Rhea Ripley was the winner and MVP of the Women’s Royal Rumble. Ripley entered at No. 1, lasting longer than any other woman in Royal Rumble history, and finally eliminated No. 2 Liv Morgan to win the match. It was a good Royal Rumble match, despite the questionable choice to let him participate.
The opening section of the Women’s Royal Rumble was quiet. Ripley was a major player surrounded by a field just right there between Morgan, Dana Brooke and Emma. The addition of Bayley and Shayna Bazler was welcome, but didn’t do much at first.
B-Fab was the first elimination and it took over 30 seconds for Ripley to throw her out. NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez entered and got a great response. Bailey’s teammates Dakota Kai and then Iyosky followed, making damage her CTRL the dominant force in the Rumble.
Damage CTRL quickly eliminated Dana Brooke, Emma and Roxanne Perez. Bazler had a pleasant interaction with Natalya, but Damage CTRL removed them both. Natalya had Bassler on the apron, but Bassler locked her in a sleeper hold. Damage CTRL flipped Natairah onto the apron, eliminating both her and Baszler.
Big Time Becks came in at number 15 as Damage CTRL dominated the ring. chants and loud applause. The numbers game ultimately made the most of the lynching laid out by the trio at the announcer’s table. (They exited the ring via the middle rope, so no one was eliminated here.)
It’s no surprise that the crowd went crazy for the lynching. A bit of a surprise was the massive pop they gave Asuka. Asuka came out with a painted face and a much darker outfit. attacked and got a big “Asuka” chant. She took out Tegan Knox to score just one elimination. (Just before that, there was an awkward moment when Tegan Knox completely missed the kick, but Asuka sold it anyway.)
Coming in at number 19 was Piper Niven, formerly known as Doudrop. She put everyone in place before Tamina entered her 20th place and looked better here than she did as Doudrop.
Their once-in-a-lifetime showdown was interrupted by a lynching that again erupted the crowd. Chelsea Green was next, with the announcer making a big deal about her return to the company – just before she was quickly eliminated by Rhea Ripley.
This was the first in a series of big eliminations. Lynch threw both Kai and Skye out, but was startled by Bailey, who knocked her out of the ring and was met with great enthusiasm from the crowd. I was. Lynch then meleeed into the crowd with his CTRL damage.
There was a cute spot at the 25th entrance with Michelle McCool music playing. McCool was watching the show at ringside with her children, at which point she unzipped her jacket, jumped over her barricade and jumped into the ring. She soon hit Styles Clash in honor of her husband’s final opponent.
Lacey Evans eliminated Zelina Vega in brutal fashion, putting her off the second rope into a Cobra clutch.
The ring was filled with nearly a dozen women by the time number 30 entered. Sure enough, the final entrant is her Nia Jax. An irresistible force capable of sweeping that mass away. By the way, the production crew failed her entrance and played her music before the countdown clock started ticking.
Except Nia Jax didn’t eliminate anyone, instead all the women flocked to her. They electrified her with a big move, ending with Ripley implanting a (weak) Riptide on her.
From here came a series of quick eliminations, with Asuka, Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez all scoring. Rodriguez almost powerbombed Ripley out of the ring, but Ripley fought back and sent Rodriguez flying. The final three came down to Ripley and Morgan, who started the match, and Asuka.
All three women quickly put on their aprons. Knocked it out and eliminated Morgan to win the Rumble.
Rating: 3.5 stars. It’s still flawed and needs more star power, but it’s probably the best women’s Royal Rumble yet.