Royal Rumble Takeaways: Roman Reigns dominant again, Sami Zayn trending up

With the conclusion of the 2023 Royal Rumble, WWE has officially set course on the road to WrestleMania. There were plenty of highs at the 36^th annual Rumble, with a few lows mixed in as well. Here are some observations from each of the five matches on the card.

Roman reigns, Sami sizzles

Sami Zayn is the main character in the best storyline WWE has produced in, at least, six years, dating back to Daniel Bryan’s chase for the title in 2014.

After Roman Reigns retained his title against Kevin Owens in what proved to be a particularly brutal matchup, physically, Zayn was asked to contribute to the carnage afterward but declined and, instead, dished out a chair shot on Reigns.

The crowd reaction that Zayn received upon hitting Reigns with the chair was massive, cementing his status as the biggest babyface in WWE. Zayn was then assaulted by Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and Reigns, with Jey Uso notably declining to join in on the beatdown. It’s the latest chapter in what has been some of the most compelling storytelling in all of pro wrestling in years, and the main character just so happens to be Canadian made, from Montreal.

The next Premium Live Event on WWE’s calendar is Elimination Chamber and it just so happens to be in Montreal. Zayn is already rumoured to be part of the Chamber match, but it remains to be seen what the stipulation to the match will be. Will Reigns be defending his title inside the Chamber? Will it be a number-one contender match for Reigns’ title? Will Zayn be recruited back to The Bloodline to help Reigns retain his title in the match? There are plenty of questions to be answered in the coming months, and that includes what to do with the Royal Rumble winner…

No Sami, no problem?

One of the biggest storylines to come out of the Men's Royal Rumble surrounded the absence of Zayn. Picked by many fans and media (including this author) to win the entire match, Sami wasn’t even part of the match. Instead, it was the betting favourite Cody Rhodes who came out on top.

Rhodes made his first appearance in a WWE ring since June of 2022, after recovering from pectoral surgery, entering the Royal Rumble as the final entrant, number 30. It was an interesting choice to have Rhodes come out last, as it made his road to the Rumble victory seem a tad less impressive, regardless of what he had to go through to get to this point, rehabbing pectoral surgery from an injury suffered last summer. 

Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, though, to have asked for Rhodes to come out earlier in the Rumble, such as at No. 1. He may not be completely recovered from his pec surgery, and maybe he wasn't able to wrestle for longer than the 16 or so minutes he ended up being in the ring for. Whatever the case may be, the story was extremely predictable, but still also appreciated. Rhodes worked his tail off to get to this point and he's on a collision course with Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania.

Some other highlights of the Men’s Royal Rumble:

Guenther came out at No. 1 and put forth an incredible performance, a potentially star-making performance. Guenther has been part of several five-star matches over the course of his WWE tenure, but those matches were never in front of a Rumble-sized audience. Guenther has future world champion written all over him.

Logan Paul continues to demonstrate that he's got an aptitude for pro wrestling, whether people care for him or not. His appearance was greeted with malaise by fans in attendance but just like he's done in the past, Paul turned much of the crowd into fans. His mid-air collision with Ricochet was the highlight of the night.

Braun Strowman looked like a star, and his tag team with Ricochet looks to have promise.

Brock Lesnar's short appearance was entertaining, and his elimination at the hands of Bobby Lashley told a good story. Lesnar tearing apart the outside of the ring afterward was also quite entertaining. Lesnar’s appearance was perfect.

Rhea Rips through the Rumble

Maybe Cody didn't come in at number one in the men’s Rumble match and win because that was always the plan for Rhea Ripley in the women’s Rumble match.

Ripley is the first woman to ever win the Women’s Royal Rumble from the number one position. Ripley has been destined for stardom since her early chase for the NXT Championship and is now reaching that next stratosphere in stardom. Ripley was the betting favourite ahead of the match, at near even money, and proved the bookies correct in that assessment with her victory. She also proved fans and media correct, as well, who have been behind her ascension for the last several years. She’ll now take on one of Bianca Belair or Charlotte Flair at ‘Mania.

The finish of the match was unique and entertaining, involving some of the members of the upper card of the women’s division that weren’t Becky Lynch or Bayley, which was refreshing. Instead, the final three were Ripley, Liv Morgan and Asuka, who returned after a couple months away to a very positive reaction from the crowd. Raquel Rodriguez also had a very strong showing, asserting herself as a big part of the future of the women's division in WWE.

The present and future of women's wrestling, though, surrounds Rhea Ripley. She's ready to prove that she is the star in all of wrestling, regardless of gender. And if it wasn’t already clear, Ripley is the leader of the Judgement Day stable.

Bianca batters Bliss

On a night where plenty felt unpredictable, the result of the Raw Women’s Championship match was discernably opposite.

Bianca Belair retained her championship in a relatively tame matchup against Alexa Bliss, in a match where it felt like Belair faced no serious threat. Belair is unquestionably still one of the faces of WWE, and her reign as champ shows no sign of slowing down.

Should WWE decide to go in the direction of Belair against Ripley at WrestleMania, it will present a great opportunity to feature two of the best, most athletic wrestlers on the WWE roster going against each other. That matchup could headline one of the nights of WrestleMania this year.

Pitch Zero match

Kudos to WWE for acquiring the advertising dollars associated with Mountain Dew Pitch Black, and creatively applying it to a match. But the match fell flatter than Stanley.

Bray Wyatt wrestled his first match in WWE in almost two years, defeating LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match. The lights went out and the Alamodome turned into a large rave hanger, complete with glow-in-the-dark clothing and sparkles. I can’t imagine WWE will be rushing to run back a match like this in the near future because the crowd didn’t seem into it, and the internet wrestling community was certainly far from infatuated.

And that’s without mentioning the appearance of the mysterious Uncle Howdy, who leaped off a stage onto LA Knight, creating an explosion. Again, this shouldn’t be something WWE is rushing to do again. But hey, during the press conference afterward Cody Rhodes tried the actual Pitch Black beverage and said it was great. So that’s a win.