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Post by marcusfaze on Jan 13, 2023 6:44:10 GMT 1
Choose the winner of each match (1 pt for each correct guess):
Men's Rumble:Cody Rhodes
Reigns/Zayn:Reigns
BelAir/Ripley: Ripley
Theory/Grimes:Theory
Women's Rumble:Sasha Banks
Extra Credit #1 -- Who will enter the men's Royal Rumble at #1? Johnny Gargano
Extra Credit #2 -- Who will enter the women's Royal Rumble at #30? Bayley
Extra Credit #3 -- Name a surprise entrant in the Men's Rumble: Ilja Dragunov
Extra Credit #4 -- Name a surprise entrant in the Women's Rumble: Tiffany Stratton
Extra Credit #5 -- What will Triple H's announcement be about?:Roman Reigns having to defend both titles separate
I would also to make a few more predictions just for bragging rights:
GUNTHER gets the most eliminations in the Men’s Rumble
If Rhea doesn’t win the Raw Women's title, then she enters the Men’s Rumble
If Sasha doesn’t win the Women’s Rumble, then she eliminates Ronda
If Sasha wins the Women’s Rumble, Then Liv eliminates Ronda
Robert Roode enters the Men’s Rumble as a surprise entrant
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Post by sleestaklightning on Jan 26, 2023 20:06:45 GMT 1
WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2023
Saturday -- Week 4 -- January 2023 LIVE! From the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX OPENING VIDEO
The show opens with a video hyping up the Royal Rumble matches. It includes the Royal Rumble By The Numbers video that everyone loves. | 73
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: AUSTIN THEORY (C) |VS| CAMERON GRIMES
Austin Theory gets a slick new entrance with pyro and new music that kinda sounds like an epic electronic version of Kurt Angle's music. Theory gets in the ring and poses on the turnbuckle with the belt held high over his head. Cameron Grimes enters from the crowd, slides in the ring and attacks Theory while he's up on the turnbuckle. The referee tries to back him off but he refuses and stomps Theory over and over. Grimes finally backs off, rips off his vest and throws it into the crowd. The crowd pops a bit for Grimes and when Theory starts to get to his feet, Grimes charges and drives his knee into the side of Theory's head. The referee backs Grimes off and asks Theory if he can still compete. Theory says he needs a minute and the referee stands between Grimes and Theory and gives Theory a second to recover. The second the referee moves out of the way, Theory kicks Grimes right in the dick and the referee admonishes Theory but calls for the bell for the match to begin. Theory ddts Grimes and covers him for a near fall. Theory picks Grimes up and whips him into the corner. He hits a running corner clothesline and then waits for Grimes to stagger out of the corner and then lifts him up onto his shoulder for A-Town Down but Grimes fights out of it. He tries for a short-arm clothesline but Theory blocks it with a knee to Grimes' arm. Grimes turns and holds his arm in pain. Theory spins him around but Grimes immediately headbutts Theory and staggers him. Grimes opens up with a flurry of punches and kicks that send Theory into the corner to cover up. The referee forces Grimes out of the corner and Theory charges Grimes. Grimes hits a back body drop and then when Theory pops back up Grimes dropkicks him. Theory staggers backward into the ropes. Grimes charges but Theory back body drops him over the top rope and down to the floor. Grimes hits the floor hard and the referee has to go check on him but they let the match continue. Grimes slowly climbs back into the ring but Theory grabs him immediately and whips him into the corner. Theory walks to the corner and chops Grimes in the chest. He kicks Grimes in the midsection and then picks him up and sets him on the top turnbuckle. Theory sets up for a superplex but Grimes fights out of it and shoves Theory off the turnbuckle. Theory lands on his feet and Grimes leaps off with a flying crossbody. Theory rolls through and pins Grimes but only gets a two count. Both men get to their feet. Theory charges and goes for a flying knee but Grimes somehow turns it into a powerslam and gets a near fall. Theory rolls to the ropes and starts to pull himself up. Grimes goes on the attack but Theory lifts him up in the air and drops Grimes throat-first onto the top rope. Grimes snaps backward and Theory clotheslines him. Theory bends down to pick Grimes up but Grimes gets a quick small package for a two count. Both men are up and charge each other and each man hits a lariat. A double down spot gives both men a quick rest. Grimes is up first as the referee's count gets to 9. When Theory gets up Grimes kicks him in the midsection and hits a snap suplex. Grimes hits a lariat and then a dropkick and Theory falls into the corner. Grimes charges for a Stinger Splash but Theory catches him and hits an inverted atomic drop. Theory grabs Grimes and hits the Ataxia (lifting reverse STO) on Grimes and rolls him over and covers him for the pinfall.
WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE United States Champion: Austin Theory (12:32) | 47
BRAY HAS AN UPDATE
As Theory is celebrating the feed cuts from the ring to a shot of Bray Wyatt standing in a darkened room somewhere. He starts his promo with "Let the world know, I am fine." He proceeds to talk about Uncle Howdy attacking him and throwing him down the steps last night on SmackDown. Wyatt says that his "vessel" has been wounded and he is not permitted to compete tonight. But he promises that this coming Friday night on SmackDown he is going to walk down to the ring and remain there until Uncle Howdy gets out of Bray's head and manifests in the real world again. "...And when he becomes flesh, he becomes vulnerable. And that's when I will strike. I am so so sorry for what is going to happen." Bray backs into the darkness and we slowly fade to the next segment. | 83
JUDGMENT DAY SPEAKS
Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley are standing backstage. Balor says that tonight each member of Judgment Day has a goal. For Balor and Priest, it's for one of them to win the Royal Rumble. Rhea is going to win the WWE Women's World Champion and Dominik is going to make sure that both of those happen. And when that happens Judgment Day will dominate WWE -- forever. Dominik moves to the forefront and looks directly at the camera. "I just wanna say one thing to Rey Mysterio. I know you have your heart set on one more Royal Rumble win to cap off your career. But let me tell you this, Rey. I will do anything I need to do to stop you from winning. And let's face it -- you don't really have much of a chance anyway, old man. Rhea decided she doesn't want me at ringside for her match, but I'll be there at ringside for the Royal Rumble to make sure you don't accidentally stumble into a win." | 64
WWE WORLD WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: BIANCA BELAIR (C) |VS| RHEA RIPLEY
Rhea is introduced first. The crowd is really into her, cheering her from the moment her music hit. But when Bianca BelAir is introduced the Alamodome goes crazy. Bianca is extremely over right now and the crowd is really loud. The match begins with both women walking to the center of the ring and jawing back and forth. Bianca says something and Rhea boots her in the stomach. Rhea whips Bianca into the nearest corner and starts driving her shoulder into Bianca's midsection. Rhea whips Bianca across the ring to the opposite corner. Bianca hits hard and bounds out of the corner only to eat a big boot by Ripley. Rhea picks Bianca up by the hair and slams her in the chest with a forearm shot to the chest. Another one, this time to the chin. Bianca's head snaps back and she staggers backward. Rhea drops her with a heavy standing lariat. Bianca bumps to the mat and Rhea immediately drops a knee onto Bianca's chest. Rhea picks Bianca up and backs her into the ropes. She chops Bianca in the chest and goes to whip her across the ring but Bianca reverses it. Bianca leap frogs Rhea and then as Rhea comes off the ropes behind her, Bianca goes for a hip toss but Rhea blocks it and elbows Bianca in the ribs. Bianca doubles over and Rhea grabs her and suplexes her in the middle of the ring. Rhea gets up onto her feet and the crowd boos as she mocks Bianca by posing like her. Rhea kicks Bianca in the midsection as Bianca gets up onto her hands and knees. Rhea grabs Bianca's ponytail and wraps it around Bianca's neck and begins to choke her with her own hair. The referee forces the break. Bianca falls flat on the mat and Rhea taunts the crowd who boo her. Bianca gets up onto her hands and knees again and Rhea grabs Bianca's own pony tail and slaps Bianca across the back with it. Rhea bends down and picks Bianca up again. She drives a knee into Bianca's midsection and then bodyslams her down. Rhea goes for an elbow drop but Bianca rolls out of the way. Bianca rolls to the ropes and pulls herself up. Rhea charges her and Bianca sees it coming and hits a spear out of nowhere. Bianca and Rhea are both down. Rhea is up first and Bianca is on her knees. Rhea runs past Bianca and bounces off the ropes and goes for a kick to Bianca's face but Bianca ducks. She gets a schoolgirl roll-up on Rhea for a one count. Both women hop up onto their feet and we get a double running clothesline and both women are down again. Once again Rhea is up first and she realizes that her lip is bleeding. She starts to laugh and slowly walks over to Bianca. Bianca is again on her knees. Rhea grabs her face and forces her to look up at Rhea. Rhea begins yelling at Bianca for making her bleed. Rhea tries to slam Bianca's head into the mat but Bianca blocks it with her hands. Rhea tries to stomp the back of Bianca's head but Bianca rolls out of the way. She gets to the ropes and pulls herself up. Rhea charges again and clothesline Bianca and both women go over the top rope and down to the floor. Rhea picks Bianca up and whips her into the barricade. Rhea chops Bianca's chest and then grabs her arm to whip her into the steel steps. But Bianca reverses it and Rhea hits the steps hard. Bianca charges and hits a running knee to Rhea's face. Bianca picks Rhea up and slams her face-first into the steps. Bianca moves Rhea to a seated position in front of the side of the steps. Bianca backs up and charges and kicks Rhea in the head. Bianca grabs Rhea and rolls her back into the ring. Bianca climbs up onto the apron and goes up to the top rope. Rhea is prone on her back and Bianca hits a 450 Splash! She covers Rhea, 1---2---NO! Rhea kicks out! Bianca is upset that it didn't work and she gets up to her feet. Rhea is slow to get up too. Bianca grabs Rhea and sets her up for the K.O.D. but Rhea lands on feet and headbutts Bianca. Bianca staggers backwards into the ropes. Rhea grabs Bianca's wrist and pulls her close. She hits the Riptide and covers Bianca, 1---2---Bianca kicks out! Rhea picks Bianca up and goes for another Riptide but Bianca slides down Rhea's back and lifts her up and hits the Glam Slam. She rolls Rhea over and covers her but Rhea kicks out at two! Bianca gets to his feet and waits for Rhea to get up. When Rhea does Bianca grabs for the K.O.D. but Rhea elbows her in the side of the head and gets on her feet. Rhea quickly turns it into the Riptide and covers Bianca but Bianca's foot is outside of the ring and the referee refuses to count. Rhea drags Bianca toward the center of the ring and bends down to pick her up but Bianca manages to lock Rhea into a small package. The referee counts 1---2----3!!!
WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE World Women's Champion: Bianca Belair (15:31) | 71
POST-MATCH
After the match is over Bianca is handed the belt and she hugs it and rolls outside. In the ring, Rhea is stunned and she gets to her feet and grabs referee Jessika Carr by the shirt and starts screaming at her. She shoves her into the corner and is about to hit her when Dominik Mysterio runs out and slides into the ring to try to calm Rhea down. At first she doesn't want to listen to him either and she grabs him by the shirt. But she calms down and gives him a big kiss on the lips and puts her arm around Dom as the two heels head to the back. | 66
BECKY LYNCH RUMBLE PROMO
Up next is the first of many old school Royal Rumble match promos from various competitors in both Royal Rumble matches. The first one is Becky Lynch. She goes over her resume and talks about how she will become the first woman to win the Royal Rumble match twice. | 71
DEVILLE, BLISS, AND MORGAN PROMOS
More promos follow. First Sonya Deville says that she will outsmart the competition and win the Rumble. Then Alexa cuts a dark brooding promo about the Rumble and how she wants to hurt people. And finally Liv Morgan says that winning the Royal Rumble would be a dream come true for her. But if she doesn't win, she'll be satisfied if she can make sure Ronda Rousey doesn't win either. | 57
BANKS (MAKES A) STATEMENT
The next promo is from Sasha Banks. She says she didn't come back to WWE to be an afterthought. She says that Ronda Rousey had a problem with Sasha coming back and going after Charlotte first but Ronda should be thankful that happened because if Sasha came after her championship, she wouldn't be champion right now. Sasha promises to eliminate Charlotte Flair and then if there's a chance, she'll take Ronda out too on her way to winning the Rumble. | 68
CROSS, YIM, EVANS, AND LERAE
Nikki Cross is excited about the number she drew for the Rumble and plans on winning it and dethroning Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. Mia Yim is next and she says brawling with 29 other women isn't new for her and she'll be right at home in the match. Lacey Evans, former Marine, says basic training got her prepared for the Royal Rumble and will help her win it. And Candice is so excited to finally compete in a Royal Rumble. She's going to join her husband as the first couple to ever win the Rumble in the same year. | 54
CHARLOTTE FLAIR PROMO TIME
The final pre-Rumble promo is given to Charlotte Flair. She talks about winning the Rumble again. She says it's a foregone conclusion. Then she turns her attention to Ronda Rousey. She says Ronda's conspiracy theory about Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, and Bayley conspiring to get to main event WrestleMania is stupid. Charlotte says they were talking trash on social media. And she doesn't mean they were just typing Ronda's name over and over (ouch). Charlotte tells Ronda she'll see her in the ring and she cannot wait to throw her ass out of the match. | 73
THE 2023 WOMEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Samantha Irvin is in the ring and goes over the rules of the match ala Howard Finkel. She introduces the participant who drew number one... CHARLOTTE FLAIR! Charlotte's music plays and she slowly makes her way down to the ring. She tells fans along the aisleway that they need to bow to her as she makes her way to the ring. Charlotte gets to the ring, removes her robe and poses. Corey Graves mentions her father winning the 1992 Royal Rumble after entering at #3. He says he thinks Charlotte can outdo Ric tonight. Then the participant who drew number two... SASHA BANKS! The crowd pops as Sasha's music plays. Charlotte attempts to look stoic in the ring but her face shows a bit of concern. Sasha gets in the ring and immediately charges Charlotte. The two women brawl in the ring as the bell rings. They take turns chopping and slapping one another for 80 seconds until the countdown clock pops up. |ENTRANT #3: CARMELLA| Carmella returns to action here and gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Her real life husband, Corey Graves, goes crazy on commentary. She gets in the ring and gets some offense in both Charlotte and Sasha. Carmella drops Sasha with a really nice looking bicycle kick to the chest. Charlotte takes the opportunity to put the boots to Sasha as the countdown clock starts up again. |ENTRANT #4: CANDICE LERAE| Candice is excited to be here and she runs down to the ring. She slides in and stands up. She kicks Carmella in the stomach and hits a facebuster. But when Candice stands up she immediately eats a boot from Charlotte. Candice is knocked into the ropes and clotheslined over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #1: CANDICE LERAE| Charlotte waves bye to Candice, who is visibly upset at being eliminated quickly. Across the ring Carmella and Sasha are trading slaps to the chest when Sasha kicks Carmella in the leg. Carmella drops to one knee and Sasha throws a knee into Carmella's face and then picks her up by the hair and throws her out of the ring leaving Sasha and Charlotte as the only two competitors in the ring. |ELIMINATION #2: CARMELLA| Charlotte and Sasha walk to the middle of the ring and begin trash talking one another. While this is happening we get the countdown clock again. |ENTRANT #5: IYO SKY| Sky is out next and she runs to the ring. She slides in and pops up. Both Sasha and Charlotte turn their attention to her and she charges and clotheslines them both. Sasha pops right back up and Iyo dropkicks her. Charlotte is up next and Iyo tries to dropkick her but Charlotte backs away and Iyo falls to the mat. Charlotte boots her in the face and then picks her up and whips her into the ropes. Iyo comes off the ropes and ducks Charlotte's clothesline attempt. Iyo runs into Sasha, pops up and hits a head scissors then sends Sasha into Charlotte for a spear. Sasha pops up and turns around toward Iyo and Sky kicks Sasha in the midsection and suplexes her. |ENTRANT #6: BRIE BELLA| "BRIE MODE!" Brie Bella gets a big reaction as she returns to WWE and runs down to the ring. She climbs in the ring and immediately seems lost. She remembers her spot and she sees the heels teaming up on Sasha and she walks over to help her out. Brie grabs Iyo Sky and turns her around. She meekly kicks Iyo and then hits her with a forearm shot. Iyo doesn't sell it and kicks Brie in the head. Brie falls backward into the corner and Iyo charges. She goes for a Stinger splash but Brie moves. Iyo hits the corner and staggers backward and Brie clotheslines her. |ENTRANT #7: DAKOTA KAI| Kai is out next and she gets in the ring and immediately goes to save her Damage CTRL compatriots from Brie Bella. Kai and Sky beat up Brie and after hitting her with a couple major moves, toss Brie out of the match. |ELIMINATION #3: BRIE BELLA| |ENTRANT #8: TEGAN NOX| Nox runs down to the ring and slides in and immediately goes after Dakota Kai. They brawl and Iyo Sky comes over to assist her tag partner. |ENTRANT #9: NIKKI BELLA| The crowd pops pretty big and Nikki runs down to the ring. She slides in the ring and joins in with Tegan Nox to go after the Women's Tag Team Champions. Nikki clotheslines Dakota Kai over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #4: DAKOTA KAI| On the other side of the ring we see Charlotte and Tegan Nox fighting. They both go barreling over the top rope and land on the apron. Some fighting ensues and Charlotte eventually kicks Tegan in the chest and knocks her off the apron, eliminating her. |ELIMINATION #5: TEGAN NOX| |ENTRANT #10: BECKY LYNCH| The Man is out next. The crowd pops loudly for Becky as she walks to the ring. She gets in the ring and immediately goes for Charlotte and Sasha. The three women begin brawling in the corner. Becky drops Charlotte with a hard punch and then kicks Sasha in the midsection and ddts her. Becky stands up and Iyo Sky charges her. Iyo tries for a flying knee but Becky moves and Iyo hits her knee off the turnbuckles in the corner. She falls to the mat and Becky stomps her. Becky walks to the center of the ring and confronts Nikki Bella. Becky shoves Nikki and Nikki throws a forearm. Becky's head snaps back and she fires back with a forearm of her own. They exchange blows but Becky wins the exchange with a boot to the midsection and then a suplex. Charlotte attacks Becky from behind and knocks her down. Charlotte begins stomping Becky and choking her with her boot. Becky fights away from it and uses the ropes to pull herself up. Charlotte hits a running boot to Becky's face and Becky is knocked back into the corner. Sasha and Iyo Sky get the crowd's attention when Iyo places Sasha up on the top turnbuckle and starts punching her. Sasha kicks Iyo in the face and knocks her backwards. Sasha leaps off the second rope and hits Iyo and Nikki Bella with a flying crossbody as the countdown clock begins. |ENTRANT #11: SONYA DEVILLE| Sonya runs to the ring and slides in. She jumps Sasha from behind with a forearm shot to the head and then shoves her into the corner. Sonya kicks Sasha in the midsection several times and then goes to whip her across the ring but Sasha reverses it and pulls Sonya back toward her and kicks Sonya in the midsection and then hits a snap suplex. Nikki Bella has Iyo Sky in the corner and is trying to eliminate her. |ENTRANT #12: LACEY EVANS| Lacey Evans joins the fray and at first she's not sure who she wants to attack. But she makes her decision and she walks up to Nikki Bella in the corner and lights her up with a big kick to the stomach. Lacey punches Nikki in the face and then she lifts Nikki up onto the ropes and works on trying to eliminate her. Iyo Sky joins in and tries to help Lacey eliminate Nikki. Meanwhile Sasha and Charlotte are back to brawling again. Sonya Deville is down on the mat and she lifts herself up. She walks over to Becky, who is recovering from something in the corner. Sonya grabs Becky by the hair and picks her up. She tries to slam Becky's face off the top turnbuckle pad but Becky blocks it and elbows Sonya in the midsection and then slams Sonya face-first into the turnbuckle. |ENTRANT #13: SHOTZI| Shotzi charges to the ring. She immediately tackles Lacey Evans and begins punching her in the face. Lacey covers up. Becky clotheslines Sonya Deville over the top rope. Sonya lands on the apron and Becky punches her and then slams her head off the turnbuckle. Sonya falls to the floor. |ELIMINATION #6: SONYA DEVILLE| |ENTRANT #14: NATALYA| Natalya hits the ring and she goes after everyone. He fires punches at Lacey Evans, she kicks Shotzi in the stomach and then hits a facebuster. She bodyslams Iyo Sky and then hits a running knee to Charlotte's midsection. Natalya's run is ended by Nikki Bella who ducks a clothesline and hits a neckbreaker on her. The match kind of slows down at this point with the women in the match either pairing off and trying for eliminations in the corner or laying near the ropes trying to recover from some moves. The countdown begins for the next entrant. It's |ENTRANT #15: EMMA|. Emma hits the ring and she and Lacey Evans immediately begin fighting. The ring is beginning to get a bit crowded and the action is starting to slow down a bit. The next two minutes there's a lull in the action and the crowd seems to be getting restless. We realize that the malaise was planned when the countdown clock begins and |ENTRANT #16: RONDA ROUSEY| makes her way down to the ring. Ronda slides in the ring and is immediately attacked by Shotzi. Ronda dumps her out of the match quickly. |ELIMINATION #7: SHOTZI| Ronda then sees an opportunity and clotheslines Emma out of the match as well. |ELIMINATION #8: EMMA| Across the ring, Becky Lynch hits the Manhandle Slam on Natalya and then eliminates her. |ELIMINATION #9: NATALYA| The eliminations continued as Nikki Bella ducked an Iyo Sky spinning heel kick and when Iyo stood up, Nikki clotheslined her out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #10: IYO SKY| As Nikki kinda celebrates her elimination Ronda boots her in the stomach and throws her out. |ELIMINATION #11: NIKKI BELLA| Once Nikki hits the floor, she and Iyo begin brawling and the referees are quick to break it up. |ENTRANT #17: LIV MORGAN| Liv Morgan comes running down to the ring and slides in. She immediately goes after Ronda Rousey. She tries to tackle Ronda but Ronda blocks it and throws Liv down to the side. Liv rolls to the ropes and pulls herself up. Ronda charges and drives a knee into Liv's midsection and then judo throws her into the middle of the ring. Liv gets up onto her knees and Ronda charges and kicks her square in the face. Liv falls to the mat. Ronda stands over her and begins talking trash. Sasha Banks attacks Ronda from behind and they begin to brawl in the corner. Ronda shoves Sasha backwards and Liv charges and hits Ronda with a forearm. Lacey Evans sees Sasha prone near the ropes and charges her but Sasha back body drops Lacey out of the match. |ELIMINATION #12: LACEY EVANS| The countdown clock begins and the crowd starts to get excited as Charlotte is almost dumped out by Becky Lynch but Charlotte thumbs Becky in the eye and gets back in the ring. |ENTRANT #18: CHELSEA GREEN| Chelsea Green is back! She gets a good reaction as she comes down to the ring. She gets in the ring and stands face-to-face with Sasha Banks. Sasha poses, Chelsea poses. Chelsea shoves Sasha and Sasha fires back with a right hand. Chelsea kicks Sasha in the stomach and hits a facebuster. Chelsea pops up and holds her arm and seems to be in pain. She quickly stops and begins laughing, drawing a pop from those in the crowd who know her backstory. Over in the corner, Liv Morgan dodges a Ronda Rousey clothesline and Ronda hits the corner. Liv starts kicking her in the midsection and then climbs up to the second turnbuckle and begins punching Ronda in the head. Chelsea Green comes running over to the corner and she shoves Liv, causing Liv to fall over the ropes and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #13: LIV MORGAN| |ENTRANT #19: SHAYNA BASZLER| Shayna comes into the ring and immediately walks over to Ronda and begins helping her. Becky and Charlotte continue to try and eliminate one another in the corner while Sasha and Chelsea Green have a mini-match in the middle of the ring. Ronda and Shayna have a discussion and they both attack Sasha. Chelsea wisely backs off and goes and stands in the corner. Ronda and Shayna then attack Becky and Charlotte. They knock both women to the ground and begin kicking and stomping them. |ENTRANT #20: NIKKI CROSS| Cross runs down to the ring and slides in. She immediately goes after Becky. Becky has her back turned and is going after Shayna when Nikki jumps her from behind. Nikki knocks Becky to the ground with a forearm shot to the back of the head. She kicks Becky in the face and then picks her up and backs her into the ropes. Nikki tries to lift Becky up over the ropes but Becky fights back and knocks Nikki away with a headbutt. Becky kicks Nikki in the midsection and then hits a ddt. Becky gets up and looks over at Charlotte, who is close to being eliminated by Ronda and Shayna. Then Becky looks and sees Sasha in trouble with Chelsea Green and Becky decides to help Sasha. She kicks Chelsea in the back and then spins her around and punches her. But before she can do anything else Nikki hits Becky's leg with a chop block and Becky goes down, grabbing her knee. |ENTRANT #21: MIA YIM| Mia Yim runs down to the ring and gets the crowd back into the match with some high impact offense. Mia spears Chelsea Green and then runs to the corner. She spins Shayna around, kicks her and whips her into the ropes. Shayna comes off the ropes and Mia hits a spinning back elbow and Shayna collapses. Mia then attacks Ronda from behind, allowing Charlotte to finally climb back into the ring after being upside down on the ropes for a while. Nikki Cross hits a running knee on Becky and knocks her to the ground. Nikki is pretty pleased with herself and Mia grabs the back of her gear and tosses her out of the ring and to the floor. |ELIMINATION #14: NIKKI CROSS| |ENTRANT #22: ASUKA| Asuka rushes to the ring and as soon as she gets in the ring the heels back off. Suddenly the ring is separated into two groups: Becky, Sasha, Mia, and Asuka on one side with Ronda, Shayna, Chelsea, and Charlotte on the other. But Ronda Pearl Harbors Charlotte and attacks her. Shayna and Chelsea begin brawling with Mia and Asuka. Becky and Sasha look at one another and they go over to Ronda and Charlotte and try to eliminate them both. |ENTRANT #23: MICKIE JAMES| Mickie James makes her return to WWE as she saunters down to the ring. The crowd is pretty happy to see her and she gets a really nice reaction from the crowd. Mickie gets in the ring and is met by Chelsea Green. The two women begin to fight. Ronda is hurting in the corner and Charlotte goes for a handspring elbow but Ronda moves. Ronda charges and hits Charlotte with a knee. Charlotte falls to the mat. Ronda takes a quick breather and Sasha charges and goes to run up the ropes and knee Ronda in the face but Ronda grabs Sasha and dumps her out. |ELIMINATION #15: SASHA BANKS| Ronda puts one finger up in the air and says "That's one!" and then immediately goes back after Charlotte. She grabs Charlotte's legs and tries to get her over the top rope but Charlotte fights back with a punch to the face. Ronda is knocked backward and Charlotte lands back on her feet. Mia Yim runs at Charlotte but Charlotte ducks a clothesline and chops Mia a few times, knocking her into the corner. Charlotte picks Mia up and sets her on the top turnbuckle. Charlotte backs up and charges and kicks Mia in the chest, knocking her to the floor. |ELIMINATION #16: MIA YIM| Shayna walks over to Ronda and taps her on the arm. They look at the center of the ring and see Asuka recovering from something that the camera didn't pick up. Shayna goes to Asuka's left and Ronda to Asuka's right. Asuka gets up, looks at each woman and then screams and begins alternating chops at each one. Shayna kicks Asuka's knee and she collapses down to one knee. Ronda runs off the ropes and goes for a running knee to Asuka's face but