Matt Riddle says he was once planned to win the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble.
During a live virtual signing with Signed by Superstars, Riddle said the finish of the match was changed when Brock Lesnar “didn’t want to do business.”
Riddle said:
So, I believe – you know, it’s sports entertainment – But I was told at one point I was going to win the Rumble and everything else. And then what was it? Bobby Lashley beat Brock Lesnar because somebody came in and hit him with the belt or what have you. Then Brock came in, didn’t want to do business with everybody, said he was winning (The Royal Rumble), and then he won. None of the producers, nobody stood up to him and they let him do it. I didn’t either.
Riddle’s comments about winning the Rumble are consistent with a PWInsider report from late January 2022 that stated he was once the planned winner of the match.
I never heard that one before and it doesn’t really make sense for him to win the Rumble because then he would have to be in the main event at Mania and they were never pushing him at that level.
Riddle debuted for MLW over the weekend at Kings of Colosseum. He defeated Jacob Fatu on the show. Riddle also appeared via video at New Year’s Dash last week and challenged the new NJPW World TV Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. That match will take place on February 23 at The New Beginning in Sapporo.
Riddle’s statements about the 2022 Royal Rumble begin around the 46:25 mark of the video below.
On this week’s Mat Men, Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian bring you all the latest pro wrestling news and rumors!
WWE Royal Rumble was this past Saturday and many are considering it one of the worst ones in recent years. We break down the event and what went wrong.
Shane McMahon is officially out of WWE. We have all the latest backstage drama surrounding his Rumble appearance and what this means for his future with the company.
We talk Ronda Rousey’s WWE return and how it looks like she will be facing Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38.
We also get into what is wrong with WWE programming and why it’s been so lackluster compared to AEW Dynamite which is a must-watch every week.
Speaking of that, Dynamite saw a classic by CM Punk vs. MJF. We have all the results and our thoughts.
All this along with your viewer questions and a lot more on the new Mat Men, available by clicking below or watching on YouTube.
Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble event as surprise entrants in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Both made their first WWE appearances since last year’s WrestleMania 37 event at the Rumble. Bunny entered the match 27th, while McMahon entered 28th.
McMahon was also the 28th elimination in the match, which was won by Brock Lesnar. Bunny was the 26th elimination in the bout. Both were thrown out by Lesnar, who last eliminated the returning Drew McIntyre to win the Rumble.
Before being eliminated, Bad Bunny threw Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler out of the Rumble, while McMahon eliminated Kevin Owens.
WWE released Bad Bunny merchandise for the show describing his return as “one night only.”
Bunny held the 24/7 Championship for 28 days during his prior WWE tenure.
Lesnar has yet to declare which title he will challenge for at WrestleMania, but after Universal Champion Roman Reigns cost Lesnar the WWE title earlier in the show, Reigns vs. Lesnar appears to be the WrestleMania direction for the Rumble winner.
After losing the WWE Championship earlier in the night, Brock Lesnar returned to win the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Lesnar entered the Rumble as the 30th entrant. The match came down to Lesnar and Drew McIntyre, with Lesnar throwing McIntyre out of the ring with an F-5.
Lesnar eliminated McIntyre, Shane McMahon, Riddle, Bad Bunny, and Randy Orton after coming into the Rumble last. The full list of entrants and the order in which they were eliminated can be seen here.
As the winner of the men’s Rumble, Lesnar will challenge for either the WWE Championship or Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 this April. Lesnar challenging Universal Champion Roman Reigns is the plan for the show.
Reigns cost Lesnar the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Bobby Lashley pinned Lesnar to win the title after Reigns interfered.
Following a referee bump, Reigns ran into the ring and speared Lesnar during his match against Lashley. Paul Heyman then betrayed Lesnar by handing the WWE Championship belt over to Reigns. Reigns laid out Lesnar by hitting him with the belt.
This is the second time in his career that Lesnar has won the Royal Rumble. He also won the match in 2003.
At the Royal Rumble tonight, Lashley pinned Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. The finish of the match involved interference by Universal Champion Roman Reigns — with an assist from Paul Heyman.
There was a spot during the Lesnar vs. Lashley match where Lesnar went to give Lashley an F-5 but threw him into the referee. With the referee down, Reigns rushed into the ring and speared Lesnar. Reigns asked Heyman to give him the WWE Championship belt, and Heyman betrayed Lesnar by handing it over. Reigns then laid out Lesnar with a belt shot. Lashley capitalized on that by pinning Lesnar to get the win.
