Royal Rumble (2017)

Last updated
Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble 2017.jpg
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers
Promotion WWE
Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown
DateJanuary 29, 2017
City San Antonio, Texas
Venue Alamodome
Attendance52,020 [1]
Tagline(s)Remember the Rumble [2]
WWE Network event chronology
 Previous
NXT TakeOver: San Antonio
Next 
Elimination Chamber
Royal Rumble chronology
 Previous
2016
Next 
2018

The 2017 Royal Rumble was the 30th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 29, 2017, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This was the second Royal Rumble to be held at this venue after the 1997 event, and the fourth to be held in the state of Texas, after the 1989, 1997, and 2007 events.

Contents

Traditionally, the Royal Rumble match winner receives a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. However, due to the brand split that was reintroduced in July 2016, the winner received a match for their respective brand's world championship at WrestleMania 33, either Raw's WWE Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship. The main event was the 2017 Royal Rumble match, which was won by SmackDown's Randy Orton, who last eliminated Raw's Roman Reigns. This made Orton the seventh multiple Royal Rumble winner.

Seven other matches were contested at the event, including three on the Kickoff pre-show. One of the more notable matches saw John Cena defeat AJ Styles to capture his record 13th WWE Championship and his 16th overall world championship, tying Ric Flair's official record. Also on the undercard, Kevin Owens retained the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a no disqualification match, Charlotte Flair retained the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley, and Neville defeated Rich Swann to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

It was also the last time that only the men's Royal Rumble match took place as the women's Royal Rumble match was introduced the following year.

Production

Background

The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio May 2018 5 (Alamodome).jpg
The event was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick event produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views (PPV), along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". [3] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. Announced on September 30, 2016, the 2017 event was the 30th Royal Rumble and was scheduled to be held on January 29, 2017, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, marking the second Royal Rumble to be held at this venue after the 1997 event, and the fourth to be held in the state of Texas, after the 1989, 1997, and 2007 events. It was the first Royal Rumble to occur under the second brand extension introduced in July 2016, which split the roster between the Raw and SmackDown brands, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform, thus the 2017 event included wrestlers from both brands. In addition to airing on PPV, the event was livestreamed on the WWE Network. Tickets went on sale on October 14 through Ticketmaster. [4] [5]

The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. [6] [7] As a result of the reintroduction of the brand extension, the winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble match earned a match for their brand's top championship at WrestleMania 33: Raw's WWE Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship. This made it the first Royal Rumble to feature the Universal Championship, following its introduction on Raw in July 2016 after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship became exclusive to SmackDown and was renamed to the WWE Championship. This was subsequently also the first time in which two world championships were eligible to be challenged for by the winner of the titular match since the 2013 event. [5]

Storylines

The event comprised eight matches, including three on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, [8] [9] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw , SmackDown Live , [10] and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live . [11]

After defeating Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in his first match in 12 years, [12] Goldberg declared himself the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match on the November 21, 2016, episode of Raw. [13] The next week, Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman stated that Lesnar would also compete in the Royal Rumble as he "has something to prove", having been "humiliated" by Goldberg. [14] Over the following weeks, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, [15] Baron Corbin, [16] The Undertaker, [17] Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, The Miz, [18] Dolph Ziggler, [19] and Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus announced their participation in the match. [20] On the January 16, 2017, episode of Raw, Titus O'Neil challenged The New Day for one of their spots. Big E accepted the challenge and defeated O'Neil. [21] Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Luke Harper, [22] and Big Show [23] also announced themselves as participants in the Royal Rumble. Seth Rollins had confirmed his entry via Twitter on January 9, [24] but lost his spot to Sami Zayn on the January 23 episode of Raw, after a distraction by Triple H's music. Later in the night, Big Cass and Rusev announced their participation in the match. [25] On the January 24 episode of SmackDown, Mojo Rawley won a 10-man battle royal to qualify for the match. [26] The remaining eight spots were revealed at the event during the match.

At Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18, 2016, Kevin Owens retained the WWE Universal Championship against United States Champion Roman Reigns after Chris Jericho attacked Owens with a Codebreaker, giving Owens the win by disqualification. After the match, Jericho, who lost to Seth Rollins earlier that night, revealed he planned the disqualification so that Owens would win and retain the title. Reigns and Rollins attacked both Owens and Jericho by performing Double Powerbombs on both men through broadcast tables. [27] The next night on Raw, Raw General Manager Mick Foley interrupted Jericho and Owens celebrating, announcing that Reigns would get a rematch against Owens for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, and Jericho would be suspended above the ring inside of a shark cage to ensure that he would not interfere in the match. Foley threatened that if Jericho does not enter the cage, he would be fired. Both were then put into a tag team match against Reigns and Rollins. The latter two won by disqualification after Braun Strowman came out and attacked them. [28] The following week, Reigns retained the United States Championship against Owens after Rollins attacked an interfering Jericho. [29] The following week, Reigns again retained the United States Championship, this time against Jericho. Owens was banned from ringside during the match as a result of losing to Rollins earlier that night. [15] The following week, Reigns again defended the United States Title, this time in a handicap match against both Jericho and Owens. After Jericho and Owens double-teamed Reigns, Jericho scored the pinfall to become the United States Champion. [17] The next week, after the opening segment involving Owens, Jericho, Reigns, Rollins, Strowman (who had faced Rollins in previous weeks), Sami Zayn (who attacked Strowman during his recent matches), and Brock Lesnar ended in a brawl, a six-man tag team match was scheduled for the main event, with Owens, Jericho, and Strowman winning against Reigns, Rollins, and Zayn. After the match, Owens powerbombed Reigns through a broadcast table. [21] On the final Raw before Royal Rumble, Reigns faced Jericho in a rematch for the United States Championship, but Jericho was disqualified when Owens interfered, attacking Reigns. Owens and Jericho attempted to put Reigns in the shark cage, but Reigns retaliated and locked Owens in it, had it lifted above the ring, and then performed a "Superman Punch" and a spear on Jericho. Afterwards, it was announced that the match at Royal Rumble would be a no disqualification match. [25]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 4, 2016, AJ Styles retained the then-WWE World Championship against Dean Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. [30] On the December 13 episode of SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler defeated Ambrose, The Miz, and Luke Harper in a four-way elimination match to earn a match for the renamed WWE Championship on the December 27 episode. [31] On the December 20 episode, however, Baron Corbin confronted Ziggler, calling him undeserving of a title shot and stated that Ziggler only won because he was not there. The two then had a match with Ziggler's title shot on the line, but it ended in a double count-out. Styles then attacked both Ziggler and Corbin with a chair. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a triple threat for the WWE Championship between the three for the December 27 episode. [32] That episode, John Cena returned from a near three-month hiatus and challenged the winner for the title at Royal Rumble. After Styles retained the WWE Championship, Cena came out, looking ready to fight, but instead congratulated him with a handshake. [33]

At Roadblock: End of the Line, Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks in overtime of a 30-minute Iron Man match to win her fourth Raw Women's Championship, as well as ending their long feud. [27] On the following Raw, Banks, in a knee brace and on a crutch, came to the ring to congratulate Flair but instead was attacked by Nia Jax. Later, Flair came out and declared herself to be the greatest female wrestler of all time, but Bayley interrupted Flair, reminding her that Bayley had beaten her twice on previous occasions. Bayley then pinned Flair in an impromptu non-title match. However, as replays showed that Flair had her shoulder up before the three count, [28] Flair faced Bayley in another non-title match the following week, but this time with Dana Brooke as guest referee, who gave a fast three count to give Flair the victory. [29] On the January 2, 2017, episode of Raw, Bayley defeated Jax due to a distraction by Banks to become the number one contender for the Raw Women's Championship at Royal Rumble. [15] Backstage the following week, Flair and Jax attacked Bayley and Banks and later defeated them in a tag team match. [17] On January 23, after a confrontation between the two, Banks was scheduled to face Jax on the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show. [34]

At Roadblock: End of the Line, Rich Swann retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against T. J. Perkins and The Brian Kendrick. After the match, Neville appeared and attacked both Swann and Perkins, turning heel. [27] The following night on Raw, Neville stated his intention to take out the entire cruiserweight division, and proclaimed himself to be "King of the Cruiserweights". Swann questioned Neville's actions, but was then attacked by Neville and Kendrick, who sided with Neville. Perkins tried to help Swann, but was overpowered by Neville. [28] The next night on 205 Live, Neville and Kendrick defeated Perkins and Swann in a tag team match. [35] The following Raw, after Neville defeated Perkins, he challenged Swann to a match for the following 205 Live. Later, after Swann defeated Ariya Daivari, he accepted the challenge, but was immediately attacked by Neville. [29] On 205 Live, Neville defeated Swann in a non-title match, and proceeded to attack Swann again. [36] On the January 9, 2017, episode of Raw, after defeating Lince Dorado, Neville proceeded to attack Dorado more until Swann came to his aid and fended off Neville. [17] On the following 205 Live, after Swann defeated Tony Nese, Swann called out Neville, but Neville refused to face Swann unless it was for the Cruiserweight Championship. Swann then accepted Neville's challenge for the title at the Royal Rumble. [37] The following Raw, Neville attacked Swann before his match with Nese, and Nese joined Neville in the attack. [21]

