WWE Royal Rumble 2018: 3 Worst Moments of the Night
Source: WWE.com
Universal Championship Triple Threat Match
In easily the most disappointing match of the night, Kane, Brock Lesnar, and Braun Strowman fought for the rights to the Universal Championship. One of these names is not like the others.
Reading into the fight, it was clear Kane was being set up as the fall guy. Neither Strowman nor Lesnar would go down with an easy fight within the comfy 30-minute time frame, so WWE added one more name that fit the size requirements, but had little chance of winning the title.
The no-disqualification stipulation should have upped the ante, and it certainly had the mild effect of upping the gore, but it wasn’t enough to make the fight interesting for anyone in the crowd or at home.
The entire fight played out like a fan’s intermission: time used to take a break from the six-hour affair before the women’s main event took place. The action was bland, the destruction was disaster-light.
As fan fiction could have predicted, Lesnar won the fight by delivering an F-5 to Kane, and left the stadium, again, with the title.
Lesnar has held the Universal Championship since last year’s WrestleMania, and has only defended it now a total of four times. Sure, finding a proper opponent for Strowman and Lesnar is hard, but not impossible.
The expectation is that Lesnar will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34, making his year-long title reign build up no surprise. If the build up is to face Reigns, give Strowman a better outlet for his rage.
Or, remove the rage entirely. Tuesday, Braun Strowman paired with Alexa Bliss for WWE’s social media passion project, the Mixed Match Challenge, to compete with Becky Lynch and Sami Zayn. The pair won, and the chemistry between the two was completely entertaining, with Strowman appealing and kind.
Braun might be big, but he’s also intelligent. Perhaps stepping outside of the “Monster Among Men” gimmick will let everyone get the time and opportunities they deserve.
Next: Worst WrestleMania Booking Decisions
Raw will control the next scheduled pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, and the next stop on the road to WrestleMania. Tune in to see if WWE learns from past mistakes.