Heyman left with Reigns after Reigns hit Lesnar with the title belt.
Reigns and Heyman had been split up since an angle where Reigns fired Heyman as his special counsel in December.
Earlier tonight, Reigns put his Universal Championship on the line against Seth Rollins. The match ended with Rollins winning by disqualification but Reigns retaining the Universal title. Reigns refused to let go of a guillotine when Rollins reached the ropes. Reigns then attacked Rollins with a chair after the match.
A match between Reigns and Lesnar is in the plans for WrestleMania 38 this April.
Lashley is now a two-time WWE Champion. His previous reign with the title lasted from March to September of last year.
For the first time, WWE holds its annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view on a Saturday, headlined by two Rumble matches that offer plenty of intrigue and foreshadowing on the road to WrestleMania 38.
The women’s Rumble could see the return of UFC Hall of Famer and former Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey as has been speculated all week. Our Dave Meltzer has reported that her return is imminent.
In addition to members of the WWE roster, the men’s Rumble match will feature a celebrity entrant in the form of “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville.
A dream match will take place as WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defends against Bobby Lashley. It will be the first-ever singles bout between the two.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns will look to keep his long title reign going as he faces former Shield teammate Seth Rollins, while Becky Lynch defends her Raw Women’s Championship against Doudrop.
The show will also see a mixed tag team match between married couples as Edge and Beth Phoenix take on The Miz and Maryse.
Tonight’s pre-show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The main card will then start at 8 p.m. Eastern.
**********
Show Recap —
KICKOFF SHOW
The pre-show was hosted by Kayla Braxton with Kevin Patrick, Booker T, Jerry Lawler and Peter Rosenberg. They said this would be the highest attended WWE show in two years.
Sonya Deville joined the panel after they showed the Royal Rumble numbers video. The panelists made her explain why she was able to flip-flop between authority figure and wrestler. Booker wasn’t buying her explanation. Booker also wasn’t giving Maryse much of a chance in her match tonight.
AJ Styles did a promo. He debuted at the Rumble and has accomplished a lot since then. He’s never won the Rumble but that changes tonight.
There was a great Bobby Lashley video showing his training as he spoke about facing Brock Lesnar.
They asked a bunch of children who they thought would win the women’s Rumble match. One kid said the Bellas Twins, which is a terrible answer.
Damian Priest did a promo warning everyone not to wake his Damian side.
Braxton asked the panelists their picks for the men’s Rumble. Booker actually spoke about the betting odds and mentioned that Big E was the favourite to win with Lesnar coming in second.
They aired a clip of Johnny Knoxville speaking about the Rumble on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins is kicking off the PPV. Enjoy the show, everybody.
********
2022 ROYAL RUMBLE MAIN SHOW
Michael Cole announced a show attendance of 44,390.
Universal Championship: Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns via DQ — Reigns retains (14:25)
The Usos were barred from ringside.
Reigns entered first. Rollins entered through the crowd to the Shield’s music and wore his Shield gear. Rollins still pranced to the ring to the Shield music, which was funny. The crowd popped for this. The announcers said this was getting under Reigns’ skin.
Rollins hit consecutive suicide dives but Reigns cut him off with a punch and drive-by dropkick. Rollins blocked a superman punch on the outside and hit a great-looking one-man “Shield” powerbomb (so a regular powerbomb) through the announce table. Rollins followed with a frog splash for two.
Rollins blocked a spear, hit a buckle bomb and curb stomp for a close nearfall. Crowd thought we were getting a new champion. This was all just five minutes into the match.
Rollins seemed to be going for another stomp but Reigns turned him inside out with a clothesline. Reigns mounted Rollins and hammered away with forearms before hitting a powerbomb for two. Reigns’ didn’t appreciate that Rollins was laughing at him so he tried forearms again but Rollins caught him in a choke. Reigns countered that into another powerbomb.
Reigns drove Rollins into the post and barricade before hitting a superman punch for two. Reigns hit a spear outside the ring and went for a spear in the ring but Rollins countered into a Pedigree for a nearfall.
The crowd chanted “burn it down” as Rollins went for a stomp. Reigns blocked it and a series of counters led to a Reigns spear. Before Reigns could go for a cover, Rollins laughed at him again and offered a fist bump.
