Granted, the last two editions were terribly disappointing, and the fans hijacking 2014's instalment will go down in history. Let's hope WWE has learnt a lesson from that and gives Daniel Bryan the moment in the sun he deserved last year - but never really got.
Apart from the big match, there's not a great deal else to get excited about, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as great undercard matches at the Rumble always get forgotten anyway (see Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt from last year). Can WWE undo months of shoddy booking and boring television by kicking the road to WrestleMania off with a bang? Read on to find out...
WWE Royal Rumble 2015: As it happened
WWE Network gets official UK launch: What do we think
The Ascension vs New Age Outlaws
The unwritten rule of PPVs is that you start them off with a fast-paced, mid-card match featuring two fairly 'over' wrestlers. This was none of that. The Outlaws were backed by the hot crowd, but this shouldn't be on a PPV. Billy Gunn looks like he can still go, but Road Dogg looks awful and he was never good in 1998. It's an extended squash match as you'd expect, but The Ascension look dead in the water already.
I love the idea of an '80s throwback team, but the execution has been awful and neither guy is big enough. Billy Gunn dwarfs both of them! The Fall of Man is pretty cool - and there's not much else to say other than a bizarre way to open the show.
What to Read Next
Winners: The Ascension
The #FallOfMan takes out @RealBillyGunn, and #TheAscension topple the #NewAgeOutlaws at #RoyalRumble! @WWERoadDogg pic.twitter.com/45hRDwZjWx
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs The Miz and Damien Mizdow
Mizdow is something of a genius, but who the hell still cares about these two teams? The Usos are good workers and their entire shtick panders to the crowd yet they never get a reaction - never.
If anybody in WWE needs a manager, it's those pair. It's virtually the same match you've seen on Raw and Smackdown for the last few months. Mizdow does his imitating, there's a few near falls, Usos do their moves, Mizdow gets a big pop, Usos win. Instantly forgettable.
They just need to fast-forward to Miz and Mizdow breaking up, but I fear Mizdow will then get abandoned and left in purgatory once again.
Winners: The Usos
The @WWEUsos successfully fend off the challenge of @MIkeTheMiz & @TheDamienSandow at #RoyalRumble! pic.twitter.com/kL6ZsoZmCD
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
The Bella Twins vs Paige and Natalya
I still don't understand why the Bellas are back together, because the last I remember Jerry Springer was involved and there was something about dying in the room. It's all a little hazy, because I just don't care about these grossly annoying people.
Anyway, this match isn't as bad as you think it would be. Paige and Natalya are WWE's top two female wrestlers - but they didn't carry Brie and Nikki who are natural heels and have good chemistry, if only they could wrestle. I liked the psychology of the match but it was too long - and nobody should ever be pinned after an uppercut/forearm smash.
Winners: The Bella Twins
The @BellaTwins celebrate their victory over @NatByNature & @RealPaigeWWE at #RoyalRumble. pic.twitter.com/NVR04dPkam
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
Seth Rollins interview: 'Triple H is not the worst human being'
WWE's Daniel Bryan: 'I want to wrestle Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31'
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar has an aura about him that you can't manufacture. He's a beast of a man, a true destroyer, once the official baddest man on the planet, and I'm going to miss him so bad when he inevitably jumps back to UFC and gets killed by Cain Velasquez again.
Triple threat matches are rarely better than singles matches because there's usually too much going on - but this was a masterpiece of a match and probably even tops Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Benoit from WrestleMania.
Brock Lesnar does something incredible every time he wrestles. You can't help but stand back and admire. His presence is unmatched - it's the same feel as watching The Undertaker or Randy Savage. His speed and agility should be an impossibility, and his power is breathtaking. He ragdolls 200lbs+ men like they're nothing. Brock is a violent man and in my view, WWE still don't get it with him. He is money, and should be secured at any cost.
As you can imagine, Lesnar suplexes the hell out of anyone and everyone - I was even hoping he'd vault the referee over his shoulders. Seth Rollins is the perfect heel and feels so fresh in comparison to the blandness of recent past (hello, Randy Orton). He reminds me of Triple H from 2000 - so slimy, so snivelling, but you kind of like him. Seth spends the early potion of this match watching Lesnar beat Cena up, before running in to try and take advantage.
It was a brutal old match. All three men put everything into it, and Rollins' star status was surely secured with the announce table spot (just watch it).
This was an unpredictable match in many ways. Most expected Cena to pick up the win and equal Ric Flair's 16 world titles - but you got the feeling early on that it wasn't going to go that way, and that added to the thrill of it all.
