WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Results: Biggest Winners and Losers from Marquee Event
WWE has a recent history of disappointing fans when it comes to the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. and it's fair to say Sunday's show was greeted with mixed reaction on what was a strange night for the company.
Randy Orton emerged from the pack to win the Rumble match and set up a match with John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 33—although plans can change between now and then.
Elsewhere, Roman Reigns was screwed out of the WWE Universal Championship by Braun Strowman before returning to be the final entrant in the Rumble match itself. The reaction of fans—who were expecting a surprise entrant—spoke volumes.
But who were the night's biggest winners and losers? Let's take a look.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
1 of 6The Queen of Raw's women's division continues to dominate the landscape following an impressive victory over Bayley at Royal Rumble.
It's still likely that Bayley will win the Raw Women's Championship—perhaps as soon as WrestleMania 33 if this feud continues. But right now, there's no stopping Charlotte Flair.
WWE made plenty of references to her record in singles competition on pay-per-view, which has stretched to 16-0 following her win on Sunday night.
And Flair looked to be in great shape throughout, with the match being a solid opener to what was a mixed Royal Rumble PPV.
Bayley's time will come, but Flair rightly remains on top of the mountain.
Loser: Kevin Owens
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The likes of Corey Graves and Michael Cole billed this up to be the night when Kevin Owens could prove he was the better man in a one-on-one fight. As things turned out, his WWE Universal Championship reign continued, thanks to another victory aided by someone else.
Owens threw everything at Roman Reigns throughout their match on Sunday. He sent The Big Dog crashing through a table, hit him with some brass knuckles passed down by Chris Jericho and even delivered a vintage stunner.
But over and over again, Reigns kept kicking out. It took the interference of another man, Braun Strowman, to get KO over the line.
While it's great to see Owens retain the title—and Reigns potentially move into a midcard feud with Strowman—it's high time the champion started winning some title matches on his own.
It was a huge victory for Owens, but he continues to look weak as champion.
Winner: John Cena
3 of 6Hopes were high that John Cena and AJ Styles would steal the show at Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and they didn't disappoint.
Cena is notorious for bringing his best to the big matches and big shows, and on Sunday night, he and Styles put on a match for the ages. Simply put, it was mat mastery.
Sure, there is disappointment that Styles relinquished the WWE Championship, but his time will come again.
With Cena securing a historic, record-tying 16th world title, he is solidified as the most important star in WWE history.
What happens next for both men will be fascinating. For now, fans should sit back and have another watch of one of the best championship matches in recent history.
Winner: Braun Strowman
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He may have been eliminated from the Royal Rumble match before half the entrants had even made their way to the ring, but Sunday was a great night for Braun Strowman.
His time in the Rumble was explosive. And although he would have been a favorite to win the bout with some people, Strowman still made an impact.
Having him eliminate both Mark Henry and Big Show was a smart move from WWE. It showed that Strowman is a force to be reckoned with—as did all his other eliminations throughout the early stages of the Battle Royal.
But what is more telling for Strowman is that he now looks to be heading for a WrestleMania feud with Roman Reigns.
His interference in the WWE Universal Championship match almost guaranteed it will be Strowman vs. Reigns, meaning his main event push is beginning to gather pace.
Loser: Brock Lesnar
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Yes, there's a storyline in progress, and it's a means to another meeting at WrestleMania, but Brock Lesnar's stock took another hit on Sunday night.
After the drama and shock surrounding his defeat to Goldberg at Survivor Series, WWE upped the stakes by having the former WCW champion eliminate Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match.
It looks almost certain that Lesnar vs. Goldberg is in the cards at WrestleMania 33, but The Beast Incarnate is in a bad place.
He will come back stronger and avenge his defeat at Survivor Series later this year, but this is perhaps the most vulnerable Lesnar has looked since his return to the company.
The fact that he's looking so weak against a guy who hasn't wrestled for over a decade may drop a few subtle hints as to where WWE's creative direction is heading.
Winner: The Wyatt Family
6 of 6Even though John Cena won the WWE Championship on Sunday night, all the signs point to a match between the two main members of The Wyatt Family at WrestleMania following the 30th Rumble match.
Elimination Chamber could add more twists and turns on the Road to WrestleMania, and we could see Bray Wyatt manage to muscle his way into a position to win the world title for the first time.
That would then set up Orton vs. Wyatt, a match that has been rumored to be set for WrestleMania, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc).
Fans were surprised to see The Viper emerge victorious from the Rumble.
But it looks like there is a plan, with the major stumbling block being how WWE will have Cena's record-tying 16th world title reign last only two weeks if Wyatt wins the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber.
