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WWE Royal Rumble 2023 was a wild premium live event full of cool surprises, epic returns, and masterful storytelling that made for an extremely memorable night.
Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley won their respective Rumble matches to huge ovations, punching their tickets to WrestleMania 39 in the process. Elsewhere on the show, Bray Wyatt won his return match against LA Knight, and Bianca Belair retained the RAW Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss as expected.
The night's main event absolutely stole the show, delivering what many called one of the best premium live event endings in WWE history. Sami Zayn was ordered by Roman Reigns to destroy an already brutalized Kevin Owens with a steel chair as his "final test" despite his pleas for his fallen friend.
Zayn responded by hitting Reigns instead, leading to a beatdown by The Bloodline that left him lying in the ring at Owens' feet. It was a very compelling watch all around, but some moments stood out to the viewers and were singled out for effusive praise in the aftermath.
Here are four moments fans loved about Sami Zayn's ejection from The Bloodline at Royal Rumble 2023
#4. Jey Uso walks away from The Bloodline instead of attacking Sami Zayn
Since Day 1, Jey Uso has been the heart of the Bloodline's storyline, delivering the best emotional performances of all six men involved. His ability to convey anguish and conflict has been untouchable thus far, and it was on show once again at Royal Rumble 2023. The Right Hand Man looked an emotional wreck from the moment Roman Reigns handed Sami Zayn a steel chair to the sequence where Jimmy Uso dropped Zayn with a superkick.
With his respective loyalties to The Tribal Chief, his twin brother, and his "adopted Uce" tested to the limit, Jey walked out of the ring, refusing to take a side. Fans loved the moment due to its layered implications, such as the tag team champion possibly reverting to Main Event Jey or leaving the group altogether. It was also taken by fans as the first sign that The Head Of The Table was losing control of his faction, and the ejection of Zayn was the beginning of the end for The Bloodline.
#3. A moment of deja vu for Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2023
Roman Reigns continued his historic Undisputed Universal Championship reign at Royal Rumble 2023. The Tribal Chief and Kevin Owens completed a trilogy of world title bouts at the event, with the former chalking up his second win. It wasn't all smooth sailing for the six-time world champion, though.
Reigns put Sami Zayn's loyalty to the test by ordering him to hit Owens with a steel chair post-match. He made a crucial mistake against The Honorary Uce, though, one he had made before: he turned his back on the man with the steel chair.
The angle resulted in a moment of painful deja vu, with Zayn smacking him across the back with the weapon just as Seth Rollins did when he ended The Shield. If this moment ends up causing the downfall of The Bloodline, the memory of being hit with a steel chair will hurt twice as much for The Tribal Chief.
#2. After months of teasing, Sami Zayn gets ousted from The Bloodline at Royal Rumble 2023
Although it was a dreaded moment, most of the WWE Universe saw Sami Zayn's ejection coming for weeks, if not months. The Honorary Uce and The Bloodline teased the breakup numerous times, keeping fans on the edge of their seats as the story progressed. While some were hoping for Zayn to somehow find a way to stay in the group, most were waiting to be put out of their misery so that the next chapter could begin.
With the events of Royal Rumble 2023 in the books, the latter fans were happy to see The Master Strategist's stay in the faction brought to a fitting conclusion. Better still, they were thrilled to be entering the next phase (and possible endgame) of the saga, which could potentially see Zayn and Kevin Owens team up to dethrone The Usos at WrestleMania 39.
One thing is for sure: Sami Uso's ousting has made the Bloodline storyline even more must-see on the Road to WrestleMania 39.
#1. Sami Zayn FINALLY stands up to Roman Reigns in defense of Kevin Owens
On a night filled with legendary returns and star-making rumble wins, the loudest reaction of the night at Royal Rumble 2023 came from an expertly built-up post-match moment. After months of manipulation, condescension, and exploitation, Sami Zayn finally found his guts to stand up to Roman Reigns.
Handed his "final test," constituting attacking a beaten down Kevin Owens with a steel chair, Zayn's conscience finally caught up with him, forcing him to do the right thing.
When he clobbered The Tribal Chief across the back with the chair, the Alamodome exploded in support, and the internet fanbase lost its mind. It was an emotional cocktail of shock, fear of what would come next, disbelief, but mostly happiness over Zayn finally finding his moral compass. It was a face turn for the ages and will do a world of good for everyone involved and WWE at large going forward.
