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Seth Rollins Earns WrestleMania 35 Match After Winning 2019 WWE Royal Rumble
January 28, 2019
Seth Rollins won the 2019 men's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view Sunday night to earn a title shot at WrestleMania.
Rollins last eliminated Braun Strowman. The two stars were perched precariously and battling on the ring apron.
Rollins pushed Strowman into the ring post, which stunned The Monster Among Men. A kick to the gut sent Strowman to one knee, which allowed Rollins to hit the Stomp. Strowman fell to the floor and Rollins booked his place in WrestleMania 35.
Bleacher Report's Kevin Berge didn't think Rollins' victory carried the same satisfaction as Becky Lynch winning the women's Royal Rumble match:
In addition to Rollins being the last man standing, the men's Royal Rumble delivered plenty of memorable moments.
Nia Jax made the final four of the women's Rumble and took it upon herself to enter the men's Rumble as well. She attacked R-Truth, who was originally set to be the No. 30 entrant, and took his place in the match.
Jax made her presence felt and dumped Mustafa Ali over the top rope.
The fun didn't last long for the former Raw women's champion. She ate a superkick from Dolph Ziggler and an RKO from Randy Orton before Rey Mysterio eliminated her.
The Royal Rumble match provides WWE with an opportunity to get some of NXT's biggest stars onto a major pay-per-view. Johnny Gargano, United Kingdom champion Pete Dunne and Aleister Black all arrived on the scene in Phoenix.
Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett even had a brief moment in the sun. He and Elias went back and forth before the match began. Elias eventually turned on the legend, hitting him with a guitar and throwing him over the top rope.
Kofi Kingston's feats of athleticism have become a regular feature of the Royal Rumble every year, and he had a pair of incredible saves in 2019.
First, he kept his feet on the top of the ring apron as he rolled over to the steel steps and walked back into the ring.
Then, he and fellow New Day member Xavier Woods combined for a move that has to be seen to be believed.
The fact that Rollins made it to the end of the match was a miracle on its own. He eliminated Bobby Lashley shortly after Lashley stepped inside the squared circle. The intercontinental champion took exception to that and dragged Rollins to the outside.
He capped off a thorough beatdown by throwing Rollins through an announce table.
Somehow, Rollins not only recovered but also found enough strength to overcome Strowman.
The Rumble win was a long time coming for Rollins, who has worked his way back to the top of WWE since a significant knee injury forced him to relinquish the WWE Championship in 2015.
Rollins has been a workhorse for WWE since then, and he enjoyed an impressive Intercontinental Championship reign that ended with a loss to Dean Ambrose at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.
Although the loss was a temporary setback, it was a positive for Rollins since it paved the way for him to get back in the world title scene.
Losing the IC title helped make him the odds-on favorite in the Rumble match, and there was no doubt entering the event that he was singularly focused on outlasting 29 other Superstars.
On the go-home edition of Raw prior to the Royal Rumble, Rollins cut an impassioned promo about the importance of winning the Rumble match and going on to challenge for a top title at WrestleMania.
He connected effectively with the fans, which ensured that he would have no shortage of support behind him entering the Rumble match.
While Rollins had enjoyed some level of success in Royal Rumble matches earlier in his career, he hasn't often been viewed as a true contender to win them. That has had more to do with the circumstances surrounding the Rumble than Rollins' skill level or how much he has deserved to win it.
Of everyone on the roster, there is no doubt that Rollins was among the top Superstars to have never won a Rumble, but that is no longer the case.
The Architect had a great 2018 in terms of putting the IC title back on the map, temporarily reforming The Shield and putting on countless great matches.
Now that 2019 Royal Rumble winner is on Rollins' resume, he has a chance to go into WrestleMania 35 and leave with either the Universal Championship or WWE Championship around his waist.
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