At Roadblock: End of the Line, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day's Big E and Kofi Kingston to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions, as well as ending New Day's record-long reign. [27] The following night on Raw, Mick Foley congratulated Cesaro and Sheamus and presented them with a new set of championship belts. The New Day also congratulated them, but were interrupted by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Big E and Kingston then teamed with Cesaro and Sheamus to defeat Gallows and Anderson and The Shining Stars (Primo and Epico). [28] The following week, The New Day (Kingston and Xavier Woods) invoked their rematch clause for the titles, but were unsuccessful. [29] Cesaro and Sheamus then began a rivalry with Gallows and Anderson. On the January 2 episode of Raw, Anderson defeated Cesaro. [15] The following week, Sheamus defeated Gallows. [17] On the January 16 episode, Cesaro and Sheamus defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Gallows and Anderson. After the first referee was accidentally knocked out by Sheamus, another referee came out and called the winning pinfall for Gallows and Anderson. However, the original referee reversed the decision and made it a disqualification win for Gallows and Anderson, thus Cesaro and Sheamus retained the titles. [21] A title rematch between the two teams with two referees was then scheduled for the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show. [25]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Alexa Bliss defeated Becky Lynch in a tables match to win the SmackDown Women's Championship. Subsequently, Bliss avoided a rematch against Lynch but lost a non-title match against "newcomer" La Luchadora, who made the champion submit to the Dis-arm-her and then unmasked as Lynch. [38] Over the next few weeks, an unknown villainess dressed as La Luchadora began to aid Bliss in matches against Lynch, including her successful title defense in a Steel Cage match in the main event of the January 17, 2017 episode of SmackDown, where La Luchadora was unmasked as the returning Mickie James. [22] The following week, James explained that she became forgotten due to the Women's Revolution; Lynch then came out, but was ambushed by Bliss. [26] Nikki Bella and Natalya had entered a heated feud after Carmella had claimed that Natalya had attacked Bella at Survivor Series in order to take her place in her match. [30] After denying the accusations at first, Natalya admitted to the attack on the December 20 episode of SmackDown, revealing pent up jealousy of The Bella Twins, resulting in brawls between the two in the following weeks. One of these brawls, on the January 24 episode, resulted in a match between Natalya and Naomi being canceled. Naomi, left without an opponent, then issued an open challenge. Bliss came out, not to accept the challenge, but to insult Naomi. A six-woman tag team match was then scheduled for the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show, putting Lynch, Bella, and Naomi against Bliss, James, and Natalya. [26]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role:Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
(Raw/Royal Rumble match)
Corey Graves
(Raw/Cruiserweight title match/Royal Rumble match)
Byron Saxton (Raw)
Mauro Ranallo
(SmackDown/Cruiserweight title match)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (SmackDown)
David Otunga (SmackDown)
Tom Phillips (SmackDown)
Austin Aries (Cruiserweight title match)
Jerry Lawler (Royal Rumble match)
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodríguez
German commentatorsHolger Böschen
Manu Thiele
Ring announcers Greg Hamilton (SmackDown)
JoJo (Raw/Royal Rumble match)
Referees Jason Ayers
Shawn Bennett
John Cone
Dan Engler
Darrick Moore
Chad Patton
Charles Robinson
Ryan Tran
Rod Zapata
Backstage interviewers Charly Caruso
Pre-show panel Renee Young
Booker T
Jerry Lawler
Shawn Michaels
Austin Aries
Peter Rosenberg

Pre-show

During the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi faced SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya. Naomi performed a split-legged moonsault on Bliss to win the match. [39]

Next, Cesaro and Sheamus defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with two referees assigned to the match. Anderson pinned Cesaro with a roll-up whilst holding his tights to win the titles. [39]

