'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Sunday, January 28th, WWE presented its thirtieth annual Royal Rumble. This year's event once again had several opportunities and interesting events. During the four-hour extravaganza, the men and women took part in a variety of different moments. Everything from the appearance of Vicki Guerrero in the Women's Royal Rumble and Ronda Rousey appearing at the end of that match.
Fans felt an array of emotions, from glee to disappointment, as participants in the two Rumble matches were eliminated. And who won the Smackdown Live and Raw tag team championships? The questions that developed were endless, it seemed. This year's event didn't hold back either, as the matches that took place certainly stood out and turned heads. Who were the unannounced entrants for this year's event? Was history made again? What moments stood out and who was involved? Here are five things we learned to come out of Royal Rumble.
#5 Nostalgia and the future played a role in the Royal Rumble match up
Former World champion, Rey Mysterio made a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble match up.
Among all the participants entered in the Royal Rumble, the fans were exposed to a number of special faces that made returns and some new ones that fans probably wouldn't have predicted seeing. One of the surprises was the entrance of Andrade ‘Cien' Almas, who had just competed on Saturday in a thirty-minute classic against Johnny Gargano, retaining his NXT championship in the process.
The next NXT star to participate in the Royal Rumble match was Adam Cole. Cole came in much to the appreciation of the Philadelphia faithful. Both Cole and Almas had impressive showings in the matchup, with Almas lasting more than thirty minutes in total.
Fans were also privy to two cruiserweights that returned to WWE, one of them being a past Royal Rumble winner. First, fans were made aware to stand back because a Hurricane was coming through, and the audience cheered the returning ‘Hurricane' Helms, though he was only in the match for second before he was eliminated.
The final surprise was the return of Rey Mysterio, who entered the Rumble and made an impressive showing for himself, creating more moments that fans will long remember.
#4 Universal car wreck
When the Monster, the Beast, and the Machine started, it was an immediate, brutal attack against one another. It was clear that massive destruction was going to be the course of action going forward. There were suplexes on Braun Strowman at the hands of Brock Lesnar, a powerslam by Strowman that drove Lesnar through a table, and Kane, in turn, drove Strowman through a table. It was a wasteland of debris all over the ring. It was clear that spots were going to be huge in order to make a statement.
At one point, Lesnar hit Strowman with an F5 through an announce table and then proceeded to throw a neighbouring table on top of Strowman. Then he Kane with an F5 on another announce table outside the ring. At the end of the match, Kane attacked Strowman with a steel chair, causing him to be knocked out of the ring. However, then Lesnar retained the title after hitting an F5 on Kane in the middle of the ring. Needless to say, the destruction left in and around the ring was widespread and striking.
#3 Even outmanned, Styles is still the man
With the odds stacked against the WWE champion, it appears there really was nothing AJ Styles could do to overcome the two on one advantage before him. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn used everything and anything they could to ensure that they got the win, including breaking up any pinfalls attempted by Styles. They had several opportunities to finish off Styles as well, through either working on their own or collectively to wear down the champion.
However, just when it appeared Styles was going to be taken out courtesy of a superkick by Owens leading into a blue thunder bomb by Zayn, it turned out to be all for nought. After what appeared to be a phantom tag, Owens tried to take advantage of a distracted Styles by first hitting him with a superkick and then attempting to hit him with a pop-up powerbomb. However, Styles was able to reverse the attempt and rolled KO up for the win.
#2 Ask and you shall receive
The thirty-man over the top rope Royal Rumble had a number of men that were talked about as being a possible favourite to win the matchup. Indeed, there were different times when it appeared several men were close to walking away as the winner. During the match, we saw the likes of Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and 26 others participate. The exchanges that took place within the match were quite exciting for fans to see. It was interesting to see Dolph Ziggler enter the match as the thirtieth competitor, after having walked away and relinquished his United States championship.
As the match was approaching its closing moments, the final four were Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, John Cena and Roman Reigns. Fans appeared to be getting quite raucous, as Cena eliminated one of the Philadelphia crowd's favourites in Balor. However, in the end, Nakamura eliminated Reigns to become the winner. He then announced that he wants to face AJ Styles for the WWE championship. The fans walked away from this quite pleased with the end result.
#1 Women's Royal Rumble was the main event
The inaugural Women's Royal Rumble was a sight to see. Whether it was the already announced entrants or the surprise guests for this year's event, the Women's Royal Rumble was special for a few reasons. One of those reasons was that the match was the main event. To have the women main event was a special moment for all involved. Both men and women should be proud of this moment, as it clearly is a statement that times are changing.
The unnamed entrants that took part in the event included Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix, current NXT women's champion Ember Moon and former seven-time Women's champion Trish Stratus. It was certainly a memorable night but also left more questions as Asuka won the Rumble match, but indicate who she would to pick to compete against for their respective championship, either Alexa Bliss or Charlotte. It became even more muddled when, after the match, Ronda Rousey came into the ring and made clear she will be at Wrestlemania.
