Rock finally looks to reverse the tide as they tale the fight outside to the announce table. Rock goes for a Rock Bottom but the table prematurely breaks which leads to Rock hitting it on the floor outside. Really sucked that the table broke before Rock was able to hit it, the match needed a cool moment like that. Even still, the action continues back in the ring. Rock goes for the People's Elbow but the lights hit! The Shield send Rock through the other table! Lights were all off when this happened so Punk won't get disqualified and lose his belt. Punk rolls Rock into the ring and covers for the win. Mr. McMahon then comes out and The Rock cuts off McMahon and wants the match to be restarted immediately. Rock hits the Elbow with no lights shutting off the captures the WWE Championship, ending CM Punk's long reign. A bit of an odd match, nothing too special but felt like a big attraction which seems like The Rock's style of wrestling these days. The Shield's interference was cool but took a little too much away from the match. Hopefully, the rematch is better than this. Cena vs. Rock II coming up.
Winner: The Rock
Rating: ***

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Just like the Rumble match itself, this was an overall disappointing show for me. The opening contest was great and set the pace nicely but that was pretty much it. The Rumble match didn't really live up to its potential and seemed like a recycled version from years past. The main event, however, is what will ultimately be the reason why I'll remember this event. Good match and that's as far as it will go for me. Definitely one of the weaker Royal Rumbles in a long time.
Rating: 5.5/10