WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Winners: Biggest Stars of the Night
Another Royal Rumble is in the books, and from here on out, the storylines are going to progress quickly. The plans are essentially set in stone. All that remains is how WWE will fulfill them.
Sunday night was a mixture of old and new, and it too often leaned toward old. The Undertaker was out of shape. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg did their respective schticks, which, while entertaining, are nothing new.
Roman Reigns entered the Rumble match at No. 30, which has to set a dubious bar for antagonizing one's fanbase.
And Randy Orton won the Rumble match. Imagine that. Because when fans think of the New Era, led by a new generation of Superstars, they think of Randy Orton.
So who did manage to stand out against the static? Here are the biggest stars of the night.
Charlotte Flair
1 of 5
Over the course of her 16-win pay-per-view streak, Charlotte Flair has developed into a fantastic performer. It used to feel like her matches were a collection of power moves, all strung together with no narrative flow. Her heel tactics relied on other people's actions. She relied too much on her father's legacy to get over with the fans.
But on Sunday night, Flair put all those separate components together and delivered a great match. She had better chemistry with Bayley than she did with Sasha Banks—everything looked crisp, and aside from a busted lip (which added to the match's intensity), there were no obvious botches.
Flair looked dominant; she didn't even need to cheat to pull off the victory. Expect her to walk into WrestleMania 33 as champion.
Kevin Owens
2 of 5
If this No Disqualification match proved one thing, it's that Kevin Owens is best when he works alone. Chris Jericho has been doing some of the best work of his career for the past several months, but it's come at the expense of Owens' aura and intimidation factor.
It was refreshing to watch Owens go solo for the majority of this brutal, steel-intensive match. Jericho is entertaining, but he draws too much attention and heat away from whoever he's paired with.
The sooner this bromance wraps up, the better. And hopefully fans can see more of the loner, hardcore Owens who they first fell in love with in 2015. We got a good glimpse of him on Sunday.
Neville
3 of 5
The cruiserweight division has been a blessing for Neville. At one time, he was a wrestler adrift—loved by the fans for his high-flying antics but too small to realistically go up against the likes of Braun Strowman or Big Show.
But Neville is a giant in the cruiserweight division, and he put his comparative size to good use on Sunday against an overmatched Rich Swann. This feud has been the most interesting thing about the cruiserweight division since its debut, and Neville works so much better as a heel than as a caped babyface.
The technical prowess of the cruiserweight division has never been in doubt. Hopefully the storylines can improve to match it.
John Cena
4 of 5
He probably won't have a long title reign, but for now, John Cena is once again the top man in WWE after beating AJ Styles in a grueling match to claim the mantle.
Cena is always at his best when he's scowling, and he did a lot of scowling throughout this intense bout. The punches were vicious. The kicks were on point. And Cena pulled out some rarely seen moves, as he has a tendency to do during big matches.
His high-altitude facebuster was a notable, painful-looking spot, and his fireman's carry into a cutter was equally impressive.
Braun Strowman
5 of 5
He may not have won the Rumble, but the star of Sunday's show was Braun Strowman, who WWE continues to book and protect perfectly.
He interfered in Owens and Reigns' match with a high-impact table spot, and the first third of the Rumble was The Strowman Show. He leveled every one of the Superstars in the ring with high-impact clotheslines. He got the classic "everyone eliminates the big guy" spot, which kept him looking strong.
The only problem is that he was eliminated too early. And without his presence, the rest of the Rumble was fairly lackluster.