After that, Nia Jax faced Sasha Banks. Jax performed a pop-up Samoan drop on Banks for the win. [39]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Charlotte Flair defending the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley. In the end, Charlotte performed a Natural Selection on Bayley onto the ring apron and pinned her to retain the title. [1]

Next, Kevin Owens defended the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a No Disqualification match, with United States Champion Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Outside the ring, Owens performed a frog splash on Reigns through a table and scored a nearfall. Jericho threw a pair of brass knuckles to Owens, which Owens used to perform a Superman Punch on Reigns for a nearfall. As Owens attempted a powerbomb through a chair, Reigns countered into a Samoan Drop through the chair on Owens for a nearfall. Reigns performed a Superman punch on Owens for a nearfall. Reigns attempted a Spear but Owens countered into a stunner on Reigns for a nearfall. Reigns performed a Superman punch on Owens, causing Owens to fall through chairs stacked outside the ring, which was followed by a powerbomb through an announce table to Owens. Braun Strowman interfered, attacking Reigns with a chokeslam onto an announce table and a running powerslam through a table positioned in the corner. Owens pinned Reigns to retain the title. [1]

After that, Rich Swann defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville. Neville forced Swann to submit to the Rings of Saturn to win the title. [1]

In the fourth match, AJ Styles defended the WWE Championship against John Cena. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Styles for a nearfall. Styles performed a Phenomenal Forearm on Cena for a nearfall. A trade of reversals of Styles' Calf Crusher and Cena's STF followed. Styles applied the STF on Cena but Cena escaped and applied the figure-four leglock on Styles, which Styles turned into a cross armbreaker but Cena escaped. Styles performed a Styles Clash on Cena for a nearfall. Cena performed a Super Attitude Adjustment on Styles for a nearfall. Cena attempted another Attitude Adjustment, but Styles countered and performed a Styles Clash. Instead of attempting a pin on Cena, Styles attempted a Phenomenal Forearm, but Cena countered into a third Attitude Adjustment, which was immediately followed by a fourth Attitude Adjustment on Styles to win the title for his record thirteenth WWE Championship. With this win, Cena tied Ric Flair's record of 16 recognized world championship reigns. [1] However, the authenticity of this supposed record-tying has been called into question. Dave Meltzer has stated that Flair is at minimum a 19-time world champion, writing "to me, the debate on Flair is whether he's a 19-time champion or a 20-time champion, but you can very much argue any number from 19 minimum to 23 maximum. In this day and age where the Internet is full of this information, it's kind of hard to cling to the 16 number, although "16" is the WWE mythology and it's hard to change from something they've pushed for so long." [40]

Main event

Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble for a second time, the first was in 2009 WWE 2014-04-07 20-18-42 NEX-6 1223 DxO (13929482772).jpg
Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble for a second time, the first was in 2009

The main event was the traditional 30-man Royal Rumble match with the winner earning a world championship match at WrestleMania 33. Big Cass and Chris Jericho began the match as the first and second entrants, respectively. Jack Gallagher, who was the fifth entrant, used his umbrella to attack Mark Henry, but was eliminated by Henry. The seventh entrant, Braun Strowman, scored the most eliminations with seven, eliminating Cass, Kalisto, Mojo Rawley, Mark Henry, Big Show, NXT's surprise entrant Tye Dillinger, and James Ellsworth. Baron Corbin, the thirteenth entrant, eventually eliminated Strowman. Wyatt family members Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, and Luke Harper entered as the twenty-first, twenty-third, and twenty-fifth entrants, respectively. Wyatt tried to maintain peace between his family, but Harper attacked Wyatt and Orton. Brock Lesnar entered as the twenty-sixth entrant, executed F5s on Orton and The Miz, and eliminated Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose (the twelfth entrant), Dolph Ziggler (the twenty-fourth entrant), and Enzo Amore (the twenty-seventh entrant). Goldberg entered as the twenty-eighth entrant, quickly eliminated Lesnar after delivering a spear, and then eliminated Rusev and Harper. The Undertaker entered as the twenty-ninth entrant, eliminating Baron Corbin, Goldberg, The Miz, and Sami Zayn, however, he was eliminated by Roman Reigns, the thirtieth entrant. [1]

