Rhea Ripley was both the winner and MVP of the Women’s Royal Rumble. Ripley started at number 1 and lasted longer than any woman in Royal Rumble history, most recently eliminating No. 2 competitor Liv Morgan to win the match. It was a good Royal Rumble match, despite the questionable decision to only have Becky Lynch on for a short time.
The Women’s Royal Rumble had a quiet opening segment. Ripley was a key player surrounded by the field of Morgan, Dana Brooke and Emma. Bayley and Shayna Baszler were welcome additions but didn’t do much initially.
B-Fab was the first elimination, lasting just over 30 seconds before Ripley knocked her out. NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez received a nice reaction as she entered. She was followed by Bayley’s teammate Dakota Kai and then Iyo Sky, making Damage CTRL the dominant force in the Rumble.
Damage CTRL quickly eliminated Dana Brooke, Emma and Roxanne Perez. Baszler had a hilarious exchange with Natalya that ended with both getting knocked out by Damage CTRL. Natalya had Baszler on the apron, but Baszler locked her in the sleeper hold. Damage CTRL flipped Natayla onto the apron, eliminating her and Baszler.
As Damage CTRL ruled the ring, Big Time Becks entered at number 15. The crowd immediately came alive with “Becky!” chants and loud ovations. The numbers game eventually got the best of Lynch, who was laid out by the trio at the announcer’s table. (No one was eliminated here as they exited the ring via the middle rope.)
It’s no surprise that the crowd adored Lynch. A little surprising was the massive pop they gave Asuka. Asuka came out with a painted face and much darker clothing. She had a big storm of offense, suplexing and hitting the whole field and getting big “Asuka” chants. She only has one elimination by defeating Tegan Knox. (Just moments before, there was an awkward moment when Tegan Knox missed a kick entirely, but Asuka sold it anyway.)
At No. 19, Piper Niven, formerly known as Doudrop, entered. She got it all ready and looked better than ever here as Doudrop before Tamina came in in 20th place. One of the announcers said their clash was the one people had been waiting for, a very odd claim.
Their one-off showdown was interrupted by Lynch, for whom the crowd erupted again. Chelsea Green was next and the announcers made a big deal about her return to the company – just before she was promptly eliminated by Rhea Ripley.
That was the first in a series of major eliminations. Lynch threw both Kai and Sky out, but was then surprised by Bayley, who threw them out of the ring to massive heat from the crowd. Bayley was then eliminated himself by Morgan. Lynch then hit the crowd with Damage CTRL.
There was a cute spot that had Michalle McCool’s music playing at entrance #25. McCool was ringside watching the show with her kids, after which she unzipped her jacket and hopped over the barricade and into the ring. She immediately hit a Styles Clash, a nod to her husband’s last opponent.
Lacey Evans brutally eliminated Zelina Vega and pinned her in a Cobra clutch from the second rope. She lifted Vega up and over the rope and dropped her off the turnbuckle onto the ground outside.
The ring was filled with nearly a dozen women when No. 30 was about to enter. Sure enough, the final contestant is Nia Jax – an irresistible force that could eliminate this crowd. By the way, the production team screwed up their performance and hit their music before the countdown clock even started ticking.
Except that Nia Jax didn’t eliminate exactly anyone – instead, all women ganged up against her. They blitzed her with big strokes and ended up with Ripley hitting her with a (weak) Riptide.
From here there was a series of quick eliminations, with Asuka, Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez all making eliminations. Rodriguez almost powered Ripley out of the ring, but Ripley countered and sent Rodriguez flying. The last three went to Ripley and Morgan, who started the match, and Asuka.
All three women quickly landed on the apron. Asuka tried to spray mist at Ripley, but Ripley ducked so the mist sprayed Morgan instead. Ripley hit a sweet 619 to knock Asuka out of the way, then eliminated Morgan to win the rumble.
Rating: 3.5 stars. Still buggy and needs more star power, but possibly the best Women’s Royal Rumble yet.