INTRO: The New Day danced out for the cold open. Xavier Woods would face Jinder Mahal in the U.S. championship tournament.
OPENING SEGMENT: Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E gyrated behind a flag-festooned podium. Kingston said American freedom was at stake in Woods’ battle against Mahal. The trio rolled the hell out of the “r” in “Maharaja.” Woods pledged to defend life, liberty, and the power of positivity.
Xavier Woods vs. Jinder Mahal (U.S. Championship Tournament)
Mahal floored Woods with a boot to the face right out of the gate. Jinder raised a fist and grinned down at Xavier, then ground a knee against his face. Mahal snapmared Woods and drove a jumping knee drop into his sternum. Wood tried to fight back with rights and lefts to the midsection, but Mahal dropped him with a back elbow for a two-count. The Maharaja applied a chinlock while driving his knee into Woods’ spine.
Woods fought to his feet and dropkicked Mahal into the corner, but Mahal knocked him down again with a back elbow when Woods charged him. Mahal delivered a headbutt to a prone Woods for another two-count. He maintained the advantage when we returned from break, grounding Woods as his New Day teammates rhythmically smacked the mat to rejuvenate him. Woods broke the hold with a jawbreaker. He hobbled Mahal with a side-kick to the leg, then ran into a clothesline. Mahal covered Woods for a two-count, then choked him against the middle rope in front of his teammates.
Big E Frisbee-tossed pancakes at the Singhs as Mahal stifled Woods’ offense, taking Woods back down with a reverse-chinlock. The crowd chanted for pancakes as the wrestlers competed in a championship tournament. Woods got to his feet and whipped Mahal into the ropes, which Jinder clutched to stop his momentum. Woods ran toward Mahal, who attempted to back-drop his opponent over the top rope. The move looked sloppy; Woods crashed down on the top rope and sold the damage.
Mahal hit Woods with a knee, and Woods rolled to the apron. Mahal attempted to suffocate him with the ring dressing, and Woods got back into the ring at the count of 9. He fired back on Mahal with right hands, but Mahal reversed a hard Irish-whip into the turnbuckles, leaving Woods writhing on the mat. Mahal stuck his knee in Woods’ back and clubbed his face with forearms. He reapplied a chinlock, then hit Woods with a double-thrust to the throat when he tried to counter. Battered in the corner, Woods booted Mahal. He went for the Honor Roll, which Mahal countered with a leaping knee for a near-fall.
Back from break, Woods was perched on the top turnbuckle as Mahal climbed the ropes to meet him. Woods knocked him off the ropes with three headbutts, then connected on a missile dropkick. Both men rose slowly and traded right hands. Woods appeared to be winning the exchange until Mahal again tagged him in the throat. He Irish-whipped Woods, who responded with two running forearms. Woods slid between Mahal’s legs to nail a discus forearm. Stuck in the corner, Mahal successfully back-body-dropped Woods over the top rope to the apron. Woods went for his rope-aided DDT, but Mahal tossed him away. Xavier ducked a Mahal right and clocked him with an enziguri kick. Woods shook off the wooziness and struck a seated Mahal with a shining wizard, gaining a near-fall.
Samir and Sunil Singh got onto the ring apron to interfere. Big E and Kingston chased the brothers toward the locker room. The in-ring competitors continued to slug it out. Mahal missed another big right, and Woods brought him down with a back suplex. Woods went up top for his rope-walk elbow. Mahal moved, sending Woods crashing to the mat. Mahal heaved him towards the bottom rope, sending Woods face-first into the strand. Woods looked to be unconscious as Mahal took his time picking him up, then slamming him back down with the Khallas for the win. Mahal took 75-80 percent of this match before winning it clean. He moved on to the U.S. Championship tournament finals.
Result: Jinder Mahal pinned Xavier Woods after a Khallas.
Grade: B
Tom Phillips discussed the 30-man Royal Rumble match, then introduced a video shot backstage by Baron Corbin. The Lone Wolf claimed he is built for the Rumble, which has no room for friends or rules.
