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The Royal Rumble match is usually a battle to determine the next world title contender, but the absence of Roman Reigns has transformed the match into a battle to determine the next top star in WWE.
Reigns has been a major player in every Royal Rumble since 2014, but his unfortunate bout with leukemia has opened the door for a new superstar to be showcased and fight to earn either a WWE Championship or Universal Championship opportunity.
Of the thirty Rumble entrant spots, only 20 had been announced prior to the Rumble pay-per-view. John Cena's "injury" had many questioning his status for the match, which would leave 19 confirmed entrants for the Men's Royal Rumble.
JBL and WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler joined Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary to call the Royal Rumble.
Elias was the first entrant in the Rumble match, and was followed by WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett. The two promised to do a duet, but Elias attacked the former TNA wrestler and the match officially began - Jarrett was eliminated shortly after.
Elimination: Elias throws out Jeff Jarrett
Shinsuke Nakamura, the newly crowned United States Champion and 2018 Royal Rumble winner, was the third entrant in the match.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle was the fourth entrant in the match and had his first in-ring confrontation with Nakamura since their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Big E would make his way to the ring and delivered several power slams before Angle picked him up for the Angle Slam. Nakamura would throw Angle into the post and eliminate him.
Elimination: Nakamura throws out Angle
Our first NXT superstar appearance was Johnny Gargano and was followed by Jinder Mahal as the six and seventh entrants. The two traded blows, but eventually, Gargano would gain the upper hand and eliminate the Modern Day Maharaja.
Elimination: Gargano superkicks Mahal out of the Rumble
Samoa Joe made his way to ring and took it to all the superstars in the ring and made his way to Big E before getting down to business. Hawkins was the ninth entrant but hid under the ring to avoid elimination.
Elimination: Joe throws out Big E
The Architect of The Shield, Seth Rollins, made his way to the ring wearing the colors of the Chicago Bears and showed everyone why he was the favorite to win the match.
Elimination: Rollins takes out Elias
Titus O'Neil made his way to the ring, but didn't slide in like he did last year. He saw Hawkins under the ring, chased him back into the ring and was eliminated by Hawkins just before Joe eliminated him.
Elimination: Hawkins drops the top rope on O'Neil. Joe throw Hawkins out.
Mustafa Ali made his Rumble debut and attacked Joe first before eventually attacking The King of Strong Style and taking him out.
Elimination: Ali kicks Nakamura out of the match
Dean Ambrose came to the ring and made a beeline for Rollins before eventually throwing Kingston out. However, Kingston would save himself by keeping one foot on the apron and rolling to the steps and climbing back into the ring.
Ambrose and Gargano traded blows for a while before The Lunatic Fringe took charge and threw him out of the match.
Elimination: Ambrose eliminates Gargano
No Way Jose made his way to the ring singing and dancing, but was swiftly eliminated by Joe.
Elimination: Joe throws out Jose
Drew McIntyre was the 16th entrant in the match and delivered a few Claymores to his opposition. Xavier Woods was the 17th entrant in the Rumble match and saved Kingston from elimination by saving his other leg from hitting the ground and carrying him back to the steel steps.
Sadly, McIntyre would make short work of The New Day.
Elimination: McIntyre clothelines Kingston and Woods out of the Rumble
The Bruiserweight, Pete Dunne, was the 18th entrant in the Rumble and was the first NXT UK superstar to compete in the match. Andrade was the 19th entrant making his second entrant in the Rumble match before trading blows with Dunne.
Aleister Black was the second US NXT entrant in the Rumble and mostly attacked fellow NXT alumni like Dunne and McIntyre before eventually eliminating the former Intercontinental Champion, Ambrose.
Elimination: Black eliminates Ambrose with Black Mass
The next big elimination in the match would come from Ali, who eliminated his rival Joe. Corbin and Jeff Hardy would be the next entrants in the match, but there weren't any eliminations for a while until Corbin eliminated Black.
Dunne was prepared to attack Corbin, but McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick and eliminated the NXT UK Champion.
Elimination: Corbin throws out Black, McIntyre gets rid of Dunne
Bobby Lashley, the current Intercontinental Champion, came to ring to eliminated Rollins, but ended up getting thrown over the rope. Lashley would respond by pulling Rollins through the bottom rope and putting Rollins through the table.
Elimination: Rollins eliminates Lashley
Braun Strowman made his way to the ring and made Corbin his priority before eventually taking out the Gold Standard, Benjamin.
Elimination: Strowman eliminates Corbin and Benjamin
McIntyre tried to eliminate Strowman and Hardy, but was only successful in taking out Hardy. Ziggler would make his way to the ring, hit a Superkick and eliminate his former tag team partner.
Elimination: McIntyre eliminates Hardy, Ziggler eliminates McIntyre
The final entrant in the Rumble was scheduled to be R-Truth, but he was attacked by Nia Jax, who made history as the first dual entrant in the Rumble match...and unfortunately eliminated Ali.
Orton would attempt the RKO, but Jax knocked him into the second rope. Jax set Mysterio up for the 619, but caught him and tried to eliminate him before catching a Superkick from Ziggler, the 619 from Mysterio and the RKO from Jax.
Elimination: Jax throws out Ali, Mysterio & Orton eliminate Jax
The Viper would eliminate Mysterio after an RKO, before being eliminated by the former member of Los Ingornobles De Japon.
Andrade and Ziggler fought for a while before eventually being knocked down by Strowman, who left the ring to attack Rollins to prevent him from getting back up.
Elimination: Orton throws out Mysterio, Andrade takes out Orton.
Andrade, Rollins and Ziggler teamed to take out Strowman, but the Monster Among Men would eliminate Andrade, Ziggler and almost got Rollins.
The final two in the 2019 Men's Royal Rumble were Rollins and Strowman, two former rivals from The Shield's battles with the Dogs of War, two fan favorites.
Their fight eventually made it to the apron where Rollins continued to knock down Strowman until he hit the Curb Stomp to win the Rumble.
The full order of the Rumble entrants are listed below:
- Elias
- Jeff Jarrett
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Kurt Angle
- Big E
- Johnny Gargano
- Jinder Mahal
- Samoa Joe
- Curt Hawkins
- Seth Rollins
- Titus O'Neil
- Kofi Kingston
- Mustafa Ali
- Dean Ambrose
- No Way Jose
- Drew McIntyre
- Xavier Woods
- Pete Dunne
- Andrade
- Apollo Crews
- Aleister Black
- Shelton Benjamin
- Baron Corbin
- Jeff Hardy
- Rey Mysterio
- Bobby Lashley
- Braun Strowman
- Dolph Ziggler
- Randy Orton
- Nia Jax, replaces R-Truth
Results: Seth Rollins won the 2019 Men's Royal Rumble Match
