WWE presented the 2023 ‘Royal Rumble’ on Saturday, January 28 from the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas.
The show begins and our commentary team of Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcome us to the show LIVE from the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas. It’s time for our opening contest of the evening…the Men’s Royal Rumble match!
Before our match begins, Pat McAfee’s music hits and McAfee is back in WWE! McAfee isn’t competing in the match but will join Cole and Graves on commentary!
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Gunther makes his way to the ring and the Intercontinental Champion is the number one entrant into the match. As the case usually is with these two, heavy strikes are exchanged early and often. Gunther tosses Sheamus over the top rope but Sheamus rakes the IC Champion’s eyes and leaps back into the ring. Time is up and The Miz enters at number three. Miz runs around the ring, Sheamus chases after and tosses Miz back into the ring, where he and Gunther light Miz up with chops to the chest. The timer is up and former WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston enters the fray. All four men are separated off in pairs and number five is ready to come in and it’s former NXT Champion, Johnny Gargano. Sheamus tosses Miz onto the apron and starts cracking him in the chest with his patented forearms to the chest. Number six enters the mix and it’s Xavier Woods! Everyone’s down except Kingston and Woods and instead of going after one another, they start dancing. Gunther and Sheamus have had enough and start attacking both members of the New Day. Number seven enters the match and it’s Karrion Kross.
The newest member of the match goes after both Kingston and Woods but runs into a massive chop by Gunther. The buzzer sounds and the eight member of the match is Chad Gable. The leader of Alpha Academy is going after everyone and he and Woods engage in some mat wrestling and it’s time for number nine to enter the mix and it’s Drew McIntyre! The former WWE Champion slams Gargano into Gable and is attacked from behind by Kross. McIntyre sends Kross over the top rope and launches him to the floor with a boot to the face and Kross is eliminated! The timer runs down and number 10 is Santos Escobar! Everyone is attacking one another and number 11 is Angelo Dawkins! Gunther sends Woods over the top rope and onto the floor with a boot to the face and Woods is eliminated! Number 12’s music hits and it’s two-time Royal Rumble winner, Brock Lesnar! ‘The Beast Encarnate’ launches Escobar, Dawkins, and Gable all out of the ring.
Lesnar comes face-to-face with Gunther and the time expires to reveal number 13 as Bobby Lashley! Lesnar attacks Lashley, who drills Lesnar with a spear and launches Lesnar out of the ring and Lesnar is eliminated! Number 14 is Baron Corbin but Lesnar attacks Corbin before he even enters the ring and he may be out of this one before ever officially entering. Number 15 is Seth Rollins! The ‘Architect’ sends Corbin into the ring and immediately tosses him right over the top rope and Corbin is eliminated! Number 16 is Otis! Not much action takes place and number 17 is Rey Mysterio! Rey never comes out and it looks like something may have happened to the former Rumble winner. Back in the ring, Rollins sends Lashley out of the ring and ‘The Almighty’ is eliminated! Number 18 is revealed as Dominik Mysterio and he comes out with Rey’s mask and rips it in half before coming down to the ring. Sheamus and McIntyre toss Otis over the top rope and Otis is eliminated!
Number 19 is revealed as Elias! Sheamus nails Elias with a Brogue Kick and he and McIntyre toss Elias out of the ring and Elias is eliminated! Number 20 is Finn Balor! Balor goes after anyone possible and he and Dominik eliminate Gargano! Number 21 is Texas-native and WWE Hall of Famer, Booker T! Booker takes out both members of The Judgment Day and does his patented spinarooni! Number 22 is Damian Priest and each member of The Judgment Day are in the match (sans Rhea Ripley). Number 23 is Montez Ford! The Judgment Day quickly eliminated Ford and number 24 is Edge! The WWE Hall of Famer goes after his rivals in The Judgment Day. Edge eliminates Priest and Balor and he comes face-to-face with Seth Rollins. Balor and Priest sneak back in and toss Edge over the top rope and Edge is eliminated! Number 25 is Austin Theory! Edge, Balor, and Priest start fighting up the ramp, Rhea Ripley comes down and attacks Edge but Beth Phoenix comes down and she and Ripley start going at it. Officials come down and break up the fight and number 26 is Omos! Braun Strowman enters as number 27! Some big boys are now in the mix and here we go! Omos and Braun exchange heavy blows in the center of the ring and Strowman launches Omos over the top rope and Omos is eliminated!
Number 28 is Ricochet! Sheamus and McIntyre try to eliminate Strowman but Gunther knocks McIntyre down from behind and tosses him onto the apron but Sheamus makes the save. Gunther launches both McIntyre and Sheamus out and both are eliminated! Number 29 is Logan Paul! Everyone attacks Paul, Ricochet tosses Paul to the apron but Paul nails Ricochet with a Buckshot Lariat to remain in the match! Strowman slams Paul, Ricochet follows up with a standing shooting star press and number 30 is Cody Rhodes! ‘The American Nightmare’ makes his way down to the ring and the fans in attendance is going crazy! Rhodes eliminates Dominik and everyone else starts going to work on each other. Paul and Ricochet stand on opposite top turnbuckles and hit each other with simultaneous flying cross-bodies and the crowd is in a frenzy! What a move! Paul, Ricochet, Gunther, and Rhodes are the final four! Rhodes and Rollins toss Theory are out and it’s down to Gunther, Rollins, Paul, and Rhodes! Rollins and Rhodes both go after Gunther, who entered at number one and here we go! Rollins plants Gunther with a pedigree and Rhodes and Rollins are now face-to-face! Paul comes back into the ring and dumps Rollins out and Rollins is eliminated! Rhodes tosses out Paul and it’s down to number one, Gunther and number 30, Rhodes!
