The road to Wrestlemania officially kicks off with the Royal Rumble event. After seven botched events, WWE finally nailed it.

Rusev and Finn Balor were the lucky ones; as they entered No.1 and No. 2 respectively. That was just foreshadowing how great the match was going to be. Once Baron Corbin hit the ring, he laid to waste Rusev and Balor. Elias made his debut...with a song about spitting on the Rocky statue. That’s how you anger a Philly crowd. That was pretty darn creative and it just added more fan support.

Men’s Royal Rumble

Tye Dillinger was on the verge of making his debut, but Kevin Owens disposed of him.

The leader of the "Yep" movement, Sami Zayn, took his spot. Of course, they were still salty after their loss to AJ Styles; earlier that night.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Seth Rollins followed soon after. Before we knew it, the ring was packed. The New Day had an upper hand as a group, but Jinder Mahal made sure that their presence was short-lived. Fair enough.

Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt brought their feud into the ring. They didn’t last that long, as they eliminated each other. It was somewhat of a buzzkill, but that is the right way to continue their feud.

The final moments had a very strong significance. Orton, Cena, and Rey Mysterio debuted as part of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

They were facing the stars of today; Balor, Nakamura, and Reigns.

Eventually, John Cena, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and Nakamura were the last men in the ring. The fans in attendance and internet trolls were on the verge of exploding, as it looked like Orton, Reigns, or Cena was going to win. To everyone’s surprise, the former NJPW star got the best of Reigns and won the Royal Rumble.

Nakamura is a fresh face to the Royal Rumble winner lineage and WWE recognizes what they have on their hands.

Women’s Royal Rumble match

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch entered uncharted territory as the first women to open up their Royal Rumble match. Given that this consisted of 30 entrants, we knew that there were going to be various surprise appearances.

Lita was the first legend to enter. She showed us all that she hasn’t missed a step. The likes of Michelle McCool (aka Undertaker’s wife), Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Kelly Kelly, Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus, Beth Phoenix, and even Vickie Guerrero showed up. Guerrero is still carrying that awesome heat from years ago. All together, they added more value to the bout. The nostalgia factor was strong.

It came down to Sasha Banks, the Bella Twins, and Asuka. Someone didn’t remind them that siblings don’t exist in this environment. Nikki got the best of her sister, yet fell victim to the Empresses of Tomorrow. Thus, Asuka will forever be recognized as the winner of the first Women’s Royal Rumble.

You can discard your skepticism right about now.

The women pulled off an instant classic. Sure, many are saying that Ronda Rousey’s debut, post-match, stole the moment from Asuka since she shifted her focus to Stephanie McMahon. That was the only part that WWE botched tonight, with a McMahon in the spotlight.
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