The 38th Royal Rumble is in the books, so let’s take a look at the results and speculate on what they could mean in the lead-up to Wrestlemania XLI.
First of all, let me briefly explain what I’m talking about for those of you who don’t keep up with professional wrestling. The primary content of the WWE comes from two flagship shows: “Monday Night RAW” and “Friday Night SmackDown.” About once a month, they host one of their PLEs (or Premium Live Events), which combine the rosters of both shows and tend to feature the most important matches with the highest rewards involved for the winners.
The Royal Rumble is one of the most historic PLEs, with the Royal Rumble match itself consisting of 30 randomly selected wrestlers who are brought into the match one at a time at intervals of a few minutes each. The only way to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope and landing on the floor outside of the ring. The last superstar standing wins a shot to win one of the championship belts at Wrestlemania.
Now that we’ve got the basics down, let’s get into what happened at this year’s Royal Rumble. The night kicked off with the women’s royal rumble match. The first two contenders were the recently dethroned champion, Liv Morgan, and the high-flying Iyo Sky. Some highlights of the match were the long-awaited return of Alexa Bliss, the appearance of hall of fame wrestlers like Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella, as well as the noteworthy success of on-the-rise NXT star, Roxanne Perez, who came in at number three and lasted long enough to be the runner-up. However, there are no prizes for second place in the Royal Rumble. This year’s winner, Charlotte Flair, earned herself yet another Wrestlemania match to add to her historic career. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this decision, as I think pushing their younger talent would be much more exciting than seeing Flair in the main event again, and the response on the internet largely agreed with that sentiment.
Next up was a battle for the WWE Tag Team Championship between the Motor City Machine Guns and #DIY. It felt like the least essential match of the night, as I don’t really find either team very exciting to watch. At the end of the day, #DIY retained their titles, but everyone’s minds were already focused on the next match: Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens in a ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The goal of a ladder match is to climb to the top of a ladder and retrieve the prize which hangs above the ring before your opponent can, which in this case were the fighters’ championship belts.
After building up to this for so many months, I was impressed that they managed to surpass my expectations, delivering an instant classic match that fans will be talking about for years to come. The two superstars put on a clinic, breaking ladders left and right on each other, battling out into the audience, with Rhodes even hanging by the belts as dead weight in the air at one point. To end the match, Rhodes hit Owens with an Alabama slam through a ladder that straddled the ring and the announce table, incapacitating the challenger. After, Rhodes was able to easily retrieve the belts, then turning to walk back to the locker room. However, halfway up the ramp, he had a sudden change of heart, returning to pose with his Undisputed Championship belt on the announce table in front of a bloody Kevin Owens as he was receiving medical attention. The moment felt out of character for Rhodes, who’s been playing one of the hero characters on the show since his return (known in pro-wrestling as “faces”). It’s led fans to speculate online if the writers intend to turn Rhodes into one of the villains in the near future (known as “heels”).
The night’s main event was the men’s royal rumble match. It started with a faceoff of the company’s two most exciting luchadors: long-time staple of the show, Rey Mysterio, along with electric newcomer, Penta. Some highlights were the spur-of-the-moment inclusion of Twitch streamer, iShowSpeed, followed by his brutal decimation at the hands of a spear from Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker, the instant carnage that followed the entrance of the “Samoan Werewolf,” Jacob Fatu, the surprise appearance of TNA World Champion, Joe Hendry, the return of the previously injured AJ Styles, and the iconic return of long-time fan favorite, John Cena. Near the end, CM Punk was able to eliminate Seth “Freakin” Rollins and the “Tribal Chief,” Roman Reigns, before he himself was dumped over the top rope by the “Maverick,” Logan Paul. This left John Cena, Jey Uso, and Logan Paul as the final three. Following landing a double “Attitude Adjustment” on his stacked opponents, Cena was able to easily eliminate Paul. After a tense final encounter, Uso was able to eliminate Cena, winning the Royal Rumble and earning a chance to headline Wrestlemania. This result was much more satisfying to me than Charlotte Flair’s victory, as Uso’s been deserving of a Wrestlemania main event position for years.
Wrestlemania XLI will take place on April 19 & 20. Jey Uso will get to decide whether he wants a rematch against the World Heavyweight Champion, the “Ring General,” Gunther, or if he’d rather take a swing at the Undisputed WWE Champion, the “American Nightmare,” Cody Rhodes. Likewise, Charlotte Flair will get to choose her opponent between the WWE Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton, and the Women’s World Champion, Rhea “Bloody” Ripley. Whoever Uso and Flair don’t choose to face will battle against the winners of next month’s PLE, the Elimination Chamber, which takes place on March 1, streaming live on Peacock.
Photo courtesy of Variety.