Gunther drills Rhodes with a chop to the chest and injured right pectoral. Rhodes goes for a Disaster Kick but Gunther catches Rhodes and slams him down to the mat. Rhodes and Gunther are on the top turnbuckle and Gunther drills Rhodes with a super-plex down to the mat! Both men struggle to their feet, Rhodes pumps up the crowd and the San Antonio crowd is in a frenzy for Rhodes! Gunther is sent over the top rope and onto the apron but Gunther forces his way back into the ring. Cody sets Gunther up in the corner and nails him with his brother Goldust’s patented Shattered Dreams! Gunther tosses Rhodes over the top rope and onto the apron the applies a sleeper hold! Rhodes drags Gunther over the top rope but falls back into the ring. Rhodes plants Gunther with Cross Rhodes and sends Gunther out of the ring! Rhodes wins!
Winner – Cody Rhodes
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight – Pitch Black Match
The bell sounds, the lights go out and the blacklight appears. Bray’s sporting some face paint that’s glowing, as is Knight’s trunks, armbands, and kneepads. Bray launches Knight across the ring then to the outside. Knight sends Bray into the steel steps but Bray launches Knight into the crowd and starts disassembling the commentary table. They both go through the table, Knight escapes into the ring and Wyatt chases after him. Knight tries to hit Bray with a kendo stick but Wyatt catches and plants him with Sister Abigail for the 1-2-3 and the win!
Winner – Bray Wyatt
Bray continues the attack post-match. They fight through the crowd and Bray locks-in the Mandible Claw. Uncle Howdy appears above Bray and launches himself off of a platform and crushes Knight through the table and pyro goes off as Bray stands there with his theme song playing while human Firefly Funhouse puppets appear behind Bray for quite a visual!
The announced attendance for tonight’s show is 51,338 members of the WWE Universe inside of the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas.
Bianca Belair (C) vs. Alexa Bliss – RAW Women’s Championship
Bianca launches Alexa to the corner and immediately goes to work on the challenger. Alexa latches onto Bianca and starts going to work but Bianca slams her face-first into the mat. Alexa plants the champion with a DDT and goes for the cover but Bianca lifts the shoulders at two. Alexa slides and kicks Bianca but the champion comes roaring back and nails Alexa with a standing moonsault and goes for a cover of her own but Alexa lifts the shoulders at two. Bianca scoops and nails Alexa with the K.O.D. for the win!
Winner – Bianca Belair (C) (and STILL RAW Women’s Champion)
After the match, we see another creepy video package featuring Uncle Howdy and Alexa looks on as we head to a commercial break.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan are numbers one and two, respectively and here we go! Rhea gets control early, Liv fights back and number three is Dana Brooke! Number four is revealed as Emma! Dana, Liv, and Emma gang up on Rhea as the timer expires and number five is Shayna Baszler! Number six is Bayley! Everyone’s paired off in the ring and number seven is B-Fab! Ripley immediately tosses B-Fab out of the ring and B-Fab is eliminated! Number eight is the NXT Women’s Champion, Roxanne Perez! Number nine is Dakota Kai! Number 10 is IYO SKY and now all of Damage CTRL are in the match! Damage CTRL eliminate Brooke and Emma and number 11 is Natalya! Number 12 is Candice LeRae! Baszler and Natalya are eliminated by Damage CTRL and number 13 is NXT’s Zoey Stark!
Number 14 is Xia Li! Damage CTRL is controlling (pun intended) the match and they eliminate Candice LeRae. Number 15 is Becky Lynch! Becky grabs Bayley and they brawl outside of the ring, but neither were eliminated. Damage CTRL help Bayley out and they gang up on Becky. Number 16 is Tegan Nox! Liv and Tegan help out Becky to even the odds against Damage CTRL and number 17 is Asuka! The former Royal Rumble winner reveals her former gimmick ‘Kana’ facepaint! Asuka eliminates Tegan and number 18 is Piper Niven! Doudrop is no more and she’s gone back to her former Piper Niven name! Number 19 is Tamina! Piper and Tamina come face-to-face and they start throwing hammers on one another. Tamina drops Piper with a super-kick and Damage CTRL takes Tamina down. Number 20 is Chelsea Green!