Phillips reiterated that Bill Goldberg was the first inductee named for the 2018 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Backstage, WWE Champion AJ Styles talked to Renee Young. Displaying a little swagger, Styles vowed to do everything he could to end the Yep! Movement when he defended his title at the Royal Rumble.
We see backstage videos from Carmella, Natalya, and Tamina touting their prospects for winning the Rumble. We also watched 10-second testimonies from Lana, Naomi, and Ruby Riott, who appeared to be reading off a cue-card just to the side of the camera. Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan cut their own promos, which hammered home the every-woman-for-herself nature of the event. Becky Lynch told us she was the first SmackDown women’s champion, and she’d be the last woman standing at the Rumble. These hand-held camera videos harkened back to the early-90s promos cut by Rumble participants.
Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley (U.S. Championship Tournament)
Graves called Bobby Roode a “global journeyman”, which is not normally a compliment. Byron Saxton made this worse by calling Roode “extremely humble”, which is the exact opposite of Roode’s character. What are they trying to accomplish with these horrible descriptions of a guy who sports a dazzling robe, brags about being a big-money free agent, and yells “Glorious” every 12 seconds? In the ring, Mojo Rawley threw Roode onto his face. Roode came back with a headlock into a wristlock into a go-behind, taking Rawley to the mat. Mojo looked up to watch Roode unspool one of his “Glorious” exultations. An angry Rawley ran straight into a headlock, and pushed Roode back into the corner. Rawley feigned a clean break before attacking Roode, who ducked and unleashed chops and a running elbow.
Roode covered Rawley for a one-count, then quickly grabbed a reverse-chinlock. He transitioned into a front-face-lock, then a headlock as Rawley struggled vainly. Roode went for another go-behind, prompting Rawley to snap an elbow into his face. Rawley heaved Roode into the ropes, then propelled himself off the adjacent ropes to run through Roode with a big tackle. He yelled at the referee to get out of his way, then knocked Roode down with a headbutt. Roode fired back with strikes, which Rawley cut off with a knee lift to the gut.
Rawley hit Roode with a shot to the midsection and maneuvered him out of the ring. He followed him out to the arena floor, and smashed him against the barricade with another running tackle. Rawley taunted Roode by pointing at the U.S. title belt, then threw his skull against the barricade as we went to break. He clutched Roode in an abdominal stretch when we returned, hitting him in the ribs while he worked the hold. Roode countered the hold with a hip-toss, but missed a running elbow drop. Rawley set him back down with a boot to the chest, gaining a two-count.
Rawley pounced on Roode as he tried to stand, then facetiously asked if he cracked one of his ribs. He rammed shoulders into Roode in the corner, then tossed him to the mat and applied a modified abdominal stretch. Good work by Rawley to whale on Roode’s ribs while he locked him up. Roode escaped, but Rawley beat him to the mat again and whipped him into the corner for a clothesline. Rawley went into a three-point stance and took off like an American football lineman, squashing Roode against the turnbuckle. Rawley gleefully attempted the move again; Roode moved, sending his opponent crashing shoulder-first into the ringpost.
Roode threw right hands at Rawley’s face, clutching his ribs between shots. He belted Rawley with a flying forearm, then knocked him down with a clothesline. Roode connected on a corner clothesline and a neckbreaker. Phillips asked whether Roode could mount some offense right after he executed four consecutive offensive moves. Roode went to the middle-rope and connected on a blockbuster for a near-fall. He called for the Glorious DDT, which Rawley countered by lifting him into a fireman’s carry and pressing him in the air, only to drop him on his stomach. Rawley covered Roode for a near-fall, reacting with disbelief that he didn’t get the win.
Rawley repeatedly slammed Roode into the corner by his jaw. He pointed again at the U.S. title belt (displayed at ringside), then mockingly tapped his finger on Roode’s forehead while repeating, “Glorious, huh?” Rawley sprinted across the ring for his running forearm finisher. Roode got his boots up to block the move, then vaulted over Mojo from the middle turnbuckle. Both men converged in mid-ring, where Roode spinebustered Rawley. Another “Glorious” yell led into the Glorious DDT. Roode advanced to wrestle Mahal in the finals.