Asuka ducks it and rolls toward the ropes. Shayna charges and Asuka sidesteps her and sends her flying over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #17: SHAYNA BASZLER| |ENTRANT #24: PIPER NIVEN| Piper comes to the ring and immediately goes after Becky Lynch. Piper grabs Becky and Biels her into the corner. Becky hits the corner hard and Piper charges and hits a running clothesline in the corner. Becky falls down to the mat and Piper stands over her with a big smile on her face. Chelsea Green has Mickie James up on the ropes in the corner and is trying to eliminate her. Mickie is trying her hardest to hold on. Asuka and Ronda have both knocked each other down with a series of strikes. Both women are trying to get to their feet. |ENTRANT #25: NAOMI| The countdown clock hits zero and nothing happens. But the lights on the entrance way dim and the crowd goes crazy when FEEL THE GLOW pops up onto the entrance screen and Naomi comes out. She is smiling from ear-to-ear and taking in the response from the capacity crowd as she gets to the ring. As soon as she gets in the ring Piper Niven charges her and Naomi moves and pulls the top rope down to send Piper flying to the arena floor. |ELIMINATION #18: PIPER NIVEN| Chelsea Green is the next to go after Naomi. They exchange strikes but Naomi wins with her quick kicks spot that the crowd pops for. Naomi hits a spin kick to Chelsea's head and knocks her backwards. Naomi charges and clotheslines Chelsea over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #19: CHELSEA GREEN| Naomi takes a second to celebrate and admire her work and Charlotte sneaks up behind her and dumps her out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #20: NAOMI| |ENTRANT #26: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ| Raquel gets a good reaction from the crowd. There are five women in the ring when Raquel arrives. They are Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Asuka, and Mickie James. Charlotte is once again trying to stave off elimination as Mickie James has her up on the ropes and is trying to send her over the top rope. Ronda Rousey has Becky in the corner and she's firing punches to her midsection and Asuka is there to greet Raquel as she enters the match. Asuka throws a kick to Raquel's leg and then another. On the third kick Raquel catches Asuka's leg and lifts her up for a leg-trap suplex. Raquel and Ronda lock eyes and Ronda walks over to her and shoves her. Raquel swings, Ronda ducks and then Ronda tackles her. Ronda starts throwing punches and forearms and Raquel tries to cover up. |ENTRANT #27: ALEXA BLISS| Bliss slowly walks down to the ring. She climbs in and surveys the scene in front of her. She walks over to Asuka and helps her up onto her feet. Asuka lets her guard down and turns her back on Alexa and Alexa grabs her and throws her out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #21: ASUKA| When Asuka realizes what happened she is angry. She yells something at Alexa who just looks at her, smirks, and shrugs her shoulders. Then she waves bye to Asuka and mocks her by fake crying. Becky Lynch walks up to Alexa and stands behind her. When Alexa turns around Becky fires a forearm shot and knocks Alexa backwards into the ropes. Becky hits a running kick to Alexa's midsection and Alexa falls through the ropes and to the floor. |ENTRANT #28: VALHALLA| Valhalla runs down to the ring. When she gets to ringside she grabs Alexa and rolls her into the ring. Valhalla climbs in and goes right back at Alexa. Alexa ducks a clothesline. Valhalla stops and kicks Alexa in the midsection and then hits a swinging neckbreaker. Charlotte, who has freed herself from Mickie James, kicks Becky Lynch's injured knee and Becky collapses down to one knee. Charlotte hits a modified Natural Selection. Valhalla lifts Alexa up over her head and tosses her out onto the apron and to the floor. |ELIMINATION #22: ALEXA BLISS| The countdown clock begins again. When it gets to zero the name "BRANDI RHODES" flashes up on the big screen but nothing else happens. The crowd is buzzing but a few seconds go by and she doesn't appear. The cameras cut away from the entrance and go backstage to see Brandi Rhodes laid out. Jamie Noble is checking on her and he tells someone that she's not going to be able to compete. Noble asks if they have a replacement ready to go. Suddenly Rhea Ripley enters the screen and says she'll take her place. Noble gives her the ok and Ripley heads toward the entrance way. The announcers are wondering what happened as Brandi Rhodes was supposed to make her WWE debut tonight. |ENTRANT #29: BRANDI RHODES RHEA RIPLEY| Rhea storms down to the ring. She climbs in and is immediately met by Valhalla. Ripley kicks her in the midsection and throws her over the top rope and out of the match. |ELIMINATION #23: VALHALLA| Mickie James decides to try her luck with Rhea Ripley. She dropkicks Rhea but Rhea no sells it. Mickie gets to her feet looking shocked. Rhea boots her in the face, knocking her down. Ripley picks Mickie up and throws her out. |ELIMINATION #24: MICKIE JAMES| |ENTRANT #30: BAYLEY| Bayley is the last entrant in the match. As she gets in the ring there are six women remaining in the match: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley. Bayley slides in the ring and immediately runs to Becky Lynch who is recovering in the corner. Bayley grabs Becky's legs and tries to lift her over the ropes. Raquel and Rhea have a stand-off in the center of the ring and begin exchanging blows. The way the announces are going crazy for this interaction tells me there's plans for this to be a big match in the future. Rhea wins the initial exchange with a headbutt and then whips Raquel into the corner and tries to throw her out as well. This allows the cameras to focus on Charlotte Flair trying to fend off elimination again. Charlotte rakes Ronda's eyes and gets back in. Charlotte goes for a running boot to Ronda but Ronda ducks. Ronda ends up behind Charlotte and Ronda grabs her in a waistlock and tries to take her down. Charlotte grabs onto the top rope to hold herself up. Ronda charges and Charlotte ducks. Charlotte sends Ronda up into the air but Ronda grabs the top rope and hangs on. Ronda lands on her feet and drives a knee up into Charlotte's face. Charlotte's head snaps back and Ronda clotheslines her over the top rope and Charlotte tries to hang on but Ronda kicks her again and Charlotte falls to the floor. |ELIMINATION #25: CHARLOTTE FLAIR| Ronda holds up two fingers and announces "THAT'S TWO!" She sees Bayley struggling to eliminate Becky in the corner. Ronda runs over and grabs Bayley's legs and dumps her, attempting to eliminate both Bayley and Becky. But Becky lands on the apron and Bayley falls to the arena floor. |ELIMINATION #26: BAYLEY| Ronda holds up three fingers and says "NUMBER THREE!" But as she's doing that Becky Lynch runs up behind her and grabs her and tries to throw her out. Ronda blocks it and they begin struggling with one another near the ropes. Rhea Ripley sees her chance and runs over and grabs both women and dumps them out. |ELIMINATION #27: RONDA ROUSEY| |ELIMINATION #28: BECKY LYNCH| Rhea turns around and Raquel hits a big boot. Rhea is knocked into the ropes and Raquel charges her. Rhea back body drops Raquel but Raquel lands on the apron. Rhea turns around and tries to shove Raquel off the apron. They struggle but Raquel grabs Rhea for a suplex attempt. Rhea blocks it and tries to suplex Raquel into the ring but realizes this is a mistake and tries to drop her but Raquel again lands on the apron. She stands up and Rhea swings at her. Raquel blocks it and goes to climb back in the ring but Rhea headbutts her and Raquel nearly falls off the apron but grabs onto the top rope to hold on. Rhea begins biting one of Raquel's hands and Raquel lets go with that hand but she's able to use her strength to pull herself back toward the ring and hit a forearm shot to Rhea's face. Rhea is backed up and Raquel climbs back in the ring. Raquel grabs Rhea's arm and whips her into the corner. Rhea hits the corner hard and Raquel charges her but Rhea moves. Raquel hits the corner hard and staggers backward out of the corner. Rhea grabs her and throws her over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #29: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ|
WINNER of the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble: Rhea Ripley (63:01) | 73
THERE WILL BE...NO. WAY. OUT.
A video hyping up next month's PLE airs. Apparently WWE will be going back to No Way Out as the name of their February event. | 76
TRIPLE H'S ANNOUNCEMENT
Triple H's music hits and the crowd pops big as The Game makes his way to the ring for his first in-ring promo since becoming the head of creative. He gets in the ring and waits for the crowd's cheers to die down and then begins to speak. He starts off by confirming that he has now taken over WWE. He references Vince's retirement and thanks the fans for their support as he took over the role. But then he says he has some business to attend to tonight and says that a few weeks ago the WWE Board of Directors, lead by his wife Stephanie McMahon, issued a directive to him that he was to make sure both Raw and SmackDown had their own management staff in place. Triple H says that when this directive was issued Triple H had no choice but to remove Adam Pearce from his unofficial role running both Raw and SmackDown. Triple H says he intended to have Pearce remain in charge until replacements could be found but that when he gave Pearce the news of his demotion, Pearce was not happy and decided to take a sabbatical in response. So over the past couple of weeks there's been a lot of conflict backstage at shows, a lot of violence and an obvious leadership vacuum that needs to be filled. Triple H then announces that he has begun the process of vetting people for the roles of Raw and SmackDown General Manager. Triple H says that he will be announcing the new General Managers on Raw and SmackDown this week! | 79
A CELEBRITY AT RINGSIDE
British boxing champ Tyson Fury is shown sitting at ringside. He stands up and waves to the crowd as the announcers mention that he's here as a guest of Drew McIntyre. | 73
THE SAMI ZAYN SAGA
Next up we get a very well done and slickly produced video detailing Sami Zayn's recent run. It goes all the way back to the Conspiracy Victim gimmick and chronicles Sami's run-ins with the Bloodline and his eventual acceptance into the group. It also highlights his interactions with lifelong friend Kevin Owens and how KO has had Sami's back throughout this entire story despite Sami letting his friend be a victim of the Bloodline multiple times. Then we finally see the events that lead to tonight's match: Roman choosing Sami over Solo Sikoa, KO helping Sami win the title shot, and then the events of last night's SmackDown. | 87
UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: ROMAN REIGNS (C) |VS| SAMI ZAYN
Before the match gets underway we get a shot of Sami Zayn walking down a hallway in the back. He's focused and looks like someone who is conflicted as he keeps making worried faces and then returning to his focused face. At one point, just as he gets to the Gorilla position and awaits his music, we see Kevin Owens standing off to the side. KO taps Sami's arm and when Sami looks over KO offers him a fist bump. Sami fist bumps KO and Owens tells Sami "You can do this. Go win it!" Sami nods his head and seems to now be totally fired up as his music hits. His old music plays and he bops down to the ring. He keeps raising his arms in the air and tells the crowd "LET'S GO!" a couple times as he comes down the aisle. He gets in the ring and poses for the crowd. Then Sami has to wait in the ring while we get the exact same shot of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman walking down the hallway. When they get to the Gorilla position, we can see that the Usos and Solo Sikoa are attacking Kevin Owens. The camera cuts back to a shot of Sami and he is furious. Roman's music plays and he comes down to the ring with only Paul Heyman coming down to the ring with him. Roman gets in the ring and Sami immediately points at the big screen and yells at Roman. Roman stands there stoic, without any expression on his face. He hands both championships to the referee who holds them up in the air. Both men walk to the center of the ring and Sami tells Roman off for the attack on KO. The referee calls for the bell to start the match and Roman just stares at Sami. Roman tells Sami to "do it." But Sami is conflicted. Roman then says "Lay down." and Sami seems to be considering it for a second but still refuses. "Sami. Lay. Down." says Roman. But Sami shakes his head no and the crowd pops. Roman walks over to his corner and looks at Heyman and says "Wiseman, talk some sense into Sami." Heyman climbs up onto the apron and we hear Heyman trying to reason with Sami. "It'll be easier this way." Sami finally agrees and walks to the middle of the ring. He lays down on the mat and Roman Reigns walks over to Sami and bends down to cover him and Sami kicks Roman right in the face. Roman is knocked backwards and Sami pops up. Roman is stunned but recovers quickly and charges Sami and spears him. Roman looks down at Sami and spits at him before bending down and picking him up by the hair. Roman tells Sami "It would have been way easier if you had just laid down." Roman pushes Sami into the corner and starts unloading punches to the Sami's midsection and then to the side of Sami's head. Sami is hurting in the corner. Roman Biels Sami into the center of the ring. Sami lands on his ass and Roman walks up behind him and kicks him in the back of the head. Sami is in pain and Roman asks him if he's ready to comply yet. Sami says no and Roman picks him up. Roman whips Sami into the ropes and back body drops him. Roman immediately picks Sami back up and whips him into the corner. Sami's momentum makes him come staggering out of the corner and Roman nails him with a spear. Roman covers Sami, 1---2---NO! Sami kicks out! Roman picks him up again and stands him up in the center of the ring. Roman backs up to the corner, does his fist taunt and then runs at Sami and goes for the Superman Punch but Sami dodges it and when Roman lands Sami kicks him in the stomach. Sami runs off the ropes and kicks Roman in the stomach. Sami fires a right hand at Roman but Roman immediately fights back. He violently shoves Zayn away and runs at Sami and goes for a clothesline. Sami ducks and Roman runs into the corner. Paul Heyman is talking to someone on his cell phone and Sami gets distracted. As he watches Heyman's call, Roman takes the opportunity to recover and charge Sami. Sami moves and Roman collides shoulder first into the steel ringpost. Roman stands up but hangs out in the corner to recover and Zayn charges and hits the Helluva Kick! The crowd pops. Sami hits another Helluva Kick! And then another! Roman is seemingly out on his feet. Suddenly we realize who Heyman was talking to as The Usos and Solo Sikoa come out onto the entrance way, literally dragging an unconscious Kevin Owens behind then. Owens is a bloody mess. Sami is distracted by this as Paul Heyman tells Sami to lay down or the beating continues. Roman recovers from the Helluva Kicks and tells Sami he has one more chance to do the right thing. Roman tells Sami to give up or lay down. Solo Sikoa is about to hit the Samoan Spike on KO and Sami looks like he's ready to quit but then we see an angle where we can see KO's face. He is telling Sami not to quit and just as Sami is about to lay down, KO starts fighting back. Sami charges Roman and Roman hits a shoulder tackle. Sami hits the mat and Roman goes to drop and elbow but Sami rolls out of the way. Sami pops up to his feet as KO is getting beaten down outside the ring. Sami sees it and he runs to the corner and quickly up the ropes to the top turnbuckle. Sami throws himself off the top rope and down onto the Bloodline, taking out Solo and the Usos. Sami climbs back into the ring and immediately eats a spear from Roman. Roman covers him but Sami kicks out at two! Roman is getting frustrated. Outside the ring, Solo powerslams KO onto the arena floor and The Usos drag KO over to the spare announce table and set him up on it. Sami is back up on his feet and Roman hits another Superman Punch. He covers Sami, 1----2----NO! Sami kicks out again! The Usos climb up onto the ring apron and then the top ropes. The referee admonishes them and tells them to get down, and they do...by leaping off and hitting a dual big splash on Kevin Owens. KO is hurt as he rolls over onto his side begins screaming as he holds his ribs. Back in the ring Roman kicks Sami in the face and tells him to stay down. Sami tries to get up and eats another boot. Then another. Then another. Roman calls Sami a "dumb mother****er" and the camera picks it up. Roman picks Sami up by the hair and whips him into the ropes. Sami bounces off the ropes and Roman lifts Sami up the air and lets him fall to the mat for a flapjack. Sami sells the bump and gets up onto his knees as he holds his stomach. Roman bends down and tells him to lay down and says it's the "last time" he's going to warn him. Sami spits at Roman and an incensed Roman kicks Sami in the face and then mounts him and starts throwing punches. Roman yells for a chair and Jey Uso throws one into the ring for him. The referee checks on Sami and Sami is ok to continue the match. Roman pushes the referee out of the way and stands over Sami. He goes to stomp on Sami's face but Sami rolls out of the way. Sami pulls himself up on the ropes. He runs at Roman and tries to kick him but Roman catches Sami's leg and pulls him close and just obliterates Sami with a lariat. Paul Heyman starts laughing and cheering and tells Roman that he did it. Roman covers Sami, but Sami kicks out at two again! Roman is furious. He grabs the chair and the referee tries to stop him from using it. Roman shoves the referee down and begins unloading on Sami with the chair. Chairshot after chairshot to Sami's back have Sami down on the mat in severe pain. Roman turns the chair vertical and begins driving it down into Sami's ribs. The referee calls for the bell.