Commentary: WWE Royal Rumble 38 Results
The 38th Royal Rumble is in the books, so let’s take a look at the results and speculate on what they could mean in the lead-up to Wrestlemania XLI.
First of all, let me briefly explain what I’m talking about for those of you who don’t keep up with professional wrestling. The primary content of the WWE comes from two flagship shows: “Monday Night RAW” and “Friday Night SmackDown.” About once a month, they host one of their PLEs (or Premium Live Events), which combine the rosters of both shows and tend to feature the most important matches with the highest rewards involved for the winners.
The Royal Rumble is one of the most historic PLEs, with the Royal Rumble match itself consisting of 30 randomly selected wrestlers who are brought into the match one at a time at intervals of a few minutes each. The only way to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope and landing on the floor outside of the ring. The last superstar standing wins a shot to win one of the championship belts at Wrestlemania.
Now that we’ve got the basics down, let’s get into what happened at this year’s Royal Rumble. The night kicked off with the women’s royal rumble match. The first two contenders were the recently dethroned champion, Liv Morgan, and the high-flying Iyo Sky. Some highlights of the match were the long-awaited return of Alexa Bliss, the appearance of hall of fame wrestlers like Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella, as well as the noteworthy success of on-the-rise NXT star, Roxanne Perez, who came in at number three and lasted long enough to be the runner-up. However, there are no prizes for second place in the Royal Rumble. This year’s winner, Charlotte Flair, earned herself yet another Wrestlemania match to add to her historic career. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this decision, as I think pushing their younger talent would be much more exciting than seeing Flair in the main event again, and the response on the internet largely agreed with that sentiment.
Next up was a battle for the WWE Tag Team Championship between the Motor City Machine Guns and #DIY. It felt like the least essential match of the night, as I don’t really find either team very exciting to watch. At the end of the day, #DIY retained their titles, but everyone’s minds were already focused on the next match: Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens in a ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The goal of a ladder match is to climb to the top of a ladder and retrieve the prize which hangs above the ring before your opponent can, which in this case were the fighters’ championship belts.
After building up to this for so many months, I was impressed that they managed to surpass my expectations, delivering an instant classic match that fans will be talking about for years to come. The two superstars put on a clinic, breaking ladders left and right on each other, battling out into the audience, with Rhodes even hanging by the belts as dead weight in the air at one point. To end the match, Rhodes hit Owens with an Alabama slam through a ladder that straddled the ring and the announce table, incapacitating the challenger. After, Rhodes was able to easily retrieve the belts, then turning to walk back to the locker room. However, halfway up the ramp, he had a sudden change of heart, returning to pose with his Undisputed Championship belt on the announce table in front of a bloody Kevin Owens as he was receiving medical attention. The moment felt out of character for Rhodes, who’s been playing one of the hero characters on the show since his return (known in pro-wrestling as “faces”). It’s led fans to speculate online if the writers intend to turn Rhodes into one of the villains in the near future (known as “heels”).
Scheffler has the numbers to support his ranking
The night’s main event was the men’s royal rumble match. It started with a faceoff of the company’s two most exciting luchadors: long-time staple of the show, Rey Mysterio, along with electric newcomer, Penta. Some highlights were the spur-of-the-moment inclusion of Twitch streamer, iShowSpeed, followed by his brutal decimation at the hands of a spear from Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker, the instant carnage that followed the entrance of the “Samoan Werewolf,” Jacob Fatu, the surprise appearance of TNA World Champion, Joe Hendry, the return of the previously injured AJ Styles, and the iconic return of long-time fan favorite, John Cena. Near the end, CM Punk was able to eliminate Seth “Freakin” Rollins and the “Tribal Chief,” Roman Reigns, before he himself was dumped over the top rope by the “Maverick,” Logan Paul. This left John Cena, Jey Uso, and Logan Paul as the final three. Following landing a double “Attitude Adjustment” on his stacked opponents, Cena was able to easily eliminate Paul. After a tense final encounter, Uso was able to eliminate Cena, winning the Royal Rumble and earning a chance to headline Wrestlemania. This result was much more satisfying to me than Charlotte Flair’s victory, as Uso’s been deserving of a Wrestlemania main event position for years.
Wrestlemania XLI will take place on April 19 & 20. Jey Uso will get to decide whether he wants a rematch against the World Heavyweight Champion, the “Ring General,” Gunther, or if he’d rather take a swing at the Undisputed WWE Champion, the “American Nightmare,” Cody Rhodes. Likewise, Charlotte Flair will get to choose her opponent between the WWE Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton, and the Women’s World Champion, Rhea “Bloody” Ripley. Whoever Uso and Flair don’t choose to face will battle against the winners of next month’s PLE, the Elimination Chamber, which takes place on March 1, streaming live on Peacock.
Photo courtesy of Variety.