The Royal Rumble took place from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and I have to say the set looked great! 48,193 fans were in attendance for what ended up being a very surprising and fun Royal Rumble. It was a long night, but an enjoyable one. Let’s take a look at the matches and see if my predictions were closer than they were for TakeOver.
Impromptu Tag Team Match
Abysmal… that is the only word that can describe the tag team division on RAW. The first match of the kickoff show just proved how bad it is. RAW tag team champions Bobby Roode and Chad Gable took on the team of Rezar from A.O.P. and Scott Dawson of the Revival. Why even have the match?
Chad Gable took most of the beating before getting the hot tag, and Roode came in, cleaned house and picked up the win. This match was not advertised so no prediction was made for this one.
Unites States Championship Match
Former champion Shinsuke Nakamura and champion Rusev went one on one in a really good match for a kick off show match. After Nakamura tried to take off a turnbuckle pad, Lana got on the apron to stop him. Nakamura was yelling at Lana when Rusev went to hit Nakamura. Nakamura moved and Rusev hit Lana knocking her off the apron and injuring her ankle. Nakamura then hit the Kinshasa on Rusev and picked up the win and regained the United States title.
GoHomPWB.com pick: Rusev Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (overall PPV record 34-23)
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Kalisto, Akira Tozawa, Hideo Itami and Champion Buddy Murphy all squared off in a fatal four way match for the Cruiserweight championship. The match was fast paced with all four men getting in some spectacular offense. But in the end it was Buddy Murphy who hit Murphy’s law to retain his Cruiserweight Championship.
GoHomePWB.com pick: Hideo Itami Winner: Buddy Murphy (overall PPV record 34-24)
Smackdown Women’s Championship
“The Man” Becky Lynch went one on one with Asuka for the Smackdown women’s championship to start the Royal Rumble. Lynch came to the ring with an amazing ovation from the Phoenix crowd. The match was great but I knew based on match placement Asuka would win. And she did in somewhat of a surprising manner by making “The Man” tap out.
GoHomePWB.com pick: Becky Lynch Winner: Asuka (overall PPV Record 34-25)
Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
The newly formed team of The Miz and Shane McMahon took on the very established and very successful tag team champions, The Bar. A pretty good match that showcased a lot of the classics, including one of the longest big swings from Cesaro I’ve ever seen. But in the end it was Shane who hit a shooting star press to win the match and the Smackdown tag team championships. Also it snapped my longest prediction losing streak of six.
GoHomePWB.com pick: The Miz and Shane McMahon Winners: The Miz and Shane McMahon (overall PPV record 35-25)
RAW Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks went one on one with the undefeated RAW women’s champion Ronda Rousey. Sasha Banks put up one heck of a fight including several submissions, but in the end it was Rousey that was able to remain undefeated in singles competition. But Sasha held up four fingers at the end of the match. Could it be a foreshadow for a horsewomen match in the future?
GoHomePWB.com pick: Ronda Rousey Winner: Ronda Rousey (overall PPV record 36-25)
30 Women Royal Rumble Match
The thirty women Royal Rumble match was next on the card and the first entrant this year was newcomer Lacey Evans. Becky Lynch found her way into the Rumble but a horrible looking fall off the steps injured her knee. She managed to get into the ring and take on Charlotte to be declared the second woman to win a Royal Rumble. Below is the order of entry and elimination.
