Show
Time and location
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — Braun Strowman may have only two of “These Hands,” but that was more than enough for him to take out 49 other Superstars and win the historic, first-ever 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match at a sold-out event in Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Entering at No. 41, Strowman was a force of nature from the second he entered the match, not to mention an immediate threat for everybody else in the ring — a coalition of Randy Orton, Tye Dillinger, Baron Corbin, Titus O’Neil and Rey Mysterio tried to eliminate him, yet to no avail. The Monster Among Men notched a record-breaking 13 eliminations, the most astonishing of which was a toss of Shane McMahon off the turnbuckle and through the commentary table just before The Prodigal Son could attempt a Coast-to-Coast on Kevin Owens. The final elimination came at the expense of Big Cass, who had brought an end to the night’s biggest Cinderella story only moments earlier.
That story would be Daniel Bryan, who entered at No. 1 and became the other record-breaker of the night when he notched the longest Royal Rumble Match time in history and transformed himself into a potential favorite through sheer force of will. By the time Big Cass entered the fray at No. 49, The “Yes!” Man’s entire upper body had been turned black-and-blue, and he had outlasted one of the most unpredictable fields in Royal Rumble Match history.
There were, of course, the advertised major returns (Mark Henry at No. 5; Raw General Manager Kurt Angle at No. 16; Mysterio at No. 28; The Great Khali at No. 45 and Chris Jericho at No. 50), though the most shocking reappearance may have been from Hornswoggle, who entered at No. 12 and actually scored an elimination when he helped oust The Revival’s Dash Wilder (No. 11). WWE’s Cruiserweights were well represented as well; Tony Nese appeared at No. 10 and earned one elimination, and though Drew Gulak (No. 23) didn’t eliminate anyone, his brief scrap with Bryan was a tantalizing tease of a potential showdown between the two grappling greats.
NXT sent four Superstars into the fray, including three incredibly imposing big men: Tucker Knight from Heavy Machinery (No. 24), Dan Matha (No. 40) and the towering Babatunde (No. 37). What Full Sail’s fourth entrant — NXT Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong (No. 34) — lacked in size, he made up for in intensity, dishing out backbreakers to anything with a pulse and chopping Bryan’s chest into a nasty shade of purple. Babatunde and Matha were both sent packing by Strowman, while Knight ran afoul of Big E (No. 31); Strong's eventual elimination came at the hands of Elias, who made his presence known at No. 20 by eliminating Konnor, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods all at once. Raw's resident guitarist concluded his impressive evening by also tossing Angle and Orton out of the colossal free-for-all.
Elsewhere, Mike Kanellis (No. 6) and Titus O’Neil (No. 39) made the highlight reel for less glamorous reasons: The former was eliminated almost instantly by Mark Henry, while the latter sprinted down the ramp with such a strong head of steam that he lost his footing and disappeared underneath the ring. Sumo wrestler Hiroki Sumi (No. 7) was the night’s only complete surprise, though he was sent packing quickly after an ill-fated faceoff with Henry.
The melee came down to a random assortment of rivalries, most of which involved the remaining Superstars trading fists on Kevin Owens. The former Universal Champion (No. 46) found himself square in the sights of former rivals Jericho, Bryan and Shane, which is how he ended up in position for the fateful Coast-to-Coast that Strowman interrupted to kickstart his final march to victory. After dispatching Shane-O-Mac, The Gift of Destruction sent Jericho, Owens and Bobby Lashley (No. 44) packing before Bryan bravely went face-to-face with Strowman and attempted to throw hands.
That’s when Big Cass picked his moment to strike, dropping Bryan with a thunderous big boot, eliminating him and screaming that the former World Champion and current rival was “nothing” — they’ll meet two weeks from Sunday at WWE Backlash. He found Strowman to be a more obstinate roadblock, however; the brief throwdown between the two titans ended when Strowman caught Cass in a compromising position on the ropes and finally knocked him over to earn the historic victory.
As if the win and the record weren’t enough, The Monster Among Men was presented with the night’s two biggest prizes: A trophy that stood about as tall as he did (if not taller) and a custom, Saudi-colored Greatest Royal Rumble Championship in a post-match ceremony that included Mr. McMahon and a Saudi representative. The pyro echoing throughout the stadium and Strowman raising his championship into the sky made for an epic conclusion to a historic night and, more pointedly, the promise of even greater things to come.