On Saturday, January 29, WWE held its first major PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble. For more than three decades, the wrestling promotion has been producing this show, and the 2022 event featured some dynamite matches, one great Rumble match, and one terrible one. We saw two surprise entrants–who are both also former UFC fighters–win this year with Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar. Take a look below at all the results and a review of every match from the evening.
There were plenty of surprises over the course of the evening that got people talking. While promoting Jackass Forever, Johnny Knoxville entered the Rumble in hopes of taking down everyone in the WWE–that didn’t plan out for him, but it was a lot of fun. The women’s Royal Rumble match was full of fun moments and big surprises. We also got to see Impact’s Knockouts Champion Mickie James enter the rumble, which is a pretty big deal.
Impact Knockouts Champion @MickieJames is overwhelmed with emotion after her appearance in the 2022 #RoyalRumble Match! pic.twitter.com/iOhsmFpP3e
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2022
This year’s event took place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. And yes, a PPV happened on a Saturday again–probably because there are two NFL championship games on Sunday. If you want to watch a replay of the 2022 Royal Rumble, you can watch it on Peacock. While Peacock has a free tier, you will not be able to watch the WWE event through that. you’ll need a Premium ($5 a month, with ads) or Premium Plus Peacock ($10 a month, no ads) account. Regardless of which tier you choose, there will be a few WWE-related ads throughout the show.
There are multiple ways to watch Peacock. Aside from watching it on mobile devices and on the PC, Amazon Fire devices, Android TV, Apple TV, LG Smart TVs, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xfinity, and more.
As for the actual match card, at first glance, it seemed pretty thin; however, that was because there were two Royal Rumble matches and they each took about an hour to complete. Check out the match card below, which had three title matches lined up.
Royal Rumble 2022 match card:
- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobby Lashley (WWE Championship)
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins (Universal Championship)
- Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz & Maryse
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop (Raw Women’s Championship)
- 30-Man Royal Rumble Match
- 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match
Believe it or not, but there is no preshow match, which is a first for WWE since they started doing these Kickoff Shows.
Main Card
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins
(Universal Championship)
Rollins wins by DQ.
Mat: First off, no Kickoff Show match
But hey, Seth “Freakin'” Rollins came to the ring in his SHIELD gear, through the crowd, with the music, and it’s my favorite thing in wrestling this year that doesn’t involve someone that is very nice and very evil. He should have dyed half his head blonde though, for real.
This is the best version of both these wrestlers. Rollins has always been a cocky heel but this is to a new level, and his overconfidence during this bout is magnetic. Reigns continues to be an arrogant powerhouse, and it’s incredibly fitting. It’s a heel vs. heel match, and I have no idea who to root for, but I’m enjoying the hell out of it regardless. That spear into a pedigree spot had me marking out hard, like a 7 year old.
Typically, a DQ ending would be a bit annoying as WWE tends to go that route pretty often, but it makes sense for this match. In fact, it’s the perfect fit for this match. Reigns vs. Rollins was a banger and Rollins finally got into Reigns’ head, so of course, Reigns goes to a place where he blows the match for himself, but still keeps the title.
9/10
Chris: Can we just, for a second, reflect on Roman Reigns? When Mat and I started reviewing WWE shows together, we were both bored, annoyed, and frustrated with that performer. Now he’s consistently in the top two or three characters in WWE–and often times all of professional wrestling. What a turnaround.
And BLESS Seth Rollins for doing a full-on SHIELD entrance just to screw with Roman. Watching him saunter down the aisles like only he can is flat out magical.
Starting the show with this match is a big gamble because, on paper, it’s maybe the most exciting match of the show that isn’t a Rumble. But given that this is one of the strongest cards WWE has put together in recent memory, it’s super exciting.
To put it simply, this match rocked. And what made it extra special is that there were moments where it genuinely looked like Seth would become Universal Champion. I feel like we all know that’s not going to happen, but I was convinced more than once it could. It’s strange because Seth is a heel, but I love him so much ,and the character he’s evolved into that I honestly think he could be the biggest babyface in WWE with practically no changes. Especially if he keeps laughing at his opponents as they ebay him up.
I, honestly, can’t even say the finish of this match bugs me because it’s such good storytelling. Seth’s mind games on Roman worked, getting the better of him. I love it, seriously. Even the post-match reenactment of Seth’s turning on the SHIELD (with the roles reversed). This is so compelling and now I just want to see them fight again, so mission accomplished.
