Credit: WWE.comWe are almost through the first month of the year, and with the end of January comes the annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view premium live event bonanza.
The Rumble matches provide some big surprises, fun moments and interactions between Superstars who might not normally cross paths in regular competition, as this is a favorite event for many fans.
Some special entrants were featured at the men's and women's Rumbles. Summer Rae and Mickie James were announced ahead of time for the women's Rumble, while Johnny Knoxville was in the men's match.
At the show, we saw a mixed tag team match featuring two of the most prominent married couples in the company, as well as the defending of the WWE, Universal and Raw Women's Championships.
Everything that happened during this year's Royal Rumble, let's take a look at it.
Roman was alone in the ring for his Universal Championship match against Rollins. The Usos were banned from the ring and Paul Heyman is no longer a member of The Bloodline.
He came out to The Shield's music to play a mind game with his brother. The Tribal Chief was stared at by the Visionary as they stared at each other.
He used his speed to take control. He clotheslined Reigns over the top rope as he hit a sling blade. He nailed him with a pair of suicide dives.
As he tried to get into the ring, he was caught by an uppercut and followed by a drive-by dropkick. The powerbomb was hit through the announce table.
When he tried to hit a Spear, Rollins kicked him in the face. He hit a bomb and a Stomp. The champ hit a clothesline to give himself some breathing room.
He slowed the pace and handed out punishment slowly as he took over. He threw the challenger into the timekeeper's area and the steel steps before hitting him with a Superman punch.
The Spear was countered into a Pedigree by Rollins. The Tribal Chief hit the Spear, but as he went for the cover, he was laughed at. He barely made it to the ropes after being grabbed in the guillotine. He got himself disqualified because he refused to release the hold.
As he got to his feet, he was attacked with a steel chair. The crowd booed The Visionary as he was beaten down with over a dozen chair shots.
Grade: A
The analysis was done.
The entrance music of the group was a great way to get the crowd in the right mindset for the match. The fans went crazy when they heard the words "Sierra" over the stadium speakers.
These guys have known each other for a long time and have worked together many times, so they are going to have a lot of chemistry. They used that chemistry to put on a great match.
Some people might not like the ending of the movie, but it worked for the story being told, especially if this feud is going to continue past The Wrestler. It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
Would a pinfall have been better? This was a good match with a lot to like.
- Sasha Banks
- Melina
- Tamina
- Kelly Kelly
- Aliyah
- Liv Morgan
- Queen Zelina
- Bianca Belair
- Dana Brooke
- Michelle McCool
- Sonya Deville
- Natalya
- Cameron
- Naomi
- Carmella
- Rhea Ripley
- Charlotte Flair
- Ivory
- Brie Bella
- Mickie James
- Alicia Fox
- Nikki ASH
- Summer Rae
- Nikki Bella
- Sarah Logan
- Lita
- Molly Holly
- Ronda Rousey
- Shotzi
- Shayna Baszler
There will be too much going on in this match for detailed play-by-play, so we will just cover the order of the entrants.
The four women who were left in the match were Belair, Baszler, Flair and Rousey. The Queen took out The Queen of Spades, so it all came down to her and Rousey. Rowdy Ronda scored the win after a bit of a struggle.
Grades: B-
The analysis was done.
Many of the women from the Divas era were welcomed by the crowd with open arms. The era gets a lot of flack from fans but the criticism should be directed at who was booking them, not the talents themselves.
Naomi and Deville eliminating each other means their feud is going to continue. As long as they wrap it up soon, it can still be salvaged. Summer vs. Natalya, James vs. McCool, and Ripley vs. ASH were all used to keep the match going.
It was obvious that she was going to be one of the favorites when she showed up. It was bad that we didn't get to see any of them.
The match had some fun spots and featured some great moments for several competitors. This was a success even if it won't be remembered as the most memorable Rumble match.
The women were back in the spotlight after Becky Lynch defended the Raw Women's Championship.
Lynch was pushed to the mat by Doudrop after they locked up. Big Time Becks was frustrated by the answer that Doudrop appeared to have.
Lynch avoided a corner splash but was hit by a senton and sent to the floor. Lynch hit steel when she moved against the steps.
The powerhouse caught Lynch coming off the middle rope, but Lynch was able to transition into a sleeper hold. Lynch began to berate her after she kicked out after a missile dropkick.
They went back and forth for a few minutes trying to finish the other off. The Man Slamhandled her from the middle rope after she came close a few times.
Grades: C+
The analysis was done.