Ripley quickly tosses Green over the top rope and Green has been eliminated! Becky tosses both Dakota and IYO out of the ring and Bayley tosses Becky out but Liv Morgan pops up behind Bayley and now Bayley has also been eliminated! Number 21 is Zelina Vega! Zelina plants Rhea with a Code Red, Piper tries to eliminate her, Zelina shoves Piper back and points at the WrestleMania 39 sign. Xia Li goes to the apron and she and Zelina brawl on the apron but Zelina trips her to the outside and gets back into the ring to safety. Zelina crack Piper with double knees to the face and number 22 is Raquel Rodriguez! Raquel slams everyone around the ring and number 23 is Michin (AKA Mia Yim)! Number 24 is Lacey Evans! Number 25 is Michelle McCool! Michelle was in shown in the crowd earlier with she and The Undertaker’s children and she jumps over the railing and gets into the ring! Michelle eliminates Tamina and number 26 is Indi Hartwell from NXT!
Number 27 is Sonya Deville! Sonya eliminates Zoey Stark. Lacey eliminates Zelina and number 28 is Shotzi! Sonya eliminates Indi Hartwell and number 29 is Nikki Cross! Number 30 is the returning Nia Jax! Everyone gangs up on Nia but Nia knocks everyone down and starts wrecking house. Ripley plants Nia with Riptide and everyone in the match tosses Nia out of the ring and Nia Jax has been eliminated! Raquel eliminates Lacey Evans. Asuka eliminates Sonya Deville, Ripley eliminates Michelle McCool, Michin eliminates Shotzi, and Piper eliminates Michin. Raquel eliminates Piper Niven and now focus her attention onto Ripley but Ripley tosses Raquel and Raquel Rodriguez has been eliminated. Liv Morgan tosses Nikki Cross out and we’re down to our final three of Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, and Asuka.
Ripley and Liv are brawling on the apron, Asuka rushes over, Ripley brings her down to the apron and here we go! Asuka spits green mist into Liv’s eyes, Rhea trips Asuka to the mat, Liv trips Rhea, but Rhea’s feet haven’t touched the floor and Rhea drops Liv to the floor with a head scissors and Rhea wins!
Winner – Rhea Ripley
Roman Reigns (C) (with Paul Heyman & Sami Zayn) vs. Kevin Owens – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Reigns nails Owens with a running shoulder block to start. Owens trips Reigns to the mat and starts unloading punches to a downed champion. Owens tosses Reigns to the corner and crushes him with a cannonball. Owens launches Reigns to the outside, where he plants Reigns with a senton before tossing Reigns back into the ring. Back in the ring, Reigns chokes Owens with the middle rope and goes for the cover but Owens lifts the shoulders after a two-count.
Reigns and Owens go shot for shot until Owens flattens Reigns with a swanton bomb from the top rope and goes for the cover but Reigns lifts the shoulders after a two-count! Another back and forth ensues until Reigns cracks Owens with a spear and goes for the cover but Owens kicks out! Owens goes for a stunner but Reigns shoves Owens into the referee. Owens plants Reigns with a pop-up power-bomb and goes for the cover but there’s no referee! Reigns hits Owens with a low blow and tells Sami Zayn to grab a steel chair. Zayn pauses for a moment but grabs a chair…Owens spins Reigns around and drills him with the stunner, then goes for the cover but Reigns kicks out! The champion nails Owens with a Superman Punch then goes for the cover but Owens kicks out! Reigns tosses Owens to the outside and drills him with a spear through the barricade. Reigns tosses Owens face-first into the steel steps two times right in front of Sami Zayn before tossing the challenger back into the ring. Reigns clocks Owens with a spear, then a cover and gets the 1-2-3 for the win!
Winner – Roman Reigns (C) (and STILL Undisputed WWE Universal Champion)
After the match, Jimmy Uso. Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa come down to the ring. Jey is about to put a lei on Sami Zayn but Roman stops him and says there’s still some business to attend to first. The Usos beatdown Owens and set him up in the corner with a steel chair around his neck. Solo lines Owens up and nails him with a corner splash as Sami watches on. Paul Heyman hands Reigns two pairs of handcuffs and The Usos handcuff Owens to the ropes while still down in the corner. The Usos trade-off several super-kicks to a handcuffed Owens. Reigns grabs a chair and shouts at Owens and lines Owens up for a chair shot but Sami steps in front of Reigns and says he doesn’t need to do it. Reigns hands Sami the chair and tells him to hit Owens. Sami looks hesitant and even subtly points the chair towards Reigns. Roman gets in Sami’s face and tells him that it’s time to take Owens out.
Sami takes Reigns out with the chair and tells The Usos that he’s sorry and the crowd is going WILD! Jimmy Uso takes Sami out and the beatdown commences. Solo spikes Sami and Reigns is back up and directing The Bloodline to continue their attack. Jey hasn’t joined the attack yet and the rest of The Bloodline direct Jey to take Sami out but Jey rolls out of the ring and leaves. Back in the ring, the attack continues and Reigns is just walloping Sami with chair shot after chair shot after chair shot. There are deafening ‘F*** you Roman!’ chants throughout the AlamoDome and Reigns rips apart a lei and ‘The Honorary Uce’ shirt on top of Sami’s motionless body in the center of the ring. Jimmy delivers one final super-kick on Owens and The Bloodline, sans Jey Uso, exit the ring to a massive chorus of boos from the San Antonio, Texas crowd in attendance.
The Bloodline exits the ring and the show goes off-the-air.