Reigns instead applied a guillotine but Rollins just barely got a rope break. (Rollins seemed to be out but when referee Charles Robinson dropped his hand to check if he was still alive, his hand landed on the rope.)
Reigns refused to break the hold so Robinson called for the DQ. The crowd booed. Cole explained that Rollins pushed Reigns over the edge. As Reigns contemplated his actions, the crowd told him that he sucked.
Reigns grabbed a chair and hit Rollins in the back (as Rollins did to Reigns when he turned on the Shield). Reigns repeatedly hit Rollins with the chair until the chair broke. Reigns was loudly booed as he walked away with his title belt.
The match was really great until the finish.
********
Ronda Rousey won the Women’s Royal Rumble match (59:50)
Sasha Banks (dressed as Sailor Moon) entered at 1, Melina (with red carpet and paparazzi) entered at 2. The crowd popped for Melina doing the straddle splits into the ring. Melina was clearly emotional and happy to be back. Unfortunately for Melina, Banks eliminated her a minute into the match.
Tamina was 3. Banks gave her a double knee strike off the apron as she entered (but didn’t go over the top rope). Banks tried to eliminate Tamina quickly but she fought her off.
Kelly Kelly entered at 4. Kelly got some offense on Tamina before Banks eliminated her. Aliyah entered at 5, Liv Morgan entered at 6, and Queen Zelina entered at 7.
Zelina eliminated Banks (by kicking her off the apron) which shocked the crowd.
Bianca Belair entered at 8 and hit a flurry of offense before Dana Brooke entered at 9. Michelle McCool entered at 10. She almost eliminated Brooke but Reginald caught her. McCool gave Zelina a Styles Clash before eliminating Brooke.
Sonya Deville entered at 11. She kept her jacket on, which meant she’s still a “WWE official,” and she joined commentary instead of entering the ring.
Natalya entered at 12. Belair tried eliminating her but Tamina made the save. Natalya tried dumping Tamina and Belair at the same time but Tamina fell out as Belair held on and stayed in.
Cameron entered at 13. Cameron got to shine for a moment before Deville entered and decked her. Deville drove Camera into the post and eliminated her.
Naomi entered at 14. Naomi checked on Cameron before going after Deville. Naomi gave Deville a Disaster kick before kicking her out of the ring for the elimination.
Carmella entered at 15 but didn’t enter the ring. Rhea Ripley entered at 16 and chucked Carmella into the ring. Carmella, Zelina and Natalya teamed up on Ripley before Ripley fought them off and eliminated both Zelina and Carmella at the same time with a dropkick.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair entered at 17. Charlotte eliminated Aliyah. Charlotte almost eliminated Naomi but Naomi saved herself. She teased doing something wacky to keep herself in the match but Deville yanked her out.
Ivory entered at 18 to the Right to Censor theme and attire. She looked great. She cut a promo on all the “lost little girls” in the ring. Ripley eliminated her as she continued to rant on the mic, which was great. Ivory yelled, “how dare you” as she lay on the floor.
Brie Bella and her music entered at 19 to a big reaction. She did the Yes chants and the crowd did it along with her.
Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James entered at 20 to a big reaction. She had her Impact belt and came out to her “Hardcore Country” music. McCool, her old rival, went right after her but James eliminated her.
Alicia Fox entered at 21. Nikki ASH entered at 22. Nikki entered through the crowd and tried eliminating Ripley from behind but Ripley fought her off.
Summer Rae entered at 23. She went right after Natalya and they slapped each other before Summer knocked her down with a roundhouse kick. Charlotte knocked down Summer as she posed. Natalya eliminated Summer.
Nikki Bella entered at 24. She hit some offense until she was cut off by Belair. Brie saved her and they teamed up with Fox. The Bellas posed with Fox before kicking her out of the ring.
Sarah Logan entered at 25. Logan hit a few moves in before having a nice moment with her old friend Morgan. That didn’t last long because Logan and Morgan were eliminated by Brie and Nikki. The crowd booed the Bellas.
Lita entered at 26 to a good reaction. Lita eliminated James.
Molly Holly, as Mighty Molly, entered at 27. She was decked by Nikki ASH as she entered (outside the ring). Nikki also chucked her into steel steps. Nikki pushed her in the ring before immediately eliminating her.
Ronda Rousey entered at 28 to a massive reaction. Rousey attacked several women before eliminating Nikki ASH. Rousey avoided being eliminated by Nikki Bella. Brie then eliminated Nikki Bella on purpose.
