WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Results: Reviewing Top Highlights and Low Points

The Royal Rumble is one of the most important events in the entire year for WWE as it sets the tone for the Road to WrestleMania and gives fans an inkling of what might be in store at the show's biggest pay-per-view.

When things go well, this is the start of a great few months of building excitement and anticipation to what we all hope is a fantastic WrestleMania 34 on April 8; when WWE misfires, though, the Royal Rumble becomes a monument of proof that the audience is doomed to suffer for a while.

In the past few years, the Royal Rumble hasn't been met with much positivity as WWE pushed agendas the crowd didn't necessarily agree with in favor of what the company brass decided to dictate as the best decision.

For the 2018 Royal Rumble, there was plenty of potential for things to go in either direction as the looming threat of a Roman Reigns celebration lingered in the same air as the overwhelming support for the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match.

Did WWE capitalize on the positives and build up plenty of good will to sustain the Road to WrestleMania, or was this event muddled with too many negatives that sunk it down into the depths of despair once again?

Presented in order of appearance, here are the standout segments from the 2018 Royal Rumble that fell into the categories of either being a highlight or a low point for the evening.

Kickoff Pre-Show Breakdown

Credit: WWE.com

With two hours of pre-show content, there were plenty of ups and downs along the way for the Royal Rumble kickoff among the backstage segments, panel analysis and the matches themselves.

Here is a breakdown of the positives and negatives of the three segments that started the night:

Highlights

• It was great to see Chad Gable and Jason Jordan address their split and the parallels between American Alpha and Team Angle now that Shelton Benjamin has become Jordan's replacement.
• Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being so obnoxious addressing social media questions was hilarious.
• While it was a forgettable match, it was good to see The Revival get their win back after losing at Raw 25.

Low Points

• The cruiserweight tag team match did nothing to boost this card or to convince anybody 205 Live is worth checking out.
• There was a chance to have Bobby Roode fight someone from Raw, NXT or anywhere else outside the SmackDown roster, but Mojo Rawley was chosen instead, which was disappointing to say the least.
• Old school fans would have appreciated at least one segment of someone picking their number with the golden tumbler, which didn't make an appearance this year.

If you spent the time preparing your food and having this on in the background, there's not too much room to complain.

At the very least, this did have three matches to take up some time instead of being just video packages and recap analysis, so that's a win even if the overall elements weren't too special.

Low Point: WWE Championship Handicap Match

Credit: WWE.com

While not something terrible to rag on, this match left a lot to the imagination and didn't amount to all that much.

The action was fine but nothing special, and the end result of Styles retaining is the right call for the long run, yet nothing was done to push the story forward.

The non-appearance of SmackDown Live general manager Daniel Bryan was a mistake as he was instrumental in building the intrigue about this angle and trying to figure out whose side he was on.

This just happened and then ended, being followed up by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn complaining to commissioner Shane McMahon afterward and proving this story isn't over, so this meant nothing, really.

Going forward, something different is going to have to happen to give this feud a boost as it can't sustain itself for the next few months heading into WrestleMania with just being the same complaint promos and nothing more.

Highlight: Going Against the Grain for 2-out-of-3 Falls Match

Credit: WWE.com

The SmackDown Tag Team Championship was on the line in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, with The Usos coming out on top.

The match itself was fine, if nothing more on the filler side than anything, but the one big positive that came out of this segment was how it did something that is rarely done.

In virtually every 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, there is a standard back and forth with the score being even and going down to the final fall.

In this, The Usos merely won the first two falls and secured victory with no questions.

This was shocking and unexpected due to the history of trading the falls, and it was nice to see something go against the grain.

Lastly, The Usos retaining their titles was the better move than the belts changing hands as they have more popularity to their names and will be better champions heading into WrestleMania season.

30-Man Royal Rumble Match Breakdown

Credit: WWE.com

Clocking in at over an hour, the Royal Rumble matches follow the pre-show at being filled with too much content to narrow down to just a simple highlight or low point, so here is another breakdown of the pros and cons of the 30-Man Royal Rumble.