WINNER by DQ: Sami Zayn (23:36) | 75
THE BEATING CONTINUES
Roman tells the Usos and Solo to bring Owens into the ring and they do. The Usos each take an arm and hold KO in the corner but position him so he can see what Roman is going to do. Roman grabs Sami Zayn's arm and places Sami's hand into the folded steel chair and then "Pillmanizes" Sami's hand. Sami screams and writhes in pain. Roman then sets the chair on Sami's leg and tells Solo Sikoa he can have the honor of breaking Sami's ankle. Suddenly Kevin Owens fights his way free from the Usos and dives toward Sami. He rolls to the apron, under the ropes and grabs Sami's arms and drag him out of the ring under the ropes. Sami and KO, reunited, flee up the aisle. When they get to the stage they stop and pose and KO raises Sami's arm in victory. | 84
LA KNIGHT PROMO
LA Knight is the first of the old school promos for the men's Royal Rumble. A fantastically old school promo where he puts himself over and talks about throwing this guy out, and throwing that guy out, and when the dust settles...he'll be the last man standing, YEAH! | 66
CODY RHODES PROMO
Next up is the Cody promo. He talks about his destiny and how he came to WWE to take care of his father's unfinished business. When he drew his number earlier today he was, at first, dejected. The number he drew is going to put the odds against him for sure. But then he remembered that in Dusty Rhodes' only Royal Rumble appearance -- he drew the same number. Cody looks up at the sky and says "Thanks for the sign, pop." Cody looks back at the camera and, with a tear in his eye, begins to smile. "Make no mistake -- I am winning this Royal Rumble tonight. I don't care what challenges stand before me or what I have to do. I will not be stopped." | 70
KARRION KROSS PROMO
Karrion Kross is standing by with Scarlett. He says these types of matches are what he lives for: the chance to hurt multiple people at the same time. Of course winning the Rumble is the ultimate goal, and he plans on winning. But hurting people gives him just as much pleasure. | 65
GUNTHER, SHEAMUS, BUTCH, AND STYLES PROMOS
Next is four quick promos. Gunther says he is literally built for these types of matches and plans to dominate. Sheamus says he's won it before and will win it again. Butch just starts punching himself in the jaw and screaming. And AJ Styles, much more subdued than Butch, just says that he's trained for weeks for tonight and he's confident that the number he drew will be beneficial in helping him win. | 64
NEW DAY PROMO
Kofi and Xavier are here to tell us that the dirty little secret of the Royal Rumble is that tag teams never win because they never fully commit to helping one another or going after one another. But New Day has decided this year that every man for himself is the way to go. Kofi then humorously chops Xavier and Woods retaliates by trying slapping Kofi in the back of the head. | 68
SETH ROLLINS PROMO
The promo begins with Seth laughing. He says that tonight is the night he proves that he's the greatest wrestler of all-time. A second Royal Rumble win puts him in even more elite company than he already is in. Seth says that he's the only man to pin Roman Reigns twice without help from someone else. And he'll do it again this year after he wins tonight. | 74
EDGE PROMO
Edge is the last promo of the night. And for good reason. He cuts a fantastic promo talking about how he knows the clock is ticking on his career and he gets closer to the sunset of his career he doesn't know if there's another Undisputed Universal Championship match in front of him -- unless he wins tonight. And he's ready to do that. He's prepared, he's scouted, he's studied, and he's going to win. He has to win. He has to. | 74
MAIN EVENT -- THE 2023 40-MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Mike Rome is in the ring. He quickly goes over the rules of the match and then announces the man who drew #1... |ENTRANT #1: LA KNIGHT| Knight comes out and cockily struts to the ring. He looks at the camera and speaks directly to it as he says "Let's do it! You know LA Knight is gonna win this Rumble, yeah!" LA Knight gets in the ring and takes his vest off. He stands in the corner as Mike Rome announces the 2nd entrant... |ENTRANT #2: JOHN CENA| The crowd pops huge as Cena's music hits. Cena runs down to the ring and slides in and when he stands up to take off his shirt, LA Knight jumps him from behind. Knight throws forearms to the back of Cena's head and then whips him into the corner. Knight kicks Cena in the stomach a couple times but Cena fights back with right hands to Knight's face. Cena kicks him in the midsection and then throws Knight into the corner. Cena hits a corner clothesline. |ENTRANT #3: XAVIER WOODS| Xavier Woods runs down to the ring and slides in. He and Cena exchange nods and then Woods goes after Knight. He picks LA Knight up and places him on the top turnbuckle. Woods climbs up and sets Knight up for a superplex but Knight blocks it. He headbutts Woods and then shoves Woods off the turnbuckle. Woods lands on his feet. Cena is impressed and humorously claps and gives Woods a thumbs up. Knight hops down and goes for a running clothesline on Woods but Woods ducks and Knight runs toward Cena, who lifts him up into position for the Attitude Adjustment. Cena drops Knight with the Attitude Adjustment and then poses for the crowd as the countdown clock starts up. |ENTRANT #4: GUNTHER| Gunther stomps down to the ring and climbs in. Xavier Woods greets him with a kick to the midsection but Gunther blocks it and slaps Woods in the chest, knocking him down. Cena turns around and has a stand-off with the Intercontinental Champion. Cena begins throwing punches and rocks Gunther, knocking him backwards. Cena punches Gunther until he gets to the ropes. Out of nowhere, Gunther grabs Cena under the arms, lifts him up, and throws him over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #1: JOHN CENA| The crowd is stunned as Cena is the first one eliminated. Xavier Woods and LA Knight are battling in the corner and they don't notice it at first but soon do and they kinda stop fighting and turn and look at Gunther. They each charge him. He boots Woods in the face and knocks him down and he chops Knight as he runs by. |ENTRANT #5: TOMMASO CIAMPA| Ciampa makes his return from injury. He runs down to the ring and as soon as he slides in he comes face-to-chest with Gunther. Ciampa chops Gunther, who shakes it off and slaps Ciampa in the chest. Gunther knocks Ciampa into the corner and starts kneeing him in the midsection. Woods and LA Knight go back to trying to eliminate one another in the corner. This time LA Knight has Woods draped over the top rope and is trying to shove him out of the ring. |ENTRANT #6: GIOVANNI VINCI| Vinci hits the ring and, as expected, he assists Gunther. Vinci hits Ciampa from behind. Gunther and Vinci double team Ciampa as both men pick Ciampa up and try to throw him over the top rope but Ciampa holds on. He fights back with some right hands and knocks Vinci off of him enough to get back into the ring. |ENTRANT #7: BARON CORBIN| Corbin gets in the ring and has a stand-off with Gunther. They exchange punches and kicks and Gunther headbutts Corbin. He staggers backwards into the corner and Gunther charges and drives a knee into Corbin's midsection. Gunther pushes Corbin back into the corner and chops him. After three or four chops Corbin falls to his knees. |ENTRANT #8: BROCK LESNAR| The horn sounds and the crowd pops as Brock Lesnar's music hits and Lesnar comes stomping down to the ring. He gets in the ring and immediately has a staredown with Gunther. The crowd is going crazy for this tease but Lesnar is hit from behind with a dropkick from Giovanni Vinci. Lesnar is knocked slightly forward. He turns around and Vinci goes for another dropkick but Lesnar knocks him down. He grabs Vinci and throws him over the top rope and to the floor. |ELIMINATION #2: GIOVANNI VINCI| Tommaso Ciampa runs at Gunther and tackles him into the corner, depriving the fans of another Lesnar/Gunther confrontation. Instead Lesnar sees Xavier Woods and Baron Corbin brawling in the corner and takes both men out with a running avalanche. He grabs Woods sets him up for the F5. He F5s Woods right out of the ring and to the floor. |ELIMINATION #3: XAVIER WOODS| Lesnar takes a second to admire his work and Corbin hits him from behind with a forearm shot. Lesnar turns around, grabs Corbin and drives his knee into Corbin's midsection. Lesnar makes quick work of Baron Corbin, tossing him out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #4: BARON CORBIN| LA Knight and Tommaso Ciampa are both trying to eliminate Gunther as the countdown clock begins. Lesnar is trying to decide if he wants to help them or wait for the next entrant. He decides to stand in the middle of the ring and wait for the next entrant. |ENTRANT #9: BOBBY LASHLEY| Lesnar smiles from ear-to-ear when Lashley's music plays. A close-up on Lesnar sees him say "Come on, mother****er" but we don't hear it. Lashley runs in the ring and charges Lesnar. They begin firing punches at each other. As they get tangled up their momentum takes them both back to the ropes where they go careening over the top rope and down to the floor at the same time. |ELIMINATION #5: BROCK LESNAR| |ELIMINATION #6: BOBBY LASHLEY| When the two men hit the floor they continue brawling. The camera keeps cutting back and forth between Lesnar and Lashley literally tearing up the ringside area with their brawl and the match in the ring. In the ring, LA Knight and Tommaso Ciampa each have one of Gunther's legs and they're trying to lift him up over the top rope but he keeps fighting back with punches and slaps. This continues as the countdown clock pops up again. |ENTRANT #10: CODY RHODES| Adrenaline, in my soul, #10 is Cody Rhodes! Cody gets a huge pop as he walks out from the back. He stops to take the time to soak in the adoration from the crowd before running full speed down to the ring. He slides in the ring and LA Knight is immediately waiting for him. Knight runs up to Cody and throws a right hand but Cody blocks it and hits him with one of his own. Cody kicks LA Knight in the stomach and hip tosses him toward the ropes. Knight stands up and Cody charges him. LA Knight ducks, Cody stops and kicks LA in the face. Knight's head snaps back and Cody clotheslines him over the top rope but LA Knight hangs on and lands on the apron. Cody had already turned away from LA Knight in an attempt to help Ciampa with Gunther. Knight rolls back into the ring and sits in the corner, taking a breather for a minute. |ENTRANT #11: OMOS| The massive Nigerian, Omos, is out next. He is pretty slow to get to the ring. Before he climbs in he's given some last-minute advice from MVP who then heads to the back. Omos steps over the top rope and into the match. Gunther shoves Ciampa away from him and Ciampa is knocked backwards into Omos. Omos grabs Ciampa by the neck and lifts him into the air and throws him out of the ring. Ciampa takes a hard bump on the outside and you can see the referees immediately rush to check on him. |ELIMINATION #7: TOMMASO CIAMPA| LA Knight and Cody Rhodes form a temporary team to take out Omos. They approach Omos but LA Knight immediately betrays Cody and shoves him in the back. Omos grabs Cody around the throat and walks him to the ropes. Cody fights to remain alive in the match. He kicks and swings at Omos but Omos has him near the ropes. A desperate Cody thumbs Omos in the eye and frees himself. He lands on his feet and kicks Omos in the stomach. The countdown clock begins while Cody is trying to take out Omos by himself. |ENTRANT #12: FINN BALOR| Balor runs down to the ring and slides in. He helps Cody fight off Omos. They knock Omos back into the corner and charge him for a double clothesline but Omos charges them himself and clotheslines both of them. Omos bends down and grabs Cody by the head and lifts him up. He lifts Cody up and throws him into the corner. Omos takes his boot and begins to choke Cody. LA Knight grabs Finn Balor and tosses him over the top rope but Balor lands on the apron. Knight turns his back to celebrate the elimination. He turns around just in time to eat a Sling Blade from Balor. |ENTRANT #13: DAMIAN PRIEST| Priest takes his time getting to the ring. He climbs in and sees Gunther working over Finn Balor in the corner. Priest immediately rushes over to help his Judgment Day teammate. Priest and Gunther have a confrontation but that ends prematurely as Omos comes out of nowhere and boots Priest in the face. Priest, Balor, and LA Knight begin working together to try and get Omos off his feet and out of the match. Gunther hangs back but he sees Cody Rhodes recovering from Omos' choke in the corner and decides to strike. Gunther walks over to Cody in the corner and chops him in the chest. |ENTRANT #14: REY MYSTERIO| The crowd pops for Rey Mysterio as he comes out onto the entrance stage. Suddenly his son Dominik Mysterio comes out behind him and nails Rey in the back with a steel chair. Dom lights Rey up repeatedly with the chair. Dom then grabs his father by the arm and walks him toward the ring. Dom picks Rey up and slams him chest first onto the barricade at ringside. Rey falls to the floor and holds his chest in pain. Dominik has the steel chair again and he drives the chair down onto Rey's ribs and chest repeatedly. Back in the ring Balor, Priest, and LA Knight get Omos up off of his feet and then over the top rope and Gunther runs over and assists them in eliminating the giant. |ELIMINATION #8: OMOS| Dominik Mysterio calls out to Balor and Priest and he grabs Rey and rolls him into the ring. Priest and Balor laugh as they see how beat up Rey is. Rey gets to his feet and Priest holds him in place. Balor gets in Rey's face and says something to him and Rey spits in Balor's face. Balor kicks him in the midsection, hits an impact ddt and then tells Priest to toss Rey out. Priest obliges. |ELIMINATION #9: REY MYSTERIO| |ENTRANT #15: RIDGE HOLLAND| Dominik starts kicking his father but the referees at ringside pull him away and help Rey to the back. When Ridge Holland hits the ring we get a slight reset as Gunther, Balor, Priest, LA Knight, and Holland stand on one side of the ring and Cody is standing at the other. The 5-on-1 heel-versus-face dynamic gets a pop from the crowd. But Holland and Gunther, who don't like each other, begin brawling with one another. LA Knight tries to convince Judgment Day to go after Cody but they want him to do it. This leads to LA Knight and Finn Balor squaring off and exchanging punches. Priest charges Cody and the two men begin punching one another. Priest rains down elbows to Cody's shoulders and back and Cody fires punches to Priest's midsection. |ENTRANT #16: MUSTAFA ALI| Ali is out next and gets a bit of a pop as he runs down to the ring. He gets the match's first spot where he runs around the ring and hits everyone with at least one move. But this run ends when he gets to Gunther, who cuts him off with a slap to the chest that knocks Ali backwards into the arms of LA Knight who hits him with an atomic drop. Ali staggers forward and Gunther kicks him in the face and knocks him down. Balor and Priest team up to work on Cody Rhodes. They lift him up onto the ropes and try to shove him out of the match. The countdown clock starts up again. |ENTRANT #17: EDGE| The crowd goes crazy for Edge as he comes out and does a quick pose before running to the ring. He slides in and Balor is waiting for him. Edge spears Balor and Balor rolls to the ropes. Balor pulls himself up and Edge charges and clotheslines Balor out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #10: FINN BALOR| Cody Rhodes and Damian Priest continue to battle in the corner with Priest lifting Cody up onto the top rope and trying to shove him out of the ring. Gunther, LA Knight, and Ridge Holland notice Edge standing in the ring and they drop everything to go after him. LA Knight and Edge exchange punches. Edge wins the exchange and then Ridge grabs Edge and tries an Irish whip but Edge reverses it and hits a back body drop. But when Edge turns around Gunther slaps him in the chest and Edge is doubled over in pain. LA Knight and Ridge Holland are back up and they each grab one of Edge's arms and allow Gunther to chop the Rated-R Superstar. Mustafa Ali tries to help but Gunther headbutts him and knocks him into the corner. The countdown clock begins as Gunther continues to chop and slap Edge's chest. |ENTRANT #18: ZACK RYDER| "OOOOOOOOOH RADIO TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW!" Ryder comes out to a great reaction as the crowd is stunned to see him. He stands at the entrance and pumps his first for a "WOO WOO WOO" chant before running down to the ring. He slides in and immediately runs to the aid of his