Becky Lynch Wins Royal Rumble and Best Moments from the Road to WrestleMania 35

The Road to WrestleMania 35 has been unpredictable and full of twists and turns that few could have imagined.

It has featured fan favorites finally receiving the opportunities they have long deserved, phenomenal promos from some of the best talkers in the industry and championship wins that have set the stage for colossal showdowns.

In many ways, it has been a Road to WrestleMania for the fans, with their chosen ones leaping to the forefront of the product in high-profile matches that will live forever in the annals of wrestling's Showcase of the Immortals.

It is no surprise, then, that those Superstars are prominently featured in these 10 best moments from the long journey to Sunday's event.

10. The Parking Garage Brawl

Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch were supposed to put aside their issues six days from WrestleMania 35 and coexist as partners in a Six-Woman Tag Team match against The Riott Squad on Raw.

Instead, the opponents in Sunday's main event came to blows and were ultimately arrested.

Despite their hands being cuffed behind their backs, the three most visible women in WWE unleashed hell on each other, staving off police officers, breaking windows and crashing vehicles.

The chaotic and sometimes hilarious but mostly implausible segment added the final touches on the hype to the Winner Takes All Triple Threat match at The Showcase of the Immortals but also broke from the monotony, taking the fight outside the squared circle and into a different setting.

Flair's knee to the face of a trash-talking Rousey was the highlight and will be the stuff of internet memes for years to come.

9. Seth Rollins Wins the Men's Royal Rumble

The men's Royal Rumble match may not have been the best in company history, but it did deliver the desired result, as Seth Rollins overcame the furious rage of Braun Strowman to win the 30-person match to cash his ticket to WrestleMania 35 and a date with universal champion Brock Lesnar.

The Architect was one of a handful of competitors with a legitimate shot at winning the Battle Royal, but there was still doubt he would get the nod from management.

After all, Strowman is a mountain of a man, the type of heavyweight CEO Vince McMahon has always favored in high-profile spots. Drew McIntyre has long been tapped as one of the stars of WWE's bright future. Then there was Dean Ambrose, the returning Dolph Ziggler and the hot-and-cold Bobby Lashley, all of whom were dark-horse candidates to leave victorious.

Rollins' win was anything but guaranteed, like the majority of his WWE career.

Like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit before him, it felt as though the most consistently great wrestler finally got the big win and was being rewarded for his performance between the ropes as much as anything else, and it was a welcome change of pace.

8. Bayley and Sasha Banks Become 1st Women's Tag Team Champions

The February 17 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was the scene of the crowning of the first women's tag team champions, as Sasha Banks and Bayley, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, The IIconics, Naomi and Carmella, Nia Jax and Tamina, and The Riott Squad's Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan battled inside the event's namesake match.

The contest kicked off the show and made history right out of the gate, as Banks and Bayley survived the game duo of Rose and Deville to capture the titles they were so instrumental in bringing to fruition.

The tearful victors discussed how hard they worked, what the titles meant to them and vowed to defend them across WWE.

The win began a journey to WrestleMania that will culminate with the first defense of those belts in event history: a Fatal 4-Way match against Jax and Tamina, The IIconics and the team of Natalya and Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

7. What Mr. McMahon Giveth, He Taketh Away

The March 19 episode of SmackDown Live featured Kofi Kingston enduring a grueling Gauntlet match for the right to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

He defeated Sheamus, Cesaro, Samoa Joe, Rowan and Randy Orton in succession to realise his dream and head to the premier event in wrestling to challenge for the top prize in the sport.

Or so he thought.

In a moment that only intensified fans' desire to see him succeed, Kingston was once again screwed over by the megalomaniacal owner of WWE, Mr. McMahon. Beaten, battered and bruised after an hour of competing against the top stars on SmackDown, Kingston listened as the Chairman of the Board said he would have to beat one more wrestler to earn his way to WrestleMania.

That wrestler? Daniel Bryan.

The WWE champion picked apart Kingston, and despite a late rally, he pinned the New Day's heart and soul.

His dreams crushed, Kingston would not rest until he had one last chance to make the trip to WrestleMania—with a little help from his friends.

6. AJ Styles and Randy Orton Get Personal

AJ Styles and Randy Orton may have felt like afterthoughts as WrestleMania approached, but all it took was one extraordinary promo based in reality to get fans invested in a match between the former WWE champions.

The March 12 episode of SmackDown Live was home to that promo, which featured everything from mentions of former TNA Wrestling owner Dixie Carter to The Viper's many "babysitters" over the course of his career.

