Royal Rumble (2019)

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Royal Rumble
RRoyal Rumble 2019 Poster.jpg
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
205 Live
DateJanuary 27, 2019
CityPhoenix, Arizona
VenueChase Field
Attendance48,193[1][a]
WWE Network event chronology
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NXT TakeOver: Phoenix
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Worlds Collide
Royal Rumble chronology
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2018
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2020

The 2019 Royal Rumble was the 32nd annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network and took place on January 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. During the event, WWE reported there were 48,193 people in attendance.

Traditionally, the Royal Rumble match winner receives a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2019 event, the winners of both the men's and women's matches received a choice of which championship to challenge for at WrestleMania 35. The men could choose to challenge for either Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship, while the women had the choice between the Raw Women's Championship and the SmackDown Women's Championship.

In total, ten matches were contested at the event, including three on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Raw's Seth Rollins won the men's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Braun Strowman, also from Raw, while SmackDown's Becky Lynch won the women's Royal Rumble match by lastly eliminating Charlotte Flair, also from SmackDown. In the opening bout, Lynch lost her SmackDown Women's Championship match against Asuka. Other prominent matches included Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship against Finn Bálor, Daniel Bryan defeating AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship, and Ronda Rousey defeating Sasha Banks to retain the Raw Women's Championship. The event also featured the return of Jeff Jarrett, who competed in his first WWE match since No Mercy in October 1999.

Production[]

Background[]

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[2] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 2019 event was the 32nd event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. It featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands, with some NXT wrestlers and WWE veterans appearing in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches.[3]

The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania.[4][5] For 2019, the men and women could choose to challenge for either brand's top championship at WrestleMania 35: the men had their choice between Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship, while the women could choose either the Raw Women's Championship or the SmackDown Women's Championship.[3]

Storylines[]

The card consisted of ten matches, including three on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands,[6][7] with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live,[8] and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.[9]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Fabulous Truth (Carmella and R-Truth) defeated Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal) to win the second season of Mixed Match Challenge. Their prize for winning was each getting the #30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble matches at the pay-per-view.[10] In the weeks following TLC, multiple wrestlers were announced for both Rumble matches.[11][12]

At Crown Jewel, Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to regain the then-vacant Universal Championship, thanks in part to then-Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin.[13] At TLC, Strowman defeated Corbin in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, thus stripping Corbin of his authoritative power and earning a Universal Championship match against Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.[10] On the January 14 episode of Raw, Corbin confronted Strowman and insulted him, leading to a chase to the parking area where Corbin hid in a limousine. Strowman shattered the glass and broke the door off, only for WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to appear, revealing that was his limo. Mr. McMahon then fined Strowman $100,000. Strowman then argued with Mr. McMahon, who then cancelled his match with Lesnar. An angry Strowman proceeded to flip over the limo. Later that night, John Cena, Drew McIntyre, Corbin, and Finn Bálor expressed their interests in facing Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Mr. McMahon scheduled a fatal four-way match where the winner would face Lesnar, which Bálor won after defending his spot earlier in the night against Jinder Mahal. Due to this, Bálor was subsequently removed from the Royal Rumble match.[14]

At TLC, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship.[10] On the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, Styles earned another opportunity against Bryan at the Royal Rumble by defeating Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe in a fatal five-way match.[15]

At TLC, Asuka defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the SmackDown Women's Championship.[10] Following the event, The McMahon Family (Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H) decreed that champions would no longer have automatic rematch clauses, ruling Lynch out of a guaranteed rematch. After she, Flair, and Carmella all pleaded their cases for why they deserved a title opportunity on the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H scheduled a triple threat match between the three for the following week to determine Asuka's challenger at the Royal Rumble,[15] which was won by Lynch.[16]

