Royal Rumble Count-Up – 2017 (Original): Point With Him
Royal Rumble 2017
Date: January 29, 2017
Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, Tom Phillips
Pre-Show: Nikki Bella/Becky Lynch/Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss/Mickie James/Natalya
Back with Natalya sending Becky into the barricade and taking her into the wrong corner to play some Ricky Morton. Natalya gets two off a clothesline and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Nikki gets over for the hot tag to Naomi for some exciting yet still stupid looking offense. Everything breaks down and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault for the pin on Alexa at 9:39.
Raw Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Anderson and Gallows
Karl comes back in and hits a running kick to the chest but has to backdrop his way out of the Neutralizer. Anderson gets in the spinebuster but Sheamus breaks up the Magic Killer. One referee takes the Brogue Kick by mistake so the second comes in to watch Anderson get Swung. Everything breaks down again and Anderson rolls Cesaro up with a handful of trunks for the pin at 10:28.
Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks
We recap the Raw World Title match. Roman Reigns has beaten champion Kevin Owens multiple times now but Chris Jericho constantly interferes to help retain the title. Therefore, Jericho will be locked in a shark cage above the ring despite the match being not DQ, which negates the point of the original stipulation in the first place.
Raw World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens
Reigns is challenging and anything goes. Jericho and Owens try to jump Reigns to start but Roman knocks Chris into the cage and has it raised into the air. The fight is taken straight into the crowd with Owens taking the worst of it. Back to ringside with the champ taking over by hitting Reigns with the top of the table.
The superkick is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two on Owens and the champ is in trouble. They head outside again with Reigns being put on the table for a frog splash off the top. A chair is wedged into the corner and Owens becomes the first heel in a LONG time to send someone into a chair he set up.
Enzo and Big Cass shill chicken.
The Rumble debuted in 1988
Bret Hart was the first entrant
870 superstars have entered
3 females have entered and all of them have eliminated one person
23 different winners
98% of the entrants have lost
4 Rumbles in Texas
California and Florida have hosted 5 Rumbles each
507,102 fans have appeared
Rey Mysterio lasted 1:02:12
Edge only took 7:36 to win
Santino Marella lasted 1 second
Bob Backlund lasted 1:01:10 for the longest run without winning
HHH has spent 4:06:08 over 9 Rumbles
46 Hall of Famers
9 Hall of Famers won
Foley appeared 3 times in 1998
Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Rich Swann
Swann is defending but Neville hammers him down into the corner to start with the champ in early trouble. Rich grabs a quick crucifix for two but Neville facelocks him to take over again. An elbow to the head sets up a chinlock as the match slows down again. Neville finally lets go and sends Swann into the barricade as this is completely one sided so far.
New Day shills Vudu.
Smackdown World Title: John Cena vs. AJ Styles
Cena is challenging and they stare each other down to start. AJ goes after the leg to start and takes Cena down for a kneedrop. Cena tries an early AA but Styles lands on his feet and grabs a hurricanrana. The sliding forearm gets two and a German suplex into a facebuster gets the same.
Jerry Lawler is doing commentary on the Rumble.
Rumble by the Numbers.
Only 16 of the 30 possible numbers have won
7 winners are from 1-10
4 have been from 11-20
19 have been from 21-40
27 is the lucky number
1 and 2 have produced 4 winners
2 people have won from #1
Only one person has won from the same number twice (Batista at #28)
Kane has entered the most Royal Rumbles and has the most eliminations
The title has been on the line twice
Four winners have been runners up
Six names have won twice
Steve Austin has won three times
Royal Rumble
Two minute intervals. Big Cass is in at #1 and Enzo fills in some more time by singing about how much he loves Texas. After a speech about this is the big Rumble and Cass is going to act like HBK in 1995, Chris Jericho is in at #2. Cass starts fast and throws Jericho around, only to have to block the Walls. A catapult sends Jericho to the apron and Kalisto is in at #3.
Dean and Ellsworth agree to go after Strowman but James stays on the floor. James goes in and is quickly tossed, leaving Dean, Dillinger and Zayn to work on Strowman. Baron Corbin is in at #13 and makes it a quadruple team but Strowman gets rid of Dillinger for his seventh elimination. Corbin and company hammer on Strowman and Baron actually clotheslines Braun out on his own for a BIG surprise.
Again that goes nowhere as Cesaro is in at #19 with the ring getting too full. Cesaro Swings a bunch of people until Rusev superkicks him down. Xavier Woods is in at #20, giving us Sami, Jericho, Ambrose, Corbin, Kofi, Miz, Sheamus, Big E., Rusev, Cesaro and Woods. New Day hammers on Sheamus and Miz is sent into a double kick in the corner.
Enzo gets all fired up and takes one heck of a clothesline before being tossed. Goldberg is in at #28 and this could be very interesting. The spear drops Lesnar in a hurry and a clothesline gets rid of Brock two seconds later. Sami takes a Jackhammer but Orton and Wyatt jump Goldberg.
Pyro wraps us up.
Results
Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection onto the apron
Kevin Owens b. Roman Reigns – Pin after a powerslam from Braun Strowman
Neville b. Rich Swann – Rings of Saturn
John Cena b. AJ Styles – Attitude Adjustment
Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble last eliminating Roman Reigns
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