Welcome to Fightful.com's live discussion & coverage for the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble!
We will bring full results and breakdowns for every match and segment on the show. Follow Fightful on Twitter and on Facebook.
Let's get ready to RUMBLE!
Live Coverage
- The show begins and our commentary team of Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcome us to tonight's show. Before our opening contest of the evening is underway, Pat McAfee's music hits and McAfee is back in WWE! McAfee will join Cole and Graves on commentary and it's time for the Men's Royal Rumble match!
Men's Royal Rumble Match
Intercontinental Champion Gunther and Sheamus have drawn numbers one and two and will begin the match. Both men start laying into each other with heavy strikes, early and often. Gunther puts Sheamus on the top turnbuckle but Sheamus rakes Gunther's eyes and gets back into the ring. The 60-second timer is up and entrant number three is The Miz. Gunther almost eliminates Sheamus, Miz tries to knock Sheamus off the apron but Sheamus gets back into the ring and then chases Miz around the ring. Sheamus tosses Miz back into the ring and he and Gunther trade-off chops to Miz's chest. Number four is former WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston. Everyone is paired off on the attack and number five is none other than the returning former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano. Sheamus has Miz dazed on the apron and points to Gargano, who cracks Miz with a super-kick, Sheamus follows-up with the Brogue Kick and Miz is eliminated. The timer sounds and number six is Xavier Woods! Kingston and Woods are the only ones standing in the ring and they begin dancing.
However, Gunther and Sheamus pop back up and attack both Kingston and Woods. Number seven is Karrion Kross! The former NXT Champion attacks both members of the New Day but is taken out by Gunther. The timer expires and number eight is Chad Gable! The Alpha Academy leader goes after seemingly everyone and number nine comes into the mix and it's former WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre! The former champion slams Gargano into Gable and Kross attacks McIntyre from behind but McIntyre launches Kross over the top rope and cracks him with a boot to the face and Kross is eliminated! Number 10 is Santos Escobar! All eight remaining competitors are in the ring and attacking each other and number 11 is Angelo Dawkins! More near eliminations occur but Gunther sends Woods out of the ring with a big boot. Kingston attacks Gunther from behind but Escobar makes the save. Number 12 is ready and it's former WWE and UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar!
The former champion launches Escobar, Dawkins, and Gable all out of the ring and comes face-to-face with Gunther! Number 13's music hits and it's Bobby Lashley! There's some meat in the ring now and Lashley and Lesnar are going at it! Lashley spears Lesnar and clotheslines him out of the ring! Lesnar is eliminated! Baron Corbin is number 14 and Lesnar attacks Corbin on the outside of the ring and Corbin may be out of this one before ever entering the ring. Number 15's music hits and it's Seth Rollins! Corbinis tossed into the ring by Rollins and Rollins tosses Corbin right back out and Corbin is eliminated! Number 16 is Otis! Everyone is paired off in corners and number 17 is revealed as Rey Mysterio! Rey never comes out and we apparently just move on? Back in the ring, Rollins tosses Lashley over the top rope and Lashley is eliminated! Number 18's music hits and it's Dominik Mysterio! Dominik comes out in Rey's mask and rips it in half, apparently signaling that he's taken out his dad in the back. Sheamus and McIntyre eliminate Otis and Dominik comes down to the ring.
Number 19 is Elias! Sheamus and McIntyre quickly toss Elias out and Elias is eliminated! Number 20 is Finn Balor! The former Universal Champion goes after everybody and Dominik stops Gargano from going after Balor and Balor assists Dominik in eliminating Gargano. Number 21 is WWE Hall of Famer, Booker T! Booker goes after both Balor and Dominik and does a spinrooni! Gunther pops up behind Booker and launches him out of the ring and Booker T is eliminated! Number 22 is The Judgment Day's Damian Priest and all three male members of the group are now in the match! Number 23 is Montez Ford! Montez goes after Balor, Dominik, and Priest, Balor tosses Ford over the top rope but Ford jumps himself back into the ring! The numbers catch up to Ford and he's eliminated by Balor and Priest. Number 24 is Edge! The WWE Hall of Famer eliminates both Balor and Priest then locks eyes with Seth Rollins. Balor and Priest come back in and eliminate Edge before finally exiting to the back. Number 25 is Austin Theory! Edge, Balor, and Priest fight up the ramp while Theory makes his way down to the ring and Rhea Ripley comes out of nowhere and attacks Edge. Beth Pheonix pops up behind Ripley and they start going at it on the ramp! WWE officials break up the fight and number 26 is Omos!
