WWE Royal Rumble 2022: 5 Biggest news stories: Ronda Rousey returns, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman align once again
The 35th annual WWE Royal Rumble Premium Live Event took place last night, and along with it came some exhilarating action and newsworthy stories.
In front of a reported 44,390 fans at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, WWE kickstarted the road to WrestleMania 38. The WWE Universe made plenty of noise throughout the night, adding to the edge-of-the-seat in-ring action.
Fans lapped up every moment as last year's event took place behind closed doors due to the pandemic, but it didn't hinder the company's efforts this year. However, they did have restrictions and guidelines in place for those attending.
.@sanbenito x @undertaker
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The annual 30-Man Rumble Match took place along with the 30-Woman Rumble Match, a tradition ever since 2018. Of course, the winners of both contests earn a championship opportunity at WrestleMania. The stakes were high.
WWE had several other feuds heading into the event, including Edge & Beth Phoenix in a soap opera-style storyline with The Miz & Maryse. RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch also squared off against a new challenger in Doudrop.
The Universal Championship was on the line to kick off the event as Roman Reigns faced Seth Rollins – who came out to The Shield's music – in a highly emotional affair. Plus, Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley.
That being said, let's take a look at the five biggest news stories from the 2022 Royal Rumble.
#5. More WWE legends returned at the Royal Rumble
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In the weeks leading up to the Rumble event, WWE announced several entrants for the women's over-the-top-rope contest. The names included The Bella Twins, Lita, Summer Rae, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, and IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James. However, more legends and former superstars returned in the men's and women's Rumble matches.
On the women's side of things, Melina, Alicia Fox, Mighty Molly, Ivory, Cameron, and Sarah Logan all returned. Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon returned in the men's over-the-top-rope match.
Drew McIntyre, who was taken out of action at WWE Day 1, also made a comeback as surgery wouldn't be required on his neck. Another major former name returned, but we'll get to that later in the article.