Shotzi entered at 29. Rousey eliminated Brie. Shayna Baszler entered at 30 and Rousey was happy to see her. Baszler kneed Ripley before handing out suplexes to Belair, Shotzi and Lita.
Rousey and Baszler faced off like they might have a friendly battle but they were cut off by Charlotte. Natalya also went after Rousey. Rousey fought off Natalya before eliminating Shotzi. Belair eliminated Natalya. Natalya came back in the ring just to get tossed out by Rousey.
Lita gave Charlotte a Twist of Fate. Lita went to the top for a moonsault but Ripley knocked her off the rope. Charlotte eliminated Lita and the crowd booed.
Ripley drove Rousey into the ring post before Charlotte booted Ripley from the ring.
Belair and Charlotte had an exchange before Belair got Baszler up for the KOD. Baszler fell out of the ring as Charlotte also chucked out Belair.
Charlotte and Rousey were the final two and the crowd was very excited. Rousey countered a big boot and fairly quickly eliminated Charlotte to win the Rumble match. The crowd cheered.
Rousey pointed at The Sign as fireworks went off.
********
Becky Lynch defeated Doudrop to retain the Raw Women’s Championship (12:58)
The crowd seemed distracted early in the match. Apparently (according to Sean Ross Sapp on Twitter), the WrestleMania signed was burned by pyro and the crowd under that sign had to be moved from that section as they removed it. Lynch noticed what was happening and said it was because she was straight fire.
Lynch tried a Disarmer but Doudrop lifted her up and hit a powerbomb followed by a cannonball for two. Doudrop tried a Vader bomb but Lynch got her knees up and followed with a Molly-go-round for two. As Doudrop laid over the top rope, Lynch brought her down with a diving leg drop for two. Doudrop followed with a Big Ending for two.
Doudrop went to the corner for a Banzai drop but Lynch went after her and hit a Man-handle slam off the middle rope for the pinfall win. The finish was cool.
It’s not her fault but I can’t remember the last time the crowd was this quiet for a Lynch match.
********
Bobby Lashley (w/MVP) defeated Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) to win the WWE Championship (10:14)
Heyman turned on Lesnar.
Lesnar and Lashley tied up but it went nowhere because they’re equally strong. They tied up again and Lesnar went behind and hit a German suplex but Lashley got right up. Lesnar was amused. Lashley returned the favour and hit a German and Lesnar was impressed. Lesnar hit consecutive Germans and Lashley landed right on his damn head.
Lashley popped up with a bloody lip and was pissed. He hammered away, countered an F5 and hit a spear. Lashley knew that wouldn’t be enough so he hit another spear. Lashley tried a spear through the barricade but Lesnar moved and Lashley crashed through it. Lashley posted Lesnar but ran into the post himself. Lesnar followed with four German suplexes.
Lesnar set up for the F5 but Lashley countered into the Hurt Lock. Lesnar pushed Lashley into the corner but smushed the referee in the process. Lesnar followed with an F5 but Lashley knocked down the referee again. Lesnar covered Lashley as the crowd counted but of course, the ref was down.
Roman Reigns appeared and speared Lesnar. Reigns stared at Heyman who handed him the WWE title belt. The crowd gasped. Reigns nailed Lesnar with the belt as the crowd booed. Heyman left with Reigns.
Lashley crawled on Lesnar and got the three count to win the title. MVP handed Lashley the title and the two celebrated. (The crowd was booing until they realized they were getting a title change.) The match itself was pretty fun.
********
Ronda Rousey will be on Monday’s Raw.
Edge & Beth Phoenix defeated The Miz & Maryse (12:29)
Miz and Edge wrestled as Maryse did what she could to avoid Phoenix. Miz realized Phoenix was behind him and wasn’t concerned until Pheonix laid into him. Phoenix hammered away at Miz until Maryse clocked Phoenix from behind with her purse. Maryse applied a camel clutch but Phoenix fought her off and they knocked each other down with a double clothesline.
They each tagged which led to Edge running wild on Miz. Phoenix tossed Maryse from the ring before giving Miz a powerbomb. Edge followed with a flying elbow drop for two. Maryse drove Phoenix into the steps as Edge gave Miz a flapjack. Maryse helped Miz avoid a spear and Maryse used a hurricanrana on Edge as Miz distracted the referee.
