Royal Rumble 2019: Rating every match on the main card

#5 Daniel Bryan (c) Vs. AJ Styles

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Rating: 2.75/5

AJ Styles hit his moonsault DDT outside the ring

It was expected that fans would be exhausted after the Women’s Royal Rumble match and any match that followed that would have to be really good. Hence, WWE thought it would have been a good idea to follow the Women’s Royal Rumble match with the WWE Championship match.

This backfired, as the match ended up being a snooze fest. No one seemed interested, and the match itself was very slow and methodical, which was different from the fast paced action we are used to seeing. It just felt like any championship match you would see on Smackdown Live. Both men were well matched and countered each other’s moves quite a bit.

The best spot in the match was when AJ Styles hit his moonsault DDT outside the ring in absolute fluidity, and even that didn’t draw a good enough reaction from the crowd. Even when Erick Rowan walked out during the match, there was total silence. Maybe because most people were confused as to why is Rowan was out there.

The match went on for 25 minutes before Rowan got himself involved allowing Bryan to get the win. It would’ve been better had they removed this match from the card altogether as it did nothing for both men.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Gabby Duran