The Inaugural Women's Royal Rumble Review (2018)

The WWE's annual Royal Rumble is many pro-wrestling fan's favorite pay-per-view, and with good reason.

It is the pop-filled prelude to WrestleMania, typically establishing the primary Championship narratives that lead into Vince McMahon's "showcase of the immortals". Unfortunately, recent Rumbles have been mired in fan discontent, with the WWE and its audience locked in deep disagreement about who deserves the "top guy" moniker, and thus a shot at WrestleMania's main event.

All eyes await, with a mounting sense of anticipatory dread, as the final four participants are revealed. There is a collective sense of "really...this is who it's going to be?" that hangs over the final minutes of the match like a grim cloud.

"But is it good?" The Only Worthwhile Debate In Modern Pro-Wrestling

Watch pro-wrestling long enough, and you begin to recognize the patterns of wrestling matches and the tropes of the medium: the heel cheats, the babyface "comes back", groups and teams inevitably betray each other, veterans "pass the torch", and on and on it goes in an endless merry-go-round of (hopefully) joy and wonder.

Eventually, you may even want to see some of these patterns and tropes at work because they provide a sense of comfort, a return to your once simplistic, romanticized view of right & wrong.

You Will Keep Booing Roman Reigns And It Will Change Nothing

If you still boo Roman Reigns, nothing will convince you to stop booing Roman Reigns.

It doesn't matter if the WWE books Roman Reigns in a manner that "emphasizes his strengths and hides his weaknesses", it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns adds fifty death-defying moves to his repertoire, it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns journeys back in time and works the indies for fifteen years before coming to the WWE, and it doesn't matter if Roman Reigns starts cutting promos with the eloquence and depth of a classically trained Shakespearean actor.

No matter the objective improvements in Roman Reigns' performance or the improvements in the way WWE books him, and no matter how well-reasoned an argument in Roman's favor may be, you will go on booing.

And that's fine. I've accepted this. Keep booing.

No energy should be expended by anyone (least of all Roman Reigns fans) in an effort to convince you to change your mind. You are entrenched in your perspective and you're just going to keep digging in.

INSANE CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING: YOU WILL KNOW THEIR NAME

"Here we, here we, here we fucking go!"

With these words, Glasgow-based independent pro-wrestling promotion ICW declares itself to the world. This is more than a chant.

This is a battle-cry

THE RAW REVIEW

RAW REVIEWSTim KailNovember 3, 2015sasha banks, becky lynch, wwe nxt, wwe, vince mcmahon, professional wrestling, pro wrestling art, professional wrestling blog, wwe blog, wrestling blog, work of wrestling, womens wrestling, #WomensWrestling

THE RAW REVIEW

RAW REVIEWSTim KailJune 30, 2015seth rollins, john cena, the raw review, pro wrestling blogs, pro wrestling blog, wrestling blog, the work of wrestling, vince mcmahon, triple h, wwe

THE STORY OF THE ROCK & MAXIMUS

EDITORIALSTim KailMay 31, 2015dwayne johnson, the rock, WWE 2K14, wwe blogs, WWE 2K15, pro wrestling blogs, wrestlemania x-7, wrestling blog, wwe network, wrestlemania, video games, nintendo 64, no mercy, xbox, xbox one, xbox 360

THE RAW REVIEW

The purpose of The Work of Wrestling is, first and foremost, to prove the artistic merit of professional wrestling by dissecting the narratives and the subtleties of the craft. Pro-wrestling isn’t a legitimate sport. It’s a form of theater. As such, it naturally demands more than top ten lists, rumors, dirt, predictions, impressions, and click-bait.

THE WORK OF WRESTLING - EP15 - IS TOTAL DIVAS ART?

THE PODCASTTim KailApril 6, 2015total divas, the bella twins, nikki bella, brie bella, brie mode, wwe, e network, wwe network, pro wrestling blogs, blogs, wrestling blog, wwe blogs

The Writings