WWE Royal Rumble: 1/29/2022

The Royal Rumble is FINALLY HERE! Championships were defended, scores were settled and superstars made themselves into bonafide legends by winning both respected Royal Rumble matches. Former brothers fought for the gold, a dream match delivered, couples were at each other’s throats and points were made to see who’d be going to WrestleMania; so without further ado, let’s get started!

Match 1: Universal Championship Match; Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins. (Rating: 4/5)

Seth Rollins wasn’t called the Architect for nothing, nor was Triple H’s role as a mentor. Certainly being Triple H’s guy had Seth’s benefits as he made his way to ring with not only a familiar look but with a familiar song and entrance to go along with it. Rollins made his way to the ring with an all Shield entrance; from the outfit to the theme song and to even making his way from the crowd. The match started huge in Seth’s favor as he got the better of Reigns early on but the Tribal Chief was able to change the tide quickly in his favor. A spot that was repeated from their match at Money in the Bank 2016 was Rollins hitting a Pedigree on Roman while Reigns was going for the Spear. The match ended with Rollins getting the victory!… via disqualification as Roman refused to break his Guillotine Choke, costing Reigns the victory. Roman was not done however as he picked up a steel and wack! Just like how Rollins destroyed the Shield, Reigns continuously beat Rollins with a steel chair over and over and over again. This feud appears to not be done but for now, this was a really great way from a story perspective to end this chapter.

Match 2: Women’s Royal Rumble match. (Rating: 3.75/5)

Before I break down all the surprise entrants, personally this had to be the best women’s Royal Rumble ever. Sasha Banks once again drew number one while MELINA from MNM and the late Ruthless Aggression Era drew number two and she absolutely looked amazing in this! More women that were announced such as Michelle McCool, Lita and Kelly Kelly, Summer Rae and the Bella Twins made their way to the ring and when it was time for IMPACT women’s champion Mickie James to make her entrance; she not only came out with the IMPACT women’s title but also to her Hardcore Country theme to a standing ovation! From the announced returning participants, she certainly did last the longest. However there were some surprises: Right to Censor’s Ivory, former Funkadactyl Cameron, Mighty Molly/Molly Holly and as successful predicted, RONDA ROUSEY! And not only did she return, she eliminated Charlotte Flair to WIN THE MATCH, punching her ticket to WrestleMania once more! It was such a mark out moment and Rousey looked as if she kept up with her wrestling. Hope to see more of her getting physical in the upcoming months.

Match 3: Raw Women’s Championship match; Becky Lynch (c) vs Doudrop. (Rating: 3/5)

Back to back matches with the women being involved never gets old. This was a real great match that finally solidified Piper Niven as a potential main eventer as she took Lynch to her absolute limit! Not a squash match by any means but it did showoff both participants’ perks and strengths. Eventually this was won by Big Time Becks after hitting her Manhandle Slam off the top rope for the pinfall victory, successfully retaining her championship. However with a certain baddest woman on the planet there, it should be interesting to see if Lynch actually calls Rousey out on Raw this upcoming week.

Match 4: WWE Championship Match; Brock Lesnar (c) vs Bobby Lashley. (Rating: 4.5/5)

This match, wow: it did not disappoint whatsoever! This solidified Lashley as the appropriately named “next big thing” as he actually showed Brock that he should’ve taken the Almighty much more seriously than just blowing him off as a joke. No selling german suplexes, hitting Spears, NEARLY passing out Brock with the Hurt Lock; Lashley took Lesnar to his absolute limit. However Brock wasn’t out and it appeared Lesnar was going to win after hitting an F-5 up until he accidentally knocked out the referee in the process. Out of nowhere, a familiar face slid into the ring as ROMAN REIGNS took Lesnar out with a Superman Punch! Dazed and confused, Brock slowly got up but Reigns was waiting for him. Thanks to Paul Heyman handing Roman the WWE championship, Reigns leveled Lesnar with the belt and due to this interference, Bobby Lashley once again has become the NEW WWE champion!

Match 5: Mixed Tag Match; The Miz and Maryse vs Edge and Beth Phoenix. (Rating: 3/5)

I’ll admit when I’m wrong: the wives definitely deserved to be involved in this feud between Edge and Miz. While the buildup for this match was pretty mediocre up until final confrontation at this week’s Raw episode, the match really did not disappoint. Edge and Miz continued to prove why they’re two of the best wrestlers WWE has to offer while Maryse and Beth showed that they both indeed have what it takes to have one final run if both women decided to, because their chemistry was still as great as in the early 2010’s. However the match wasn’t won by the Mizanins as Edge and Phoenix got the win after hitting a Glam Slam on both Miz and Maryse for the pinfall victory. Really rooting for Mike to win the next match!

Main event: Men’s Royal Rumble match. (Rating: 2.75/5)

Well… This wasn’t the best Royal Rumble match ever, and I can see why fans were upset. So let’s get this out of the way from the beginning: AJ Styles was number one and got eliminated relatively early on, Kofi Kingston WAS supposed to have yet another “I survived” moment in the Rumble but the execution didn’t pay off as he got eliminated almost immediately and the only surprise entrants were Shane McMahon, latin singer Bad Bunny and in number 30, the former WWE champion Brock Lesnar. Drew McIntyre also made his return and was the runner up after being eliminated by Brock Lesnar, adding to his record of two Rumble wins (first in 2003). I had no problem with the lack of surprises, and I wasn’t disappointed when Lesnar’s music hit and eliminated basically every single other competitor; but with how certain eliminations felt and how rushed the number 30 spot must’ve been, this was a pretty below way to send the crowd of Saint Louis home happy. Regardless of the outcome, it looks like Lesnar and Reigns are far from finished.

Final rating: 3.5/5