At TLC, Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax.[10] On the January 7, 2019 episode of Raw, Rousey appeared on Alexa Bliss' interview segment, "A Moment of Bliss", and stated that she wanted to face Sasha Banks next, believing Banks to be a true test of her abilities. Jax interrupted, wanting a rematch against Rousey. Banks then came out and challenged Jax to a match in which the winner would face Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble, which Banks won.[17]

At Crown Jewel, Shane McMahon won the WWE World Cup, replacing The Miz in the finals, who was deemed unable to compete due to a pre-match brawl.[13] Following this, The Miz began a pursuit to form a tag team with Shane, claiming that they could be the best tag team in the world. Shane finally agreed to the pairing, and on the January 8, 2019 episode of SmackDown, Miz challenged The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble, and The Bar accepted.[16]

On the TLC Kickoff pre-show, Buddy Murphy retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander.[18] On the December 26, 2018 episode of 205 Live, General Manager Drake Maverick scheduled Murphy to defend the title at the Royal Rumble in a fatal four-way match with his opponents to be decided in qualifying matches.[19] The following week, Kalisto and Akira Tozawa qualified for the match by defeating Lio Rush and Drew Gulak, respectively.[20] Hideo Itami won the final spot by defeating Alexander. The match was scheduled for the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.[21]

On the December 25, 2018 episode of SmackDown, Rusev defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the United States Championship.[22] On the January 1, 2019 episode, while Rusev and his wife/manager Lana were celebrating the title win, Nakamura attacked Rusev with Lana also getting hurt in the scuffle.[15] On the January 15 episode, Rusev was scheduled to defend the title against Nakamura on the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.[23]

Event[]

Other on-screen personnel[24]
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole (Raw/Men's Royal Rumble match)
Corey Graves (Raw/SmackDown/both Royal Rumble matches)
Renee Young (Raw/Women's Royal Rumble match)
Tom Phillips (SmackDown/Women's Royal Rumble match)
Byron Saxton (SmackDown)
Vic Joseph (205 Live)
Nigel McGuinness (205 Live)
Aiden English (205 Live)
Jerry Lawler (Men's Royal Rumble match)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (Men's Royal Rumble match)
Beth Phoenix (Women's Royal Rumble match)
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodríguez
German commentators Carsten Schaefer
Tim Haber
Calvin Knie
Ring announcers Greg Hamilton (SmackDown/205 Live/Men's Royal Rumble match)
Mike Rome (Raw/Women's Royal Rumble match)
Referees Danilo Anfibio
Jason Ayers
Jessika Carr
Mike Chioda
John Cone
Dan Engler
Darrick Moore
Charles Robinson
Rod Zapata
Interviewers Charly Caruso
Kayla Braxton
Pre-show panel Jonathan Coachman
Beth Phoenix
Booker T
Jerry Lawler
Shawn Michaels
David Otunga
Pre-show correspondents Charly Caruso
John "Bradshaw" Layfield

Pre-show[]

Three matches were contested on the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.

In the first match, AOP manager Drake Maverick announced a tag team match between Raw Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode and Chad Gable and the team of Scott Dawson (of The Revival) and Rezar (of AOP), with both The Revival and AOP receiving a Raw Tag Team Championship match if they won. In the end, Roode and Gable performed a moonsault/neckbreaker combo on Dawson to win the match.

Next, Rusev defended the United States Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura. In the climax, Rusev's wife Lana stood on the ring apron to notify the referee of Nakamura removing the turnbuckle, which led to Nakamura staring her down. As Rusev attacked Nakamura, he accidentally knocked down his wife. Distracted, Nakamura took advantage and attacked Rusev with the "Kinshasa" to win the title for a second time.

The final match on the pre-show was the fatal four-way match in which Buddy Murphy defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa, Hideo Itami, and Kalisto. In the climax, Murphy performed "Murphy's Law" on Itami to retain the title.

Preliminary matches[]

The actual pay-per-view opened with Asuka defending the SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch. The climax saw Asuka counter a "Dis-Arm-Her" from Lynch into an inverted "Asuka Lock", which caused Lynch to submit and allowed Asuka to retain her championship.

