Written By: Mark Armstrong
Running Time: 324 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 12 2018
(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)
The Greatest Royal Rumble was a hybrid of the one-off international PPVs in the style of Rebellion and Insurrextion from yesteryear and a glorified house show, albeit in a supersized setting with a plethora of big names. I’ll leave the debate surrounding WWE’s business dealings with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for another day, instead focusing here on whether the action at GRR justifies a second viewing on DVD.
The show opens with a fun match between John Cena and Triple H, one which acts as a neat introduction to the WWE product for attendees who are unfamiliar with wrestling (which would normally not be required, but this was no normal show). Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto is one of the year’s hidden gems with the Cruiserweight crown at stake, and the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles are then decided as Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy combine to take down The Bar.
Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal is unfortunately most memorable for Jinder selling a Whisper In The Wind that barely connected. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos is underwhelming compared to past battles between the two sides, and though the four-way Intercontinental Championship Ladder match is a fun bout, it still feels a step below what we’d get if this event took place in the United States.
After a random segment that features a WWE return for Shawn Daivari, we then get a WrestleMania 34 rematch between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s pretty good, but the double countout finish was a bit of an anticlimax. The Undertaker vs. Rusev is a by-the-numbers Casket match, and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage is alright, but is otherwise unmemorable, aside from the finish that sees Reigns spearing Lesnar through the cage wall, but with Brock retaining the Universal Title in controversial circumstances.
Finally, we have a 50-man Royal Rumble match. Despite featuring some big name stars such as Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho, along with some surprise entrants, it’s not a very memorable Rumble match. In fact, Titus O’Neil tripping on his way down the aisle is the only moment that truly sticks out in hindsight, and even this was rumoured by some to have been deliberate (I don’t believe it was, but it did seem a little strange to see). I should point out that an image of Titus’ feet sticking out from underneath the ring is one of two images from the main event on the back sleeve of this DVD (the other being one of Braun Strowman celebrating his triumph).
To be honest, if you weren’t interested in Greatest Royal Rumble when it first happened in April, you probably won’t have any desire to check it out this time. The event does have its moments, but there is nothing essential to see here, and the show only had a minimal effect on the on-screen product; Bray and Matt claiming the Raw doubles titles and Roman complaining about being robbed against Lesnar were the only things to impact storylines moving forward. So, Greatest Royal Rumble isn’t a bad show, but it’s one that only die-hards would probably find appealing to relive on DVD.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10 – Okay