former mentor, Edge. Ryder kicks LA Knight in the stomach and fires some right hands. Edge takes on Ridge Holland. Mustafa Ali is back and he jumps on Gunther's back and tries to get him in a sleeper hold as Gunther struggles to get a hand on Ali. Gunther looks like he's starting to fade until he begins to run backwards toward the nearest corner. He smashes Ali in the corner, and Ali let's go. Ali ends up seated on the top turnbuckle and Gunther chops him hard in the chest, sending Ali off the turnbuckle and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #11: MUSTAFA ALI| Almost immediately after Ali is eliminated the camera misses Ridge Holland being thrown out. A replay eventually shows that Cody Rhodes clotheslined him out of the match. |ELIMINATION #12: RIDGE HOLLAND| |ENTRANT #19: SANTOS ESCOBAR| Escobar makes his Rumble debut by dropkicking Zack Ryder in the back and knocking him into the ropes. Escobar tries to eliminate Ryder but Ryder elbows him in the face and knocks Escobar backwards. Escobar charges and Ryder back body drops him over the ropes but Escobar lands on his apron. Ryder tries to eliminate Escobar with a clothesline but Escobar ducks and uses the ropes to propel himself up and kick Ryder in the head. Ryder staggers backwards and Escobar hits a springboard clothesline on Ryder. The camera quickly cuts to the other side of the ring where Damian Priest and LA Knight have Cody Rhodes dangling over the top rope in the corner in a precarious position. Cody is trying desperately to fight back into the ring but seems to be losing the battle as the countdown clock begins. |ENTRANT #20: BRAUN STROWMAN| Strowman stomps down to the ring and climbs in. He immediately boots Gunther in the midsection and drops Gunther to one knee with a double axehandle smash to Gunther's back. Damian Priest attacks Strowman and the two men exchange punches in the center of the ring. Priest is able to get Strowman to the ropes and the two men battle there. Strowman shoves Priest backwards and goes to follow up on the attack but LA Knight, Santos Escobar, and Zack Ryder immediately rush over to Strowman and work on eliminating him. They get Strowman up onto the ropes but can't get him over until Damian Priest comes back over and assists and dumps Strowman from the match. |ELIMINATION #13: BRAUN STROWMAN| Strowman is on his feet on the floor and he is incensed at being eliminated. He acts like he's going to get back into the ring but then stops and does head to the back. |ENTRANT #21: DREW MCINTYRE| McIntyre comes out onto the stage. He poses and begins walking to the ring. As he's walking down, the eliminated Braun Strowman walks past him. After he gets past Drew, Braun stops and turns around and attacks Drew. Strowman lays Drew out with a clothesline from behind. As Drew is on his hands and knees Braun kicks him in the ribs. Braun picks Drew up and drops him onto the barricade, hurting Drew's ribs more. Drew starts to fight back and they brawl to the ringside area. As they get to ringside, Tyson Fury looks like he's about to hop the barricade to help Drew, but Drew tells him not to and begins to win the brawl with Strowman as security and road agents rush out and separate the two men and force Braun Strowman to head to the back. Drew rolls into the ring and is immediately targeted by LA Knight who attacks Drew's ribs with knees and kicks to the ribs before Drew can even get up. Drew manages to get to his feet and LA Knight runs at him. Drew side steps LA and helps him go over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #14: LA KNIGHT| |ENTRANT #22: SETH FREAKIN' ROLLINS| The crowd sings Rollins' music as he struts and sways on his way to the ring. Back in the ring Damian Priest and Edge are battling near the ropes and trying to eliminate one another. Gunther sneaks up behind them and dumps them both. |ELIMINATION #15: DAMIAN PRIEST| |ELIMINATION #16: EDGE| Edge and Priest continue fighting as they hit the floor. The referees rush over to pull them apart. While the referees are pulling them away from one another Dominik Mysterio rushes out with a baseball bat and cracks Edge in the back of the knee with it. Edge falls to the floor holding his knee. Dominik kicks him in the knee a couple times before the referees run him off too. Edge has to be helped to the back. Rollins and Rhodes rekindle their feud as they battle in the corner. Gunther and McIntyre are brawling in another corner. And Santos Escobar and Zack Ryder are battling in the center of the ring. Escobar hits a head scissors and Ryder goes flying into the ropes. Escobar dropkicks him over the top rope but Ryder hangs on and skins the cat to get back in the ring. |ENTRANT #23: AJ STYLES| Styles comes down to the ring and immediately charges Seth Rollins and tackles him. AJ fires right hands to Rollins' head. Rollins manages to escape and roll to the ropes. Seth rolls under the bottom rope to the floor. AJ backs up and runs off the far ropes. He hits a suicide dive on Rollins. Both men are down for a bit but when they get up they begin brawling as the referees advise them to get back in the ring. |ENTRANT #24: THE MIZ| The Miz gets in the ring and has a quick stand-off with Zack Ryder. Miz says "You're back." And Ryder responds with "You know it." which is kind of fun. They immediately begin punching each other. Ryder wins the exchange by kicking Miz in the midsection and then he goes for a ddt but Miz drives him into the nearest corner and begins driving his shoulder into Ryder's midsection. Miz hip tosses Ryder out of the corner and then kicks him in the back of the head. The countdown clock begins and when it gets to zero the lights go out. Japanese katakana characters appear on the big screens by the entrance way "ムタ" The crowd isn't sure what to think. But the katakana characters fade away and then big bold letters spell out the name of the next entrant "MUTA"! |ENTRANT #25: THE GREAT MUTA| The crowd goes crazy as the lights turn back on and Muta is standing in the ring. The other eight men in the ring are just standing there stunned. Miz walks up to Muta and shoves him. Muta spits green mist into Miz's face. Miz ends up falling into the ropes and Muta delivers a standing side kick (superkick) to Miz's face and Miz bumps over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #17: THE MIZ| A cool section follows where the 7 remaining superstars in the match surround Muta. They each start to attack Muta one-by-one and Muta handles each one them. He drops AJ Styles with a side kick to the head. He gets Seth Rollins with a spinning elbow. Eventually Gunther steps up and he and Muta exchange chops and slaps. Gunther gets the best of the exchange when he headbutts Muta and knocks him back into the nearest corner. |ENTRANT #26: DREW GULAK| Gulak walks down to ringside and surveys the action happening in the ring. He is about to slide into the ring but thinks better of it and decides to remain outside on the floor. The referees begin telling him to get inside but he ignores their requests. In the ring Santos Escobar goes to kick Ryder but Zack catches his foot. Escobar hits an enziguiri and Ryder staggers into the ropes. Santos hits a running clothesline and eliminates Ryder. |ELIMINATION #18: ZACK RYDER| |ENTRANT #27: KARRION KROSS| Kross comes down to the ring and Gulak hides from him. Kross climbs up onto the apron and sees the other 7 competitors in the ring. AJ Styles is shoved by Seth Rollins and runs into Kross. Kross falls off the apron and hits the floor but he was never in the ring so he's not eliminated. Kross is angered by this though and he slides in and starts pummeling AJ. Cody Rhodes is right next to Kross and AJ and he starts going after Kross. Kross fights Cody off and Seth Rollins dives at Cody's knee, taking him out. Kross attempts to eliminate AJ Styles but Styles fights his way back into the ring. |ENTRANT #28: JIMMY USO| The first member of the Bloodline enters the fray and immediately goes after Drew McIntyre. The announcers wonder if Roman has given his Bloodline family members a hit list of guys he doesn't want to win. Jimmy calls on Santos Escobar to give him a hand and Escobar does. They lift McIntyre up off the ground and put him on the ropes in the corner and begin trying to eliminate him. Drew hangs on tight. He eventually punches his way back onto his feet. He shoves both heels away from him and then hits a running lariat on both. But McIntyre's momentum keeps propelling him forward and he runs right into a boot from Gunther. McIntyre staggers backwards into the ropes. Santos Escobar charges him and goes to clothesline him over the ropes but McIntyre ducks and propels Santos over the top rope but Escobar hangs on barely and manages to leap onto the ropes and springboard back into the ring, hitting Muta with a dropkick as he does so. Muta doesn't leave his feet and waits for Escobar to stand up. As soon as he stands up Muta hits him with a side kick and knocks Escobar down. |ENTRANT #29: KEVIN OWENS| The crowd pops huge for KO as he limps to the ring. The announcers wonder if he's in any condition to compete. As he gets to ringside, he sees Drew Gulak who is distracted by yelling at the Spanish announce team. KO walks over to Gulak and taps him on the shoulder. Gulak turns around and KO kicks him, hits the Stunner and then rolls Gulak into the ring. Gulak is out on the mat. Owens climbs into the ring and he and Jimmy Uso immediately begin exchanging punches. Drew Gulak begins to stir and uses the ropes to pull himself up. As soon as he's on his feet he turns around and KO kicks him and hits another Stunner but this time Gulak flies backwards over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #19: DREW GULAK| As the camera focuses on Gulak's elimination Santos Escobar also goes flying over the top rope and down to the floor. The replay shows Cody Rhodes eliminating him. |ELIMINATION #20: SANTOS ESCOBAR| The elimination streak continues as The Great Muta posts himself up in a seated position on the top turnbuckle. He is clearly trying to stay out of the fray but his strategy doesn't work well as Karrion Kross sees this and targets him. Kross walks over to Muta and grabs his leg and tries to pull him down. Muta kicks Kross away and then quickly gets into position. Muta goes for a moonsault and hits a picture perfect moonsault only to be caught out of the air by Kross, who walks over to the ropes and dumps Muta. |ELIMINATION #21: THE GREAT MUTA| The crowd gives Muta a great ovation as his elimination is announced. The announcers talk about what an icon he is wrestling and how his entry into this year's Rumble match is something no one will forget. |ENTRANT #30: SHEAMUS| Sheamus runs down to the ring and immediately targets Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is in the corner doubled over and Sheamus clubs him on the back. McIntyre fights back but is immediately squashed in the corner by a Gunther charging clothesline. Gunther keeps McIntyre up against the turnbuckles and chops him. Another chop. And then Gunther chops Sheamus. Then he chops McIntyre. Then Sheamus again. Sheamus eventually staggers away, leaving Gunther and McIntyre to brawl in the corner. Gunther backs up and charges for a big boot to McIntyre's face but McIntyre moves. Gunther ends up with his leg draped over the top rope in the corner. McIntyre immediately goes to work and grabs Gunther's other leg and lifts him up off the mat and dumps him out of the ring, shocking the crowd. |ELIMINATION #22: GUNTHER| |ENTRANT #31: BUTCH| Butch charges to the ring full-speed ahead. He slides in and goes after...everyone. He suplexes Cody, he hits a flying knee on AJ, he hits a backbreaker on KO. Butch throws Jimmy Uso shoulder-first into the corner post. Butch goes for a codebreaker on Kross but Kross shakes him off and knees him in the head. Sheamus defends his buddy and goes after Karrion Kross and the crowd pops for the showdown between those two. But that showdown is ended before it begins when Seth Freakin' Rollins dropkicks Sheamus in the back. Sheamus turns around and goes after Rollins. Kross turns around and sees AJ Styles attempting to eliminate Jimmy Uso. Kross walks over and grabs AJ's leg and dumps him from the match. |ELIMINATION #23: AJ STYLES| |ENTRANT #32: KOFI KINGSTON| Kofi must have pissed someone off because he comes down to the ring, leaps in and is immediately eliminated by a Brogue Kick to the face from Sheamus. |ELIMINATION #24: KOFI KINGSTON| Kofi ends up on the outside and he looks confused and distraught. With his head down, he slowly walks to the back. The eight men in the ring continue fighting and trying to eliminate one another as the countdown clock starts back up. |ENTRANT #33: LUDWIG KAISER| Kofi Kingston is taking a long time to walk to the back, he's moving gingerly like he's already hurt. Kaiser comes out for his entrance and sees Kofi and starts mocking him. He pretends to cry and laughs at Kofi. Kofi walks up to him and they exchange words. Kofi shoves him and Kaiser kicks Kofi in the stomach and gives him a brainbuster on the entrance way. Kaiser stands over him doing his arms behind the back Imperium pose until Xavier Woods comes out to check on Kofi. Kaiser turns around and heads to the ring. When he gets in the ring he goes right after Drew McIntyre and joins in with Sheamus and Butch to try to eliminate Drew. But Drew continues to fight back and hang on. Cody Rhodes and Karrion Kross are battling in another corner and Kevin Owens and Jimmy Uso are both down near the apron after both men hit running clotheslines on each other. |ENTRANT #34: RICOCHET| Ricochet comes out to see the medical staff tending to Kofi Kingston. He stops to check on Kofi quickly and then runs to the ring. He slides in and immediately goes after Ludwig Kaiser. He pulls Kaiser off of McIntyre and fires some right hands. He knocks Kaiser back into the ropes and dropkicks him. Kaiser goes over the top rope but lands on the apron. When he stands up Ricochet runs at him, runs up the ropes and knees Kaiser in the face -- knocking him off the apron and to the floor. |ELIMINATION #25: LUDWIG KAISER| |ENTRANT #35: JOHNNY GARGANO| Gargano runs out and slides in the ring. Butch sees this and immediately goes after Gargano while he's still on the mat. Butch drops a knee into the back of Johnny's head and then starts stomping him. Ricochet is knocked to the apron. He leaps back into the ring with a springboard clothesline of Karrion Kross. Kross doesn't leave his feet but is knocked back into the ropes. Johnny Gargano is up on his feet. He fights Butch off and gives Kross a superkick. Kross is knocked for a loop and Ricochet charges and clotheslines Kross but Kross lands on the apron and rolls back in. Ricochet turns around and Butch hits him with a codebreaker. |ENTRANT #36: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA| Shinsuke comes out to a pretty big pop. He struts to the ring. As soon as he climbs in he's accosted by Butch. Butch fires lefts and rights in a crazy windmill style attack. Shinsuke is taken aback but he kinda no sells the punches and as soon as Butch stops, Shinsuke kicks him in the side of the head. Butch is seemingly out on his feet and Shinsuke grabs him and dumps him out and then shrugs his shoulders. |ELIMINATION #26: BUTCH| |ENTRANT #37: JEY USO| Jey Uso is out next. He gets in the ring and he and Jimmy immediately form a team. They attack Cody Rhodes first. Then they go after Drew McIntyre. Ricochet tries to go after the Usos but they beat him down too. Johnny Gargano is leaning on the ropes and the Usos both superkick him and send him out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #27: JOHNNY GARGANO| The Usos immediately turn their attention back to Ricochet. Jimmy picks him up and holds him in place while Jey superkicks him. Ricochet is out on his feet and the Usos dump him out of the ring too. |ELIMINATION #28: RICOCHET| |ENTRANT #38: SOLO SIKOA| The Bloodline is now at full strength as Solo Sikoa comes down to the ring. They immediately draw a line in the sand so to speak as they stand off to one side and watch the other competitors. They take potshots at guys as they walk by or Solo or one of the Usos will run over to one of the competitors and attack them and then back off. Meanwhile the crowd pops as Drew McIntyre and Sheamus begin just throwing right hands at one another. They light one another up with stiff looking shots. Sheamus takes the worst of it and is knocked to the ropes. McIntyre hits him with the Claymore Kick and sends Sheamus out of the ring. |ELIMINATION #29: SHEAMUS| McIntyre is pumped up to get that elimination but Solo Sikoa comes up behind him and grabs his legs and dumps him out. |ELIMINATION #30: DREW MCINTYRE| As McIntyre hits the floor Sheamus immediately jumps on him. We see that Butch is still on the outside of