Number 27 is revealed as Braun Strowman and the two big guys are face-to-face in the middle of the ring! Strowman and Omos exchange heavy strikes in the middle of the ring and Strowman eliminates Omos! Number 28 is Ricochet! McIntyre and Sheamus toss Strowman to the apron and both start unloading forearms to the chest but Gunther comes from behind and tosses McIntyre onto the apron as well. Sheamus makes the save for McIntyre. Gunther catches McIntyre and Sheamus sleeping and he eliminates both at the same time! number 29 is Logan Paul! Everyone in the ring gangs up on Paul, Ricochet tries to eliminate him but Paul leaps back into the ring and drills Ricochet with a Buckshot Lariat! Strowman and Ricochet double team Paul and number 30 is Cody Rhodes! 'The American Nightmare' eliminates Dominik and everyone starts going after one another. Paul and Riochet stand on opposite turnbuckles and nail each other with flying cross-bodies and the crowd is in a ruckus. Strowman, Ricochet are eliminated and the final five are Rhodes, Paul, Theory, Rollins, and Gunther. Rhodes and Rollins toss Theory out and our final four are Gunther, Paul, Rollins, and Rhodes!
Rollins pedigrees Gunther and he and Rhodes start going at it! Paul comes in out of nowhere and eliminates Rollins but Rhodes comes up from behind and eliminates Paul! It's down to number one and number 30 as it's Rhodes vs. Gunther! A heavy back-and-forth ensues, Gunther lights Rhodes up with chops to the chest and his surgically repaired right pectoral. Rhodes looks for a Disaster Kick but Gunther catches him and slams 'The American Nightmare' down to the mat. Gunther puts Rhodes on the top turnbuckle and climbs his way to the top as well. Rhodes is down on the apron now but he climbs back to the top turnbuckle, where Gunther meets him. Gunther plants Rhodes with a super-plex! Rhodes tosses Gunther over the top rope and onto the apron but Gunther climbs his way back into the ring. Cody sets Gunther up in the corner and nails him with his brother Goldust's patented Shattered Dreams! Some more back-and-forth ensues, Rhodes is on the apron, Gunther locks up a sleeper hold, Rhodes tries to drag Gunther out to the apron but Gunther falls back into the ring. Rhodes nails Gunther with Cross Rhodes and tosses Gunther out of the ring! Rhodes wins!
Winner - Cody Rhodes
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight — Pitch Black Match
The bell sounds, the lights go out and the blacklight appears. Bray's sporting some face paint that's glowing, as is Knight's trunks, armbands, and kneepads. Bray launches Knight across the ring then to the outside. Knight sends Bray into the steel steps but Bray launches Knight into the crowd and starts disassembling the commentary table. They both go through the table, Knight escapes into the ring and Wyatt chases after him. Knight tries to hit Bray with a kendo stick but Wyatt catches and plants him with Sister Abigail for the 1-2-3 and the win!
Winner - Bray Wyatt
- Bray continues the attack post-match. They fight through the crowd and Bray locks-in the Mandible Claw. Uncle Howdy appears above Bray and launches himself off of a platform and crushes Knight through the table and pyro goes off as Bray stands there with his theme song playing while human Firefly Funhouse puppets appear behind Bray for quite a visual!
- The attendance for the show is announced as 51,338 at the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas!