Highlights

• Andrade "Cien" Almas being an entrant.
• Tye Dillinger being the 10th entrant, even though it didn't work out for him.
• The running gag of everybody attacking Heath Slater was funny to see happen over and over again.
• Kofi Kingston evading elimination by stepping on pancakes was fun.
• The Hurricane making his return, albeit brief.
• Adam Cole being an entrant.
• Rey Mysterio's return was significantly better than the last time he was in a Royal Rumble, and he looked to be in great shape.
• Dolph Ziggler's return was a welcome surprise.
• Instead of going with Roman Reigns, it's a good call to have Shinsuke Nakamura win.
• It was refreshing to hear the crowd react positively to the Royal Rumble winner, which hasn't happened in years.

Low Points

• Baron Corbin being eliminated so fast proves his problems in getting a push are still going on.
• Plenty of people didn't get an opportunity to compete, but that is the downside to having so many talented names on the roster.
• Some of the eliminations were telegraphed too much by previous feuding or teeing up for someone, but that happens every year.
• It can be argued Ziggler should have lasted longer, given the pop he received and how it would have given him more momentum.
• Having this match happen so early killed the crowd's enthusiasm for the Raw Tag Team Championship that followed

All in all, this wasn't one of the better Royal Rumble matches of all time, but the general scope of it was largely positive.

Low Point: Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Credit: WWE.com

By this point in the night, the crowd was less than enthusiastic to see three of these four men who had been in the previous match fight once again—particularly as they have been wrestling each other every week on Monday Night Raw for a long while.

The story of Jason Jordan's injury getting in the way of his performance was slow and laborious, dragging on the same point and convincing everyone to wait until the end for anything to matter.

When the time finally came for the titles to change hands, it felt like a boring finish with no energy behind it.

Now, we're back to the status quo with The Bar on top once more, so the entire title reign for Rollins and Jordan was virtually pointless.

It's also doubtful this will give any momentum to a feud between Rollins and Jordan, so if WWE had that in mind, those two will need to step up their game to build a better program.

Highlight: Universal Championship Match

Credit: WWE.com

If you went into this match being OK with the idea Brock Lesnar was obviously going to retain his title by pinning Kane, it became much easier to swallow the result.

Keeping that in mind, the match itself had plenty of stiff shots to make the action worth watching.

The major goals to hit were to show all three men had enough power behind them to potentially win, so every time they traded shots, they pulled that off.

Braun Strowman, in particular, was able to stay strong in his loss since he avoided taking the pin and was able to stand up so soon after the finish, ready for a fight.

Your mileage may vary on whether Lesnar should have dropped the title, but given the circumstances, this was the best possible scenario for something WWE would not have budged on.

30-Woman Royal Rumble Match Breakdown

Credit: WWE.com

Just as with the men's Royal Rumble, the first-ever 30-Woman Royal Rumble requires a more intensive examination of its highs and lows:

Highlights

• Lita's return to the ring after so many years and still being able to hit her moonsault was fun.
• Kairi Sane's call-up was a great way to give her more momentum after not being able to capitalize on the Mae Young Classic tournament victory.
• Seeing Torrie Wilson in the ring again looking better than ever is never a bad thing.
• Michelle McCool put on a rather dominant performance, which should offset how she rarely gets enough credit for her career.
• Oddly, it was nice to hear Vickie Guerrero's shrieking again and to see her ganged up on.
• Jacqueline's appearance was short and didn't need to be anything more than it was.
• Ember Moon making it into the match despite her injuries from TakeOver will help her credibility considerably.
• Naomi saving her self was reminiscent of Kofi Kingston but still a good spot.
• Beth Phoenix made history for being the first Superstar to appear in a men's and a women's Royal Rumble.
• It also made sense for Natalya to toss Phoenix out, seeing as how they are close friends.
• This wouldn't have been a true women's Royal Rumble without Trish Stratus, so that was a necessity.
• Having Nikki Bella turn on Brie Bella was a nice touch that many might not have seen coming.

Low Points

• No Ronda Rousey, in particular, was disappointing, but that expectation can't be blamed on WWE. Being there at the event, though, and not competing, was a different story and underwhelming.
• No Alicia Fox was another downside as she was previously announced beforehand and could have done something wild.
• There was a missed opportunity to have WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon enter the match from ringside.

Just staging this match was a major step forward for the Women's Revolution, and that in itself is a big positive for this card, particularly as it was the main event.

This should be celebrated for that accomplishment in itself, let alone for the entertaining material inside it.

Be sure to tell us your thoughts on the highlights and low points in the comments section below.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.