In the second match, The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Miz and Shane McMahon. In the end, Sheamus inadvertently performed a "Brogue Kick" on Cesaro, before Miz performed a "Skull-Crushing Finale" on Sheamus. Shane then performed a shooting star press on Cesaro to win the title.

Next, Ronda Rousey defended the Raw Women's Championship against Sasha Banks. In the climax, Rousey performed the "Piper's Pit" on Banks after escaping the "Bank Statement", giving Rousey her first pinfall victory in the WWE and thus retaining the title.

The fourth match was the 30-woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 35. Lacey Evans, making her main roster debut, and Natalya began the match. NXT’s Xia Li, Kairi Sane, Candice LeRae, Kacy Catanzaro and Io Shirai and NXT UK’s Rhea Ripley were all surprise entrants at #11, #14, #17, #19, #23 and #24 respectively. Lana was scheduled to enter the match at number 28 but still suffered from her injury from the pre-show. Becky Lynch appeared as the 31st entrant in the match. In the end, Lynch then won the women's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Charlotte Flair.

After that, Daniel Bryan defended the WWE Championship against AJ Styles. In the climax, a returning Rowan appeared. Bryan then accidentally performed an enzuigiri on the referee. Styles performed a "Styles Clash" on Bryan but Rowan performed a Clawhold Slam on Styles. Bryan then pinned Styles to retain the title.

In the penultimate match, Brock Lesnar defended the Universal Championship against Finn Bálor. Bálor quickly took to the offense. In the climax, Bálor performed the "Coup de Grâce" on Lesnar for a near-fall. Lesnar then quickly transitioned the pin into a closed guard and applied a kimura lock, forcing Bálor to submit, thus retaining the title. After the match, Lesnar attacked Bálor with three German suplexes and an "F-5".

Main event[]

The main event was the 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 35. Elias began the match at number one and was interrupted by WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, entering the match at number 2. NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and Aleister Black were surprise entrants at #6, #18 and #21 respectively. As #30 entrant R-Truth made his entrance, he was attacked by Nia Jax, who took his spot and eliminated Mustafa Ali. Jax then received a superkick from Dolph Ziggler, a "619" from Rey Mysterio, and an "RKO" from Randy Orton before being eliminated by Mysterio. Jax became the fourth woman to enter a men's Royal Rumble match, the first person to compete in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches in the same night, and the first to score eliminations in both matches. In the end, Seth Rollins won the match by last eliminating Braun Strowman.

Aftermath[]

Raw[]

Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch were the winners of the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches, respectively

The following night on Raw, Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey issued an open challenge that was answered by Bayley. After retaining, women's Royal Rumble match winner Becky Lynch made her entrance and confronted Rousey. After recapping their rivalry that began at Survivor Series, Lynch chose to face Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 35.

Seth Rollins celebrated his Royal Rumble match victory. Triple H then came out and congratulated him, but said that Rollins needed to choose which champion he wanted to face at WrestleMania 35 by the end of the night. Backstage, Braun Strowman, the runner up in the Royal Rumble match, confronted Rollins and told him he "earned it", and to "make the right decision". Later, Rollins confronted Brock Lesnar. After an ensuing brawl, Rollins chose to face Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35.

Finn Bálor addressed his loss to Brock Lesnar, but stated that he made Lesnar believe that Bálor could win. Bálor was then confronted by Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley and his manager Lio Rush, and Lashley attacked Bálor.

SmackDown[]

On the following SmackDown, Becky Lynch addressed how everything had changed for her since winning the women's Royal Rumble match. Charlotte Flair then came out and congratulated Lynch and stated that although Lynch won, she was never truly in the match in the first place, and that Lynch would not be where she was at if it were not for Flair. An ensuing brawl broke out between Flair and Lynch until referees separated them.

