WWE Royal Rumble 2019: Report Card

The Royal Rumble pay per view took place on January 27, 2019, starting at 7 PM on the WWE Network (and at 5 PM on the Kickoff Show).

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The match card included Raw Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode & Chad Gable against Scott Dawson of the Revival and Rezar of the AOP, Rusev defending the United States Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura, Buddy Murphy defending the Cruiserweight Championship against Kalisto, Hideo Itami, and Akira Tozawa.

Becky Lynch challenged Asuka for the Smackdown Women's Championship, the unique team of The Miz and Shane McMahon challenging the Bar for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles and Daniel Bryan defending the WWE Championship against AJ Styles once again.

Ronda Rousey was challenged by Sasha Banks for the Raw Women's Championship and Brock Lesnar defended the Universal Championship against Finn Balor.

The Men's Royal Rumble match and the Women's Royal Rumble match also produced some exciting moments.

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Non-Title Match: Raw Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs Rezar & Scott Dawson

If Scott Dawson & Rezar got the win, both the AOP & the Revival would receive future opportunities

Result: Bobby Roode & Chad Gable defeated Rezar and Scott Dawson via pinfall when Chad Gable pinned Scott Dawson after a Neckbreaker/Diving Moonsault Combo.

Grade: C-

Analysis: This match had an interesting concept. However, this match was not given enough time. This match was never able to kick into second gear which resulted in a pretty textbook affair.

It was nice to see these men on the show as that was Bobby Roode & Chad Gable's first appearance on pay per view as Raw Tag Team Champions. It was obvious that there was going to be tension between Rezar and Scott Dawson.

It resulted in Dawson accidentally hitting Rezar with a missile dropkick. It is nice to see Rezar appear on pay per view even though his partner Akam is injured.

It probably would have been better for Bobby Roode and Chad Gable to defend the Raw Tag Team Titles against the Revival once again because it would have been a better match.

It is frustrating to see a member of the Revival take a pinfall loss once again but at the very least, WWE is trying to protect AOP. Hopefully, the rumors of WWE showing more care towards the tag team division are true.

United States Championship: Rusev (c.) (w./ Lana) vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Rusev had his first title defense as United States Champion

Result: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev to regain the United States Championship via pinfall with a Kinshasa to the back of the neck.

Grade: B

Analysis: These two Superstars have pretty good chemistry with each other as even though they have had many matches with each other, each one ranges from good to great.

This was another great match that really did well to highlight Shinsuke Nakamura's mind games and savvy technical wrestling skills. Shinsuke Nakamura had a really cool and smooth transition of a cross armbar into a triangle choke into a guillotine choke.

Rusev then countered that into a jackhammer and it really seemed like he had the Artist beat. However, The Artist would keep fighting. Shinsuke Nakamura also looks like a great heel because he intentionally enranged Lana so that Rusev would accidentally knock her off of the apron.

It was nice to see a surprise title change and hopefully, Shinsuke Nakamura's second United States Championship reign is better than his first.

Although, one must wonder what will happen to Rusev because the automatic rematch clause is no more. It is sort of crazy to think that in one year, Shinsuke Nakamura went from winning the Royal Rumble match to wrestling on the kickoff show.

Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy (c.) vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto

This match was the main event of the kickoff show

Result: Buddy Murphy defeated Kalisto, Akira Tozawa, and Hideo Itami to retain the Cruiserweight Championship via pinfall when Buddy Murphy pinned Hideo Itami with Murphy's Law.

Grade: A-

Analysis: This was a really fun fatal 4-way match. All four men looked like they had a legitimate chance of winning the match and worked really hard to keep the crowd invested.

Kalisto was the high-flyer of the match and hit his usually high-flying moves as well as a monkey flip on the apron to knock Akira Tozawa onto Buddy Murphy and a hurricanrana onto Buddy Murphy into the barricade while being hit with a suicide dive from Akira Tozawa.

