Triple Threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title!  Tag Titles are on the line, and the 30 Man Royal Rumble.  How did we start the Road to Wrestlemania?

New Day: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeat Big E and Kofi – PreShow Match
This was a good match both teams got to show off their strengths. In the end an uppercut from the outside and roll up gives Kidd and Cesaro the win.   This match was great it showcased Kidd and Cesaro as a team and I don’t think it took anything away from The New Day.  The highlight of this match was two things.  Kidd and Cesaro’s “Brass Ring Club” shirts that look like the NJPW “Bullet Club” shirts,  and secondly that the Philly crowd was going to cheer for who ever the fuck they wanted to.  In this case it was Kidd and Cesaro.

The Ascension Defeats The New Age Outlaws
This match while it was not a technical masterpiece was everything it was supposed to be.  We got the nostalgia of NAO’s doing their full entrance, hitting all of their signature spots,  and then being decimated by Viktor and Konner.  This sets them up as a strong contender for the tag team titles. (More on this later)  My critique is that they didn’t hit a very crisp version of “The Fall of Man” it was rushed and it showed. Also no one on commentary awknowledged that it was their finisher or what it’s name was.

The Usos Defeat The Miz and Damien Mizdow
This entire match was Miz mistreating Mizdow, not tagging him in,  using him to block attacks.  In the end the Usos get the win,  and we have some dissension between Miz and Mizdow.  I really wanted to see this match, or the next PPV be the breaking point for Mizdow, and to have him turn on Miz.  I am guessing we will see The Usos vs The Ascension from now till Wrestlemania.

The Bella Twins defeat Paige and Natalya
The match started strong,  Paige and Nattie working well together, and then Nattie plays the face in peril and just gets destroyed by The Bella Twins.  In the end Nikki wins with a forearm to the face.  What the hell kind of finish was this??  This match was bogus at the end.  We have seen watch Natalya and Paige can do in NXT,  to see this match was a travesty,  sure the Bellas stepped up their game but not enough to end a match with a forearm shot?  Does she have a steel plate in her arm?

Brock Lesnar Defeats Seth Rollins and John Cena – Triple Threat WWE World Heavyweight Title Match.
The match was amazing I will give it five stars.  It was Brock Lesnar being a beast and suplexing the hell out of everyone!  Everyone kicked out of everyone’s finishers as they do these days in high profile matches.  Although Brock getting up after two Attitude Adjustments in a row only to take a third which Rollins breaks up.  Rollins hits an amazing HBK/CM Punk Style elbow drop off the top rope on Brock who was on the Spanish Announce table.  Cena and Rollins go back it in the ring.  The camera stays off Brock,  they bring out the stretchers,  they are talking about how Brock has a broken rib.  Rollins lays out Cena, goes to the top rope and hits corkscrew moonsault splash, when Lesnar miraculously slides into the ring German Suplexes for everyone!  Rollins with briefcase shots!  He goes for the curb stomp but Lesnar catches him with the F5 for the win.  This was great the only thing I don’t like is the fake injury angle.  I would be fine if he was just down at ring side “recovering” but the stretch job was too much for me,  I bought into that he was actually hurt.  But even with that great match.

Roman Reigns wins – Royal Rumble Match
Reigns wins…  the crowd hates it.  I hate it. But we are gonna pull what we can from this.
Bray Wyatt – This match cemented Bray as a dominant player.  Keeping the ring clean,  and even a promo in the middle of the Rumble.
Bubba Ray Dudley – He showed up and did his normal spots with R Truth in the place of Devon.  That was strange.  He hit all of his normal WWE spots.  I was hoping to see more of his TNA Character. Zack Ryder – I was excited to see him return even if was over quickly…  but glad to have him back singing “Oh Radio!”
Daniel Bryan – Great Reaction on his entry,  and then he was eliminated and the crowd, and the internet turned on the WWE.
DDP – RKO…  errrr Diamond Cutter Out of No Where!
Kofi – His avoidance this year was landing on Adam Rose’s Rosebuds…  not super exciting compared to previous years.
Ziggler – came in at 30 didn’t last long… *sigh*

The Rock showed up to “save” Romain Reigns but even he couldn’t turn around the fans to get them to rally behind Reigns.

Looking back and writing this all out I was okay with most of the card.  The Rumble I am going to have to just write off.  The Triple threat match was amazing, and the Ascension has been positioned to be a threat to the main roster.  Also Miz/Mizdow break began during the Rumble itself.  So I am not a fan of this PPV,  but there were still definitely positive elements.

I hope you enjoyed this review even if you did not enjoy the show.  If you are reading this I hope that you enjoyed parts of the show,  and that this article helped you find what you did enjoy about it.  For more updates please follow me on Twitter.  If you enjoyed this article please share with the buttons bellow.  Thanks!