Result: Bobby Roode pinned Mojo Rawley after a Glorious DDT.
Grade: B
The Singh Brothers ambushed Roode after his victory. They punched and kicked away at an exhausted Roode, who crawled to the ropes. Mahal walked onto the entrance ramp, declaring that he’d put a glorious end to Roode’s charade. Roode grabbed a microphone and told Mahal they didn’t have to wait until next week, challenging him to compete tonight. Mahal smiled widely and refused. Daniel Bryan walked up to Mahal and grinned at him. To resonant cheers, he announced that the U.S. championship match would indeed take place tonight.
We watched a backstage video from Randy Orton, who said he’d win the Royal Rumble for the third time.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Naomi vs. The Riott Squad
Charlotte Flair and Liv Morgan started this match. Flair flung the smaller Morgan to the mat, then blocked a kick and whipped Morgan to the mat. She executed a go-behind and smothered Morgan on the mat. Flair hooked a front-face-lock, then took Morgan over with a hip-toss for a one-count. Morgan hit the brakes on an Irish-whip, kicking Flair in the left arm and hitting her with a forearm. As Morgan celebrated prematurely, Flair laced into her with chops, then womanhandled her with a German suplex throw. Riott tagged in and was tripped up for a one-count. She tried to sweep Flair’s leg, but Charlotte jumped over her arm and kicked Riott to the mat. Flair applied a head-scissors, repeatedly flipping Riott over onto her back. When Ruby tried to rise, Flair knocked her back down with a big kick.
Flair applied a front-face-lock and tagged Becky Lynch. Lynch and Flair alternated strikes on Riott, a sequence that ended with Lynch flooring their opponent via a flying forearm. Naomi entered and drilled Riott with a running clothesline. With Riott outside the ring, Lynch tagged in and clobbered Riott with a forearm off the apron.
We took a short commercial break, after which the Riott Squad had taken over. Riott gripped Lynch in a reverse-chinlock, slamming her back to the mat when Becky fought to her feet. Morgan tagged in to sit on the top rope. Riott rammed Lynch into her right knee, and Morgan leapt off with a face-slam to Lynch for a two-count. Morgan mocked her opponent with a creepy schoolgirl pose on the canvas. Lynch made a break for her corner, but Morgan grabbed her hair and pulled her back to the mat.
Sarah Logan entered the ring and tied up Lynch on the mat. Lynch tried to create separation, but Logan steamrolled her with a running tackle. When she tried to toss Lynch over the top rope, however, Becky reversed her momentum and slung Logan to the floor. Logan hustled to get back in the ring, preventing the tag by knocking Flair off the apron. Lynch made her own break by clotheslining Logan. Both women tagged out, and Naomi worked over Morgan with a clothesline and a springboard enziguri. Naomi lit up Morgan with her flurry of kicks. She charged Morgan, who backdropped her over the ropes onto the apron. Naomi blocked Liv’s right hand and decker her with another enziguri.
Naomi sized up Morgan, catapulting onto her with a springboard cross-body-block. Logan broke up the pin, but paid for it when Charlotte blew her up with a spear. Back on her feet, Logan countered a Naomi bodyslam attempt by pushing Naomi to the ropes for an O’Connor Roll. Naomi held onto the top rope, leaving her open for Riott’s left-footed enziguri. A dazed Naomi stumbled into Morgan’s modified Codebreaker.
Result: The Riott Squad beat Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Naomi when Liv Morgan pinned Naomi following a modified Codebreaker.
Grade: B
Backstage, Dasha Fuentes interviewed The Usos. Uce couldn’t figure out which one of them was which, but said that Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin would know who they are at the Royal Rumble. Gable and Benjamin took this as their cue to jump the Usos from behind. They pummeled the twins, then told the Usos they knew who they’d be: former champions.
The announce team plugged the Mixed Match Challenge. In useful news, Phillips informed us that the Singh Brothers were banned from ringside for tonight’s U.S. Championship tournament finals.