Akira Tozawa was his usual explosive self while shockingly hitting a Reverse Rana. Hideo Itami was the dark horse of the match that had a legitimate chance of winning and kicked out of Kalisto's finishing move while teasing hitting the GTS.

Buddy Murphy was the glue that held this match together and his consistency is just incredible. While it is questionable for Buddy Murphy to pin Hideo Itami instead of Kalisto or Akira Tozawa, it is nice to see WWE giving him a chance as champion.

The Best Kept Secret will presumably remain champion heading into WrestleMania before facing off with someone like Noam Dar or Tony Nese.

Smackdown Women's Championship: Asuka (c.) vs Becky Lynch

This match was Asuka's second title defense as SmackDown Women's Champion

Result: Asuka defeated Becky Lynch to retain the Smackdown Women's Championship via submission with a bridged variation of the Asuka Lock.

Grade: A

Analysis: This was a great match that was crucial to solidifying Asuka's reign as SmackDown Women's Champion. The two started off with smooth technical wrestling transitions.

They then hit several brutal moves including a Bexploder into the barricade, an Asuka Lock in the ropes, and a Dis-Arm-Her in the ropes. They then exchanged several cool moves including a German suplex from Asuka and a pumphandle uranage from Becky Lynch.

Asuka then ht a really nasty looking Fisherman's Suplex from the apron onto the floor. Becky Lynch then hit an Avalanche Bexploder and that was not enough to put away the Empress of Tomorrow.

The two then took part in an excellent submission exchange. Asuka locked in the Asuka Lock and transitioned it into the Dis-Arm-Her before Becky Lynch transitioned it into the Asuka Lock and then into the Dis-Arm-Her.

Asuka would get out of it and once again lock in the Asuka Lock before bridging to put more pressure on the neck and shoulders.

You could see the agony on Becky Lynch's face as she was forced to tap out and that showed a great story.

Not only did this prove that Asuka is a dangerous and dominant champion but it also sowed seeds for Becky Lynch later entering the women's royal rumble to redeem herself.

Smackdown Tag Team Champions: The Bar (c.) vs Shane McMahon & The Miz

This was Shane McMahon and The Miz's second match as a team

Result: The Miz and Shane McMahon defeated The Bar to win the SmackDown Tag Team Titles via pinfall when Shane McMahon pinned Cesaro with a Shooting Star Press.

Grade: C+

Analysis: This was a pretty good match thanks to the efforts of The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus although Shane McMahon had a pretty good showing as well.

There were several impressive sequences including Cesaro catching Shane McMahon mid-air as he was going for Coast to Coast and hitting the Cesaro Swing only for Shane McMahon to transition that into a Triangle Choke.

The Bar then hit their tag team finishing move the Assisted White Noise on Shane McMahon for a near fall.

It was then surprising miscommunication from the Bar when Sheamus hit Cesaro with a Brogue Kick. The Miz then hit Sheamus with a Skull Crushing Finale and Shane McMahon hit Cesaro with a picture-perfect Shooting Star Press to allow the underdogs to get the win.

While this was a good story, it is questionable for a team that is not an actual tag team to be holding the SmackDown Tag Team Titles heading into WrestleMania as it means that several talented tag teams including SAnitY and Gallows & Anderson won't be given many opportunities.

Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey (c.) vs Sasha Banks

This was Sasha Bank's first title shot since Elimination Chamber in 2018.

Result: Ronda Rousey defeated Sasha Banks to retain the Raw Women's Championship via pinfall with Piper's Pit.

Grade: A

Analysis: This was Ronda Rousey's best singles match in WWE. You could sense the disdain that these two superstars have for each other as the match quickly kicked into second gear.

The two exchanged several vicious exchanges before Sasha Banks ironically went after the arm of Ronda Rousey.

There were then several impressive exchanges including a counter of Piper's Pit into an armbar into the Bank Statement. In many ways, Sasha Banks looked reminiscent of the Legit Boss of old from NXT.

There was a particularly nice throwback as Sasha Banks transitioned the Bank Statement into a crucifix pin for a near fall. That was how she won the NXT Women's Championship from Charlotte Flair.

