The show started with a verbal exchange between Paul Heyman, the advocate of Brock Lesnar, and Number One Contender Finn Balor. Vince McMahon joined them in the ring to downplay Balor’s chances of beating Brock at the Royal Rumble. Braun Strowman came out next and Vince made a match between Strowman and Balor immediately. After a short but exciting bout with Finn looking like he was about to pick up the win, Brock interfered to cause the DQ and lay Balor out in the ring.
Next up we had new Intercontinental Champion, Bobby Lashley and his hype man, Lio Rush. Apollo Crews came out and we were given a ‘pose-off’ between Lashley and Crews. After a number of poses in which Apollo continually got a louder crowd reaction, Lashley attacked him. Crews managed to get on top and sent Lashley out of the ring, before throwing Lio Rush out on top of him. This lead to an impromptu match which Lashley won with a Spear.
Seth Rollins came out to deliver a heartfelt promo about his passion and determination to win the Royal Rumble before Drew McIntyre cut him off and delivered a promo of his own. This lead to a match between the two which both men came out of looking like serious contenders. Rollins picked up the win with a rollup to get the extra momentum heading in to the Rumble.
Backstage we saw The Revival complaining to Mr. McMahon before Vince gave them a match with Curt Hawkins as referee. We also got a short promo from Dean Ambrose saying he’s targeting Lashley (who he referred to as ‘Bend Over Bobby’) and Rollins in the Royal Rumble match.
Six Man Tag match was next with Lucha House Party taking on Jinder Mahal & the Singh Brothers. In a very short match, LHP got the win with a backbreaker.
EC3 is shown backstage receiving compliments from Dana Brooke, followed by Elias walking to the ring. Elias delivered his usual catchphrases before being cut off by Baron Corbin and a match was set between the two. In another very short match, Corbin got the win with the End of Days after a shot to Elias’ throat behind the ref’s back.
Alexa Bliss hosted her Moment of Bliss segment next to hype the Women’s Royal Rumble match. After a number of intruders including Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Alicia Fox, The Riott Squad, Dana Brooke, Tamina & Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans was the last one out to say she will be the one to win the match.
Heavy Machinery took on The Ascension in the next match and in another short bout, Heavy Machinery picked up the win.
The Raw Tag Team Titles were on the line with The Revival getting their opportunity against Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, with Curt Hawkins as the special guest referee. After Hawkins caught The Revival trying to cheat with various pins a number of times, Chad Gable got the win with a rollup. After the match, The Revival turned on Hawkins before Zack Ryder came out to make the save.
In the main event, we saw Ronda Rousey & Natalya take on Sasha Banks & Bayley. In a back and forth encounter, Banks eventually locked Natalya in the Bank Statement to pick up the win for her team. Although she was not the one pinned or submitted, this gave Ronda Rousey her first defeat in WWE.
Overall Opinion: With this being the go-home edition before the Royal Rumble, I was expecting a little bit more but we got a little bit more insight before the big PPV. Finn Balor looked great against Strowman and will be seen as a more believable threat to Lesnar off the back of it. Seth Rollins again looked fantastic and remains my pick to win the Men’s Royal Rumble match. Perhaps the most interesting event was Ronda Rousey tasting defeat for the first time. Yes, she wasn’t the one who was beaten as such, but it definitely adds a little bit more intrigue ahead of her match with Sasha Banks. Everyone was expecting Becky Lynch and/or Charlotte to switch to Raw to challenge Rousey but from a storyline perspective, it would be much easier to switch Rousey on her own. That all being said, I still expect Ronda to retain and head in to WrestleMania undefeated in singles matches, with one or both of the Smackdown stars to make the switch.
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