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The 35th annual WWE Royal Rumble Premium Live Event took place last night, and along with it came some exhilarating action and newsworthy stories.
In front of a reported 44,390 fans at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, WWE kickstarted the road to WrestleMania 38. The WWE Universe made plenty of noise throughout the night, adding to the edge-of-the-seat in-ring action.
Fans lapped up every moment as last year's event took place behind closed doors due to the pandemic, but it didn't hinder the company's efforts this year. However, they did have restrictions and guidelines in place for those attending.
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The annual 30-Man Rumble Match took place along with the 30-Woman Rumble Match, a tradition ever since 2018. Of course, the winners of both contests earn a championship opportunity at WrestleMania. The stakes were high.
WWE had several other feuds heading into the event, including Edge & Beth Phoenix in a soap opera-style storyline with The Miz & Maryse. RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch also squared off against a new challenger in Doudrop.
The Universal Championship was on the line to kick off the event as Roman Reigns faced Seth Rollins – who came out to The Shield's music – in a highly emotional affair. Plus, Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley.
That being said, let's take a look at the five biggest news stories from the 2022 Royal Rumble.
#5. More WWE legends returned at the Royal Rumble
In the weeks leading up to the Rumble event, WWE announced several entrants for the women's over-the-top-rope contest. The names included The Bella Twins, Lita, Summer Rae, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, and IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James. However, more legends and former superstars returned in the men's and women's Rumble matches.
On the women's side of things, Melina, Alicia Fox, Mighty Molly, Ivory, Cameron, and Sarah Logan all returned. Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon returned in the men's over-the-top-rope match.
Drew McIntyre, who was taken out of action at WWE Day 1, also made a comeback as surgery wouldn't be required on his neck. Another major former name returned, but we'll get to that later in the article.
#4. The WrestleMania sign in the venue caught fire during the Royal Rumble event
One of the most notable and scariest moments came during the RAW Women's Championship match between Becky Lynch and Doudrop.
Fans may have noticed something occurring off-screen they were unable to see. This was the huge WrestleMania sign at the venue catching fire moments after the pyro was used.
People sitting directly underneath were evacuated, and the sign was lowered. The fire was eventually put out, and the sign was once again up later in the show.
#3. Roman Reigns costs Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship, reuniting with Paul Heyman at Royal Rumble
Roman Reigns kicked off WWE Royal Rumble facing Seth Rollins. The Universal Championship was on the line in the emotionally-charged contest.
However, the match ended via disqualification when the champion wouldn't let go of a submission applied to Rollins. After the match, Roman proceeded to batter Seth with a steel chair, letting out all of his anger.
Later in the night, Roman Reigns reappeared during the Brock Lesnar-Bobby Lashley match for the WWE Championship. In a shocking twist, Paul Heyman handed him the WWE Championship, which he then used to strike Brock Lesnar. This allowed Lashley to take advantage and become a two-time champion.
Does this mean that Roman and Paul Heyman were in cahoots all along? I guess we'll find out later this week.
#2. After his WWE title defeat, Brock Lesnar won the Men's Royal Rumble Match
As you can imagine, Brock Lesnar wasn't happy with how his Royal Rumble match ended.
So what was the next best thing? Enter the Men's Rumble Match. He did so as entrant #30 and eliminated Drew McIntyre – winning his second ever Rumble match – to clinch a world title main event match at WrestleMania.
Brock will now look for revenge on the Universal Champion Roman Reigns to set up a blockbuster showdown in Dallas.
#1. Ronda Rousey returns and wins the Women's Royal Rumble Match
Before the Royal Rumble event, rumors were circulating that Ronda Rousey was to return. It added excitement and intrigue to know whether the former RAW Women's Champion would show up at the event.
Indeed, she did, entering the Women's Rumble Match at #28, blowing the roof off the venue, and eliminating SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to claim her spot at WrestleMania. It was also announced that Ronda will appear on RAW this coming Monday.
Ronda looked like she hadn't missed a beat and will now add star power to WWE heading into their biggest show of the year.
2022 Royal Rumble results
- Seth Rollins def. Roman Reigns (c) via disqualification, but Roman Reigns retained the Universal Championship
- Ronda Rousey won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble match to earn a championship match at WrestleMania
- Becky Lynch (c) def. Doudrop to retain the RAW Women's Championship
- Bobby Lashley def. Brock Lesnar (c) to win the WWE Championship
- Edge & Beth Phoenix def. The Miz and Maryse
- Brock Lesnar won the 30-Man Royal Rumble match to earn a championship match at WrestleMania
