Royal Rumble 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 188 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: April 6 2015

I won't beat about the bush here: Royal Rumble 2015 is remembered for the very good and the very bad. One match is exceptional, whilst the other is so poorly-booked, one would assume upon first glance that it was a p-ss-take. Therefore, the DVD experience is undoubtedly interesting, but by no means fulfilling.

Let's begin with the good: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins is incredible; one of the best Triple Threat matches in WWE history, and an early contender for Match Of The Year. The Kick-Off match included as an extra - Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs. The New Day - exceeds expectations, partly due to a red-hot crowd. And the Rumble match itself is not entirely without merit, with some surprise appearances by DDP, The Boogeyman and, particularly, Bubba Ray Dudley (in the ECW hometown of Philadelphia, no less), and a couple of notable spots scattered throughout the match. But the praise ends there.

The opening three matches on the main card are all doubles outings but, whilst The Usos vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow benefits from Mizdow's brilliant impressions of Miz, even this, nor The Ascension vs. The New Age Outlaws and The Bellas vs. Paige and Natalya, are up to much. And the Rumble match is a booking disaster once Daniel Bryan is eliminated in sudden, anticlimactic and deeply unsatisfying fashion. The rest of the Rumble match is tarnished due to widespread boos and a lack of excitement, with things going into overdrive once Kane and Big Show dispatch of everybody, bar Roman Reigns, ensuring a predictable let-down of a finish. Even an appearance by The Rock can't save this highly-panned match (and Rock seems uncharacteristically mean, even by the standards of his gimmick, during a post-match interview with Roman on the post-show which is included as an extra, along with a short John Cena-Rusev confrontation).

Besides the must-see 3-way match (which will no doubt be available on other compilations in future), nothing here is worth going out of your way to see unless you want a first-hand look at how not to book a major match. Take away the WWE Title match and the lowish rating would be even smaller.

Overall Rating: 5/10 - Average