5 Things WWE subtly told us at the Royal Rumble 2022: Superstar to turn face and dethrone Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania, Huge change to Brock Lesnar's character?

Royal Rumble 2022 is in the history books, which means that the road to WrestleMania 38 has officially begun. It's time for the most exciting period of the wrestling calendar year, and to start things, WWE put out an excellent show.

Overall, it was one of the better Royal Rumble events in recent years, with 2020 arguably being slightly better. But apart from a few hiccups, the show delivered with some excellent matches.

The subtle messages at the premium live event have direct consequences for WrestleMania 38, which is why we won't waste much time in telling you what was hinted at on an epic night:

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#5. Seth Rollins' character change at Royal Rumble

Bobby Lashley recently called Roman Reigns the best storyteller in wrestling today, and it's hard to argue that point. Everything from his facial expressions to body language to promos signal that there are few better than him. While there might be wrestlers on the planet who are better on a technical level, few can get the same reactions out of the crowd as Reigns.

And the 2022 Royal Rumble was the perfect example of that. The show surprisingly opened with the Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins Universal title match, and the two men proved that they have natural chemistry in the ring together.

As expected, it was complete fireworks in the ring as they had a match that perhaps surpassed their incredible bout at Money in the Bank 2016. There were several throwback moments, but watching Reigns' expression and body language change as Rollins entered to The Shield's music (through the crowd, no less) was priceless.

There was a subtle throwback moment to Money in the Bank 2016 when Seth Rollins countered a spear into an impromptu pedigree. It didn't put Roman Reigns away this time around, but the near-falls were only one among many things that made the match so incredible.

The Visionary won via disqualification when Reigns refused to let go of the guillotine choke while Rollins had his hand on the ropes. Referee Charles Robinson called a stop to the contest.

Post-match, The Tribal Chief took a steel chair and repeatedly slammed Seth Rollins in yet another throwback to The Shield. It seemed to signal a Rollins face turn, but the only question is why WWE would go with that finish if the intent wasn't to continue the feud.

Either way, it's a welcome character change for Seth Rollins, who has been a heel for more than two years. He could be the man to dethrone Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

#4. Bobby Lashley's triumph at Royal Rumble and what it means

Bobby Lashley faced Brock Lesnar in a dream match at Royal Rumble, and if you haven't watched it already, we highly recommend you do. The clash of the two titans delivered in a big way, and the events that unfolded will directly impact the two main matches of WrestleMania 38.

Lesnar and Lashley had moments where they were evenly matched, and they were getting the better of one another on different occasions. However, the former hit the defining F-5, only to accidentally knock the referee out in the process.

This allowed Roman Reigns to swoop in, and Paul Heyman handed him the WWE title to attack Brock Lesnar, turning heel again and re-aligning with The Tribal Chief.

It was an epic moment that allowed Bobby Lashley to controversially dethrone The Beast Incarnate, making his ninth WWE Championship reign his shortest one.

Lashley enters the road to WrestleMania as the WWE Champion yet again, but what this could possibly mean is that the funny, goofy Lesnar character is officially done and that we're going to see a more serious, intense side of him once again.

#3. The several subtle and not-so-subtle moments of the Women's Royal Rumble

We witnessed the fifth women's Royal Rumble this year, and it got a mixed reception. The headline moment, of course, was the return of "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey after nearly three years to win the Women's Royal Rumble match.

Another headline moment was the return of Mickie James, who is the current and reigning IMPACT Knockouts Champion. It felt like a fever dream watching the legend return with her title and being acknowledged as the IMPACT Knockouts Champion.

James was even given a good run at the Rumble, lasting for a while before being eliminated by Lita - the woman she retired back in 2006.

Some other subtle moments from the Women's Royal Rumble included Naomi eliminating Sonya Deville to continue their feud, the Rhea Ripley-Nikki A.S.H. interactions, and Mickie James eliminating her old bitter rival Michelle McCool, and her being eliminated by Lita before the commentators made the "making an impact line".

Brie Bella even eliminated Nikki Bella in a moment of revenge from the first Women's Royal Rumble in 2018. It should be noted that there were a total of nine mothers competing in the 30-woman contest, which is quite an impressive stat in itself.

As for the subtle message sent from Ronda Rousey winning the Rumble, we'll get to that next. Bianca Belair being the Iron Woman of the match was an indication that she will still be the priority going forward, but just not right now.

#2. Becky Lynch and the road to WrestleMania after Royal Rumble

Becky Lynch's road to WrestleMania began at Royal Rumble as she looked to retain the RAW Women's title against Doudrop - a huge threat. The two may have only started interacting on-screen this month, but in reality, the two women are veterans with more than three decades of combined experience.

In a match years in the making, Doudrop was a part of one of the best RAW Women's title matches we've seen in a while as she took Lynch to the limit. The finish saw Big Time Becks hit the Manhandle slam from the turnbuckles to secure the pinfall.

Now this begs the question - what lies ahead for her on the road to WrestleMania? It seems as though a one-on-one match against Ronda Rousey could be the direction we see. It was originally supposed to happen at Survivor Series 2018, but the circumstances led to the bout being changed.

It's the most must-see women's match in all of wrestling today, and what better stage to do it than in front of 100,000 fans at WrestleMania 38.

#1. Brock Lesnar's Royal Rumble win and the somewhat predictable road ahead

Royal Rumble and how it was handled was always going to shape the major WrestleMania matches. One match that fans were well aware was happening was another clash between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

Unfortunately, this year's Men's Rumble was slightly disappointing. There were a complete lack of surprises, except for Drew McIntyre. Admittedly, WWE did a good job of keeping that under wraps.

But a lot of the eliminations felt much too quick, and Austin Theory didn't go as far in the Rumble as many had expected him to. He still had a respectable performance, however. There wasn't also much in the way of building feuds.

Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon made up a couple of more (non) surprise appearances, with the former impressing in the ring once again.

However, the winner was never in question. Lesnar was always going to be No.30, and he entered from the final spot to go on and win the Royal Rumble for the second time.

In doing so, he joins Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Edge in an elite list of superstars to win the Royal Rumble match twice. It seemed inevitable that he was going to win it at some point.

WWE subtly, or not-so-subtly confirmed that Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns will be the main event of WrestleMania 38.

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