A video package aired on the Styles vs. Owens/Zayn feud. This was also the story of Bryan feuding with his putative boss, Shane McMahon. When it concluded, we got a video of Nakamura proclaiming that he’d win the Rumble.
The Fashion Files aired in progress. Rusev de-wigged Tyler Breeze (resplendent in a blue dress) while Aiden English downplayed Breezango’s win over Rusev Day last week. English demanded a rematch next week. Fandango said that Rusev Day would indeed compete – against The Ascension.
Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal (U.S. Championship Tournament Finals)
Bryan and McMahon watched this match from ringside. Roode sold his rib injury during the introductions. Mahal powered Roode into the corner and gave a clean break. Standing mid-ring, Mahal tried to kick Roode, who caught his boot and pelted him with right hands. Mahal hit back with a chop and kicks, stomping Roode in the corner and pressing his knee into Roode’s ribs. Roode fired back with a right hand and slammed Mahal’s head into the turnbuckle. He mounted the second rope and bombarded Mahal with punches.
Roode Irish-whipped Mahal, who kicked him when Roode dropped his head. But Jinder whiffed on his next strike, and Roode pulled down the top rope to send his opponent tumbling to ringside. Roode slowly pursued his opponent, clearly fighting through distress. Mahal seized the opportunity by ramming Roode’s back against the ring apron, then driving him into the steel stairs. Mahal lifted Roode in a suplex position and dropped him stomach-first on top of the ringside barricade. The Maharaja raised his fist as we took our final break.
Mahal tried to break Roode as we returned, simultaneously pulling Roode’s left arm and leg to grind his ribs against the ringpost. Mahal broke the hold, then shoved Roode against the post. As Roode staggered to his feet, Mahal bounded off the ropes and ran into his opponent, sending Roode hurtling through the air. He landed against the barricade and crumpled to the floor while clutching his ribs. Mahal threw Roode back into the ring and applied an abdominal stretch. Roode fought out with strikes, but Mahal crippled his comeback by burying a knee in his gut. Jinder hit a nice-looking low dropkick for a two-count.
Mahal delivered well-placed kicks to Roode, then springboarded off the bottom rope to drop three knees onto Roode. His methodical offense looked much more effective when he’s targeting a body part on an injured opponent. Back on his feet, Roode threw shots at Jinder, who stymied Roode’s rush with a high knee. Mahal got a near-fall there. He refocused, channeling fellow Calgarian Bret Hart by grabbing Roode’s legs and stomping his lower abdomen. Mahal pulled back on Roode’s arms to make his breathing even more labored.
Roode broke the hold and attempted to Irish-whip Mahal. When Jinder reversed the move, Roode executed a sunset-flip for a two-count. Mahal throttled any further attempts at offense with a thrust kick. That move resulted in another near-fall, frustrating Mahal. He took his time, rocking Roode with strikes and grinding his knee into Roode’s ribs. When Mahal let Roode back up, however, Roode caught him with an elbow, then clotheslined him over the top rope to the floor. Roode launched himself off the apron with a clothesline, then brought Mahal into the ring. He climbed the turnbuckles and overshot a cross-body-block, which Mahal rolled through for a two-count.
As they traded strikes, Roode deftly lifted a knee into Jinder’s head in the corner, sending the Maharaja reeling across the ring. Roode slugged Mahal with a running clothesline, then got his boots up to combat Mahal’s counterstrike in the opposite corner. Mahal landed his second-rope blockbuster for a two-count. Grimacing in pain, Roode went for the Glorious DDT. Mahal back-dropped Roode, who tried to hold on for another sunset flip. Mahal sat down on him, grabbing a leg and getting a two-count. Both men made it to their feet and collided in a double clothesline.
Recovering in the corner, Mahal elbowed an attacking Roode, but charged directly into a spinebuster. Mahal countered another Glorious DDT into a schoolboy rollup, getting a two-count. He went for his own finisher, but Roode twisted out of the Khallas in mid-air, and executed the Glorious DDT to win his first championship in WWE.
Result: Bobby Roode pinned Jinder Mahal with the Glorious DDT. He is the new U.S. Champion.
Grade: B+
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