WWE
Of all the events WWE has hosted in the coronavirus era, Sunday Royal Rumble perhaps the most challenging. The electricity from the live audience, the countdown of the clock for the next participant to enter the arena, is one of the most fun parts. WWE has taken some rabbits out of the hat – ‘rabbits’ in this case, meaning strong pay-per-view events are taking place – and hopes to do so again on Sunday.
It starts strong. Randy Orton and the returning Edge were announced as entrants one and two in the men’s Royal Rumble competition, rekindling their rivalry in 2020. Kevin Owens will definitely lose his Universal Championship Last Man Standing match against Roman Reigns, but it will certainly be excellent too. Finally, there’s the intrude of the Goldberg vs. Drew McIntyre WWE Championship match.
And hey, the Royal Rumble is all about surprises. You never know you’ll see it, or who you can’t see. Please keep refreshing this page from the moment the main show starts, 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET, as we will update with results and analysis.
Royal Rumble for men
Edge comes in at No. 1 when the main event kicks off.
Roman Reigns retains Universal Championship
After a long, sometimes ridiculous match, Roman Reigns beat Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match to keep his Universal Championship. Reigns strangled Owens with a guillotine lock to keep him for the count of 10.
The match started hot, with a Superman Punch, Pop-up Powerbomb and Spear all coming within the first few minutes. The fight quickly moved from the ring to the Thunderdome, as the two fought at the LCD screens showing fans’ faces. Eventually they ended up in the back, where things got a little weird.
As Owens crawled into the back of the stadium, he was literally run over by Reigns, who was driving a golf cart-like vehicle. However, that couldn’t stop Owens, and the two kept fighting it out. The highest point came when Owens hit a senton off the top of a forklift platform, through a table.
They returned to the driveway, where Reigns Owens speared through the LED signs. Reigns then took out a pair of handcuffs, but Owens took them off him and handcuffed Reigns to nearby lights so Reigns couldn’t get up. When the referee got to 9, Reigns grabbed the referee’s belt and pulled him toward the light, knocking him out. He then hit Owens low. Paul Heyman came out to make the rescue, Undo Reigns. Reigns then locked on the Guillotine, retained its title.
Rating: 3 stars. This was by far the weakest of the Reigns / Owens trilogy, after their very good cage match on SmackDown in January and their fantastic TLC match at last month’s PPV. I understand that after those two strong matches they might want to do something else. But once people get run over in the middle of a race and that’s not even a major false finish, things have gone too far. It was hard to suspend your disbelief for this one, and the long 9 count didn’t help with pacing either.
Bianca Belair wins Royal Rumble for ladies
After coming in at number 3, Bianca Belair won the Women’s Royal Rumble. The last three were Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair. Ripley and Belair teamed up to take out Charlotte. Then they fought back and forth for the last few minutes, which were excellent. No big surprises – no Ronda Rousey, no Becky Lynch – but a pretty good Rumble overall, despite some facepalm moments.
The first part of the game was all about Billie Kay, of all people. When her number was called, she entered the arena, but not the ring, hung out at the announcer’s desk and handed out her 8×10 to Jerry Lawler. While the ring was packed with participants such as Shayna Baszler and Toni Storm, Kay tried to convince them to work with her, but to no avail. Finally, the surprise contestant Jillian Hall agreed to be her partner and the two cleared the ring.
Their partnership ended about 7 minutes later when Kay took out Hall. That was only the second elimination of the match, with 13 participants so far. Kay was subsequently eliminated as he gloated. It started with participants 14 and 15, Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. Lacey Evans then came in in Charlotte Flair’s robe – though she would later be eliminated by Baszler, somewhat beating the point of this heat.
The Rumble then saw a title change. Alicia Fox debuted at number 21, followed by 24/7 Champion R-Truth. The 24/7 Title guys ran into the ring and Truth and Fox fought them off. With his back turned, Fox Truth rolled up for the title win. After being eliminated by Mandy Rose moments later, Truth Fox rolled up to reclaim his championship.
The Rumble also almost got off track with crazy Fiend stuff, when Alexa Bliss entered and, after being knocked down by everyone else, started transforming into her evil, invincible alter ego. But while she was transforming, which looked as silly as it sounds, she was eliminated by Ripley. Relief.
After the Rumble, Belair was interviewed in the ring. Overwhelmed with real joy, she gave a great promo on how to get to WrestleMania.
Rating: 3.25 stars. Decent, quite good considering there was no live audience to work with. There were clunky, untidy spots, and the Alexa Bliss segment was so clunky. But the last few minutes between Ripley and Belair were fantastic, they went up a notch.
Surprise the participants so far: Jillian Hall, Victoria, Torrie Wilson.
Sasha Banks taps off Carmella
Carmella had the best match of her career at December’s TLC pay-per-view with Sasha Banks, but this follow-up wasn’t that great. After an average game, Sasha Banks submitted Carmella the Banks Statement.
These women were put in a tough spot, following the WWE Championship match that, while light on action, was heavy on star power. In the first half, Carmella defeated Banks, but her attack was inconclusive. It increased the more the fight went back and forth, but even then there was little noticeable.
Perhaps the best part was how Reginald, Carmella’s manager, got involved, with Carmella using him as a launch pad at one point. He also accidentally caught Sasha falling out of the ring, accidentally saving her from a fall, only for Sasha to work on him in an orkanrana. Carmella then made a gnarled suicide dive, landing her face first and thankfully not committing suicide.
Banks also won the match with a nice omoplata transition to her Banks Statement, if you like MMA being integrated into your WWE.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Drew McIntyre defeats Goldberg
This went exactly as you would expect. The match was short and consisted of three moves: different spears, different claymore kicks and one jackhammer.
It started with McIntyre hitting Goldberg with a headbutt and then a spear, copying Goldberg’s move. Goldberg then rolled out and chased McIntyre through a baricada. Once they were in the ring, the referee rang the bell. From there, it was just an exchange of spears and Claymore Kicks, and Goldberg hit a Jackhammer for a two at one point.
After a series of approaching falls, Goldberg missed a spear, McIntyre’s Claymore made contact and victory came along. They hugged after the game.
Rating: 1 star. Maybe it would have been nice if there was a live audience at the exchanges, but as it was, this was barren and boring. Goldberg’s limitations – the fact that he can really only do one thing, a spear – are so naked it’s hard to really take action.
Results for the show
The Royal Rumble’s Preshow saw titles change as Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Asuka and Charlotte. Charlotte was pinned down after Lacey Evans interfered in the match and hit her with brass knuckles. Jax then knocked down one leg and took the pin.