Bianca Belair (C) vs. Alexa Bliss — RAW Women's Championship
Bianca tosses Alexa into the corner and starts unloading punches onto the challenger. Alexa goes onto the attack until Bianca slams her to the mat. Bianca goes for her patented standing moonsault, Bliss slides out of the way, Bianca knocks her back down and goes for the moonsault once more and lands it before going for the cover but Alexa lifts the shoulders at two. Alexa clocks Bianca with some elbows, Bianca tosses Alexa in the air but eats a DDT by Alexa, who goes for the cover but Bianca kicks out. Alexa lands double knees to Bianca's midsection and goes for the cover but Bianca lifts the shoulders after a two-count. Bianca pops back up and plants Alexa with the K.O.D. and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner - Bianca Belair (C) (and STILL RAW Women's Champion)
- We then see another video package with Uncle Howdy and Alexa looks on as we cut to a commercial break.
Women's Royal Rumble Match
Rhea Ripley is number one and Liv Morgan is number two and it's time for the Women's Royal Rumble match! Ripley goes on the attack early and often. Liv gets control and number three is Dana Brooke! Number four comes down and it's Emma! Everyone gangs up on Ripley and number five is Shayna Baszler! Number six is Bayley! Back in the ring, everyone is paired off and number seven is revealed as B-Fab, who becomes the first member of Hit Row to ever appear in a Royal Rumble match! Ripley quickly tosses B-Fab out of the ring and number eight is NXT Women's Champion, Roxanne Perez! Number nine is Dakota Kai! Number 10 is IYO SKY and all of Damage CTRL is now in the match! Bayley, Kai, and IYO all eliminate Dana Brooke as well as Emma and now three have been eliminated from the match.
Number 11 is Natalya! Number 12 is Candice LeRae! Everyone is paired off around the ring and Natalya and Baszler are eliminated by Damage CTRL. Number 13 is Zoey Stark from NXT! Number 14 is Xia Li! The match is being dominated by Damage CTRL, who eliminate LeRae and number 15 is Becky Lynch! Bayley and Becky brawl around the ringside area but neither were eliminated. IYO and Dakota help Bayley and they beat down Becky. Tegan Nox is number 16! Tegan and Liv help out Becky against Damage CTRL and number 17 is the winner of the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match, Asuka! After she makes her way to the ring, Asuka takes off her mask and she has her infamous Kana facepaint! Number 18 is Piper Niven! The Doudrop has name has been dropped and Piper Niven is back! Number 19 is Tamina! Piper and Tamina start attacking one another and Damage CTRL comes in to take them down. Becky attacks Damage CTRL and number 20 is Chelsea Green!
Ripley tosses Green right out and the returning Green is eliminated! Becky tosses Dakota Kai and IYO SKY over the top rope, Bayley eliminates Becky Lynch, and Liv Morgan tosses Bayley out as well! Number 21 is Zelina Vega! Zelina eliminates Xia Li and number 22 is Raquel Rodriguez! Raquel slams nearly everybody that's in the ring and number 23 is Michin (AKA Mia Yim)! Number 24 is Lacey Evans! Number 25 is Michelle McCool! Michelle was in shown in the crowd earlier with she and The Undertaker's children and she jumps over the railing and gets into the ring! Michelle eliminates Tamina and number 26 is Indi Hartwell from NXT! Number 27 is Sonya Deville! Sonya eliminates Zoey Stark. Lacey eliminates Zelina and number 28 is Shotzi! Sonya eliminates Indi Hartwell and number 29 is Nikki Cross! Number 30 is Nia Jax! Everyone jumps on Nia but Nia tosses everyone back and she comes face-to-face with Raquel Rodriguez. Ripley plants Nia with Riptide and everyone helps Rhea in tossing Nia out of the ring and Nia Jax is eliminated! Raquel eliminates Lacey Evans. Asuka cracks Sonya with a super-kick and Sonya Deville has been eliminated! Rhea eliminates Michelle McCool, Michin eliminates Shotzi, and Piper eliminates Michin. Raquel eliminates Piper Niven and Rhea Ripley tosses Raquel Rodriguez out shortly thereafter.
