WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Flops and Hits: Roman Reigns' evil plan in works, “betrayed” Brock Lesnar starts his hunt
WWE Royal Rumble 2022 is in the history books, and we are officially on the "Road to WrestleMania."
Tonight's show saw one title change hands, whereas two other championships were successfully defended. Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar won the women's and men's Rumble matches, respectively, to cement their WrestleMania title opportunities.
Here, we look at some of the biggest flops and hits from WWE Royal Rumble 2022.
So, without further ado, let's begin.
#1 Hit at WWE Royal Rumble: Roman Reigns
YEARS of frustration behind that powerbomb from The Head of the Table.
#RoyalRumble #UniversalTitle @WWERomanReigns @WWERollins https://t.co/zjhNhaSAV3
The opening match of WWE Royal Rumble saw Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins lock horns in an epic opening match. The storied rivalry between the two superstars allowed to bring out excellent story-telling elements throughout the match.
This was one of those bouts where the in-ring narrative was given equal importance. The tone of the match was set right at the beginning when Rollins made his entrance like The Shield, using the stable's music and gear.
The Architect was determined to get in the Universal Champion's head, and his attempts had lasting effects on the champion.
Reigns was angry about his opponent toying with him as he struggled to channel his frustration. Both their offenses looked like that have wanted to hurt each other for years, another fantastic part of the story-telling.
Reigns' body language bore evidence of his hatred towards Rollins for what the latter had done to The Shield.
During their previous encounter, the Tribal Chief had said that he would never forgive the Architect. The latter laughed in the champion's face throughout the match in which he had shown equal domination.
The match ended in Reigns' loss via disqualification after he refused to release Rollins from the guillotine submission move.
Although Reigns retained his Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, he is not yet done with Rollins.
He used a steel chair to launch a vicious attack on his opponent after the match ended. It is evident that this storyline is far from over, and we might see both superstars extend their feud until WrestleMania.
Usually, a disqualification accounts for an underwhelming end to top title matches, but in this case, it can be used to fuel one of the biggest WWE rivalries of all time.
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#RoyalRumble @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle https://t.co/Vyxyt8cBZs
But that was not all. Roman Reigns had a huge trick up his sleeve. He orchestrated another title change on the show when he attacked Brock Lesnar and forced the latter to lose his title in the match against Bobby Lashley.
Not to forget, Paul Heyman did prove that he prefers the role of Chief Counsel over that of the Advocate.