Rich Swann vs. Neville: Winner and Reaction for WWE Royal Rumble 2017

Neville's momentum continued Sunday at the Royal Rumble, as The Man That Gravity Forgot defeated Rich Swann to become the new cruiserweight champion. 

Neville forced Swann to tap out with a modified crossface. WWE shared a replay of Swann submitting:

WWE Creative Humor noted Neville prevailed despite not using his finishing move, the Red Arrow:

The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez is excited to see Neville reign over the cruiserweight division:

After several weeks off WWE programming, Neville made his return at Roadblock: End of the Line in December following Swann's victory over T.J. Perkins and Brian Kendrick in a Triple Threat match.

While it looked like the Brit was there to congratulate Swann, he instead attacked his former friend and turned heel in the process.

That led to a major hot streak for Neville, as he defeated many of the cruiserweight division's top competitors, including Swann in a non-title match on 205 Live.

The master of the Red Arrow displayed an aggressiveness that had never been part of his repertoire before, and it was on full display a couple of weeks prior to the Royal Rumble, when he jumped Swann ahead of a scheduled match against Tony Nese.

Following that beatdown, Neville offered a stern warning to Swann, via WWE Universe on Twitter:

There was a great deal of hype surrounding the cruiserweight division after the success of the Cruiserweight Classic, but it initially struggled to gain traction and looked to be floundering on Raw.

An influx of talent has changed that, however, and shifting Neville into the cruiserweight ranks was the best move WWE could have made in terms of lending the division credibility.

Although Neville has yet to reach his full potential on the main roster, he is a former NXT champion and one of the best in-ring talents in the WWE, which gives him name recognition with the viewing audience.

New Superstars like Swann are still building a relationship with WWE Universe, but feuding with Neville has him on the fast track to becoming a big-time fan favorite.

The show put on by both men at the Royal Rumble was a coup for the cruiserweight division, and it proved there is enough chemistry between them to warrant a long-term feud.

Neville's win is a clear sign that their rivalry is bound to continue, and that is positive news for a division that is finally hitting its stride.

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