9/10
Women’s Royal Rumble
Entrants listed below in order:
- Sasha Banks
- Melina
- Tamina
- Kelly Kelly
- Aliyah
- Liv Morgan
- Queen Zelina
- Bianca Belair
- Dana Brooke
- Michelle McCool
- Sonya Deville
- Natalya
- Cameron
- Naomi
- Carmella
- Rhea Ripley
- Charlotte Flair
- Ivory
- Brie Bella
- Mickie James
- Alicia Fox
- Nikki A.S.H.
- Summer Rae
- Nikki Bella
- Sarah Logan
- Lita
- Mighty Molly
- Ronda Rousey
- Shotzi
- Shayna Baszler
Ronda Rousey wins.
Mat: Please forgive me if I don’t type a lot during this match because I’m also keeping track of all the entrants as they come out–which you probably saw above. We saw the first Impact star, Melina, enter the match, but she got eliminated quickly. I’m sitting here just waiting for Mickie James, as I’m a huge fan of hers.
Anyway, the time between entrants seems to be really quick. So, I’m going to time a couple, just to make sure. 2 minutes between Cameron and Naomi. 1 minute and 22 seconds between Naomi and Carmella. 1 minute and 55 seconds between Carmella and Rhea Ripley. 2 minutes and 2 seconds between Ripley and Charlotte Flair. You get the point.
Sonya ripping Naomi out of the ring and eliminating her was a fantastic spot. It’s completely unexpected. By the way, 2 minutes and 50 seconds between Charlotte and Ivory. A lot has happened that made me happy. Ivory came down in her Right to Censor gear–and entrance theme–and Mickie James came out with the Knockouts title and her Impact music. Then Ronda Rousey. This is the most fun I’ve had watching a Rumble in a while. I was not a fan of Rousey winning the Rumble match though. I like her, but this one just didn’t sit extremely well with me.
8/10
Chris: Honestly, Rumble matches in general are great. Women’s Rumble matches rule extra hard because we get to see faces from the past that are more than welcome (Hey Melina). I like that there are stories being told in this match, including the ongoing saga between Naomi and Sonya DeVille and Charlotte viewing herself as king of the world, entering the match just because… I’m also genuinely surprised and pleased to see Michelle McCool last so long.
It’s hard to get through everything happening, so allow me to hit some personal highlights.
- Mickie James getting a Hardcore Country entrance with the Impact Knockouts title
- The one night only return of Right to Censor
- Seeing the Bellas come out of retirement
- Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair being awesome as always
- The sort of reunion of the Riott Squad
- Mighty Molly and Nikki ASH being born to feud
- Ronda’s return was fun
- My prediction on Wrestle Buddies being correct.
Seriously, what a fun match and, honestly, one of the best Royal Rumbles of all time. There were no dull spots, plenty of fun surprises, and a clear picture of what the build toward Wrestlemania is going to be like. What more can you ask for?
9/10
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop
(Raw Women’s Championship)
Becky Lynch wins by pin.
Mat: Full fun disclosure, I had to put my son to bed and I’m working on another editorial for the site, so my attention wasn’t fully focused on this match, sadly. I can’t rate it because of this, but I’m very happy Becky Lynch retained her title.
NA/10
Chris: I didn’t know what to expect from this match, other than for it to be a hard-hitting affair–and it was. It, unfortunately, followed the Women’s Rumble, which tired the audience out. So the huge pops you might be expecting for roughly everything Becky Lynch ever does just wasn’t there. Instead, there was a constant dull roar that comes with shows inside stadiums.
It was a great match, though, with Becky finally being in the role of underdog as Doudrop worked hard to flatten the champion and make her mark on WWE. We don’t get to see Becky in this role usually, but it was so refreshing to see another side of Big Time Becks. I love that she had to change up her gameplay to find a way to hold onto her title. This isn’t match of the night (or even the best we’ve seen so far), but this was far more entertaining than I expected.
7.5/10
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
(WWE Championship)
Bobby Lashley wins by pin.
Mat: Bork Laser didn’t come to the ring with a cowboy hat. I’m done. Screw this. It’s over. Bobby wins. This is a match featuring two beefy boys, tossing each other around. It was slow, and grueling, and while it looked sloppy at times, it was the match you wanted out of this.
Then, Roman Reigns showed up and Paul Heyman turned on Laser. I’ll let Chris talk more about that. This ended in the best way possible–for me. Lesnar is on track to take on Reigns at Mania, and there’s a really good storyline set up. The only thing missing was Bork Laser in a cowboy hat.
