WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Full match results

The 2018 WWE Royal Rumble took over Philadelphia, PA on Sunday night, and we have all of the results, highlights and more for you from the event.

When it comes to the Big Four pay-per-views in WWE, the biggest of them is without a doubt WrestleMania. However, the first of the calendar year and the first step to getting to Mania is the Royal Rumble. And on Sunday, Jan. 28 in the always-hyped city of Philadelphia, PA, the 2018 Royal Rumble took center stage at the Wells Fargo Center.

Obviously the biggest draw for the show is the Rumble match. 30 men all entering the ring vying for the chance to be in the main event of Mania is a huge deal. Then, when you factor in the surprises that always come about during the match, it’s even better.

More than that this year, however, this could be a historic show. There is also the first-ever Women’s Rumble match. 30 women will also vie for the opportunity to fight for the Women’s Championship of their choosing at Mania.

If that weren’t enough, though, there is plenty of other great action at the Royal Rumble show. The main event match aside from the Rumble features three behemoths, Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman and Kane, duking it out for the WWE Universal Championship. With that and much more, this was set to be a big show.

So, what transpired at the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble? We’ve got you covered by tracking all of the results and highlights with instant analysis below.

Kickoff Show

With a two-hour Kickoff Show for the Royal Rumble, to say that it was a bit of a chore is putting it lightly. Put simply, that’s a lot of professional wrestling to digest consecutively. Thus, we’re just going to get the quick and dirty results from the three Kickoff Show matches that transpired.

• Gran Metalik, Kalisto and Lince Dorado def. TJP, Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Drew Gulak
• The Revival def. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson 
• US Championship Open Challenge: Bobby Roode (c) def. Mojo Rawley

WWE Championship Handicap Match: AJ Styles (c) def. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Instant Grade: B+

Given the stipulation of the handicap match to stack the odds against AJ Styles, one could have predicted how this match would ultimately play out. It would’ve been too obvious (and complicated) to have co-WWE Champions with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn given the stip. Thus, seeing Styles retain was the expected outcome.

Having said that, the journey to get to that point was highly entertaining, and helped start paving the road to WrestleMania. For most of the match, it was very much Owens and Zayn methodically picking Styles apart. Every time that the champ would try to get offense, there would be a tag or interference from one of his opponents to thwart his attempt at swinging momentum. What’s more, when Styles did get offense in and would go for the pin, it was broken up by the man not being pinned.

However, when it looked as if Zayn and Owens were going to try and land the final blow, Styles let loose one last flurry of offense and ignited some controversy. Zayn was the legal man and was close to tagging Owens — but appeared not to. However, the ref ruled KO the legal man. As he went for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, Styles then escaped and scored a flash pin to retain and defy the odds.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (2 out of 3 Falls): The Usos (c) def. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin

Instant Grade: D

The action in the ring for the first 95 percent of this match was quite fun. That shouldn’t be surprising considering the talent of the four men involved. The match started off with some great back-and-forth action, Gable and Benjamin coming across rightfully desperate, but The Usos being able to stay calculated and pick their spots. This ultimately led to Gable finding himself in between both of the champs and eating simultaneous superkicks for The Usos to score the first pin.

However, where this match ultimately fell apart was when it came to the second fall. Now, to be clear, things started off like we were going to get a solid story being built going into a third fall. Gable and Benjamin went to the outside and absolutely decimated Jimmy Uso. This seemed to leave Jey in a horrible spot.

Yet, when Gable and Benjamin set up Jey for a finisher, the champ was able to get a roll-up and pick up the second fall and ultimately the win.

Royal Rumble Match – Shinsuke Nakamura wins

Instant Grade: B+

For full highlights, results and a recap of the Rumble match, please click the linked result above.

WWE RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Bar def. Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) – New Champs!

Instant Grade: C

Frankly, it’s hard to know how to grade this match overall because it’s hard to tell what exactly was going on with Jason Jordan. Early in the match, the former member of American Alpha was sent into the ring post in a nasty collision. As a result, he was left incapacitated for much of the match as Rollins battled with Sheamus and Cesaro by himself in a proverbial handicap match.

If it was storyline for Jordan to be injured, then this was a pretty forgettable match that is obviously just leading to something bigger for the now former champs. However, if it was a real injury, it’s hard to feel right about giving it any sort of grade. When a shoot injury like that happens in a match, it derails everything and really makes these guys act on their toes. As such, we’ll give this one an average grade of “C” given what we don’t know about what transpired.

WWE Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) def. Kane and Braun Strowman

Instant Grade: C+

For a full recap and highlights of the match, click the linked result above.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match – Asuka Wins

Instant Grade: B+

For a full recap of the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, click on the linked result above.

Oh, and for good measure, this also happened as Ronda Rousey is now in WWE.

Next: 50 Best Professional Wrestlers Of All-Time

There is a strong argument to be made that the Royal Rumble is the best show of the year in WWE. Of course, that doesn’t mean every show lives up to the billing. With a card like the one promised in Philly, however, that seems like it won’t be of concern to the company or fans.