WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.
WWE
This year’s Royal Rumble is the most unpredictable in years, which is great news for WWE fans. Broadcasting live on the WWE Network on Sunday night, the event will see two Royal Rumble matches (one for the men, one for the women) as well as two high-profile championship matches. Bray Wyatt defends his Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan in one, while Asuka competes for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship in the other.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is on the card, but he won’t be defending his title. Instead, and unusually, he’ll be in the men’s Royal Rumble match. And not only that, he’s entering in the number one spot. Whoever can eliminate The Beast is probably on track for a WWE Championship shot, whether they win the Rumble or not.
We’ll be updating this page with results and analysis as the main card begins (4 p.m PT, 7 p.m. ET).
Women’s Royal Rumble match
The first of two Royal Rumbles is up next. Starting at number one is Alexa Bliss, and at number two is NXT’s Bianca Belair. The two exchange offense for just under two minutes before we get the third entrant, and the first surprise of the night: Mighty Molly.
Roman Reigns defeats Baron Corbin
These two have been feuding for months now, hopefully this Falls Count Anywhere match is the end. After what felt like a very long bout, Roman Reigns pinned Baron Corbin with a atop a dugout in Houston’s Minute Maid Park arena.
The match began in the ring, where Reigns dominated. But it quickly turned into a generic brawl, with the two scrapping around the arena. There were some nice spots: Corbin hit a impactful chokeslam through the ringside announce tables for a 2, and interference from The Usos, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode led to one of the Usos landing a dive from the sound stage onto Roode and Ziggler on the concrete floor. At one point, Reigns threw Corbin into a portaloo and tipped it over. That was… something.
But really, nothing stands out about this match. Both men will be in the Rumble later tonight, so the story is unfortunately likely to continue there.
Rating: 1 star. Long and boring.
Winner: Roman Reigns.
WWE
Kickoff Show results
Sheamus pins Shorty G: No surprise here, as this is Sheamus’ return match. It wasn’t a squash, as Gable got some offense in, but ultimately Sheamus won with a Brogue Kick.
Andrade retains the US Championship: These two had a nice, long match, ending with Andrade winning via rollup.