According to several posts on social media, the competitors and referee never acted like anything was wrong, despite the WrestleMania sign catching fire. This distracted the crowd for a while.
The match was not as exciting as the one between Belair and Doudrop, but both women did a great job of making themselves look good. They sold everything they did to each other and didn't make any big mistakes.
Two people who have never faced each other before worked well together. The crowd did not seem to like it. This would have come across as a bigger deal with louder reactions.
It took the company a long time to get to this match. There was a long promo and two entrances.
They started with a basic lockup, but when neither man could get the advantage, they broke away from each other. They went for it again.
Lashley got right back to his feet and didn't sell the move. The All Might caught The Beast by surprise with a German suplex.
After grabbing him, he hit two German suplexes before releasing his grasp. Lashley went in with a kick to the gut. He hit a Spear out of nowhere. He hit a second Spear that sent him out of the ring.
At ringside, Lashley went for another Spear, but he crashed through the barricade when Lesnar avoided him. The All Mighty kept getting back up after The Beast hit some more German suplexes.
Lashley applied the Hurt Lock. The ref was crushed in the process of being backed to the corner. There was no one there to count because The Beast hit an F5 and took the ref out again.
The Spear was delivered to the man by the man. Heyman gave him the title so he could hit The Beast in the head with it and cost him the match. As Lashley made the cover for the win, Heyman left.
Grades: B+
The analysis was done.
It was odd that this match was put before Edge and Beth Phoenix faced The Miz and Maryse.
This was what it needed to be. Two big guys were beating each other up. Nobody anticipated a technical showcase. This was always going to be a series of power moves.
One issue that will be called out is the finish being so convoluted, but this gave Lashley back the title and set up the Brock vs. Reigns match. It was a fun way to do two things at the same time. It would be great if Big E returned to the title hunt, but he appears to be back on the show.
Maryse and Beth started for their teams. Maryse tried to run away from Phoenix, but The Miz helped her escape the ring.
The A-Lister was able to attack Edge from behind after Edge and The Miz tagged in.
Edge popped up and hit a DDT to give himself a chance to tag his wife. Maryse was hit with several strikes by the Glamazon. Phoenix got in the face of The Miz after he broke up a pin. She beat him down after planting him in the corner.
Maryse hit Phoenix with her purse brick, but she couldn't keep her down for the pin. Edge and The Miz came back in the ring after she locked the Glamazon in a camel clutch.
Maryse hit Edge with a hurricanrana after taking out Phoenix at ringside. Edge only got a two-count when The Miz hit him with his finisher. Phoenix and Edge hit The Miz with a Spear at the same time as they hit the Glamazon Slams for the win.
Grades: C+
The analysis was done.
Four matches were booked by the company. This should not have been one of the four matches.
They paced it like a pay per view match and gave all four competitors enough time to shine, but something about it never clicked. It was as if everyone was stuck in second gear.
The match was more of a skit. It was entertaining if you enjoyed this kind of thing, but there wasn't much in the way of ring psychology. Everybody did a good job, it just didn't live up to the reputations of these four stars.
The last couple of minutes were better than everything that happened before it, but it wasn't enough to make this better than what we saw on Raw or SmackDown.
- AJ Styles
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Austin Theory
- Robert Roode
- Ridge Holland
- Montez Ford
- Damian Priest
- Sami Zayn
- Johnny Knoxville
- Angelo Dawkins
- Omos
- Ricochet
- Chad Gable
- Dominik Mysterio
- Happy Corbin
- Dolph Ziggler
- Sheamus
- Rick Boogs
- Madcap Moss
- Riddle
- Drew McIntyre
- Kevin Owens
- Rey Mysterio
- Kofi Kingston
- Otis
- Big E
- Bad Bunny
- Shane McMahon
- Randy Orton
- Brock Lesnar
There will be updates after every 10 entrants into the match. Styles was out first, followed by Nakamura.
The final two men in the ring were McIntyre and Lesnar. McIntyre was thrown out by Lesnar to win the match.
Grades: C-
The analysis was done.
The match had all the usual spots. A big guy was eliminated by several people at the same time. We saw the double-leg take down.
For some reason, the men's Rumble never quite hit its stride. The crowd was tired and there weren't many big pops to be heard.
Kingston missed his chance to save himself when he was supposed to land on the barricade. Bad Bunny was one of the most successful entrants in terms of eliminations.
As soon as he lost, there was a lot of chatter on social media about him winning the men's rumble. This could have been used to put someone else over and still book a match, but management thought this was the right call.
The event had a couple of enjoyable matches and moments, but it fell a bit short of expectations.