Sasha Banks also used her ring attire to assist her when she had the Bank Statement in on Ronda Rousey for five seconds multiple times which was another wise move from the Boss.

It tells a story that Ronda Rousey defeated Sasha Banks via pinfall and not by submission. That was Ronda Rousey's first time defeating someone by pinfall because she knew that she could not make the Boss submit.

These two had a great match that showed that Sasha Banks should have had a more prominent role in WWE months ago.

Women's Royal Rumble Match

This year's women's Royal Rumble match was even better than last year's women's royal rumble match.

Result: Becky Lynch won the Women's Royal Rumble by throwing Charlotte Flair over the top rope.

Grade: A+

Analysis: This match was pretty much a perfect Royal Rumble match. It surprisingly started off with Lacey Evans and Natalya. Lacey Evans had a great showing in her main roster debut as she wrestled with one of the best of the best in Natalya.

She lasted for almost 30 minutes, nearly hit a beautiful moonsault, and was able to eliminate both members of the IIconics before being eliminated by an all-time great in Charlotte Flair.

Billie Kay also had a particularly fun moment where she refused to go into the ring until Peyton Royce came in which was perfectly fitting for her character.

The IIconics lasted for a respectable amount of time and even managed to eliminate Nikki Cross. Nikki Cross also had a good showing as her psycho persona really shone through this match as she charged through the ring and took the fight to Tamina of all people.

Ember Moon and Natalya both had star-making performances as both women lasted for more than 50 minutes (Natalya broke Sasha Banks's record).

Charlotte Flair was the game changer of the match as she immediately cleaned house upon entering. Naomi and Mandy Rose's rivalry was wisely made an aspect of the match as Naomi eliminated Mandy Rose before Mandy Rose ruined her "Kofi Kingston" spot.

All of the NXT surprise entrants made a big impact as well. Xia Li impressed with her various kicks. Kairi Sane was able to score an elimination while lasting for 17 minutes and was only eliminated due to interference from Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan after they were out of the match.

Candice LeRae hung with some of the best of the best, was able to rekindle her rivalry with Zelina Vega, and it took the Riott Squad to eliminate her.

Io Shirai was able to immediately make a statement with her crowd popping moonsault plancha and lasted for more than 10 minutes before being eliminated by the monstrous Nia Jax.

Kacy Catanzaro stole the show by avoiding elimination with a spot that Kofi Kingston can be jealous of (Ember Moon also was impressive in avoiding elimination.) Rhea Ripley was dominant as she eliminated Zelina Vega, Dana Brooke, and Kacy Catanzaro (there was a fun callback to their match in the Mae Young Classic).

Ruby Riott looked like a cunning competitor as she brought the Riott Squad with her to the ring and managed to eliminate people (including Kairi Sane and Candice Lerae).

Alexa Bliss also looked great in her return while Bayley looked rejuvenated. It was also nice to see the reunion of Baymella (Bayley & Carmella) from NXT.

Nia Jax also got to dominate the match once again and scored four eliminations. Becky Lynch stole the show. As soon as it was revealed that Lana was injured, it was obvious who was going to come out.

That did not make it any less sweet. The final four of the match were perfect as all 4 women deserved to be in that position. Becky Lynch finally got revenge on Nia Jax but Nia got the last laugh when she injured Becky's knee.

That made The Man the underdog of the match and established Charlotte Flair as a heel. WWE ultimately gave the fans what they want as Becky Lynch got the much-deserved win.

WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan (c.) vs AJ Styles

These two have had many matches with each other.

Result: Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles via pinfall to retain the WWE Championship after Erick Rowan hit AJ Styles with a Chokeslam.

Grade: B

Analysis: This was another really good match between the two Superstars. However, it's position in the match card doomed it to fail.

The crowd was exhausted after the red-hot women's Royal Rumble match so they were not as invested in it as they should be. The Miz & Shane McMahon vs The Bar should have been given this spot instead.

