The Kickoff show panel consisted of host Charly Caruso, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Booker T, and JBL. They welcomed Sonya Deville as the guest and she gave her prediction on the SmackDown Women’s Title match.
Kickoff Show
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Asuka and Charlotte Flair (Champions) vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
Late in the match, Ric Flair walked out and almost cost his daughter the match. Lacey Evans appeared and she broke up Charlotte’s Figure 8 on Baszler. This allowed Baszler to lock in the Kirafuta Clutch.
As the referee was distracted, Evans hit Charlotte with the Women’s Right and then Jax hit Charlotte with a leg drop and she pinned her to win the titles for her team.
Main Card
WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg
McIntyre started the match with a headbutt and a spear but Goldberg was able to spear McIntyre through the barricade at ringside. McIntyre favored his ribs as he got into the ring and that is when the match was officially started by the referee.
Goldberg changed but McIntyre hit a boot and a Claymore into a pin attempt that Goldberg kicked out of. McIntyre tired another Claymore but Goldberg moved and then he hit two consecutive spears into a pin attempt. Goldberg then hit the Jackhammer into a pin but McIntyre kicked out. Goldberg went for another spear but McIntyre moved and then he hit another Claymore. McIntyre pinned Goldberg to retain his title.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Carmella
Banks quickly tried for the Banks Statement in the opening seconds but Carmella slipped out to ringside. Banks regrouped and then she took over on offense for the next few minutes. They did a spot where Carmella tossed Banks out of the ring and Reginald caught her. Banks executed a hurricanrana on Reginald. At this point, the referee told Reginald to leave to the backstage area.
Carmella was frustrated because of Banks kicking out of several near falls. The finish was Banks grabbing Carmella’s arm forcing her to tap out to the Banks Statement.
Bad Bunny performed his hit song titled “Booker T.” Booker was part of the performance. He basically stood still with his arms crossed and he said “Can You Dig It Sucka?” at the end of the song.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
The match started with Bayley and Naomi. When Billie Kay walked out, she didn’t enter the match right away. She hung out around ringside as more women entered the match. Kay finally entered the match when Jillian Hall agreed to work together with her. Another former WWE star brought back for this match was Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria).
After Alicia Fox entered the match, R-Truth ran out because he was being chased around. Fox helped Truth fight off several wrestlers at ringside and then she pinned Truth to win the 24/7 Title. Fox was eliminated and then was pinned by Truth. They did a ridiculous spot where Naomi fell out of the ring but she landed on her back and she was still in the match because her feet never touched the floor. Alexa Bliss entered at number 27 and she was attacked by all of the women in the match. Bliss then transformed into a darker version of herself and then was quickly eliminated by Ripley.
Ripley and Belair were the final two women in the match. In a post-match interview, Belair was overwhelmed with emotion. She will challenge for a women’s title at WrestleMania.
Order of entry:
1. Bayley
2. Naomi
3. Bianca Belair
4. Billie Kay
5. Shotzi Blackheart
6. Shayna Baszler
7. Toni Storm
8. Jillian Hall
9. Ruby Riott
10. Victoria
11. Peyton Royce
12. Santana Garrett
13. Liv Morgan
14. Rhea Ripley
15. Charlotte Flair
16. Dana Brooke
17. Torrie Wilson
18. Lacey Evans
19. Mickie James
20. Nikki Cross
21. Alicia Fox
22. Mandy Rose
23. Dakota Kai
24. Carmella
25. Tamina
26. Lana
27. Alexa Bliss
28. Ember Moon
29. Nia Jax
30. Natalya
Order of elimination:
1. Shotzi Blackheart eliminated by Shayna Baszler
2. Jillian Hall eliminated by Billie Kay
3. Billie Kay eliminated by Liv Morgan
4. Toni Storm eliminated by Rhea Ripley
5. Victoria eliminated by Shayna Baszler
6. Santana Garrett eliminated by Rhea Ripley
7. Ruby Riott eliminated by Bayley
8. Liv Morgan eliminated by Peyton Royce
9. Dana Brooke eliminated by Rhea Ripley
10. Peyton Royce eliminated by Charlotte Flair
11. Torrie Wilson eliminated by Shayna Baszler
12. Bayley eliminated by Bianca Belair
13. Alicia Fox eliminated by Mandy Rose
14. Dakota Kai eliminated by Rhea Ripley
15. Mandy Rose eliminated by Rhea Ripley
16. Nikki Cross eliminated by Carmella
17. Carmella eliminated after Reginald dropped her
18. Alexa Bliss eliminated by Rhea Ripley
19. Lacey Evans eliminated by Shayna Baszler
20. Ember Moon eliminated by Nia Jax
21. Naomi eliminated by Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax
22. Tamina eliminated by Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax
23. Shayna Baszler eliminated by Nia Jax
24. Nia Jax eliminated by Lana
25. Nia Jax eliminated by Lana
26. Lana eliminated by Natalya
27. Natalya eliminated by Bianca Belair
28. Charlotte Flair eliminated by Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley
29. Rhea Ripley eliminated by Bianca Belair
During a backstage segment, Bad Bunny turned down an offer to join The Miz and John Morrison. Booker T showed up and scared them off.