Maryse gave Phoenix a DDT as Miz gave Edge a Skull Crushing Finale for a nearfall. Miz and Maryse tried teaming up but Phoenix gave Maryse a spear before Edge and Phoenix both speared Miz.
Edge and Phoenix each hit Miz and Maryse with Glam Slams and Edge pinned Miz for the pinfall win.
********
Brock Lesnar won the Men’s Royal Rumble match
AJ Styles entered at 1, Shinsuke Nakamura entered at 2. They had a nice exchange before Austin Theory entered at 3. Robert Roode entered at 4. Roode and Styles faced off which led to a brief “TNA” chant. Pat McAfee also mentioned their “impact” before Styles eliminated Roode.
Ridge Holland entered at 5 as Styles somewhat randomly eliminated Nakamura. Montez Ford entered at 6. Damian Priest entered at 7. Sami Zayn entered at 8.
Johnny Knoxville entered at 9. Knoxville, who wore a ridiculous outfit, took down Zayn and clobbered away at him. Styles beat the shit out of Knoxville and Ford gave Knoxville a frog splash. Holland put Knoxville on the apron to eliminate him but Zayn kicked him out instead. Styles eliminated Zayn.
Angelo Dawkins entered at 10. Omos entered at 11. Omos quickly eliminated Dawkins and Ford. (I was hoping Ford would have a good showing in this match but that didn’t happen.) Ricochet entered at 12. He dropkicked Omos before Omos dropped him.
Chad Gable entered at 13. Gable spoke with everyone in the ring and devised a plan to go after Omos. Gable sent Priest after Omos but Omos easily eliminate him. (So much for Damian.)
Everyone teamed up to eliminate Omos as Dominik entered at 14. Styles ran toward the group and helped eliminate Omos. Baron Corbin entered at 15 and he eliminated Ricochet. Dolph Ziggler entered at 16. They said Ziggler has entered more Rumbles than anyone besides Kane.
Corbin eliminated Dominik. Styles eliminated Theory. Sheamus entered at 17. Holland got eliminated as Sheamus entered (I didn’t see by who, but it might’ve been Styles). Rick Boogs entered at 18. Boogs did a crazy impressive press slam of Gable and chucked him out of the ring.
Madcap Moss entered at 19. Corbin gave Styles a backbreaker and Moss eliminated Styles. The crowd booed this. Riddle entered at 20. Riddle immediately gave Moss a German suplex but was swarmed by Corbin. Corbin and Moss eliminated Boogs.
Drew McIntyre entered at 21. McIntyre easily eliminated Moss and Corbin. McIntyre left the ring (without eliminating himself) to beat up Moss and Corbin. He attacked them with the steel steps.
Kevin Owens entered at 22. Owens and McIntyre went right after each other and Owens gave him a pop-up powerbomb. Rey Mysterio entered at 23. Mysterio ran wild briefly until Owens gave him a stunner.
Kofi Kingston entered at 24. Owens pushed him into the barricade and both of his feet touched the floor. I don’t think this was supposed to be the elimination, but it was so obvious they didn’t try to pretend that Kingston was still alive. The referee told him he was out. The crowd booed.
Otis was 25. Big E was 26. He suplexed Owens and Riddle.
Bad Bunny entered at 27. He hit Sheamus with a high cross and took Owens down with a leg scissors takedown. Riddle wanted to be his friend but Bad Bunny gave him a Canadian Destroyer. Sheamus went after him but Bad Bunny dropped the rope to eliminate Sheamus. Rey and Bad Bunny teamed up to eliminate Ziggler. Bad Bunny tried eliminating Rey but he blocked it.
Shane McMahon entered at 28. He went right after Owens and eliminated him.
Randy Orton entered at 29. He gave Big E an RKO before eliminating him with Riddle. Riddle leaped off Otis’ back to give McIntyre an RKO. RK-Bro eliminated Big E together.
Brock Lesnar entered at 30. Lesnar beat the crap out of a few people before eliminating Orton with no problem. The crowd booed. Lesnar gave Bad Bunny an F5 before eliminating him. Lesnar also eliminated Riddle and Shane.
The final two were Lesnar and McIntyre. They had a quick exchange that led to Lesnar tossing McIntyre out of the ring with an F5.
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SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
PWInsider reported that Ronda Rousey is backstage at the Royal Rumble and that, at the time of their report, was scheduled to be in the women’s Royal Rumble match.
