2019 Royal Rumble Winners and Results
This year’s Royal Rumble did not disappoint – The Man and The King Slayer cashes their way to WrestleMania 35.
What was a 5-hour event turned out to be one heck of a ride. Filled with highs and lows and an unexpected, but appreciated spot from Nia Jax, this year’s Rumble began the road to the Grandest Show. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will start off that road as winners of the 30-men and women Royal Rumble match.
Lynch was the first to cash her ticket in Arizona after a grueling matchup with SmackDown’s Women’s Champion, Asuka. One of the most anticipated matches on the card surely did not disappoint as these rivals went toe-to-toe. Lynch asked for a fight from the Empress and she got it as Asuka went into her arsenal of striking techniques. A back and forth contest throughout ended with Lynch tapping out to an Asuka Lock in surprising but necessary finish. Asuka had a poor 2018 due to WWE Creative so a short title reign would do her no good as a top superstar in the whole women’s division. But no one has been hotter than The Man has of late and she has all of the WWE Universe behind her. Shown by her name being called upon in the women’s rumble match, the anticipation was rising to see if she would be a surprise entrant. That’s when Lana came out at No.28 with an apparent injury that kept her from competing. In to fill that spot came Lynch who stormed into the match with a shot of redemption.
Per WWE
As the match got down to its final three of Jax, Charlotte, and Lynch, you had to see a Lynch win coming. She was able to eliminate Jax, but that came with consequences as Jax pushed her off the steel steps injuring her knee in the process. Lynch rallied despite the injury and came blow-to-blow with rival Charlotte, eliminating her in dramatic fashion to guarantee her a championship match, with no doubt Ronda Rousey who beat Sasha Banks earlier in the night.
Note: Bayley has once again drawn a final five spot in the Rumble match but has not been able to win, many WWE fans would like to see her get a push sometime in 2019.
After some more championship bouts, the men’s rumble match ended the eventful night. Some surprise entrants from NXT and WWE’s UK division made an appearance, and we got to see Titus O’Neil re-do his infamous slide from Saudi Arabia’s rumble match. Some dark horses in this match: Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman (who was added to the match after being removed from Universal Championship bout), and Randy Orton all made their case in the match for a ticket to WrestleMania with some great spots. No spots come close however to Jax’s who made a surprise entrance into the match at No. 30 after beating down R-Truth and taking his spot. In what will surely be a hilarious moment for the WWE Universe came at the expense of Jax who certainly had an underrated performance in this match. While carrying herself against male superstars and even eliminating Mustafa Ali, she showed no fear and showed why the WWE Universe needs to invest more stock into her after a disappointing title reign in 2018.
Rollins, who entered at No. 10, kept trudging along during this match and found himself in final four with Dolph Ziggler, Andrade, and Strowman. It came down to Strowman and Rollins in the end with Rollins hitting a curb stomp on Strowman on the apron to win the match.
Per WWE
The King Slayer’s win will have him choosing either Daniel Bryan or Brock Lesnar for a championship match at WrestleMania, whom were both victorious in their matches tonight. Who he chooses will make for a great clash – if they are to hold on to their title till then of course. Rollins has been hot all of 2018 and now 2019 and his hard work and devotion has granted him an opportunity to reclaim a top championship in the WWE. Though it would’ve been nice to see a up and coming superstar like Andrade or Ali take that spot, no one is more deserving than Rollins.
This week’s Raw and SmackDown will surely look to build on this PPV as the road to WrestleMania begins.
Full Royal Rumble Card:
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable def. Rezar and Scott Dawson
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Rusev (c) for United States Title
Murphy (c) def. Tozawa, Itami, and Kalisto to retain Cruiserweight Title
Asuka (c) def. Becky Lynch to retain SD’s Women Title
Shane McMahon and The Miz def. The Bar (c) for SD Tag Team Titles
Ronda Rousey (c) def. Sasha Banks to retain Raw’s Women Title
Daniel Bryan (c) def. AJ Style to retain WWE Title
Brock Lesnar (c) def. Finn Balor to retain Universal Title