8/10
Chris: Why was Brock’s nose bleeding before the match? What shenanigans was he getting into with the Jackass gang backstage? Watching these two beefy boys throw each other around was great, but some of those suplexes from Lesnar to Lashley looked wildly sloppy.
I want to note I called the exact ending of that match, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Heyman back with Reigns, Lashley with the WWE Championship, and a date at Wrestlemania between Brock and Roman imminent. This is great storytelling on many levels and has me reinvigorated for both Raw and Smackdown heading into Wrestlemania. The match was fine–it was two massive dudes kicking the crap out of each other–but the bigger story is what matters here and it’s awesome.
7/10
Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz & Maryse
Edge and Beth Phoenix win by pin.
Mat: No Brood entrance, but Beth Phoenix is looking more and more like Luna Vachon, so I’m in. Miz and Maryse are the perfect comical heel team. They’re always looking to get one up on the faces, and many times, it goes wrong. This match was much more fun than it needed to be, with some great teamwork between the couples. It was a nice, fun filler, before we get to the men’s Royal Rumble match.
7.5/10
Chris: We didn’t get Beth Phoenix’s entrance song, so I’m deducting a star. I am all in on the Shield-maiden look Beth Phoenix is rocking these days, and the Luna Vachon-esque makeup she has only enhances it. That said, the best part was seeing her kick the snot out of The Miz, who is the greatest pest heel of all time.
This match was the right length, had the right winners, and featured some very entertaining moments (mostly Beth and Edge working together, doing a double spear and dueling Glam Slams). This was a blast.
8/10
Men’s Royal Rumble
Entrants listed below in order:
- AJ Styles
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Austin Theory
- Robert Roode
- Ridge Holland
- Montez Ford
- Damian Priest
- Sami Zayn
- Johnny Knoxville
- Angelo Dawkins
- Omos
- Ricochet
- Chad Gable
- Dominik Mysterio
- Happy Corbin
- Dolph Ziggler
- Sheamus
- Rick Boogs
- Madcap Moss
- Matt Riddle
- Drew McIntyre
- Kevin Owens
- Rey Mysterio
- Kofi Kingston
- Otis
- Big E
- Bad Bunny
- Shane McMahon
- Randy Orton
- Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar wins
Mat: The pop for Johnny Knoxville from the audience was great, and his whole spot in the Rumble is the perfect way to have a celebrity involved. It was a really fun spot, and I’d love to see more stuff like that in WWE in general. Is he just promoting a movie? Sure. Did it make me smile? Yep. That’s what matters.
Sadly, this match is barely keeping my attention. Nothing surprising or wild is happening. It’s just a bland battle royal. And eventually, the surprises came. I was happy to see Bad Bunny. But that was it. Bork Laser winning this was dumb. He already has a path to a Wrestlemania match against Roman Reigns. You don’t need to double down with a Rumble win to get him there. Someone else should have won so you have two title matches to promote leading into Mania. Sure, seeing him get the validation and tossing people around was enjoyable, but it was pointless. This is one of my least favorite rumble matches ever.
4/10
Chris: As with the women’s Rumble, I’m going to keep a running list of thoughts because, honestly, it’s what’s easiest for a bout like this.
- I’m surprised Nakamura didn’t last longer.
- Johnny Knoxville’s stay was short but the crowd absolutely loved him.
- I understand why WWE wants Omos to be a headliner, but he’s not there yet.
- The men’s Rumble didn’t have the fun factor of the women’s match. The surprises were few and far between. At the end of a long night, that’s rough.
- Drew McIntyre is “back,” but I actually had no idea he was gone. Do with that what you will.
- Kevin Owens stomping on Riddle’s foot was perfection. This should happen all the time.
- The streak of Kofi defying elimination is over. This is worse than the time ‘Taker got beat at Wrestlemania.
- Bad Bunny hit a Canadian Destroyer on Riddle. And he eliminated Sheamus. Good for him, man.
- Shane McMahon’s return is both hilarious and perfect. Why is he back? Who knows, who cares. We welcome it as a society.
- Shane looks winded from running to the ring.
- Brock Lesnar being in the Rumble is rather predictable. Watching Bad Bunny step up to him, though, is excellent.
After the outcome of the WWE Championship match, the writing was on the wall. This was going to be a showcase win for Brock to set up a match with Roman Reigns. It’s not the predictable outcome that hurt this match, though. After a stellar women’s Rumble, this one just felt stale. There were no exciting NXT call ups, very few surprises, and little to get excited about. What a lackluster way to end the show.
5.5/10
Source: Gamespot