As compensation for not being able to compete in the men's Royal Rumble match, R-Truth was granted a United States Championship match against new champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Truth defeated Nakamura to win the title, which led to Rusev coming out and declaring that Truth was not worthy of the title. Rusev then challenged Truth for the title, but was also defeated. After the match, Rusev turned heel and, along with Nakamura, attacked Truth.

Daniel Bryan, along with his new ally Rowan, revealed a new custom WWE Championship belt, made from hemp and wood. He was then interrupted by AJ Styles, which prompted Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, and Mustafa Ali to come out and challenge Bryan for the title. After an ensuing brawl, Triple H announced that Bryan would defend the title against the five at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view inside the Elimination Chamber. Ali, however, was replaced by Kofi Kingston after suffering an injury.

New SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and Shane McMahon celebrated their title win along with Miz's father. Later that night, The Usos defeated Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight), The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), and The New Day (represented by Big E and Kofi Kingston) to become the number one contenders for the titles at Elimination Chamber.

205 Live[]

This would be the only Royal Rumble to include the 205 Live brand, as in September, 205 Live merged under NXT.[25] Also at that time, NXT was elevated to WWE's third main brand, and its championships, the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, became eligible choices for the Rumble winners at future events.[26]

Results[]

No. Results Stipulations Times[27][3]
1P Bobby Roode and Chad Gable defeated Scott Dawson and Rezar (with Drake Maverick) by pinfall Tag team match[28]
Had Dawson and Rezar won, both The Revival and AOP would have received a Raw Tag Team Championship match
6:55
2P Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev (c) (with Lana) by pinfall Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[29] 10:15
3P Buddy Murphy (c) defeated Kalisto, Akira Tozawa, and Hideo Itami by pinfall Fatal four-way match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship[30] 12:05
4 Asuka (c) defeated Becky Lynch by submission Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[31] 17:10
5 The Miz and Shane McMahon defeated The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) (c) by pinfall Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[32] 13:20
6 Ronda Rousey (c) defeated Sasha Banks by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[33] 13:55
7 Becky Lynch won by last eliminating Charlotte Flair 30-woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 35[34] 1:12:00
8 Daniel Bryan (c) defeated AJ Styles by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Championship[35] 24:35
9 Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Finn Bálor by submission Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship[36] 8:40
10 Seth Rollins won by last eliminating Braun Strowman 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 35[37] 57:35
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show

Women's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations[]

  – Raw
  – SmackDown
  – 205 Live
  – NXT
  – NXT UK
  – Unbranded
  – Winner
Draw Entrant Brand/Status Order Eliminated by Time[34] Elimination(s)
1 Lacey Evans Unbranded 11 Charlotte Flair 29:20 2
2 Natalya Raw 23 Nia Jax 56:01 2
3 Mandy Rose SmackDown 9 Naomi 25:50 1
4 Liv Morgan Raw 1 Natalya 00:08 0
5 Mickie James Raw 2 Tamina 11:38 0
6 Ember Moon Raw 24 Alexa Bliss 52:10 0
7 Billie Kay SmackDown 4 Lacey Evans 09:25 1
8 Nikki Cross Unbranded 3 Billie Kay and Peyton Royce 09:00 0
9 Peyton Royce SmackDown 5 Lacey Evans 08:38 1
10 Tamina Raw 7 Charlotte Flair 08:22 1
11 Xia Li NXT 6 Charlotte Flair 04:48 0
12 Sarah Logan Raw 8 Natalya and Kairi Sane 05:38 0
13 Charlotte Flair SmackDown 29 Becky Lynch 50:01 5
14 Kairi Sane NXT 15 Ruby Riott 17:00 1
15 Maria Kanellis 205 Live 12 Alicia Fox 08:12 0
16 Naomi SmackDown 10 Mandy Rose * 01:28 1
17 Candice LeRae NXT 14 Ruby Riott 09:35 0
18 Alicia Fox Raw 13 Ruby Riott 06:55 1
19 Kacy Catanzaro NXT 16 Rhea Ripley 10:45 0
20 Zelina Vega SmackDown 18 Rhea Ripley 11:42 0
21 Ruby Riott Raw 20 Bayley 13:08 3
22 Dana Brooke Raw 17 Rhea Ripley 07:17 0
23 Io Shirai NXT 22 Nia Jax 13:21 0
24 Rhea Ripley NXT UK 21 Bayley 07:55 3
25 Sonya Deville SmackDown 19 Alexa Bliss 04:26 0
26 Alexa Bliss Raw 25 Bayley and Carmella 12:59 2
27 Bayley Raw 27 Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair 14:27 3
28 Becky Lynch ** SmackDown Winner 13:20 2
29 Nia Jax Raw 28 Becky Lynch 11:59 3
30 Carmella SmackDown 26 Charlotte Flair 07:12 1

