WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

Photo Source: WWE.com

Kalisto, Lince Dorado, & Gran Metalik vs. TJP, Jack Gallagher, & Drew Gulak

Result: Kalisto, Lince Dorado, & Gran Metalik defeated TJP, Jack Gallagher, & Drew Gulak via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

How nice of WWE to wait until the doors were open for twenty minutes before putting on the first match? There’s probably tens of people ready to watch Philadelphia’s favorite son Drew Gulak compete. Those fans were quite loud at the onset, before being scolded by Gulak – after all, “NO CHANTING!”

This trios match initially made it look like the “new 205 Live” may not be a myth. Last week on 205 Live, Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali tore the house down. Now, all six competitors were on their A game from bell to bell, providing the 25 people in the crowd with a ton of great action. Fast paced, real lucha action (or as close to “real” lucha action as you’ll get on a WWE event).

The triple moonsault spot was bananas. It’s one of those things that doesn’t seem like much of a big deal in 2018, but it’s still neat to see. Kalisto going off the ring post is a little frightening, but I think that’s just me. I’ve seen too many indie shows with bad rings that my Spider Sense always tingles at something like that.

After the break, things slowed down a bit as the maskless squad worked over Lince Dorado. Gulak is the better of the technical wrestlers on his team, but TJP and Gallagher are no slouches either.

Once Gallagher climbs to the ropes – much to the chagrin of Gulak – the match went back to what it was. The camera work at that point was brilliant, too – watching Gulak get more and more frustrated with Gallagher’s insistence on flying, followed by his look of “I knew it” when Dorado moved.

Metalik picked up the pace when he tagged in, and Dorado made a nice comeback from the beat down to hit a pretty springboard stunner. But Kalisto reversed TJP’s attempt at a Detonation Kick with a Salida del Sol for the victory. TJP’s recent woes since returning from injury continue, and the luchadors continue to wow the crowd. Good opener for the handful of people in the building.