Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Aryan Malhotra and Greg Coleman will be reviewing last week's Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

The road to WrestleMania 36 has started in earnest with the Royal Rumble, a pay-per-view which has been generally accepted as being hugely successful. Both Royal Rumble matches were unmissable viewing, whilst Edge's return was the talk of the wrestling world. But what did we think to Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair winning? And will Edge's return be successful?


ALLSOPP: In all honesty, the field of believable winners for the Royal Rumble was short, with Roman Reigns expected to once again win the match to progress to a WrestleMania 36 main event against The Fiend. That may still happen, but Drew McIntyre winning was not only a surprise, but it made perfect sense. He has always been in and around the upper midcard on Raw, but has finally broken through the glass ceiling to become a main event star. Winning the match and taking out Brock Lesnar gives him credibility that is unmatched, therefore I believe he will capture the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36, with the match serving as a springboard for him to dominate Raw for the rest of 2020.

COLEMAN: Drew McIntyre was the perfect choice to win the men’s Royal Rumble, and the way they booked his victory was near flawless. I said the minute I saw McIntyre return to NXT that he had champion written all over him with his size, presence, and style. The Claymore is one of the better finishers in wrestling today, so I’m looking forward to him hitting it on The Beast in Tampa to win his first world title in WWE.

MALHOTRA: Oh yes, Drew McIntyre was for sure the correct choice. Since his call up to the main roster, he was always treated like an upper midcard monster, but we all kept waiting for that next step. He has the skills in ring, on the microphone, a killer look and the marketability along with dedication, and he looked perfect for the top WrestleMania 36 spot from the moment he eliminated Brock Lesnar. I think this is the perfect opportunity to build a new star, and I do believe he will come out on top by cleanly pinning Lesnar to become WWE Champion.


COLEMAN: Not at all. Charlotte Flair needs something major to do at WrestleMania 36 as she has been out of the main title picture for quite a while now. The better story to tell will be Flair vs Becky Lynch because she didn’t get pinned during last year’s WrestleMania 35 main event.

MALHOTRA: Yes, Shayna Baszler should have won. I understand the argument that Charlotte Flair has been missing from the top for a while now, and since she is a phenomenal talent she can make a prominent WrestleMania 36 spot great. But considering her past achievements, she could have easily been built into a title match through other means, such as a different storyline or number 1 contenders match. Baszler has dominated NXT for too long, and this could have been the elevation she needed, with a dominant Royal Rumble victory making her stand out and build to a high intensity match with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36, with Flair going after the SmackDown Women's Championship or Women's Tag Team Championship.

ALLSOPP: Shayna Baszler should have definitely won the women's Royal Rumble match, and I feel WWE will come to regret not pulling the trigger with The Queen of Spades. Charlotte Flair has a level of unmatched dominance over the women's division, which means she did not need the victory to compete for a Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, whereas Baszler winning would have allowed casual fans to get behind her. Hopefully Baszler vs Becky Lynch is still the plan, but I am not happy at all that Flair won the match.


MALHOTRA: I loved the moment and the way it was pulled off, with teases and a great performance from Edge without winning, which I say was the right decision. The circumstances to this return feel different to other cases like Shawn Michaels or Goldberg, who have had their shaky moments. Edge is still 46 years old which is 3-4 years younger than Triple H and Chris Jericho, so age should not be a factor. And this is a genuine return to what he loves after a career ending injury, rather than Saudi Arabian money or other reasons causing his return. The next few years can have intriguing storylines and special matches with Edge, therefore the part time schedule should work out well for him.

ALLSOPP: Edge looked strong. And not just strong, but healthy too. I was initially concerned when I heard the rumours about his return, but he clearly showed in his Royal Rumble performance that he hasn't lost a beat in the 9 years since he retired. I forsee him being paired with safe workers such as Randy Orton, The Miz and Kevin Owens in an attempt to bring a higher level of interest to the current product. Lapsed fans may return to see one of their heroes compete, whilst newer stars will be motivated to compete against someone who inspired them to become wrestlers. This is an amazing arrangement for WWE, Edge and fans in general, as long as he can remain healthy.

COLEMAN: For a company that has done a pretty poor job of keeping surprises as surprises, I popped when I heard his music and saw him come out. I think his in ring return will go well, provided he gets the time ease back into things. A path for him would be to reunite Rated RKO and feud with The OC until he’s ready to compete as a singles star. Another route could be to have him be the 4th man to help out Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Aleister Black against the Monday Night Messiah and his disciples.