WWE Royal Rumble 2019 results: Highlights, takeaways, WrestleMania projections
By Luke Norris
Seth Rollins wins the Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Order of entry/Elimination number
1. Elias/Elimination #5 (Seth Rollins)
2. Jeff Jarrett/Elimination #1 (Elias)
3. Shinsuke Nakamura/Elimination #8 (Mustafa Ali)
4. Kurt Angle/Elimination #2 (Shinsuke Nakamura)
5. Big E/Elimination #4 (Samoa Joe)
6. Johnny Gargano/Elimination #9 (Dean Ambrose)
7. Jinder Mahal/Elimination #3 (Johnny Gargano)
8. Samoa Joe/Elimination #14 (Mustafa Ali)
9. Curt Hawkins/Elimination #7 (Samoa Joe)
10. Seth Rollins-winner
11. Titus O’Neil/Elimination #6 (Curt Hawkins)
12. Kofi Kingston/Elimination #12 (Drew McIntyre)
13. Mustafa Ali/Elimination #23 (Nia Jax)
14. Dean Ambrose/Elimination #13 (Aleister Black)
15. No Way Jose/Elimination #10 (Samoa Joe)
16. Drew McIntyre/Elimination #22 (Dolph Ziggler)
17. Xavier Woods/Elimination #11 (Drew McIntyre)
18. Pete Dunne/Elimination #17 (Drew McIntyre)
19. Andrade/Elimination #27 (Braun Strowman)
20. Apollo Crews/Elimination #15 (Baron Corbin)
21. Aleister Black/Elimination #16 (Baron Corbin)
22. Shelton Benjamin/Elimination #20 (Braun Strowman)
23. Baron Corbin/Elimination #19 (Braun Strowman)
24. Jeff Hardy/Elimination #21 (Drew McIntyre)
25. Rey Mysterio/Elimination #25 (Randy Orton)
26. Bobby Lashley/Elimination #18 (Seth Rollins)
27. Braun Strowman-Elimination #29 (Seth Rollins)
28. Dolph Ziggler/Elimination #28 (Braun Strowman)
29. Randy Orton/Elimination #26 (Andrade)
30. Nia Jax/Elimination #24 (Rey Mysterio)
We didn’t get the throwbacks in the Women’s Royal Rumble but we got it right off the bat in the men’s version as Jeff Jarrett joined Elias as the first two entrants and just as the WWE Universe was about to get the greatest duet in history, Elias turned and took out the WWE Hall of Famer…guitar shot and all. Fantastic.
More fun moments from the night
It was nice to see Kurt Angle get a few minutes in there. He didn’t look his best but got a few suplexes in. But wrestling’s past gave way to wrestling’s future for a bit as NXT stars Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black both got some solid time in the ring with Black even getting to eliminate Dean Ambrose, who of course had his time in there with Seth Rollins.
Curt Hawkins brought a little comedy in but was upstaged after a few minutes by Titus O’Neil, who if you’ll remember had that unfortunate incident last year at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. It’s nice he can make fun of himself though. Both were out of the match fairly quickly. But at least Hawkins got himself an elimination.
Kofi was up to his usual tricks and while not his best (and I still think that second foot hit the floor the first time around), he still entertains as always. No Way Jose came very close to setting a record for the shortest time in a Royal Rumble in this year’s edition of “Why do they do things like that?”
But it was Nia Jax who ended up stealing the show at the end as she took out R-Truth in the No. 30 slot. She came in and did a little damage, even eliminating Mustafa Ali before being given the equal treatment she wanted as she took a superkick from Dolph Ziggler, a 619 from Rey Mysterio and then an RKO from Randy Orton. Really entertaining segment.
Andrade had a nice showing and made it to the final four alongside Ziggler, Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins. Strowman and Rollins were the easy favorites and were the final two in. After a few teases, The Kingslayer was able to punch his ticket to WrestleMania by hitting The Stomp on the apron to eliminate Braun. Overall, this wasn’t as good as the Women’s Rumble Match but the finish was good.
What’s next: Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. Sorry, Braun. Not your time yet.
What was your favorite match of the 2019 edition of the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event? What does your WrestleMania 35 card look like? Feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below.