The intensity of the rivalry increased tenfold, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife and fans ate it up.

Two Superstars who appeared to be lost in the shuffle as WWE built to its most important pay-per-view instead delivered a promo that generated immediate interest in their bout and never let off the pedal. They continued to take shots at each other straight through the final SmackDown on the Road to WrestleMania.

5. The Miz Responds to Shane McMahon's Betrayal

At WWE Fastlane, Shane McMahon stunned the WWE Universe by betraying The Miz, beating him down and humiliating him in front of his father. It was the moment McMahon put his hands on George Mizanin, though, that most infuriated Miz and led to one of the greatest promos of his career.

Returning to the blue brand on March 19, he addressed the McMahon family and revealed the only thing Shane had earned his entire life was a WrestleMania ass-whooping.

The intensity and level of seriousness Miz brought to the promo was unlike any the WWE Universe had experienced since his famed "shoot" on Daniel Bryan back in 2016.

A feud that took months to develop very much needed that sort of home run promo from one of the participants. Miz delivered and would continue to ahead of Sunday's event, repeatedly proving his value as one of the most engaging talkers in WWE.

4. The Man Comes Around...and Obliterates Charlotte and Ronda

Suspended by Vince McMahon and seemingly out of a WrestleMania title opportunity, a vengeful Becky Lynch made her way through the crowd at WWE Fastlane in February and confronted Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the center of the ring.

What followed was a brutal, vicious and unrelenting attacking with a crutch that left Flair bruised on her arms and back and Rousey bleeding from her skull.

Lynch unleashed weeks of frustration and anger on her top rivals and received a thunderous ovation while doing so.

It was a moment of aggression, a one-sided ass-kicking by a hobbled antihero that fans ate up and made them even more excited to see what was next on The Man's journey to WrestleMania 35.

3. "Hey, Hunter..."

With a No Holds Barred match against Triple H official for WrestleMania 35 and the COO's career on the line, Batista returned to Raw just six days out from WrestleMania with one final message for his former mentor.

After airing a video package that featured his many victories over Triple H throughout the years, Batista looked into the camera and uttered: "Hey, Hunter...kiss my ass." He dropped the mic, slid his sunglasses on and looked smugly into the camera. After all, the video made his point for him.

In one short, sweet promo, he did everything he needed to add heat to his first match since 2014 and got his pretentious, Hollywood-type persona over at the same time.

Suddenly, the idea of The King of Kings beating the unholy hell out of the arrogant star of Marvel's The Guardians of the Galaxy became even more appealing.

2. Becky Lynch Wins the Women's Royal Rumble

A loss to SmackDown women's champion Asuka earlier in the opening match of the 2019 Royal Rumble fueled Becky Lynch to find alternate routes to the main event of WrestleMania. She did just that, seizing an opportunity presented by Lana's injured ankle to enter the Royal Rumble match.

In that contest, she suffered the knee injury that would become a staple of the build to 'Mania but overcame it to eliminate Charlotte Flair and cash her ticket to The Showcase of the Immortals.

Triumphant in the center of the ring, with her placard-holding rabid fanbase surrounding her, Lynch felt like the biggest star in the industry. And while her win in the 30-woman match was just the first of many twists and turns on the Road to WrestleMania, it was her coronation as the undisputed face of the women's division's bright future.

1. KofiMania Becomes a Reality

After being beaten down, dismayed and disheartened by the many obstacles put in his path by the evil and manipulative Mr. McMahon, Kofi Kingston was forced to watch from backstage as New Day teammates Big E and Xavier Woods battled for his WrestleMania life.

The former tag team champions fought in a physically grueling Gauntlet match, during which they defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, The Bar and Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. Then, when confronted with the challenge of The Usos, they watched as Jimmy and Jey forfeited out of respect to Kingston.

Their victory sealed, they were faced with one last impromptu challenge, courtesy of McMahon.

To ensure Kingston made it to his destination, Big E and Woods would have to defeat Daniel Bryan and Rowan.

They did, via count-out, and Kingston hit the ring to celebrate the monumental event with the two Superstars he has called brothers since 2015. The triumphant moment was not only Kingston's but also the entire SmackDown locker room's.

The Superstars of the blue brand surrounded the ring, celebrating one of their own's moment in the spotlight in recognition of his hard work and dedication.

It was the latest, greatest chapter in the most improbable story leading into WrestleMania and a reminder to fans that lightning can strike at any moment.