Randy Orton won the 30-Superstar Royal Rumble Match

SAN ANTONIO – The Wyatt Family is headed to the main event of WrestleMania 33, but not the member you might expect.

In front of 52,020 WWE fans at the Alamodome, recently converted Wyatt acolyte Randy Orton won his second Royal Rumble Match and punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 33. The Viper’s victory was the capper to a Rumble Match that had no shortage of delights, shocks and surprise entrants, and truly made good on the promise of “Friend vs. Friend, Foe vs. Foe, Every Man for Himself.” Don’t believe us? Let’s review:

• The question of “Who can eliminate Braun Strowman?” was answered, emphatically — Baron Corbin, with an assist from Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn

• Goldberg obliterated Brock Lesnar again, eliminating him almost immediately after he entered the match, and The Undertaker did the same to Goldberg

• Kofi Kingston staved off elimination in spectacular fashion

• Beloved NXT Superstar Tye Dillinger entered at — yep — No. 10

• Jack Gallagher repped the Cruiserweights by hitting Chris Jericho in the crotch with William the Umbrella

• After Cesaro & Sheamus eliminated all of The New Day, The Celtic Warrior tried to toss out his own partner, and a face-to-face ensued after Jericho dumped them both

• The WWE Universe was treated to not only five big-man showdowns – Braun Strowman vs. Mark Henry, Strowman vs. Big Show, Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Goldberg vs. The Undertaker, and The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns – but also the surreal (and short) sight of Enzo Amore vs. The Beast Incarnate

However, once The Wyatts entered the match — Bray himself was the first at No. 21 — the complexion of the melee changed almost instantly. Orton RKO’d everyone in sight after his own entrance, seemingly clearing the way for the ultimate triumph of The New Face of Fear. The on-the-outs Luke Harper seemed as though he was on a mission to re-earn Wyatt’s trust at No. 25, but then he went and clobbered the patriarch himself with a discus clothesline. He would have also administered Sister Abigail had Orton not stopped the betrayal with an RKO. (Goldberg later eliminated Harper.)

The other, complexion-changing moment of the match was the unexpected arrival of Roman Reigns at No. 30, just hours after losing his bid for the WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens. Not only did The Big Dog eliminate The Undertaker, he cleaned house of several stragglers to bring the bout to a 1-on-2 confrontation with Wyatt and Orton.

Gunning hard for his second Royal Rumble Match win, Reigns managed to power his way out of the Sister Abigail-RKO combo and eliminate The Eater of Worlds. The Apex Predator struck Reigns quickly thereafter, administering an RKO and tossing the former WWE Champion over the ropes to secure his main-event ticket to The Showcase of the Immortals.

They say that anything can happen in WWE, and although there are some who may claim Orton, as a veteran, was a favorite to win, consider the idea that, should he challenge for the WWE Championship, the champion himself may not be who it is right now after WWE Elimination Chamber. Added the variable of how Wyatt will respond to his lieutenant achieving a goal he badly wanted for himself, and it’s truly anyone’s guess as to what happens next.
 

Rumble Match Statistics

Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations

Total match time 1:02:06