Royal Rumble 2013

Alberto Del Rio vs The Big Show (Last Man Standing)

Another really, really good match between these two. At this point I think the Last Man Standing is probably the WWE's best gimmick match - most of them are really good to great, and I can only think of one off my head that was outright bad (HHH vs Michaels). This had more of Show continuing one of the best runs of his career, just playing the monster like a boss. Some crazy feats of strength (deadlifting Del Rio up to the platform) as well as some athletically impressive stuff for a 400lb 40 year old. How many guys that age and shape can take a rana that cleanly? Del Rio's offence was much sharper than usual, though I could still live without seeing a hundred superkicks a match. Of course, this wouldn't be a hardcore Del Rio match without atleast one totally nutty, wreckless bump, and boy did that Chokeslam off the stage through the table look nasty. I loved JBL selling the nearfall like fuck as well. "WE GOT US A FIGHT". Ricardo was brilliant as usual in his role, and I liked how the armwork paid off with a twist on the Cena vs Batista finish.

Team Hell No vs Rhodes Scholars

This was totally average, plain Jane, run of the mill, whatever. No different to a match these guys would have had on TV with no build. Bryan got to work FIP, but the heel's heat section was pretty dry. There was the awkwardly botch neckbreaker between Sandow and Kane. Not bad, but passable to say the least.

Royal Rumble

I'm hesitant to call this the best Rumble in recent years, as it's a pretty empty compliment, but this was strong at points. Ziggler was always going to be the marathon man, but Jericho as number two was a well done surprise that brought the sort of in-match fued that makes Rumbles worthwhile. There was some fun schtick early on, with the likes of Santino and the much improved Titus O'Neil, and a good mix of heavy hitters and mid-carders through the middle stage of the match. Lost my shit for Goldust as a surprise entrant, and again, him and Cody going at it added that extra flavour that makes Rumbles fun. Kofi's annual gymnastic spot was again probably the most entertaining thing he'll do this year, even if the timing of it totally killed Bo's entrance. Speaking of Bo, the stuff with Barrett was interesting, but he totally failed to leave any sort of impression. He did nothing memorable offencively, this was not a Maven moment.

I was hoping for Lesnar or Taker as a surprise entrant, but even without that the match felt like it lost some momentum towards the end. Cara and Khali as late entrants were poor choices. Also on the downside, no one wrestler really stood out as giving a great performance here. People played their roles, but no one really stole the show. Cena winning wasn't a bad decision, but it felt very underwhelming as he should have had more offence/struggle in before eliminating Ryback.

Bump of the match goes to Drew Mac's flipping exit to the floor.

CM Punk vs The Rock

Straight off the bat this had a 'Big Fight' feel and some of the most heat for a WWE match in a long, long time. Heyman was awesome with his little cheapshots and expressions early on, and I liked how this was much more focused that Rock vs Cena. Playing off the Sheild attack and Punk's leg injury allowed them to build the body of the match around bodypart work, even if it never lead to much other than a Sharpshooter nearfall. Punk's big dive off the top was cool, as were some of the counters they busted out. The table botch was horribly awkward, but the Rock Bottom on the floor actually looked much more painful, which saved it somewhat. All of over-booking with the lights out and Rock going through the table, and Vince re-starting it was what it was. Rock's heroic speach came off a little corny, but the crowd were red hot for it, so it was fine. My only problem with the finish was that Rock really needed some more offence or struggle in before just Spinebuster > People's Elbow for the finish. It felt too easy for him to come back from all that with so little. Overall it was a good match, just not the classic it looked on paper.

Good show all round. Predictable, safe booking, but logical at the same time. Show and Del Rio continie to rule it on the Smackdown side of things, and Rock vs Cena II should atleast be better than the first match.