Jericho, Wyatt, Orton, and Reigns were the final four. Reigns eliminated Jericho by executing a Superman Punch to knock Jericho off the top rope, and after Wyatt attempted Sister Abigail on Reigns, Reigns countered into a Superman Punch and eliminated Wyatt. As Reigns attempted a Spear on Orton, Orton countered into an RKO and eliminated Reigns to win the match and earn himself a match for his brand's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33. As a result of his win, Orton became a two-time Royal Rumble winner (the first time was in 2009), and the seventh wrestler to win multiple Royal Rumble matches. [1] [41] [42]

Aftermath

The 2017 event would be the last Royal Rumble in which only the men's Royal Rumble match took place, as the women's Royal Rumble match was introduced the following year. [43] [44]

Raw

The following night on Raw, Braun Strowman revealed that he had helped Kevin Owens retain the WWE Universal Championship because of his dislike for Roman Reigns and because Owens had promised him a title shot. Owens denied this before Strowman showed footage confirming his claim. Raw General Manager Mick Foley then scheduled the match, which ended in no contest when Reigns interfered and attacked Strowman. Chris Jericho also faced Sami Zayn in a non-title match and lost. [45] The following week, Strowman was scheduled to face Reigns at Fastlane on March 5, and Jericho retained the United States Championship against Zayn. [46] In retaliation for being eliminated by Reigns during the Royal Rumble match, The Undertaker attacked Reigns with a Chokeslam on the March 6 episode, [47] and a match between the two was scheduled for the main event of WrestleMania 33. [48]

After being humiliated by Goldberg again, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman appeared on Raw to challenge Goldberg to one final match at WrestleMania 33. [45] Goldberg appeared the following week and accepted Lesnar's challenge. Goldberg also challenged Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship at Fastlane, which was accepted by Chris Jericho on behalf of Owens and made official. [46] This resulted in Owens turning on Jericho on the February 13 episode and hospitalizing him. [49]

Also on Raw, Bayley, Cesaro, and Sheamus teamed up to face Charlotte Flair, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson in a six-person mixed tag team match where Bayley pinned Charlotte. Also, Sasha Banks had a rematch with Nia Jax, who dominated and defeated Banks again, exploiting her injured knee. [45] Bayley then defeated Flair in a rematch on the February 13 episode to become the Raw Women's Champion. [49] The following week, Charlotte invoked her rematch clause for Fastlane, [50] and Banks was scheduled for another match with Jax at Fastlane. [51] Also, on the February 6 episode, Cesaro and Sheamus invoked their rematch clause for the Raw Tag Team Championship, but the match ended in a disqualification thanks to interference from Enzo Amore and Big Cass. [46] Amore and Cass defeated Cesaro and Sheamus on the February 20 episode to become the number one contenders at Fastlane. [50]

Seth Rollins, who had been banned from the Royal Rumble, confronted Stephanie McMahon about her husband Triple H and Rollins' appearance a couple of nights prior at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. Stephanie then revealed that Triple H would be on Raw later that night. Triple H showed up and called out Rollins. As Rollins made his way to the ring, NXT call-up Samoa Joe made his main roster debut and attacked Rollins on behalf of Triple H. [45] Joe's attack on Rollins re-injured the same knee that had sidelined him for six months. [52] It was reported that Rollins would be out of action for up to eight weeks and could possibly miss WrestleMania. [53] Rollins appeared on the February 27 episode of Raw to give an update. Triple H also appeared and confronted Rollins, who declared that he would be at WrestleMania. [51]

Neville came out for a "coronation" on becoming the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He was interrupted by Rich Swann, who stated that they will have a rematch before a brawl ensued. [45] The following night on 205 Live, it was revealed that Swann was injured during the confrontation, and a fatal five-way elimination match was scheduled for the following 205 Live to determine the number one contender for Neville at Fastlane, [46] which was won by Jack Gallagher. [54]

SmackDown

John Cena defeated AJ Styles to become a record 13-time WWE Champion and 16-time overall world champion, a feat previously only accomplished by Ric Flair as recognized by WWE. John Cena - October 2016.jpg
John Cena defeated AJ Styles to become a record 13-time WWE Champion and 16-time overall world champion, a feat previously only accomplished by Ric Flair as recognized by WWE.

