WWE Royal Rumble: 11 Things I Loved and Hated

Last night saw the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble. Sheamus came out victorious in the namesake match, earning himself a title shot of his choosing at Wrestlemania 28.

Alongside the main event match, there were two title defenses, a grudge match between John Cena and Kane, a Diva's tag match and yet another Brodus Clay squash.

The PPV itself got a mixed review from me, here's the things I loved and hated about this year's event.

Minor Irritations

• The Great Khali returning.
• Johnny Ace not really being a special referee.
• Three of my four picks being eliminated within the space of ten seconds (Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes)
• The Miz's tan.
• Camacho not popping some sweet jumps on his low-rider while waiting for Hunico to get eliminated
• Brodus Clay's lack of move set.
• David Otunga being number 27.
• The Diva's match breaking down, and Teddy Long not coming out to make it even more of a tag team match.
• Hornswoggle not being involved in the Royal Rumble match (joke?).
•  Michael Cole being so surprised that Booker was entering the Rumble, despite the fact he was sat at the announcer's table with no trousers on.

Hated: World Heavyweight Championship Match

As far as title cage matches go, I thought this one was pretty poor. To be honest, everyone knew that Daniel Bryan was going to win, and essentially how he would win, but I felt the match itself was subpar.

There were rumors circulating prior to the PPV that Mark Henry was carrying an injury which would sort of excuse his contribution, or lack thereof, as it seemed to be the Big Show was doing the majority of the work in the ring.

The question is whether the match ended as planned or not, as it seemed like D-Bry slipped out of Big Show's grasp to claim the win. Was this how Creative wanted the title bout to end?

It was an average opener, but definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

Loved: Daniel Bryan's Role in the WHC Bout

While I didn't like the match as a whole, D-Bry's role was great. As the heel he was consistently looking for the cheap win, including trying to scuttle over the top while Show and Henry battled it out, and trying to sneak out the door.

When the match ended he continued his over-acting and boasting which have become staples of his current character. Probably one of the most intriguing things about Bryan's character now is that he is midway between a 'tweener and heel. While the majority view was to boo him, there was still a section of cheers in the crowd.

Hated: Unannounced Matches

I am getting pretty fed up of WWE throwing in matches at the last minute with no prior build up. Maybe worse than that is that the matches are not of PPV quality.

A four-on-four Diva's tag match? We see that on Raw almost every week. As for Brodus Clay versus Drew McIntyre, we could have just seen that on Smackdown.

Unfortunately, these "bonus matches" are becoming a regular occurrence and it seems to be that not a PPV goes by without one.

Hated: Drew McIntyre Getting Squashed

I've been loving Brodus Clay's rise recently. I think the way they've repackaged him is great, and I think he's going to have a decent run. However, I've been a little disappointed that the likes of Alex Riley and Drew McIntrye have been jobbing to him.

Creative have taken Drew down a pretty terrible route recently, putting him on a losing streak that Heath Slater would be proud of. This has forced a face turn as the crowds are feeling increasingly sorry for the underutilised star.

These stars should have been featured in the Rumble, and not been in a minute long match.

Squash matches have no place during a pay-per-view.

Loved: The Ricardo Rodriguez Skit

How to get over in thirty seconds, by Ricardo Rodriguez.

This few minutes was awesome. The fans were genuinely entertained by Rodriguez in his over-sized nappy, and hopefully this could lead to him doing a little more in the ring in the near future.

Even as a fully grown adult, his slap stick antics had me in stitches and I certainly hope that this won't be the last R-Rod skit which we see.

The question is, how all of this will fit in when Alberto Del Rio returns? Could ADR disown R-Rod for "mocking" him? We'll have to wait and see.

Loved: Kharma, Jim Duggan and Road Dogg Making Their Returns

While the returns of Road Dogg and Jim Duggan were great for nostalgia's sake, the big talking point of the night will be Kharma.

I was genuinely impressed that the WWE had managed to keep that one under wraps as she was a fantastic addition to the match.

Aside from her few minutes in the ring, what Kharma really brought with her was hope for the Diva's division which, hopefully, is about to get a lot better.

Hated: The Commentary Team Entering the Rumble

Okay, fair enough to Booker T for having a place in the Royal Rumble because he's actually had a feud in the last six months - but for all three to get up from the commentary desk to enter was a little excessive.

During the Royal Rumble match I was on Facebook Messenger with a friend of mine, and when Booker T stripped down to his trunks I said, "If Michael Cole strips off into an orange singlet, I'm switching this off."

WWE called my bluff, and I backed down on my claim.

But seriously, were the three members of the commentary team more deserving of a place in the Rumble than the rising stars of the roster? Notable absences included Mark Henry, William Regal, Mason Ryan, Brodus Clay, Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd, all of whom could have benefited greatly from a spot in the Rumble.

To waste 10 percent of the entries on the announcing team was a big thumbs down in my book.

Loved: Kofi Kingston One-Upping John Morrison

We all thought we'd seen it all last year, when John Morrison jumped to the barrier before using his parkour skills to get himself back into the Royal Rumble Match. Kofi took it up a gear this year with his interesting twist on "both feet must touch the floor".

This Rumble moment demonstrated just how athletic Kingston is, and will no doubt take a while to top in terms of "wow" factor.

Hated: The Big Show Entering at Number 30

When Chris Jericho came in at number 29, I was convinced that number 30 was going to be a massive return. I was horrendously tense as the clock counted down.

"CHRISTIAN?! SKIP SHEFFIELD?! BROCK LESNAR?! UNDERTAKER?! REY MYSTERIO?! RVD?!"

And then Big Show's music hit. An air of disappointment immediately engulfed me—consider all future expectations lowered when it comes to the WWE.

I swear, Big Show manages to come in between 25 and 30 every single year and it just frustrates me.

Maybe they could have put Kharma in at 30? At least it would have been a nice shock to end the night on.

Loved: The Last Ten Minutes of the Rumble

The last part of the show between Sheamus and Chris Jericho was awesome. So much back and forth, so many near eliminations, and of course a couple of major mark out moments when Y2J pulled out the Walls of Jericho and the Codebreaker.

While I was happy with either man winning once it got to the final two, I leaned more towards Jericho, and boy were those last ten minutes tense. Despite my favorite losing, I think Sheamus is a worthy winner and will undoubtedly go on to have an awesome title match at 'Mania.

What made me lean towards Jericho was that I needed to find out what the "end of the world as we know it" was. Which leads me onto my final slide.

Hated: Y2J's Storyline Taking a Big Hit

What got me excited for this year's Rumble was the wonder of what Jericho was going to do at the PPV. Following the highlight reel on the go-home Raw, Jericho had fans theorising like crazy— everyone was wondering what "the end of the world as we know it" was.

What made this more intriguing was that we were expecting an explanation of the meaning of the "it begins" vignettes, and possibly more clues as to who "she" is.

The word amongst the IWC is that Creative may have thrown the curve ball due to all the speculation of Jericho winning on the Internet. True or not, it will be interesting to see where the WWE takes Jericho from here.