the ring recovering from Shinsuke's kick to the head. He joins in on the attack on McIntyre. But they're standing on the same side of the ring that Tyson Fury is sitting on and Fury leaps over the barricade and goes after the heels. Sheamus is smart and backs off and grabs Butch and the two men run away as Tyson Fury checks on Drew outside of the ring. |ENTRANT #39: SAMI ZAYN| The crowd pops huge for Sami as the announcers are shocked that he's in the match. Corey Graves announces that he was just told they had a wrestler fail a pre-match physical and had an open spot so Sami took that spot. Zayn runs down to the ring and immediately throws himself at The Bloodline. The Bloodline has Kevin Owens and they're about to eliminate him as Zayn attacks them. He saves his friend from elimination and then KO and Sami go to work on The Bloodline. Across the ring, Seth Rollins clotheslines Shinsuke Nakamura out of the match. |ELIMINATION #31: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA| Another elimination happens immediately after that one as Cody Rhodes and Karrion Kross are brawling on the apron and Cody kicks Kross in the legs and makes him fall to the floor. |ELIMINATION #32: KARRION KROSS| The crowd is getting anxious for the final entry in the match as the countdown clock begins. When it hits zero and the buzzer goes off nothing happens. The wrestlers in the ring are unconcerned with the last entrant but the crowd is wondering what's going on until... "IF YA SMELLLLLLLLLLL...." the crowd goes ballistic as |ENTRANT #40: THE ROCK| makes his way down to the ring. The crowd is deafening as Rock poses on the stage before walking to the ring. He's very clearly talking smack the whole way to the ring. He's motioning that he's going to throw people out this way and that way and then he gets to the ringside area and stops. In the ring Solo Sikoa drops Sami Zayn with a Samoan drop and then turns to help the Usos as they try to eliminate Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn pops up and saves his friend one more time. But this time Sami ends up on the apron. The Usos double superkick Sami and his dream of winning the Rumble is over. |ELIMINATION #33: SAMI ZAYN| As the Usos turn around they receive a kick from Kevin Owens who gives both men a Stunner. Owens pops up and celebrates his work but Seth Rollins sneaks up behind him and dumps him out. |ELIMINATION #34: KEVIN OWENS| The Bloodline now begin to pay attention to the Rock on the outside of the ring. Solo stands in front and the Usos are behind him. Solo motions for the Rock to enter the ring. The Rock tells them to be careful with what they wish for as he climbs into the ring. With the 40th entrant into the match getting in the ring the announcers mention that one of these six final participants are going to WrestleMania: Cody Rhodes, Seth Freakin' Rollins, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, or the Rock. Seth Rollins has Cody up on the ropes in the corner trying to eliminate him again. The Rock gets in the ring and he smiles at The Bloodline and tells them to calm down. "Come here Uce!" he says as he motions for the Bloodline to come give him a hug. The Bloodline is unsure what to do. Jey Uso walks up to the Rock and gets in his face. They have a staredown and then both smile and hug. Jimmy Uso sees this and he walks over to the Rock and hugs him as well. But it's a swerve as the Rock grabs both men and runs toward the ropes and hurls them out of the match. |ELIMINATION #35: JIMMY USO| |ELIMINATION #36: JEY USO| Solo sees what happened and he charges the Rock. The Rock drops him with a right hand but Solo pops right back up. They exchange punches with neither man giving an inch. The crowd does the "YAY/BOO" thing, cheering for every punch from the Rock and booing every punch from Solo Sikoa. But the Usos are back in the ring and they attack the Rock from behind. Solo joins in on the beating and the Rock tries to fight back but eventually Solo gets the Rock's arms and the Usos double superkick him. The Rock is hurting but still trying to fight back until Solo hits him with the Samoan Spike. Solo and the Usos then take the Rock to the ropes and dump him out. |ELIMINATION #37: THE ROCK| The Usos hop out of the ring to keep beating on the Rock but they're pulled away by officials. In the ring Solo turns his attention to Rollins and Cody who are trying to eliminate one another in the corner. Solo grabs their legs and lifts both men up and over the top rope. But both men land on the ring apron. Solo thinks he's won and turns to celebrate but Cody climbs back in, grabs Solo by the waist of his pants and hurls him over the top rope and down to the floor. |ELIMINATION #38: SOLO SIKOA| Cody turns around and Seth hits a springboard knee to Cody's face. Cody collapses to the mat. Seth begins to celebrate and laugh as he prances around the ring. Outside the ring the Rock is up and he grabs Solo Sikoa and delivers a Rock Bottom through the Spanish announce table! The crowd pops for this as the Rock finally heads to the back. Seth grabs Cody by the head and picks him up. He sets Cody up for the pedigree but Cody back body drops him. Seth lands on his feet. Cody turns around and Seth dropkicks Cody's knee. Cody falls to his knees and Seth bounces off the ropes for the stomp but Cody moves. Seth tweaks his knee and does a front roll to get out of the way. As Rollins stands up Cody is up and delivers a sick looking lariat that sends Seth flipping through the air. Rollins lands on his face and hands but he pops right back up. Cody charges him but Seth kicks Cody and this time he does hit the pedigree! Both men collapse to the mat. Seth rolls to the ropes and pulls himself up. Cody is up too. Cody charges for a clothesline but Seth ducks and pulls the top rope down. Cody flips over the top rope but manages to hang on to the ropes. One of Cody's feet hits the floor but Cody is able to skin the cat and get back in the ring. Seth thinks he's won and begins to celebrate. When his music doesn't play he turns around slowly and sees Cody there waving at him. Seth can't believe it. Cody kicks him and hits the Cross Rhodes. Cody picks up Seth. Seth is dazed and Cody backs him into the ropes. Cody goes for the winning clothesline but Seth ducks. Cody stops at the ropes and turns around and eats a superkick to the face. Cody falls backwards into the ropes. Seth charges him and goes to take him out but Cody returns the favor and pulls the ropes down and Seth goes crashing to the floor. |ELIMINATION #39: SETH FREAKIN' ROLLINS|!!!
WINNER of the 2023 Men's Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes (84:49) | 73
CELEBRATION
Cody celebrates in the ring as pyro shoots from the stage and confetti falls from the ceiling. And yes, he points at the WrestleMania sign as he stands on the second turnbuckle. Michael Cole closes the show by saying "CODY RHODES IS GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!" | 78
OVERALL RATING: 75
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Post by sleestaklightning on Jan 27, 2023 22:32:25 GMT 1
STATE OF THE PROMOTIONFebruary 2023 CHAMPIONS
WWE World Champion: Roman Reigns WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns WWE World Women's Champion: Bianca Belair WWE Universal Women's Champion: Ronda Rousey WWE World Tag Team Champions: The Usos WWE Universal Tag Team Champions: The Usos WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky WWE Intercontinental Champion: Gunther WWE United States Champion: Austin Theory News
January 2023 saw the opening of two new developmental promotions for WWE. NXT Europe opened to much fanfare. It is based in Munich, Germany and will be the home for WWE developmental talent from the UK and Europe. NXT Evolved also began running shows in January. NXT Evolved is, according to Triple H, the "first step" in WWE's developmental program. It's a home for recent Performance Center graduates as well as younger, less experienced developmental prospects. Recent SigningsBestia 666 Rey Escorpion Sam Adonis Schaff Skyler Shane Taylor Salina de la Renta Titan Tom Prichard Lance Storm Chris Hero Timothy Thatcher January Releases
Ken Doane Jason Jordan Chris Parks Shane Helms Wendy Choo Scott Stanford PLE Calendar -- February 2023
NXT Vengeance Day - Saturday Week 1 WWE No Way Out - Saturday Week 3
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ProWrestlingFlashlight.com...
- WWE has apparently decided to stop using Logan Paul for the time being. Paul's cryptocurrency controversy seems to have angered higher ups in WWE and that's why he was not in the Royal Rumble match last night. No word on when, or if, he will be back on WWE programming.
- Reports of the Rock suffering an injury at the Royal Rumble are apparently true. Rock posted photos to social media after the show of what he called "the usual bumps and bruises" but he did delete one photo which looked like it showed a severely bruised abdomen. Rock was allegedly telling people after the match that he thinks he tore a muscle. Rock is still scheduled to be appearing on Raw tomorrow night so maybe he will address this during the appearance.
- Shayna Baszler, Santos Escobar, and Bianca Belair have all signed multi-year extensions with WWE recently.
- Fans around the world were shocked to see The Great Muta show up in the Royal Rumble match last night. We can confirm that Muta will be back with WWE for a handful of appearances over the next year as he's signed a deal to appear multiple times.
- The Butcher announced on social media that he will be leaving AEW at the end of the month when his contract expires. Rumors are that he intends to sign with WWE.
- Deonna Purrazzo has signed an extension with Impact.
- Shun Skywalker has signed a pay-per-appearance contract with AEW.
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Congratulations to marcusfaze for winning the Royal Rumble prediction contest and thanks to all who participated! I will be contacting you regarding your prize soon.
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Post by sleestaklightning on Feb 1, 2023 7:50:38 GMT 1
Week 1 -- February 2023
WWE Monday Night RAW Monday -- Week 1 -- February 2023 Live! from Dallas, TX
OPENING VIDEO Before the Raw intro video we get a video recap of the Royal Rumble. The video highlights all of the major moments from Raw superstars. The video ends with a shot of Cody Rhodes celebrating after winning the Royal Rumble. | 72
ADRENALINE IN MY SOUL... "Kingdom" by Downstait hits and the crowd pops as Cody Rhodes comes out onto the stage. He takes a second to take in the crowd and then heads to the ring. Once he's in the ring he begins to talk about his win last night and what it means for his future. Cody says that normally he would take some time to decide which title to go after but they're both held by Roman Reigns so there's not much of a decision to make. Before Cody can continue he is interrupted by Paul Heyman. Heyman tells Cody that he has to be careful when saying the name of the Tribal Chief out loud. Heyman says that Reigns is watching closely and that if Cody thinks he can win the war of words with Roman, he's dead wrong. Cody says that surely, with Roman being such an absolute bad ass and the scariest wrestler in the world right now that he wouldn't think twice about coming out to the ring to face Cody like a man. So where is he? Heyman tells Cody not to be glib. He says that Roman sometimes works in mysterious ways and that Cody needs to understand that if he's going to be challenging Roman at WrestleMania, then he can't expect to understand why Roman does what he does. But Cody just needs to realize that there's always a reason and it's always what's best for the Bloodline. Suddenly Cody is attacked from behind by Solo Sikoa. Sikoa hits him with a Samoan Drop and then grabs him and picks him up but Cody fights back and ends up clotheslining Solo out of the ring. Solo and Heyman bail and Cody tells Solo that he wants to face him in the ring tonight. Solo nods his head in acceptance before heading through the curtain. | 65
CEDRIC ALEXANDER & SHELTON BENJAMIN |VS| THE STREET PROFITS Good match designed to get the crowd warmed up. These guys worked hard and had great chemistry. Shelton and Cedric were managed by MVP in this one so that's a thing again. Montez and Angelo had a bit of miscommunication at one point but they recovered from that. MVP nailed Dawkins in the knee with his cane and Dawkins got worked over for a bit but he got the hot tag and Montez looked incredible and flew around the ring and was able to hit both Cedric and Shelton with Stinger splashes in the corner. The Profits hit their tag team finish on Shelton and Montez pinned him for the win. WINNERS by pinfall: The Street Profits (12:42) | 66
POST-MATCH ATTACK After the match MVP motions to the back and Omos comes stomping down to the ring. Cedric and Shelton jump on Montez in the ring and begin attacking him. Omos climbs in the ring and Cedric and Shelton whip Montez toward Omos and Omos grabs him and chokeslams him down. Dawkins finally pops up and grabs a chair and slides into the ring to chase the heels off. The announcers openly wonder why it took Dawkins so long to come back in and save his partner. | 50
JUDGMENT DAY IS TALKING BUT ARE INTERRUPTED We see footage from "Earlier Today". Judgment Day are backstage filming something and they're discussing Rhea's Royal Rumble win when suddenly Brandi Rhodes interrupts. She grabs Rhea's arm and spins her around. Brandi is livid that Rhea took her spot last night. Brandi tells Rhea that she wants a match with her. Rhea smirks and says that she'll take on anyone -- anyone -- that has a problem with how Rhea went about entering the Rumble last night. Rhea says she knows she's the best wrestler, male or female, in the entire world and she's more than happy to prove it against anyone who thinks otherwise. She pats Brandi on the head and tells her to go run along to whoever it is that's running the show now and get her match and Rhea will be happy to kick her ass. | 61
THE NEW GENERAL MANAGER Triple H's music hits and the crowd pops as he comes out onto the stage. He does a quick pose and then walks to the ring, all business. He climbs in the ring and is handed a microphone. He starts talking by saying that 20 years ago he'd be out here tonight to announce that he's naming himself the General Manager of Raw and then laugh and tell the fans to kiss his ass or whatever. But times have changed and Triple H is now too busy to be GM of Raw. He says that when he was looking to find GMs for both Raw and SmackDown he started with those closest to him. He says Shawn is busy running NXT so he was unavailable. He then says that Shawn recommended someone and he gave that man a call and now here we are tonight. He specifically mentions that he's about to introduce the INTERIM Raw General Manager and says that he's still looking for someone to take over full-time. But in the mean time, he wanted to bring in someone with experience. And that someone is...MICK FOLEY! Foley's music hits and the crowd pops huge for Mick's return to WWE tv. Foley comes down to the ring and thanks Triple H for the job. He says that he has fond memories of his past run as Commissioner and he's excited to be able to hold down the GM job, even if it's just temporary. Foley says he's been watching the show so far tonight and he has some ideas he wants to implement but he will wait to make any major rulings until next week. He does announce two Gold Rush tournaments for next week on Raw. 4 men will compete for a shot at the United States Championship at No Way Out and 4 women will compete for a shot at the WWE World Women's Championship at No Way Out. The 4 men and 4 women in these tournaments will be announced soon. Foley finishes up by saying "Have a nice day!" and the crowd pops again. | 78
CHELSEA GREEN |VS| DANA BROOKE After a commercial break, Dana Brooke is already in the ring as Chelsea Green's music hits. The announcers talk about her return on Saturday night at the Royal Rumble. Chelsea gets the best of Dana from the start and beats her clean with a second rope Blockbuster. WINNER by pinfall: Chelsea Green (4:39) | 42