On the following episode of SmackDown, Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton warned new WWE Champion John Cena that if he was still champion at WrestleMania, he would take the title from him. Orton then pinned Cena in a tag team match, [55] but lost to Cena the following week due to distraction by Luke Harper. Orton was scheduled to face Harper at Elimination Chamber on February 12. [56]

A couple of weeks prior to the Royal Rumble, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that the main event of SmackDown's next pay-per-view would be an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. On January 30, after losing the title, it was confirmed that AJ Styles would be entering the match. [57] On the following episode of SmackDown, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan said that Styles would eventually get a one-on-one rematch for the title, and then revealed the other participants in the Elimination Chamber match: Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, The Miz, and Dean Ambrose. [55]

Becky Lynch and Naomi had another tag team match against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, where Naomi again pinned Bliss. [55] Afterwards on Talking Smack, Bliss was scheduled to defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Naomi at Elimination Chamber. [58] Also, Daniel Bryan announced that Natalya would face Nikki Bella at Elimination Chamber to settle their differences. [55] The following week, Lynch was scheduled to face James at Elimination Chamber. [59]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes [39] [1]
1P Naomi, Nikki Bella, and Becky Lynch defeated Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya by pinfall Six-woman tag team match [60] 9:35
2P Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated Cesaro and Sheamus (c) by pinfall Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship [61]
Two referees were assigned to the match.
10:30
3P Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks by pinfall Singles match [62] 5:10
4 Charlotte Flair (c) defeated Bayley by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship [63] 13:05
5 Kevin Owens (c) defeated Roman Reigns by pinfall No Disqualification match for the WWE Universal Championship [64]
Chris Jericho was suspended above the ring in a shark cage.
22:55
6 Neville defeated Rich Swann (c) by submission Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship [65] 14:00
7 John Cena defeated AJ Styles (c) by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Championship [66] 24:10
8 Randy Orton won by last eliminating Roman Reigns 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 33 [67] 1:02:07
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

  Raw
  SmackDown
  NXT
 Winner
DrawEntrantBrandOrderEliminated byTime [67] [68] Elimination(s)
1 Big Cass Raw3Braun Strowman09:570
2 Chris Jericho Raw27Roman Reigns1:00:132
3 Kalisto SmackDown4Braun Strowman08:170
4 Mojo Rawley SmackDown206:160
5 Jack Gallagher Raw1Mark Henry03:200
6 Mark Henry Raw5Braun Strowman03:171
7 Braun Strowman Raw9Baron Corbin13:117
8 Sami Zayn Raw25The Undertaker46:550
9 Big Show SmackDown6Braun Strowman01:420
10 Tye Dillinger NXT8Braun Strowman05:270
11 James Ellsworth SmackDown7Braun Strowman00:150
12 Dean Ambrose SmackDown16Brock Lesnar26:550
13 Baron Corbin SmackDown21The Undertaker32:391
14 Kofi Kingston Raw10Cesaro & Sheamus16:130
15 The Miz SmackDown24The Undertaker32:440
16 Sheamus Raw14Chris Jericho12:133
17 Big E Raw12Cesaro & Sheamus09:460
18 Rusev Raw20Goldberg22:310
19 Cesaro Raw13Chris Jericho06:443
20 Xavier Woods Raw11Cesaro & Sheamus04:470
21 Bray Wyatt SmackDown28Roman Reigns24:110
22 Apollo Crews SmackDown15Luke Harper05:460
23 Randy Orton SmackDownWinner20:521
24 Dolph Ziggler SmackDown17Brock Lesnar04:210
25 Luke Harper SmackDown22Goldberg09:561
26 Brock Lesnar Raw19Goldberg04:303
27 Enzo Amore Raw18Brock Lesnar00:180
28 Goldberg Raw23The Undertaker03:213
29 The Undertaker Raw26Roman Reigns08:464
30 Roman Reigns Raw29Randy Orton05:053

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Adam Joseph Scherr is an American professional wrestler and former strongman. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Braun Strowman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 33</span> 2017 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and was the third WrestleMania held at the state of Florida after XXIV and XXVIII. The New Day served as the hosts of the event. It was the first WrestleMania to feature Goldberg since WrestleMania 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shield (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling stable

