WWE Royal Rumble 2019 results: Highlights, takeaways, WrestleMania projections
By Luke Norris
WWE Championship Match
Daniel Bryan (c) def. AJ Styles
Another pay-per-view, another good AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan matchup…until it wasn’t. I don’t think this is the best match that they’ve put on but it was still very solid…until the end anyway. As you can expect from two veterans like this, they were able to tell a great story with Bryan injuring and focusing on Styles’ arm while AJ went for DB’s knee. These two were also throwing some very stiff shots in there throughout the bout, which added plenty of realism to this already-fierce rivalry. The stiff shots were there. The storytelling was there. The aerial tactics were there. This was shaping up to be another classic and then the finish happened.
These two battled for nearly 20 minutes and then we got that “Um…what?” moment as Erick Rowan, or Rowan (I’m actually not sure what he’s gonna be called now), hit the ringside area and got involved when the referee was down, chokeslamming Styles to allow Bryan to pick up the victory. So again…UM, WHAT?
The ONLY thing on @AJStylesOrg's mind is REGAINING the #WWEChampionship! #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/HNnk8xCsuT
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 28, 2019
There is a LOT of FIGHT left in the challenger @AJStylesOrg! #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/ATVbHjqxEA
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 28, 2019
This is vicious. This is personal. This is about the #WWEChampionship!@AJStylesOrg @WWEDanielBryan #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/glfKiJYYxf
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019
It's... @ERICKROWAN? #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/Jt12V1CqP8
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019
#TheNew @WWEDanielBryan is STILL your @WWE Champion...and @ERICKROWAN seems pleased. #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/Y4CJZj8DFE
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019
What’s next: One would have to assume that AJ Styles is out of title chances and that’s okay for now. I don’t think anyone really expected him to win this match but the ending threw me for a loop? Is Daniel Bryan starting a new stable? Is Erick Rowan just a little extra muscle? I’m sure we’ll get some answers on SmackDown Live on Tuesday night. As for how this will affect WrestleMania, it will be interesting to see who gets that shot at the WWE Championship. Styles is rumored to be facing Randy Orton, which could be fun if The Viper is into it, so that leaves someone to step up and face Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania and it’s not going to be the Rumble winner in my opinion.