THE REUNION Next up we get some footage of the Reigns/Zayn match and the aftermath from it as well as the Zayn/Owens/Bloodline stuff from the Rumble match. After the video Sami Zayn's original WWE music hits and the crowd goes crazy as Zayn comes out onto the stage. He looks around, seemingly surprised that he's being cheered, and he walks down to the ring. He begins to talk about his recent dalliance with the Bloodline. It's a great promo where Sami basically spills his guts and talks about how his time as the conspiracy theorist lead him to looking for acceptance within the Bloodline. Sami says his love and affection for the guys in the Bloodline was totally real. But fortunately for Sami, and his career, the guy who has been his best friend for over 20 years -- Kevin Owens -- wouldn't give up on him. Sami says he deluded himself into thinking Owens was using him to get to Roman. He deluded himself into thinking that the Bloodline cared about him and KO didn't. But every step of the way Kevin was there to offer him advice, to give him motivation, and to let him know that he didn't need the Bloodline. Even after Sami kicked him in the balls at Survivor Series and repeatedly turned his back on their friendship, Kevin was there. So when Roman and the Bloodline went out of their way to attack Owens as a way to intimidate Sami, he knew what he had to do. Sami says it woke him up to the reality of what was happening and he knew that his goal shouldn't be to find acceptance within the Bloodline -- but to tear the Bloodline down! The crowd pops at that line and Sami says that in a perfect world he'll get another chance to take Roman down. But he knows the world doesn't work that way, and he's accepted that he isn't likely to get another chance. But he will do whatever he can to destroy the Bloodline. At this point, the Usos run in from behind and begin to attack Sami. As they're beating him down, Kevin Owens runs down to the ring -- without music -- and attacks the Usos. Owens hits a pop-up powerbomb on Jey and Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb on Jimmy. The Usos powder and KO and Sami stand face-to-face. After a couple seconds of talking they hug and the crowd goes crazy. Zayn and Owens stand in the ring -- reunited as the Usos retreat to the back. | 84
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: AUSTIN THEORY (C) |VS| AJ STYLES These guys tore the house down here. Theory jumps Styles before the bell and controls him to begin. AJ gets a comeback with a spinning heel kick. Styles controls the match until Theory hits an inverted atomic drop and clothesline. Theory slows things down with some rest holds as the show goes to commercial. When they come back from break Theory has Styles down on the mat and he's working Styles' leg with a one-legged Boston crab. Styles eventually gets to the ropes and uses them to pull himself up. AJ is limping and Theory mocks him and then goes back after him with punches and kicks. Theory misses a running knee when Styles dodges it. Styles hits a spinning back fist and Theory is knocked into the corner. AJ goes on the attack and they go into a section with both guys getting near falls and working the crowd to a fever pitch. Theory puts AJ Styles up on the top turnbuckle and sets him up for a superplex but AJ fights Theory off and shoves him off the turnbuckles. Theory takes a back bump and AJ climbs up to the top rope. Before AJ can leap off, Gallows and Anderson are at ringside. Anderson hops up onto the apron to distract the referee while Gallows goes for AJ Styles. Styles sees it coming and leaps off the top rope down onto Gallows on the arena floor. He takes Gallows out and climbs back in the ring. But as AJ is getting to his feet, Seth Rollins jumps over the fan barrier and slides in the ring and Curb Stomps AJ. Seth bails and Gallows and Anderson leave with him. Theory picks AJ up and hits his finish and pins AJ to retain the title. WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE United States Champion: Austin Theory (21:48) | 77
MVP MAKES AN OFFER Bobby Lashley is standing by with Cathy Kelley. She is starting to ask him about Brock Lesnar when MVP interrupts. He apologizes to Cathy and says he has business with Lashley and Bobby has been avoiding him. MVP makes an offer to Bobby Lashley. MVP says he's getting back in business and he wants Lashley to be cornerstone of his new organization. MVP tells Lashley to think about it but Bobby tells him he's not interested and should just get lost. MVP says think about it and walks off. Lashley tells Cathy to continue and she does. Lashley says that Brock thinks he can bully everyone to get his way. Last night, Lashley showed that Brock cannot bully him. Lashley is unintimidated and unafraid. If Lesnar wants to fight Lashley some time then Lashley will be here. Brock knows where to find him. Because Lashley doesn't run. Cathy asks him about his match with Damian Priest that's coming up next and Lashley just smiles and says that the way he's feeling right now -- he'd hate to be Priest. | 68
BOBBY LASHLEY |VS| DAMIAN PRIEST These guys need to wrestle again because their chemistry is amazing. The match began with these two just throwing haymakers at one another. Priest also gets a spin kick to Lashley's midsection and then Priest takes over the match. Lashley gets his comeback and Priest bails out of the ring as the show goes to commercial. When the show is back Priest is back in the ring and the rest of Judgment Day are now standing at ringside. Lashley hits a spear on Priest and Dom hops up on the apron to distract him. It works and gives Priest time to recover. Lashley turns around and Priest hits him with a kick to the head and then whips him into the corner. Rhea Ripley grabs Lashley's feet as Dom distracts the referee. Lashley can't get free and Priest squashes him with a running clothesline. Suddenly MVP, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, and Omos come down. There's a stand-off with the Hurt Business and Judgment Day. The referee sees this and throws everyone out. Suddenly Brock Lesnar comes in from the crowd, slides in the ring and F5s Lashley. Brock smiles and then heads back out through the crowd. Priest picks Lashley up and hits The Reckoning and covers him for the win. WINNER by pinfall: Damian Priest (11:41) | 72
POST-MATCH ATTACK After the match is over Judgment Day waits for The Hurt Business to get to the back and then they run back down to the ring and Priest, Balor, Dom, and Ripley start beating down Lashley. But it doesn't last long as Edge and his wife, Beth Phoenix run down to the ring with chairs. Edge slides in and nails Balor in the ribs with a chair. Beth swings at Rhea, who bails. Rhea pulls Dom out of harm's way and Priest and Balor bail as quickly as they can as well. Edge and Lashley have a quick stand-off before shaking hands. | 77
ZACK RYDER SPEAKS Byron Saxton says he's backstage with Zack Ryder. Ryder immediately cuts him off. He tells him not to call him by that name. Saxton looks confused. Ryder says that Zack Ryder is a WWE creation and a WWE name. He says that he is NOT Zack Ryder. He's Matt Cardona. Cardona says he has unfinished business here and he isn't going to sit back and take what he's given this time around. Cardona says that he's no longer just happy to be here. He says that he came back to finally accomplish what he wasn't allowed to accomplish last time -- he wants to be THE GUY. And he will be. Byron thanks Cardona for his time and then Cardona walks off. | 57
BIANCA'S #1 FAN WWE World Women's Champion Bianca BelAir is walking backstage when she runs into Naomi. They immediately hug and begin talking. Bianca says it's great to have Naomi back and Naomi says she's glad to be back. Naomi tells Bianca that she's been keeping an eye on her while she was gone and she is so proud of what Bianca has become. Bianca says she has to get to a media interview. They exchange another hug and they both walk in separate directions. But Naomi stops and turns around and stares at Bianca with a look of envy on her face. | 73
WWE WOMEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: DAKOTA KAI & IYO SKY (C) |VS| CANDICE LERAE & MIA YIM
Pretty standard tag team match but the work is really good. Dakota and Iyo isolate Candice in their corner and work her over for a while until she goes to kick Dakota and has her leg caught. Candice hits an enziguiri and is able to tag in Mia Yim. Yim is on fire and comes close to winning the title all by herself but Bayley puts Dakota's foot on the bottom rope to save the titles. Candice sees Bayley interfere and runs around the apron and hits her with a cannonball senton. The referee checks on Candice and that allows Iyo to get in the ring, kick Mia and hit a Michinoku Driver on her. Iyo goes to the top rope and hits a moonsault on Mia and helps Dakota cover her. The referee gets back in the ring. Candice tries to break up the pin but Bayley holds on to her leg as the referee counts to three.
WINNERS by pinfall and STILL WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky (11:47) |63
THE GREATEST WOMEN'S TAG TEAM OF ALL-TIME
After the match is over Bayley grabs a microphone and calls Kai and Sky the "greatest women's tag team of all-time" and says that they're running out of challengers and might have to go to SmackDown to find a new challenge. | 68
MAIN EVENT: CODY RHODES |VS| SOLO SIKOA
Solo is out first with Paul Heyman. Cody's entrance is interrupted by the Usos, who jump him from behind. They beat Cody down to the ring and hit a double superkick and then roll him into the ring. Solo jumps him before he can even take his jacket off. Solo stomps on Cody's back and then picks him up and whips him into the corner. Solo charges and smashes Cody in the corner. Solo pulls Cody's jacket off and throws it at Cody. The referee backs Solo off and then checks if Cody is alright to continue. Cody nods his head and the referee calls for the bell. Solo charges again and kicks Cody in the stomach. He hammers forearms into Cody's back. Solo hits a knee lift and then four vicious corner clotheslines in quick succession. Solo backs off and Cody falls to one knee. Solo charges and goes for a knee to Cody's face but Cody ducks. Solo turns around and Cody pops up to his feet and starts firing punches. Cody's comeback is cut off by Jey Uso tripping him and Solo catching Cody and hitting a uranage for a near fall. The referee kicks the Usos out and forces them to the back. From there the match takes a turn and becomes a more even affair with Cody getting all of his signature offense in. They eventually fight outside the ring and Solo puts Cody through the announce table with a Samoan Drop. Solo gets in the ring to let Cody get counted out, but he gets back in the ring at the count of 9. Solo grabs Cody for another Samoan Drop but Cody lands on his feet and when Solo turns around Cody kicks him and hits the Cross Rhodes. Cody covers Solo and gets the pin.
WINNER by pinfall: Cody Rhodes (22:20) | 73
FINALLY...
After the final commercial break we come back to the arena and the crowd is buzzing. Suddenly we hear "IF YA SMELLLLLLLLLL..." and the crowd goes wild as The Rock comes out onto the stage. He walks down to the ring and climbs into the ring. He starts his promo confirming the reports that he was injured at the Royal Rumble. Rock says that he wanted nothing more than to win the Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Rock says Roman calls himself the head of the table but he's actually a bitch. Rock says that Roman is a pretender and he wants him to know that he can be Head of the Table until the Rock's recovered. Then he's coming back to whip Roman's ass and take the table back. Suddenly Roman's music hits and the Bloodline come down to the ring. Roman gets face-to-face with the Rock and tells him that he's the luckiest son of a bitch in the world because if not for that injury, the Rock would be a bloodied mess in the ring, but Roman is going to let the Rock off with a warning. As long as the Rock acknowledges his Tribal Chief. Rock looks like he's thinking about it and then tells Roman that Drew McIntyre was right -- Roman really is nothing but a Tribal Q---f. The crowd pops and the tv network censors rush to bleep it out but it sneaks through on tv. Roman mockingly laughs at the Rock, who drops the microphone and walks past Roman, bumping his shoulder along the way. But Roman reaches his right arm out and stops Rock's progress. Roman says that he can't allow anyone to disrespect him like that. Not even his older cousin. Roman says that growing up everyone told him that he should look up to Dwayne but now it's Dwayne who should be looking up to him! Roman says he's going to give the Rock one more chance to acknowledge him. The Rock asks for the microphone and when Roman goes to hand it to him Rock grabs Roman's arm and pulls him in for a Rock Bottom but grabs his shoulder and ribs as he lets Roman go. Roman elbows Rock in the side of the head and then immediately grabs him and drops him with a Samoan Drop. Roman stands over the Rock and then commands the Usos to pick Rock up. They prop him up in the corner and hold him in place as Roman approaches. Roman grabs the Rock by the chin and starts talking trash. Rock fights to get free from the Usos and starts firing right hands at Roman. But Rock doesn't see Solo Sikoa enter the ring behind him with a steel chair. Solo slams the chair into Rock's back. He turns around to see what happened and he gets double superkicked by the Usos. Rock falls backward into Roman. Roman grabs him and lets Rock fall to the floor. Roman tells the Usos and Solo to kick and stomp on the Rock. Roman gets back on the microphone and says that tonight is the official end of the Rock. But before anything else can happen, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens rush out with steel chairs and chase the Bloodline off. They help the Rock to his feet and Rock holds his ribs as he goes anything else. The show goes off the air with Rock, Owens, and Zayn standing in the ring, staring at the Bloodline who are standing on the stage. | 74
OVERALL RATING: 72
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Post by sleestaklightning on Feb 2, 2023 6:27:43 GMT 1
NXT On USA NetworkTuesday -- Week 1 -- February 2023
Live! from the WWE Performance Center
- The show opens with Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett hyping up the show for tonight. Both Bron Breakker and Grayson Waller will be in singles competition and they will each choose who the other faces tonight.| 64
- Apollo Crews defeated Charlie Dempsey by pinfall at 5:39. | 52- Roxanne Perez is interviewed ahead of her NXT Women's Championship Match at Vengeance Day. Roxanne says that she is so excited for Saturday. The thought of becoming NXT Women's Champion is so exciting. Roxanne says she is flying her family to Charlotte for the event and the rest will be watching at home. She says she will not let them down. She's interrupted by Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne who say that she doesn't stand a chance against Mandy Rose. Roxanne rolls her eyes and tells them that she'd be happy to show them first hand what Mandy has in store for her on Saturday. She tells them to get Mandy and meet her in the ring tonight. Gigi and Jacy laugh, thinking it's a handicap match. But Roxanne says she has the two perfect teammates in mind. | 64- Nathan Frazer pinned Javier Bernal in 6:31. | 48- After the match is over, Roderick Strong comes down to the ring and tells Nathan how much he respects him. He says that Nathan won him over and Roddy thinks they should team up and rule the NXT tag team division. Frazer says he needs time to think about it. | 52- A video hypes up the Wes Lee/DIJAK match for Vengeance Day. | 44- Grayson Waller beat Odyssey Jones at 4:45. | 42- After the match Waller cut a promo on Bron Breakker and promised to take his title on Saturday night. | 66- Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams come out to the ring. Carmelo is dressed like Booker T and Trick is dressed like 2 Cold Scorpio. They cut a promo in the ring, mocking Booker & Scorpio by pretending to be elderly and generally just acting foolish. They keep it up until Booker and Scorpio come out and chase them off. | 62- Ivy Nile beat Thea Hail in 4:51. | 38
