Review: WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Was A Long Show

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The Royal Rumble 2019 may have been the longest WWE show in history following WrestleMania 33 two years ago. This is because the pre-show was two hours long and the main show was five hours long.

I managed to watch most of the whole show, but I missed the first pre-show match.

I did not see Chad Gable and Bobby Roode defending their titles against Rezar and Scott Dawson. Gable and Roode won the match from what I heard.

The first match I saw was Rusev defending his US Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura won the match after Rusev accidentally knocked Lana down from the apron. It was an okay match, but it wasn't anything special.

The last pre-show match was Buddy Murphy retaining his Cruiserweight title against Akira Tozawa, Hideo Itami and Kalisto in an entertaining match. There was a lot of high flying action and the crowd seemed entertained by the four men.

The first match on the main card was Asuka defending her title against a feisty Becky Lynch. The match started off kind of slow, but the match picked up towards the end.

One of my favorite moves from this match was a spinning neckbreaker Asuka did on Becky Lynch off the ring apron. At the end though, Asuka made Becky Lynch tap out in a decent effort.

The least exciting match from the Royal Rumble 2019 was The Miz and Shane McMahon vs The Bar.

I didn't care who won this match, but I was surprised to see The Miz and Shane McMahon becoming the new tag team champions. Shane ended the match on a high note by executing a shooting star press.

Much like Asuka vs Becky Lynch, the Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks match was also slow from the start. Sasha Banks kept isolating Ronda Rousey as the former got the upper hand.

The match ended very abruptly though when Ronda Rousey won by executing her Piper's Pit finishing move. It was an okay match, but it could have been much better than it was.

After that match, we were into the Women's Royal Rumble match. In my opinion, this year's match was inferior to last year's match mainly because there was less surprises and returns.

Not to mention the Rumble match felt slow and sloppy because the women kept getting each other out during the entrances of other wrestlers.

The only surprises in the match were NXT talent such as Rhea Ripley, Kacy Catanzaro and more entering.

Probably the highlights of the match were Kacy Catanzaro and Naomi copying Kofi Kingston by saving themselves from being eliminated. That said, both women eventually got out despite their heroic efforts.

The end of the Royal Rumble was predictable mainly because Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were the final two competitors.

I thought we would see a double winner, but Becky Lynch won by herself. I guess this means we'll see Charlotte vs Ronda Rousey at Elimination Chamber or Fastlane.

After the excitement from the Women's Rumble match, the worst match on the card was sadly Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles for the WWE Title.

The match was painfully slow and the crowd was pretty much dead and exhausted at this time of the night.

The match also had a shoddy finish because Erick Rowan interfered to help Daniel Bryan retain the title.

Hopefully this means AJ Styles will be facing someone else as it's time for him to move on away from the WWE Title.

Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor for the Universal Title was short, but it was way more entertaining than Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles. Finn Balor surprisingly gave a commendable effort as he was feisty and competitive against Brock Lesnar.

At the end though, Brock Lesnar's strength was too strong as he made Finn Balor tap out to a Kimura Lock. It will be interesting to see if a rematch occurs while Finn Balor is dressed up as 'The Demon'

The five hour PPV finally ended with the Men's Royal Rumble. It was a very long night, but the men's match was still entertaining.

There were no major/big returns aside from a few NXT people entering the match.

One big surprise was seeing Jeff Jarrett in the ring again with Elias at the beginning. Other notable names included Kurt Angle, Johnny Gargano, Alistair Black and Pete Dunne.

The biggest shocker was Nia Jax stealing R-Truth's spot at the number 30 position. She even got to get out Mustafa Ali before Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio threw her out.

The winner of the match was predictably Seth Rollins last eliminating Braun Strowman in a commendable effort. Seth Rollins has a choice to face either the Universal Champion or WWE Champion at WrestleMania 35.

Overall I did not think Royal Rumble 2019 was a bad show, but I have to admit it lasted way too long. Five to seven hours is way too long and WWE should have made some matches shorter.

I nearly fell asleep during the Daniel Bryanvs AJ Styles match because I was exhausted after seeing the Women's Royal Rumble.

Hopefully WWE makes its events closer to four hours long in the future because these current shows go for too long.

Verdict: 7.5/10

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