Mustafa Ali tweeted today: “no, i would not like to be in rumble. i would like my release.”
Becky Lynch told the Associated Press that, when it’s time for The Man to come back around, she’ll go by that nickname again: “When it’s time for The Man to come back around, The Man will come back around. Big Time Becks is what we’re going with now. But we own that. Just so you know that.”
Doudrop spoke to Sports Illustrated about how pro wrestling has helped her embrace who she is: “For the longest time, I thought I was an anomaly. I spent so much of my teenage years wishing I was someone else. I hated so much of myself – I hated my hair; I hated being big. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get any smaller. I didn’t want to be the big girl. But wrestling changed everything for me. Wrestling taught me what makes me different is what makes me special. It took a long time to learn that, but I’m lucky to have had wrestling. People should love themselves, and I want to be here to share that message.”
WWE has a “The Build To” video hyping up Lynch and Doudrop’s Raw Women’s Championship match for tonight.
On the Cheap Heat podcast, The Miz discussed his feud with Edge: “Bruce (Prichard), I think, was the one that started the whole thing. Actually, I think it was one of the writers, it might have been Ryan Ward. I don’t honestly know how it all came about, but there was like three different ideas on who I was going to have a program with on my first return back. When Edge’s name came up, I lit up because he had only had one match before. We’ve always been on opposite shows or we were both bad guys. We never had a program or a singles match except for the one champion vs. champion match on Raw. We didn’t even work live events. This was meant to be. It was the chance to do Edge vs. Miz and make it mean something and do something that people are going to remember and talk about it. It’s been great and a lot of fun. “
In a story for Muscle & Fitness, Beth Phoenix discussed her in-ring future: “I never close any doors in wrestling, because I don’t want to be called out as a hypocrite later when its like ‘you’ve retired like, five times!’ So, I feel great, I don’t have any injuries that prevent me from wrestling, I don’t know what the future brings but I do know that this moment … all I can worry about is this moment in time, and if this is my last match, what a way to go out than beside my husband, in front of my kids, you know, in a stadium, and the Royal Rumble is my favorite pay-per-view so it’s got a fairy tale written all over it.”
Before last night’s SmackDown, there were dark matches where Io Shirai defeated Dakota Kai and Tommaso Ciampa defeated Roderick Strong.
Shelton Benjamin told Wrestling Inc that it’ll be years before he considers retiring: “I don’t have an expiration date. You look at guys like Goldberg, how old is he? Way older than me. We work a very different style, but father time knows no style. It will be years before I consider retiring. Barring anything catastrophic, I’ve still got a few good years of high-level wrestling.”
Allison Danger tweeted that she’ll be able to make a short in-ring return this summer and wants a match against Nixon Newell (formerly known as Tegan Nox in WWE): “In 7 days I become a free agent. I’m smarter than ever. Creativity through the roof. I’m ready to make someone’s women’s division THE place to be. But who? I have been that pioneer once, let’s run it again. AND Doctor says he can get me through one short in-ring return this summer. Someone give me @TeganNoxWWE_”
Anthony Ogogo’s match against Hari Singh isn’t included on the Peacock/WWE Network version of “PROGRESS 127: And The Word Was PROGRESS…”
Sonya Deville has declared herself for tomorrow’s Royal Rumble match.
After Naomi defeated Deville on tonight’s SmackDown, she cut a promo saying now that she had defeated Deville, she would go on to the Royal Rumble and win. Deville had left during Naomi’s promo, but came back wearing her jacket, and said as a WWE official she was ready to announce a surprise entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match, herself.
Deville and Naomi have been engaged in a feud that started back in August, with Deville repeatedly engaging in efforts that stacked the odds against Naomi. After Deville inserted herself as a referee in a match between Charlotte Flair and Naomi and cost Naomi the match, the singles match between the two was made for this week’s SmackDown by Adam Pearce.
Here is the current list of entrants in both of tomorrow’s Royal Rumble matches:
Sasha Banks will be in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match after all.
Banks made her return on tonight’s SmackDown, declaring that she’s “ready to Rumble.” WWE had announced earlier this month that Banks was expected to be out of action for 6-8 weeks due to a bruised calcaneus bone. If that timetable had proved to be accurate, Banks would have missed the Royal Rumble.