(*) - Mandy Rose was already eliminated when she eliminated Naomi.

(**) - Lana came out as the #28 entrant, but a storyline ankle injury suffered on the pre-show kept her from competing. Becky Lynch was allowed to take her spot.

Men's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations[]

 Raw
 SmackDown
 NXT
 NXT UK
 Hall of Famer (HOF)
  – Winner
Draw Entrant Brand/
Status
Order Eliminated by Time[37] Elimination(s)
1 Elias Raw 5 Seth Rollins 15:07 1
2 Jeff Jarrett HOF 1 Elias 01:20 0
3 Shinsuke Nakamura SmackDown 8 Mustafa Ali 17:46 1
4 Kurt Angle Raw/HOF 2 Shinsuke Nakamura 03:15 0
5 Big E SmackDown 4 Samoa Joe 06:01 0
6 Johnny Gargano NXT 9 Dean Ambrose 13:50 1
7 Jinder Mahal Raw 3 Johnny Gargano 00:30 0
8 Samoa Joe SmackDown 14 Mustafa Ali 24:05 3
9 Curt Hawkins Raw 7 Samoa Joe 04:09 1
10 Seth Rollins Raw Winner 43:00 3
11 Titus O'Neil Raw 6 Curt Hawkins 00:05 0
12 Kofi Kingston SmackDown 12 Drew McIntyre 08:53 0
13 Mustafa Ali SmackDown 23 Nia Jax 30:05 2
14 Dean Ambrose Raw 13 Aleister Black 14:42 1
15 No Way Jose Raw 10 Samoa Joe 00:02 0
16 Drew McIntyre Raw 22 Dolph Ziggler and Braun Strowman 20:06 4
17 Xavier Woods SmackDown 11 Drew McIntyre 00:03 0
18 Pete Dunne NXT UK 17 Drew McIntyre 11:13 0
19 Andrade SmackDown 27 Braun Strowman 26:30 1
20 Apollo Crews Raw 15 Baron Corbin 05:47 0
21 Aleister Black NXT 16 Baron Corbin 06:09 1
22 Shelton Benjamin SmackDown 20 Braun Strowman 09:21 0
23 Baron Corbin Raw 19 Braun Strowman 07:19 2
24 Jeff Hardy SmackDown 21 Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre 07:55 0
25 Rey Mysterio SmackDown 25 Randy Orton 12:30 1
26 Bobby Lashley Raw 18 Seth Rollins 00:13 0
27 Braun Strowman Raw 29 14:37 6
28 Dolph Ziggler Raw 28 Braun Strowman 11:34 1
29 Randy Orton SmackDown 26 Andrade 06:00 1
30 Nia Jax * Raw 24 Rey Mysterio 03:11 1

(*) - Nia Jax attacked the #30 entrant, R-Truth, and took his spot.

Notes[]

  1. ^ According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE's figure was false and the total audience was only slightly above 40,000.

References[]

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External links[]

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