Entry Elimination
1. Lacey Evans 1. Liv Morgan
2. Natalya 2. Mickie James
3. Mandy Rose 3. Nikki Cross
4. Liv Morgan 4. Billie Kay
5. Mickie James 5. Peyton Royce
6. Ember Moon 6. Xia Li
7. Billie Kay 7. Tamina
8. Nikki Cross 8. Sarah Logan
9. Peyton Royce 9. Mandy Rose
10. Tamina 10. Naomi
11. Xia Li 11. Lacey Evans
12. Sarah Logan12. Maria Kanellis
13. Charlotte 13. Alicia Fox
14. Kairi Sane 14. Candice LaRae
15.Maria Kanellis15. Kairi Sane
16. Naomi 16. Kacy Cantzaro
17.Candice LaRae17. Dana Brooke
18. Alicia Fox 18. Zelina Vega
19.Kacy Cantzaro19. Sonya Deville
20. Zelina Vega 20. Ruby Riott
21. Ruby Riott 21. Rhea Ripley
22. Dana Brooke 22. Io Shirai
23. Io Shirai 23. Natalya
24. Rhea Ripley 24. Ember Moon
25.Sonya Deville 25. Alexa Bliss
26. Alexa Bliss 26. Carmella
27. Bayley 27. Bayley
28. Becky Lynch28. Nia Jax
29. Nia Jax 29. Charlotte
30. Carmella Winner: Becky Lynch
GoHomePWB.com pick: Charlotte Winner: Becky Lynch (overall PPV record 36-26)
WWE Championship Match
AJ Styles took on Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship in a slow, methodical match. Unfortunately the crowd was exhausted after the women’s rumble match and was very quiet for most of the match. Both Styles and Bryan brought a strong style type of offense with stiff kicks and punches. They also seemed to be cinching in tight on their submission moves.
But it was a surprise appearance from Rowan who interfered in the match, when the referee was knocked out. Rowan put a choke slam type move on AJ Styles, which proved to be the downfall for Styles as Bryan crawled over to him as the referee came to, and picked up the win retaining the WWE title.
GoHomePWB.com pick: Daniel Bryan Winner: Daniel Bryan (overall PPV record 37-26)
Universal Championship Match
David versus Goliath was how it was being billed, when Finn Balor took on “The Beast” Brock Lesnar. Balor put up a great fight being the major underdog jumping out to an early start with a quick barrage of kicks, punches and high flying moves. In the end it was not a true David versus Goliath scenario as Lesnar made Balor tap out to the Kamura lock. After the match, Lesnar continued to beat on Balor out of frustration. Not sure if that will lead to a rematch, but I would watch these two go at it again.
GoHomePWB.com pick: Brock Lesnar Winner: Brock Lesnar (overall PPV record 38-26)
30 Man Royal Rumble
The thirty man Rumble match was in its rightful place…the main event. The match started out with a surprise as Elias was in the ring as he first entrant, and the second entrant was WWE hall of famer, Jeff Jarrett. The last entrant was also a surprise as Nia Jax beat up R-Truth and took his spot. Jax became just the fourth woman to enter a men’s Royal Rumble. Below is the entry and elimination order.
Entry Eliminated
1. Elias 1. Jeff Jarrett
2. Jeff Jarrett 2. Kurt Angle
3. Shinsuke Nakamura 3. Jinder Mahal
4. Kurt Angle 4. Big E
5. Big E 5. Elias
6. Johnny Gargano 6. Titus O’Niel
7. Jinder Mahal 7. Curt Hawkins
8. Samoa Joe 8. Shinsuke Nakamura
9. Curt Hawkins 9. Johnny Gargano
10. Seth Rollins 10. No Way Jose
11. Titus O’Niel 11. Xavier Woods
12. Kofi Kingston 12. Kofi Kingston
13. Mustafa Ali 13. Dean Ambrose
14. Dean Ambrose 14. Samoa Joe
15. No Way Jose 15. Apollo Crews
16. Drew McIntyre 16. Aleister Black
17. Xavier Woods 17. Pete Dunne
18. Pete Dunne 18. Bobby Lashley
19. Andrade 19. Baron Corbin
20. Appollo Crews 20. Shelton Benjamin
21. Aleister Black 21. Jeff Hardy
22. Shelton Benjamin 22. Drew McIntyre
23. Baron Corbin 23. Mustafa Ali
24. Jeff Hardy 24. Nia Jax
25. Rey Mysterio 25. Rey Mysterio
26. Bobby Lashley 26. Randy Orton
27. Braun Strowman 27. Andrade
28. Dolph Ziggler 28. Dolph Ziggler
29.Randy Orton 29. Braun Strowman
30. Nia Jax Winner Seth Rollins
GoHomePWB.com pick: Seth Rollins Winner: Seth Rollins (overall PPV record 39-26)
Another Royal Rumble is in the books. After a great night of matches and a night full of surprises, we now start the road to WrestleMania. A twisting and winding road is anticipated as we know for sure that Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins will be there. Over the next seventy days we will see stories unfold leading to the grandest stage of them all!
As always thanks for reading GoHomePWB.com, the people’s wrestling blog!
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