Banks suffered the injury while facing Charlotte Flair at a house show in Fayetteville, North Carolina on January 2. After the show, Banks tweeted that she was good and thanked everyone for the love.
Charlotte kicked off tonight’s SmackDown before being interrupted by Shayna Baszler, Aliyah, Natalya, and Shotzi. Banks then made her way out and announced that she’s back. A brawl broke out, ending with Banks throwing Charlotte out of the ring.
Despite being the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte will be one of the entrants in the women’s Royal Rumble. She’ll choose her own challenger for WrestleMania if she wins.
The Royal Rumble is taking place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis this Saturday. Here’s the updated list of Royal Rumble entrants:
There are now only five spots left open in the men’s Rumble match.
Nakamura revealed on his Instagram Stories today that he’s been cleared to return from injury. He had been out of action since December 18 due to a hand injury.
Nakamura is the current Intercontinental Champion. Sami Zayn is the number one contender to his title, but when that match will be happening has yet to be announced. Zayn will also be one of the entrants in the men’s Rumble match.
Saturday’s PPV is being held at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Here’s the updated list of entrants for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches:
Ronda Rousey heads the rumors for Royal Rumble surprises and WrestleMania.
Rousey’s name was first reported this week on Fightful. Since then this much has been confirmed to us. First, Rousey has been back training for pro wrestling. Second, she will be returning this year and she is under contract with WWE. Her original deal was up, but either a new deal was put together or WWE froze her three-year deal since she really only worked the first year and a few months of it. There have been WrestleMania plans that include Becky Lynch vs. Rousey that have been discussed internally. We have not confirmed her for the Rumble, but PWInsider did report her make-up woman is booked for both the Rumble in St. Louis and Raw two days later in Cincinnati.
That opens up a lot of conjecture. The key is then what do you do if she’s in the Royal Rumble? Surprises in the Rumble always get over, so people may not boo her at first. But she was a heel when she left. Some will perceive her as taking the spot that Bianca Belair earned if, in fact, it does go to Lynch vs. Rousey. They could also go with a three-way to circumvent that. That isn’t necessarily a more marketable match, but this does give more options for a finish and makes for less risk for the match.
Seven new participants have been confirmed for this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match.
WWE has announced that Omos, Randy Orton, Riddle, Chad Gable, Otis, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode will be entrants in the men’s Royal Rumble. With 22 wrestlers now confirmed, there are still eight spots left open in the match.
For the women’s Royal Rumble, WWE has announced 21 of the 30 wrestlers who will be taking part in the match.
The Royal Rumble is being held at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis this Saturday. Here’s the updated list of entrants for both Rumble matches:
Kevin Owens is the latest entrant to be confirmed for this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match.
Owens declared for the men’s Rumble during a KO Show segment on tonight’s episode of Raw. Fifteen of the 30 wrestlers who will be taking part in the match have now been announced.
Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Austin Theory, “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville, Sheamus, United States Champion Damian Priest, AJ Styles, Big E, Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, Sami Zayn, and Kofi Kingston are the other participants that have been confirmed for the men’s Royal Rumble.
Seth Rollins was Owens’ guest on the KO Show tonight. Owens said that, after he wins the Royal Rumble and Rollins defeats Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, they’ll have the biggest WrestleMania main event of all time when they face each other.
The KO Show segment was interrupted by United States Champion Damian Priest. Owens defeated him in a non-title match after faking an injury.
The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis is hosting the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 29. Here are the Rumble entrants that have been announced thus far:
This year’s women’s Royal Rumble match has a couple of new confirmed participants.
It was announced on Raw tonight that Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan will be taking part in the women’s Royal Rumble. Belair was the winner of last year’s women’s Rumble match, lasting for nearly an hour after entering at number three.
Belair and Morgan were both in contention to challenge for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble, but Doudrop defeated them in a triple threat number one contender’s match last week. The story of the match was that Belair was about to get the win, but Lynch interfered and stopped her. Doudrop pinned Morgan after hitting a Banzai Drop.
On tonight’s Raw, Lynch & Doudrop defeated Belair & Morgan in a tag team match. Doudrop again pinned Morgan to get the win. When Lynch was going for a cover prior to that, Doudrop gave her own partner a splash to break it up. Doudrop then hit a Banzai Drop on Lynch after the match.
There have now been 21 participants confirmed for this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. The pay-per-view is taking place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Saturday, January 29.
Here’s the updated list of entrants for both Royal Rumble matches:
