WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Flops and Hits: Roman Reigns' evil plan in works, “betrayed” Brock Lesnar starts his hunt 

WWE Royal Rumble 2022 is in the history books, and we are officially on the "Road to WrestleMania."

Tonight's show saw one title change hands, whereas two other championships were successfully defended. Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar won the women's and men's Rumble matches, respectively, to cement their WrestleMania title opportunities.

Here, we look at some of the biggest flops and hits from WWE Royal Rumble 2022.

So, without further ado, let's begin.

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#1 Hit at WWE Royal Rumble: Roman Reigns

The opening match of WWE Royal Rumble saw Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins lock horns in an epic opening match. The storied rivalry between the two superstars allowed to bring out excellent story-telling elements throughout the match.

This was one of those bouts where the in-ring narrative was given equal importance. The tone of the match was set right at the beginning when Rollins made his entrance like The Shield, using the stable's music and gear.

The Architect was determined to get in the Universal Champion's head, and his attempts had lasting effects on the champion.

Reigns was angry about his opponent toying with him as he struggled to channel his frustration. Both their offenses looked like that have wanted to hurt each other for years, another fantastic part of the story-telling.

Reigns' body language bore evidence of his hatred towards Rollins for what the latter had done to The Shield.

During their previous encounter, the Tribal Chief had said that he would never forgive the Architect. The latter laughed in the champion's face throughout the match in which he had shown equal domination.

The match ended in Reigns' loss via disqualification after he refused to release Rollins from the guillotine submission move.

Although Reigns retained his Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, he is not yet done with Rollins.

He used a steel chair to launch a vicious attack on his opponent after the match ended. It is evident that this storyline is far from over, and we might see both superstars extend their feud until WrestleMania.

Usually, a disqualification accounts for an underwhelming end to top title matches, but in this case, it can be used to fuel one of the biggest WWE rivalries of all time.

But that was not all. Roman Reigns had a huge trick up his sleeve. He orchestrated another title change on the show when he attacked Brock Lesnar and forced the latter to lose his title in the match against Bobby Lashley.

Not to forget, Paul Heyman did prove that he prefers the role of Chief Counsel over that of the Advocate.

#2 Flop at WWE Royal Rumble 2022: Sasha Banks’ early elimination

The women’s Royal Rumble match had its highs and lows. We saw former champion Ronda Rousey make a massive return at the Premium Live Event and win the Rumble after eliminating Charlotte Flair.

But on the opposite spectrum, there were multiple questionable decisions from the creative team, including Sasha Banks’ early elimination.

The Boss reportedly sustained an injury earlier this month, and it was being told she might miss the Rumble. However, she made a massive return on SmackDown yesterday night to confirm that she will be there to fight the 30-woman battle royal.

Unfortunately, that only ended with Banks entering the match at No. 1 and being a victim of an early elimination at the hands of Queen Zelina.

It is difficult to understand exactly why Banks was brought back for the match if she was going to be one of the early eliminations.

If WWE intended to protect her, she should have entered later into the match. Given that she is a babyface, she could have had a couple of moments against top heels before exiting the Royal Rumble.

#3 Hit at WWE Royal Rumble 2022: Brock Lesnar

Royal Rumble 2022 was quite an eventful night for Brock Lesnar.

First, the Beast Incarnate put his WWE Championship on the line against Bobby Lashley. It’s no secret that Lesnar is brilliant inside the ring when he wants to work. Tonight was no different as he was involved in a balanced back and forth with Lashley and made additional efforts to put his opponent over with the crowd.

Lashley looked strong when he came close to beating Brock Lesnar using a Hurt Lock. Lesnar managed to fight back, but their brawl, unfortunately, knocked out the referee.

The Beast Incarnate technically pinned Lashley as the crowd counted in the referee’s absence. Soon, we saw Roman Reigns interfere in the match and attack the former champion.

Paul Heyman also handed Roman the title that he eventually used to completely take Lesnar out of the equation. Lashley then pinned Lesnar to win the championship.

Later in the night, Lesnar entered Men’s Royal Rumble at #30. He eliminated multiple superstars, including Randy Orton, Riddle, Shane McMahon, and Bad Bunny, before coming face to face with Drew McIntyre.

They engaged in a brief but exciting encounter before Lesnar eliminated the Scottish Warrior to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.

Brock Lesnar was undoubtedly one of the best performers tonight. The only complaint remains that he didn’t really need to win Royal Rumble to get a title match.

On the flip side, the title loss and Paul Heyman’s betrayal have established Lesnar as one of the biggest babyfaces in WWE. Brock Lesnar is now going after revenge, and there are very few sights more dangerous than a vengeful Beast.

#4 Flop at WWE Royal Rumble 2022: Shinsuke Nakamura, Robert Roode, Shane McMahon

Some of the earliest eliminations in the men's Royal Rumble match saw Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Robert Roode being tossed over the top rope.

Nakamura had a couple of good moments with AJ Styles, but it was still disrespectful to see the Intercontinental Champion handed an underwhelming exit.

The same can be said for Robert Roode, who barely got do to do anything inside the squared circle. Fans started chanting TNA when Roode and Styles were involved in a brawl.

However, the noise died almost as quickly as Roode's run in the match. These superstars certainly deserved o be booked better at tonight's show.

While the creative team can be blamed for Nakamura and Rooode's booking in the Royal Rumble, several others disappointed with their performances.

For instance, Shane McMahon made a huge return, but his punches were worse than those that Ronda Rousey seemingly hit during her match earlier in the night. It was a waste of a good spot that could have used someone like Finn Balor instead.

#5 Honorable mention from WWE Royal Rumble 2022: Doudrop and Bad Bunny

At WWE Royal Rumble 2022, Becky Lynch successfully defended her RAW Women's Championship against Doudrop. This was the only title match of the night that ended with a clean finish.

Big Time Becks faced a tough fight from her opponent but eventually retained her gold. Despite losing the match, Doudrop managed to use this opportunity to establish herself as a credible threat on the red brand.

Doudrop did well in using both her strength and in-ring awareness to counter the champion. Her booking did justice to the build-up we have seen over the last few weeks.

Lynch would not lose her championship at the show tonight, but she needed a legitimate contender. That's what Doudrop did to perfection.

Now that Becky Lynch has retained her title and Ronda Rousey is the Royal Rumble winner, we may be headed towards payback from their last encounter at WrestleMania.

They made history together, but it's worth noting that Rousey took a controversial pinfall.

Can we see Rousey challenge Becky Lynch for the title now?

As for Doudrop, the RAW superstar made a statement with her performance.

Bad Bunny was impressive in his last WWE run, and things weren't different this time. The Grammy-winning musician might have eaten a spot in the Royal Rumble, but he undoubtedly had a good time.

From a picturesque Canadian Destroyer to squaring up against Brock Lesnar, he was nothing short of fascinating on the show tonight.