However, the two delivered a slow-paced but fun match that included excellent submission exchanges and other counters. It was a little scary to see Daniel Bryan take dangerous moves including a reverse DDT to the outside and a brainbuster.

However, he seemed to be fine. This alliance between Rowan and Daniel Bryan is interesting and one has to wonder if Harper will potentially align himself with AJ Styles to even it out.

Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c.) (with Paul Heyman) vs Finn Balor

This was Finn Balor's first title shot since August.

Result: Brock Lesnar defeated Finn Balor via submission with the Kimura Lock.

Grade: B

Analysis: It was nice to see Brock Lesnar sell for Finn Balor. The Beast was extremely hurt due to the effectiveness of Finn Balor's offence.

He made it look like he was about to break his ribs. It is particularly frustrating that Brock Lesnar is willing to make superstars like Finn Balor, Daniel Bryan, and AJ Styles look good but is not willing to do the same for other superstars like Braun Strowman.

The Extraordinary Man who does Extraordinary Things took Brock Lesnar to the limit with several kicks and stomps to the ribs.

This makes him look crafty as he took advantage of a weakness. It would have been nice to see Brock Lesnar sell the Coup De Grace more as he basically locked in the Kimura Lock as soon as Finn hit the move.

The finish was also realistic due to the shoulder injury Finn Balor suffered a few years ago and there is no way that the former Universal Champion has the strength to drag Lesnar all the way to the bottom rope.

The Beast's attack after the match shows that Brock Lesnar felt like he was truly in danger of losing this match. This leaves room for a rematch in which Finn Balor brings out the Demon to fight the Beast.

Men's Royal Rumble Match

Elias and Jeff Jarrett were the first entrants in the Royal Rumble match.

Result: Seth Rollins won the men's royal rumble match by last eliminating Braun Strowman.

Grade: A-

Analysis: Elias started the match with the first hints that he will be returning to a heel as he viciously attacked Jeff Jarrett.

Kurt Angle was a nice surprise and he was not forced to go beyond his skill set while Shinsuke Nakamura also looked strong for being the one to eliminate him.

However, it would have been nice to see Kurt Angle face off with someone like Samoa Joe or Drew McIntyre. His entrance felt like a waste.

Johnny Gargano entering the match was a nice surprise as he looked great. He quickly eliminated Jinder Mahal and engaged in dream face-offs with the likes of Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe.

Samoa Joe looked great as the monster of the match in the early stages as he was able to quickly dispose of three wrestlers.

Curt Hawkins and Titus O'Neil were both good in providing comedy to the match although it would have been nice for a spot from the women's match to not be repeated in the men's match.

It was nice to see Curt Hawkins score an elimination and Samoa Joe looked great as the one who ended his dream run.

Seth Rollins definitely deserved the position of being the Iron Man of the match while Kofi Kingston provided two different ways to escape eliminations.

Mustafa Ali also had a great showing as he lasted for 30 minutes and eliminated both Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe. Dean Ambrose honestly deserved a better performance but at the very least he scored an elimination.

Pete Dunne and Aleister Black also looked good which is a promising sign for the future. Aleister Black even managed to eliminate Dean Ambrose and had a particularly cool moment where he put his finger back in place after Pete Dunne dislocated it.

Drew McIntyre also looked great as he scored 4 eliminations before Dolph Ziggler finally got much-deserved payback. Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio also performed well.

Bobby Lashley looked dangerous after his quick elimination while Braun Strowman performed his role perfectly.

Nia Jax was the big surprise and she honestly looked great. She managed to eliminate Mustafa Ali and was only eliminated due to a combined effort from multiple competitors.

Andrade looked great as well as he eliminated Randy Orton and he was the final SmackDown Live superstar in the match. The final four superstars were Dolph Ziggler, Andrade, Seth Rollins, and Braun Strowman, and all four deserved to being in the mix at the end.

Seth Rollins' win was deserved and him getting past Braun Strowman was great. Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania will be great.