They cut over to the Kickoff show panel. Peter Rosenberg hit a low blow and pinned R-Truth to win the 24/7 Title.
WWE Universal Championship – Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens
They started in the ring but they quickly made their way around the ringside area and to the stage area by the equipment table where Owens was shoved through a few weeks ago. They made it up to the top level by the LED screens and Owens took out Reigns’ left knee with chair shots.
Owens was tossed off the platform and through a table but he was able to get back on his feet at the count of 9. Owens made his way into another part of the stadium and out of nowhere Reigns ran him over with a golf cart. Owens went on a vicious attack after Reigns made a comment about his grandfather. Owens put Reigns through a table with a frog splash but Reigns was able to make it to his feet before the count of 10. Owens then did a senton bomb off a raised forklift and through Reigns, who was laid out on a table. They piped in “holy sh**” chants for the spot.
Owens brought Reigns back into the ThunderDome. Reigns fought back with a Superman punch and a spear through the LED screens by the stage but Owens was able to roll off a stage and onto his feet before the 10 count. Owens handcuffed Reigns to a piece of the staging equipment and the referee was about to count to 10 but Reigns grabbed the ref and slammed his face into the steel structure. A second referee appeared as Paul Heyman tried to get Reigns free from the handcuffs. There was apparently an issue with the key and it took forever for Heyman to get the cuffs off of Reigns. The ref actually stopped counting when he realized that Reigns was still cuffed. Reigns locked in a guillotine on Owens and that was enough for him to win because KO could not get to his feet.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Edge decided to walk out first and he attacked Orton during his entrance. They fought around ringside for the first few minutes. Edge beat up on Orton until Sami Zayn entered and helped Orton. Mustafa Ali joined in to help Orton and Zayn. Orton took out everyone in the ring and then he and Edge resumed their fight around ringside. Edge hit an Edgecution on Orton on the announcer’s table and then referees ran out to stop him from beating Orton with a chair. Orton was helped to the back because of his bad knee. It was noted by Corey Graves that Orton was never officially eliminated.
During The Miz’s entrance, he destroyed Bad Bunny’s DJ set up that was used during the musical performance. Bad Bunny walked out and was held back by referees but the distraction allowed Damian Preist to eliminated Miz and Morrison. Bad Bunny did a dive off the top rope onto Miz and Morrison.
There was a Team Hell No reunion when Kane and Daniel Bryan bugged but it was short because Kane chokeslammed Bryan. The final four were Rollins, Strowman, Edge, and Christian. Rollins tried to form an alliance with Strowman but Strowman picked him up and slammed him. Edge won the match. Randy Orton tried to run in at the end to eliminated Edge but Edge was ready for him and he tossed Orton out.
Order of entry:
1. Edge
2. Randy Orton
3. Sami Zayn
4. Mustafa Ali
5. Jeff Hardy
6. Dolph Ziggler
7. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. Carlito
9. Xavier Woods
10. Big E
11. John Morrison
12. Ricochet
13. Elias
14. Damian Priest
15. The Miz
16. Matt Riddle
17. Daniel Bryan
18. Kane
19. King Corbin
20. Otis
21. Dominik Mysterio
22. Bobby Lashley
23. The Hurricane
24. Christian
25. AJ Styles
26. Rey Mysterio
27. Sheamus
28. Cesaro
29. Seth Rollins
30. Braun Strowman
Order of elimination:
1. Jeff Hardy eliminated by Dolph Ziggler
2. Sami Zayn by Big E and Xavier Woods
3. Xavier Woods eliminated by Mustafa Ali
4. Mustafa Ali eliminated by Big E
5. Carlito eliminated by Elias
6. Elias eliminated by Damian Priest
7. The Miz by Damian Preist
8. John Morrison eliminated by Damian Priest
9. Dolph Ziggler eliminated by Kane
10. Ricochet eliminated by Kane
11. Kane eliminated by Damian Priest
12. Shinsuke Nakamura eliminated by King Corbin
13. Otis eliminated by King Corbin
14. King Corbin eliminated by Dominik Mysterio
15. Dominik Mysterio eliminated by Bobby Lashley
16. Damian Priest eliminated by Bobby Lashley
17. The Hurricane eliminated by Big E and Bobby Lashley
18. Bobby Lashley eliminated by Riddle, Bryan, Edge, and Big E
19. Big E eliminated by Omos, who was not in the match
20. Rey Mysterio eliminated by Omos, who was not in the match
21. Cesaro eliminated by Braun Strowman
22. Sheamus eliminated by Braun Strowman
23. AJ Styles eliminated by Braun Strowman
24. Daniel Bryan eliminated by Seth Rollins
25. Matt Riddle eliminated by Seth Rollins
26. Braun Strowman eliminated by Edge and Christian
27. Christian eliminated by Seth Rollins
28. Seth Rollins eliminated by Edge
29. Randy Orton eliminated by Edge
Credit: Paul Davis