The Shield was a professional wrestling stable in WWE that consisted of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. Their original characters were mercenaries for CM Punk; however, they quickly became mainstay main-event names. The group debuted on November 18, 2012 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view. The Shield was a dominant force in six-man tag team matches with an undefeated televised streak lasting from December 2012 to May 2013, during which they scored a victory at WrestleMania 29. In May 2013 at Extreme Rules, all three members of The Shield won a championship, with Ambrose winning the United States Championship while Rollins and Reigns captured the WWE Tag Team Championship. Rollins and Reigns were WWE Tag Team Champions until October 2013, and Ambrose was United States Champion until May 2014, which was a record reign for the WWE version of the championship. As a Shield member, Reigns gained prominence by setting and equaling elimination records at the 2013 Survivor Series and the 2014 Royal Rumble events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (2015)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2015 SummerSlam was the 28th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on August 23, 2015, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and would be the first of four consecutive SummerSlam events to take place at the arena. It was the first SummerSlam since 2008 to be held outside of Los Angeles as its Staples Center was the exclusive home for SummerSlam from 2009 to 2014. It was also the eighth SummerSlam to be held in the New York metropolitan area. The Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey was originally supposed to host SummerSlam, but due to its closure in April 2015, the event was relocated. It was also the first SummerSlam to be four hours in length, a length previously reserved only for WrestleMania. This was also the last SummerSlam held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016. It was also the first major WWE event following the death of Roddy Piper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 34</span> 2018 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was the second WrestleMania held at this venue after XXX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (2016)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2016 Survivor Series was the 30th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on November 20, 2016, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the first to be four hours in length. It was also the first Survivor Series held following the reintroduction of the brand split. This was second Survivor Series to take place in Canada since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 SummerSlam was the 30th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on August 20, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the third consecutive year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastlane (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 Fastlane was the third Fastlane professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on March 5, 2017, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the first Fastlane event to be brand exclusive, following the reintroduction of the brand split in July 2016, and the first non-WrestleMania WWE pay-per-view to take place in March. This was also WWE's last pay-per-view event to take place at the Bradley Center before its closure in 2018 with future WWE events in Milwaukee held at Fiserv Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roadblock: End of the Line</span> 2016 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

Roadblock: End of the Line was the second Roadblock professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. While the first Roadblock was streamed exclusively on the WWE Network, this second event also aired via traditional pay-per-view (PPV) outlets. It took place on December 18, 2016, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The name of the event was a reference to it being WWE's final PPV of 2016. This was the final Roadblock until 2022 when WWE revived the event as a television special for the NXT brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 Survivor Series was the 31st annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on November 19, 2017, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. After the 2016 event had several interpromotional matches between the two brands, the theme of the 2017 event became brand supremacy, and every match of the main card involved wrestlers of the Raw brand facing wrestlers of the SmackDown brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2018)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2018 Royal Rumble was the 31st annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 28, 2018, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the third Royal Rumble held at this venue after the 2004 and 2015 events, and was the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, and consequently, two Royal Rumble matches, which is now standard for the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payback (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 Payback was the fifth annual Payback professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held primarily for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on April 30, 2017, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Due to that year's Superstar Shake-up (draft) that occurred just two weeks before Payback, the event included two interbrand matches with wrestlers from SmackDown as the matches had been scheduled before the Shake-up occurred. It was the final Payback event until 2020, as Payback was expected to return as a SmackDown event in 2018, but following WrestleMania 34 that year, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, which resulted in the reduction of yearly PPVs produced. The theme of the event was wrestlers seeking payback against their opponents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Rules (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 Extreme Rules was the ninth annual Extreme Rules professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on June 4, 2017, at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the second Extreme Rules held at this venue after the 2010 event, when it was formerly known as 1st Mariner Arena; the arena changed its name to Royal Farms Arena in 2014. It was also the only brand-exclusive Extreme Rules event to be held during either of WWE's brand extension periods. The concept of Extreme Rules is that the event features various hardcore-based matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Mercy (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 No Mercy was the 13th No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on September 24, 2017, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. No Mercy was discontinued after the 2017 event as following WrestleMania 34 in 2018, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, resulting in the reduction of yearly PPVs produced. In 2023, however, No Mercy was revived for WWE's developmental brand, NXT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2017 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was the ninth annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on October 22, 2017, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the last brand-exclusive TLC event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elimination Chamber (2018)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2018 Elimination Chamber was the eighth Elimination Chamber professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on February 25, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. It was the final Raw-exclusive pay-per-view under the second brand split as following WrestleMania 34 in April, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive pay-per-views. The 2018 event was also the first to feature a seven-man Elimination Chamber match, the first event to include a women's Elimination Chamber match, and the first Raw-exclusive pay-per-view since the 2016 reintroduction of the brand extension to not feature any cruiserweight division matches.

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