- Cora Jade cuts a promo on Sarray. She says that Sarray is the only thing standing in her way of being NXT Women's Champion so that means this Saturday night at Vengeance Day that Cora is going to make Sarray wish she had never agreed to come to NXT. | 49- Ilja Dragunov is attacked backstage again. He fights back and nearly unmasks one of the assailants but the two men run off before he can get the mask off. | 66- NXT Champion Bron Breakker beat Von Wagner in 8:19. After the match Grayson Waller hits the ring with a cattle prod and shocks Breakker with it. Grayson grabs the NXT Championship and holds it above his head. Suddenly Shawn Michaels comes out onto the stage. He says that he's been thinking about a way escalate the stakes of Waller's match with Bron Breakker at Vengeance Day. Shawn says he remembers how every time Bron is about to get his hands on Waller, Waller has run away. So this Saturday night there will be nowhere for Grayson Waller to run because Waller and Breakker will be battling in a DOG COLLAR MATCH! | Match: 58 -- Segment: 77- Another Vidal Duran hype video. This time it announces he will be making his debut this Saturday on the Vengeance Day pre-show. | 45- Backstage Pretty Deadly announce the 4th team in their Prettiest, Deadliest, Invitation Only #1 Contender Party -- NXT Europe's the Coffey Brothers! | 33- The announcers are going over the card for Vengeance Day and they announce that Gable Steveson and Bronson Reed will officially meet in a #1 Contender's Match. | 42- MAIN EVENT: NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne -- Toxic Attraction defeated Roxanne Perez, Indi Hartwell & Alba Fyre in 12:39 after Mandy Rose pins Roxanne Perez after Mandy nails Roxanne in the face with the NXT Women's Championship. | 59- Before the show goes off the air cameras find Bron Breakker walking around the backstage area looking for Grayson Waller who still has his NXT Championship. Waller sees Bron coming for him and exits for the parking lot. The camera follows as Bron Breakker gives chase. Once they're in the parking lot Bron seemingly loses Waller only to be suddenly hit by a car. Bron hits the hood of the car and rolls off as the car keeps going. Bron is laying on the ground outside as security and road agents and some NXT wrestlers rush over to check on him as the show goes off the air. | 66OVERALL RATING: 63
------- NXT VENGEANCE DAY Saturday -- Week 1 -- February 2023
MAIN EVENT [Dog Collar Match for the NXT Championship] Bron Breakker (C) |vs| Grayson Waller
[NXT Women's Championship Match] Mandy Rose (C) |vs| Roxanne Perez
[NXT North American Championship Match] Wes Lee (C) |vs| DIJAK
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams |vs| Booker T & Too Cold Scorpio
[Prettiest, Deadliest Invitation Only #1 Contender Party] Creed Brothers |vs| Indus Sher |vs| Aussie Open |vs| The Coffey Brothers
[#1 Contender for the NXT Championship] Gable Steveson |vs| Bronson Reed
Pre-Show: Alba Fyre & Indi Hartwell |vs| Toxic Attraction Pre-Show: Cora Jade |vs| Sarray -- #1 Contender Match Pre-Show: Vidal Duran |vs| TBA
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Post by sleestaklightning on Feb 4, 2023 7:45:49 GMT 1
WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
Friday -- Week 1 -- February 2023
Live! from Atlanta, GA
ZAYN WANTS TO REIGN
The show opens with Sami Zayn coming down to the ring to a huge ovation. Zayn is using his original WWE music and he dances his way down to the ring like he used to. Zayn begins his promo by thanking the fans for their outpouring of love and support since the Royal Rumble. Zayn says that he does not take it for granted. He says that it took him a long time to see that he was being used by the Bloodline and he is so happy that the fans are still here for him now that he's realized it. He says that he couldn't stand to see Kevin Owens -- his best friend for over 20 years -- getting hurt because of Sami's actions. So he did what he had to do. When he was in the ring across from Roman, it was the first time since he began running with the Bloodline that he wasn't intimidated by Roman. Sami says that the match at Royal Rumble did more for his confidence than anything else ever has and he now KNOWS he can beat Roman. In fact, he wants another shot at Roman. He wants to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and he wants to take the Universal title from him. Paul Heyman interrupts Sami. He calls Sami an idiot. Paul says first off, Sami is a moron if he thinks he can beat Roman one-on-one. "Not only that, idiot, but Cody Rhodes already beat you to it! He actually won the Royal Rumble! He is challenging Roman at WrestleMania. Dumbass." Sami laughs and replies that WrestleMania is two-nights. Why can't Roman wrestle twice? Paul says that Cody is challenging for both titles. "Oh -- you didn't see it?!" Sami says. "See what?!?" asks Heyman. Sami tells him to look at the big screen and a tweet appears from Cody Rhodes from earlier in the day. The tweet reads: "Before I was interrupted on Monday night I was going to announce that I've made a decision. As Royal Rumble winner I get to choose which title I fight for and which night I fight on. I want Roman on Night 2 -- for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. #WM39" Heyman is taken aback. He stammers and finally gets out the words "Well, you're still not going to face Roman at WrestleMania! You idiot!" Heyman turns around and heads to the back as the crowd begins chanting for Sami. He stands there and takes in the cheers and then tells Roman that the ball in his court. "Are you afraid, Roman? Looks like your Wiseman is." Sami drops the mic and his music hits and he stands in the ring posing for the crowd as the show fades to commercial. | 91
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA |VS| SANTOS ESCOBAR
Fantastic opening match. As the show comes back from commercial, Escobar is on his way to the ring with the rest of Legado del Fantasma. Shinsuke enters to a big pop. The match starts with both men taunting and stalling a bit. When the action begins these guys have a hell of a match. Santos blocks Nakamura's strikes early but Nakamura rocks Escobar with a kick to the head. Escobar fights back and the two men exchange strikes for the opening minutes of the match. Eventually the pace picks up and Escobar starts to go for some more high impact offense. But Nakamura repeatedly fights back and stays one step ahead of Escobar. Nakamura goes for the Kinsasha but Escobar avoids it. Nakamura hits his knee off the turnbuckle in the corner. He gets up and Escobar hits a running dropkick. The momentum forces Shinsuke to stagger out of the corner, allowing Escobar to hit the Phantom Driver. He covers Nakamura and Nakamura gets his foot on the rope but the referee doesn't see it and Escobar picks up the win.
WINNER by pinfall: Santos Escobar (11:48) | 70
SHINSUKE IS ANGRY
After the match, Shinsuke is explaining to the referee that he got his foot on the bottom rope. The referee just shrugs and starts to walk away so Shinsuke grabs his arm and pulls him back. Shinsuke gets more animated and the referee apologizes and Shinsuke shoves him. The referee tries to walk away again but Shinsuke grabs his shirt and yanks him back. Shinsuke slaps him and then shoves him into the corner. A few more referees and road agents rush out and pull Shinsuke off of the referee. Shinsuke walks to the back and the crowd is booing him as he mocks fans in the crowd. | 71
IMPERIUM HAS A MESSAGE
Imperium is standing backstage to cut a promo. Ludwig Kaiser says that Saturday night at the Royal Rumble Gunther proved his superiority even if he didn't win. Gunther singlehandedly eliminated the greatest wrestler in WWE history, John Cena. And now he continues to be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time. Gunther then speaks. Gunther says that Drew McIntyre has formally requested a shot at the Intercontinental Championship but Drew hasn't earned that chance yet. He says Drew will face Giovanni Vinci tonight, and Drew will lose. And after he loses, he'll have to start at the bottom and work his way back if he wants a rematch. But in the end -- Drew, John Cena, it doesn't matter who they are -- they all will fall. | 64
DREW MCINTYRE |VS| GIOVANNI VINCI
Vinci is accompanied by Gunther and Kaiser. This is a quick match designed to make McIntyre look good. Vinci gets a little bit of offense in at the very start but McIntyre turns the tide and controls the rest of the match. He wins with the Claymore Kick.
WINNER by pinfall: Drew McIntyre (5:29) | 70
COMMISERATING
Backstage, Mickie James and Raquel Rodriguez -- who will be teaming up later tonight -- are discussing the Royal Rumble. Mickie expresses frustration with being eliminated by Rhea Ripley, who wasn't even supposed to be in the match. Raquel says she feels for her as Raquel was eliminated by Rhea too. Mickie says it's not fair and that something should be done about it. | 56
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH KOFI?
We get an Earlier Today segment. Karrion Kross and Scarlett are standing in the backstage area near catering. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston show up to film a segment for some kind of tv show. Xavier is going over things with Kofi but Kofi seems distracted. Xavier asks Kofi if everything is ok and Kofi says yes. But when it's time for them to film, Kofi walks over to Kross and slaps the drink out of his hand. Kofi shoves Kross and asks him if he has a problem. Kross tells Kofi to get out of his face and Kofi says no. Kross shoves Kofi and Kofi goes after Kross but Woods holds him back. Kross challenges Kofi to meet him in the ring tonight and Kofi agrees. Woods asks Kofi what's going on with him and Kofi storms away. | 61
HIT ROW |VS| THE VIKING RAIDERS
The just wasn't that great. Top Dolla and Ashante the Adonis have poor chemistry together and these teams don't exactly mesh well. Fortunately it was kept short. Top Dolla gets trapped in the ropes and then Erik and Ivar hit a new tag team finish that sees Erik superplex Ashante the Adonis while Ivar follows immediately and hits a big splash on Ashante and covers him for the pinfall victory.
WINNERS by pinfall: The Viking Raiders (5:43) | 52
THE NEW GENERAL MANAGER IS ANNOUNCED
Next up Triple H comes down to the ring for the announcement. He gets in and gives a similar speech to the one from Raw. This time he says he went out and found the perfect full-time GM. And it's WILLIAM REGAL!!! The crowd pops as Regal comes down to the ring in a suit. He gets in the ring and cuts a ridiculously great promo about how it feels good to be alive in the wrestling business and how Regal plans to make sure SmackDown is the best wrestling show on television. He says competition and fairness will be major features of his SmackDown. And then reiterates how great it feels to be back. | 72
LA KNIGHT |VS| RIDDICK MOSS
A quick match designed to let LA Knight look good while getting a win. Knight does his best here but Riddick Moss is so hard to get anything out of that he drags everyone else down with him. Knight and Moss have a pose down to start but Knight jumps Moss while he's flexing and takes control. Knight beats Moss all around the ring but eventually Moss gets a desperation clothesline and when Knight pops up Moss goes for a spear but LA Knight leap frogs him. Moss hits the corner shoulder-first and Knight grabs him, spins him around and hits the Gravy Train (Kryptonite Krunch) and covers Moss for the win.
WINNER by pinfall: LA Knight (5:49) | 57
TIME TO PITCH
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman are backstage. They walk into newly named General Manager William Regal's office. We then cut to a static camera in Regal's office -- designed to let us see and hear what's happening in the office without breaking the illusion by having a cameraman in there. Regal asks the two men what they want and Heyman asks Reigns for permission to pitch the idea. Reigns nods. Heyman says that earlier tonight Sami Zayn made it known that he wants a chance to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Well clearly, Sami doesn't deserve it! But the fans seem to want it. So Roman and Heyman have come up with an idea. Put Sami in the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out. Heyman suggests that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens can both enter the Chamber. And to round it out -- Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, and Roman Reigns. Regal seems intrigued. Heyman says "Think about it -- if Sami Zayn can survive the Bloodline inside the Elimination Chamber then he will have EARNED a match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania! But if he doesn't -- then Roman should be rewarded by only having to wrestle one night out of two at WrestleMania!" Regal seems intrigued by the idea but tells Heyman and Reigns that he'll think about it and make a decision by the end of the show. | 91
KOFI KINGSTON |VS| KARRION KROSS
During his entrance, Kofi is not his usual self. He's not dancing or strutting. He just walks to the ring with a serious look on his face. Kross makes his entrance and Kofi cuts him off with a dive over the top rope. He takes Kross out with the move. Kofi gets up and immediately goes after Kross. Kofi kicks Kross in the face and then throws punches at Kross. Kross shoves Kofi away and gets to his feet. Kross charges Kofi and slams him up against the ring apron. Kross rolls Kofi in and when Kross climbs in under the bottom rope Kofi dropkicks him in the face. Kofi stands up and hits a legdrop to the back of Kross' head. Kofi waits for Kross to stand up and hits a running boot to the face. Kross staggers backwards to the corner. Kofi charges for a Stinger Splash but Kross catches him and throws him down with a uranage. Kofi hits the mat hard and Kross stomps his chest. Kross bends down and picks Kofi up and hits the Doomsday Saito suplex. He covers Kofi for the pinfall.
WINNER by pinfall: Karrion Kross (7:01) | 70
SHEAMUS HAS A REQUEST
Another segment of Regal Cam. This time Sheamus is in the office complaining that he doesn't think Drew McIntyre should get the next shot at Gunther's Intercontinental Championship. Sheamus thinks HE should be the one to face Gunther next. Regal says he will take it under consideration and make an announcement before the end of the show. | 66
REGAL'S DECISIONS
After a commercial break the announcers mention that new SmackDown General Manager William Regal has made two major announcements during the break. The first off one is that next week here on SmackDown -- Drew McIntyre will battle Sheamus to determine the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship and the winner will face Gunther at No Way Out. And speaking of No Way Out -- it's official -- the men's Elimination Chamber match will feature the following six men: WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa. If Zayn or Owens win -- Sami Zayn will face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship on Night One of WrestleMania. If any member of the Bloodline wins -- Roman will only have to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Cody Rhodes on Night Two of WrestleMania! | 74
MAIN EVENT: WWE UNIVERSAL WOMEN'S CHAMPION RONDA ROUSEY & SHAYNA BASZLER |VS| RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ & MICKIE JAMES
Not a good main event but this show was clearly built around storylines more than in-ring action. These four worked hard but these four just didn't click. Rousey was selling a rib injury for most of the match after Raquel Rodriguez hit a Ron Simmons-style spinebuster on her early on. Shayna worked most of the match for her team and did well. Rousey and Raquel began fighting outside and never really returned to the match. Shayna was distracted by this and that leads to Mickie James hitting her with a facebuster and winning the match.
WINNERS by pinfall: Raquel Rodriguez & Mickie James (11:39) | 54
HOWDY
After the final commercial the show returns and the lights in the arena go out. Bray Wyatt's music hits and the crowd goes crazy for Bray's entrance. Bray gets to the ring and begins to speak. He says that tonight he wants Uncle Howdy to manifest again and face him like a corporeal being. Bray is angry and raises his voice as he yells at "the demons in [his] head" that he just wants to be left alone. Bray says he doesn't want to be an evil bastard anymore. He just wants to be normal but the demons won't let him. The whole time Bray is talking the video quality is dropping and the color is leaving the screen. Suddenly Uncle Howdy appears on the arena floor behind Bray. He stands up and the big screen by the entrance lights up with a shot of Uncle Howdy's face. Uncle Howdy calls Bray a liar and tells him that he needs to embrace his true self. He repeats the phrase "Stop lying. Be yourself." three or four times while the Uncle Howdy in the ring sneaks up behind Bray. Bray senses it and turns around but when he does he seems to be paralyzed in fear. Uncle Howdy grabs him for Sister Abigail and seemingly whispers something into Bray's ear before hitting the move. Bray is laid out. The lights go out. When they come back on Uncle Howdy is gone and smoke fills the ring as Bray is unconscious on the mat as the copyright info appears on the screen. | 67
OVERALL RATING: 75
Next week on SmackDown: Drew McIntyre |vs| Sheamus -- Winner Faces Gunther for the IC Title at No Way Out
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WWE NO WAY OUT
Saturday -- Week 3 -- February 2023
Live! from Montreal, QC, Canada
MAIN EVENT
ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH
*If Sami or Owens win, Sami faces Roman for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. If the Bloodline wins, Roman does not have to defend the title at WM.*
WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns |vs| Sami Zayn |vs| Kevin Owens |vs| Jey Uso |vs| Jimmy Uso |vs| Solo Sikoa
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