Liv Morgan tosses Nkki Cross out and our final three are Rhea Ripley, Asuka, and Liv Morgan! All three finalists are on the apron, Asuka spits the green mist into Liv's eyes, Rhea trips Asuka to the mat, Liv trips Rhea but her feet aren't touching the floor and Ripley sends Liv to the floor with a head scissors and Rhea wins!
Winner - Rhea Ripley
Roman Reigns (C) (with Paul Heyman & Sami Zayn) vs. Kevin Owens — Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Reigns drills Owens with a running shoulder to start. Owens starts dropping punch after punch onto Reigns before tossing the champion to the corner and drilling him with a cannonball. Owens sends Reigns to the outside and nails him with a senton before tosses Reigns back into the ring. Reigns takes control back and chokes Owens with the middle rope then goes for the cover but Owens kicks out. Both men engage in a back-and-forth until Owens nails Reigns with a swanton bomb and goes for the cover but Reigns kicks out at two-and-a-half! Both competitors continue their back and forth until Reigns drills Owens with a spear then goes for the cover but Owens lifts the shoulders! Owens goes for the stunner, Reigns shoves Owens into the referee, Owens plants Reigns with the pop-up power-bomb and goes for the cover but there's no referee! Reigns hits Owens with a low-blow and directs Sami Zayn to get him a steel chair, which Zayn obliges, but after a slight bit of hesitation.
Owens spins Reigns around and plants him with the stunner, then gets the cover but Reigns kicks out! Reigns crushes Owens with a Superman Punch then goes for the cover but Owens kicks out! The fight spills to the outside and Reigns spears Owens through the barricade. Reigns tosses Owens face-first into the steel steps two times right in front of Sami Zayn before tossing the challenger back into the ring. Reigns tosses Owens face-first into the steel steps two times right in front of Sami Zayn before tossing the challenger back into the ring. Reigns clocks Owens with a spear, then a cover and gets the 1-2-3 for the win!
Winner - Roman Reigns (C) (and STILL Undisputed WWE Universal Champion)
- After the match, Jimmy Uso. Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa come down to the ring. Jey is about to put a lei on Sami Zayn but Roman stops him and says there's still some business to attend to first. The Usos beatdown Owens and set him up in the corner with a steel chair around his neck. Solo lines Owens up and nails him with a corner splash as Sami watches on. Paul Heyman hands Reigns two pairs of handcuffs and The Usos handcuff Owens to the ropes while still down in the corner. The Usos trade-off several super-kicks to a handcuffed Owens. Reigns grabs a chair and shouts at Owens and lines Owens up for a chair shot but Sami steps in front of Reigns and says he doesn't need to do it. Reigns hands Sami the chair and tells him to hit Owens. Sami looks hesitant and even subtly points the chair towards Reigns. Roman gets in Sami's face and tells him that it's time to take Owens out.
- Sami takes Reigns out with the chair and tells The Usos that he's sorry and the crowd is going WILD! Jimmy Uso takes Sami out and the beatdown commences. Solo spikes Sami and Reigns is back up and directing The Bloodline to continue their attack. Jey hasn't joined the attack yet and the rest of The Bloodline direct Jey to take Sami out but Jey rolls out of the ring and leaves. Back in the ring, the attack continues and Reigns is just walloping Sami with chair shot after chair shot after chair shot. There are deafening 'F*** you Roman!' chants throughout the AlamoDome and Reigns rips apart a lei and 'The Honorary Uce' shirt on top of Sami's motionless body in the center of the ring. Jimmy delivers one final super-kick on Owens and The Bloodline, sans Jey Uso, exit the ring to a massive chorus of boos from the San Antonio, Texas crowd in attendance. The Bloodline exits the ring and the show goes off-the-air!