Cena and Rollins tried to hit Lesnar with everything they had, but not even multiple finishes can kill him (that spot finally worked well for the first time since 2001). Lesnar finally triumphed with an epic F-5, solidifying one half of the WrestleMania 31 main event. What a match.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
And STILL your @WWE World Hvt. Champion ... @BROCKLESNAR!!
#TripleThreat #RoyalRumble #F5 @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/ffmw7UKRHb
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
Hulk Hogan fans want one more WWE match
Chris Jericho interview: 'Ryback was unfairly accused'
30 Man Royal Rumble:
Let's start with this: I don't dislike Roman Reigns as a wrestler. Sure, he's a little bland and generic, but he's still a baby. I actually agree that he could be 'The Guy' for WWE over the next decade if he becomes a better promo. But like this? How could anybody think this wouldn't be a trainwreck worse than last year?
There is not a WWE fan alive who believes that putting Reigns over Daniel Bryan was a good idea. The fans in Philadelphia killed it, rejected it outright just like they did last year, but now the damage can't be undone. With Batista last year, the mistake could be rectified by turning Big Dave heel and then he could go off and save the Galaxy with Chris Pratt and a tree voiced by Vin Diesel.
But Reigns is supposed to be the guy that's going to headline every PPV between now and 2020, and not even The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment could rescue it. They booed The Rock! He wasn't even booed that bad when he was Corporate Rock back in '98.
GET THE TABLES!!!
#BubbaRayDudley #3D @RonKillings #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/4L2HoYgcS6
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 26, 2015
Let's rewind a little bit. The Miz and R-Truth were the first two out, which surely should have been a sign of things to come. But then for the first time the clock hits zero, and out comes Bubba Dudley to a mega pop and everything feels alright again. I hope he's back permanently.
Truth and Bubba hit a 3-D on Miz, because I guess Vince McMahon thinks Dudley is interchangeable. Eventually, Dudley and Bray Wyatt go nose to nose and Wyatt eventually eliminates the ECW legend. The Boogeyman (remember him?) is the next surprise entrant, and is immediately eliminated by Wyatt. Christ, I hated The Boogeyman.
#RoyalRumble ENTRANT No. 10: @WWEDanielBryan
#RumbleNo10 #YES #YES #YES #YES pic.twitter.com/KLElAnEjWx
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
Daniel Bryan enters at number 10 to a huge pop, but he was also eliminated by Wyatt fairly quickly. He was discarded like a mid-carder and the air was sucked out the building. Wyatt didn't get any heat because the crowd just raged at everything and for the second year in a row, a fan revolt was on.
This year's Kofi spot involved him falling onto the Rosebuds, who then carried him around the ring before helping him back onto the apron. I'm so tired of these, and this one wasn't even very inventive. He was sent packing by Wyatt not long after too. When Roman Reigns did finally come out, he was plastered with boos and from then on, all the fans do is boo (apart from the times they chanted for CM Punk).
The two other hot faces in the match were Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose, but the heels got them too and all hope was gone. The final four are technically Reigns, Rusev, Kane and Big Show - but Rusev had disappeared after it was thought he was eliminated by Kane, but he really wasn't.
Anyway, Reigns eliminates Kane and Show, thinks he's the winner, the two big men go back in ring and lay a beating on the former Shield member before The Rock's music hits. Cheers soon turn to boos, as the crowd just revile the idea of Reigns winning.
Rock and Reigns clear house before Rusev runs back down only to be immediately eliminated - and thus, we have our Royal Rumble 2015 winner and the boos continue to the end of the broadcast.
Winner: Roman Reigns
.@WWERomanReigns eliminates @RusevBUL, hiding under the ring. Roman is GOING to @WrestleMania!! #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/23E6wEaVHa
— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2015
Verdict: WWE deserve everything they got with tonight's poorly-received finale. They're actively harming themselves by keeping Daniel Bryan down - he's the most popular guy in WWE, only Vince McMahon doesn't see it like that.
It's a depressing state of affairs when fans have to defecate on a decent show to voice their displeasure at the booking. 'CancelWWENetwork' was the number 1 trend on Twitter after the show went off air, which tells you all you need to know.
The triple threat was a match for the ages, but the finale just left a bad taste in the mouth once again.
Sam Moore is a culture writer from the UK, writing mainly about film, TV and music for the likes of The Guardian, GQ, The Independent and many more. He is currently working on a book about the making of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
