What started off as WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan revealing a new eco-friendly WWE Championship — but not before throwing the old title, which Bryan claimed “was bound from the skin of a cow that was taken from her,” in the trash, and re-introducing his new running buddy Rowan to the WWE Universe quickly turned into something that changed the landscape of SmackDown LIVE.
Bryan stated that Rowan wasn’t the mindless grunt that everyone perceived him as, but an enlightened man of Earth, and that is why he sees through the “façade” of AJ Styles, who would soon hit the scene to call out Bryan for Rowan’s involvement in their WWE Championship Match at the Royal Rumble event. Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Mustafa Ali and Samoa Joe all hit the scene, and Joe ran down everybody before a brawl broke out between all five Superstars, all eager to get their hands on Bryan’s WWE Championship.
Bryan, who was keeping a safe distance away from the insanity by standing on the announcer’s table with Rowan in front of him, soon took the microphone and refused to defend his championship against any of the Superstars in the ring. However, Triple H appeared on the TitanTron with some news for Bryan and all the Superstars: Bryan would not be defending the WWE Title against any one of the men … because he would be defending it against all of them inside the Elimination Chamber on Sunday, Feb. 17!
From there, the chaotic brawl inside the ring continued, with all five Superstars still going at it and an enraged Bryan and Rowan getting out of dodge while they still had the chance.
Credit: WWE.com
Gallery Links:
WWE Photos > Weekly & Pay-Per-View Digitals > 2019 > Smackdown > January 29th
Screen Captures > WWE Programs > Smackdown > 2019 > January 29th
Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations
| No. | Superstar | Eliminated | Eliminated By | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elias | Jeff Jarrett | Seth Rollins | 15:07 |
| 2 | Jeff Jarrett | Elias | 1:19 | |
| 3 | Shinsuke Nakamura | Kurt Angle | Mustafa Ali | 17:46 |
| 4 | Kurt Angle | Shinsuke Nakamura | 3:15 | |
| 5 | Big E | Samoa Joe | 6:01 | |
| 6 | Johnny Gargano | Jinder Mahal | Dean Ambrose | 13:50 |
| 7 | Jinder Mahal | Johnny Gargano | 0:29 | |
| 8 | Samoa Joe | Big E, Curt Hawkins, No Way Jose | Mustafa Ali | 23:43 |
| 9 | Curt Hawkins | Titus O’Neil | Samoa Joe | 4:09 |
| 10 | Seth Rollins | Elias, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman | Winner | 43:00 |
| 11 | Titus O’Neil | Curt Hawkins | 0:05 | |
| 12 | Kofi Kingston | Drew McIntyre | 8:53 | |
| 13 | Mustafa Ali | Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe | Nia Jax | 30:00 |
| 14 | Dean Ambrose | Johnny Gargano | Aleister Black | 12:42 |
| 15 | No Way Jose | Samoa Joe | 0:02 | |
| 16 | Drew McIntyre | Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Pete Dunne, Jeff Hardy | Dolph Ziggler | 20:06 |
| 17 | Xavier Woods | Drew McIntyre | 0:03 | |
| 18 | Pete Dunne | Drew McIntyre | 11:13 | |
| 19 | Andrade | Randy Orton | Braun Strowman | 22:31 |
| 20 | Apollo Crews | Baron Corbin | 5:47 | |
| 21 | Aleister Black | Dean Ambrose | Baron Corbin | 6:09 |
| 22 | Shelton Benjamin | Braun Strowman | 9:21 | |
| 23 | Baron Corbin | Apollo Crews, Aleister Black | Braun Strowman | 7:19 |
| 24 | Jeff Hardy | Drew McIntyre | 7:55 | |
| 25 | Rey Mysterio | Alexa Bliss | 4:26 | |
| 26 | Bobby Lashley | Seth Rollins | 0:13 | |
| 27 | Braun Strowman | Andrade, Shelton Benjamin, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler | Seth Rollins | 14:39 |
| 28 | Dolph Ziggler | Drew McIntyre | Braun Strowman | 11:34 |
| 29 | Randy Orton | Rey Mysterio | Andrade | 5:56 |
| 30 | Nia Jax (in place of R-Truth) | Mustafa Ali | Rey Mysterio | 3:11 |
Credit: WWE.com
Gallery Links:
WWE Photos > Weekly & Pay-Per-View Digitals > 2019 > Pay-Per-Views > Royal Rumble
Screen Captures > WWE & TNA Pay-Per-Views > WWE Pay-Per-Views > 2019 > Royal Rumble
WWE posted some photos of Jeff during the Royal Rumble Axxess. I’ve added them to our gallery!
Gallery Links:
WWE Photos > Public Events > 2019 > Royal Rumble Axxess 2019 – Day 1
After last week’s brawl that ended with Samoa Joe putting Jeff Hardy to sleep with the Coquina Clutch, these two rivals squared off once again, this time with higher stakes – the opportunity to compete for a WWE Championship Match later tonight.
The bout was just as heated as their Christmas showdown, with Joe looking to submit Hardy early and The Charismatic Enigma seeking to unleash his rage on the submission expert. Despite being on the receiving end of some heavy-duty shots from Joe, Hardy still landed a Swanton Bomb.
However, Joe rolled to the arena floor after the move connected, drawing Hardy to ringside, as well. Joe trapped The Charismatic Enigma in the Coquina Clutch and nearly won the battle by count-out. Hardy beat the referee’s count, but Joe once again locked his foe in the clutch, and Hardy passed out in the hold.
Joe had one win out of the way. Could he pick up the second later in the night and get a WWE Championship Match?
Credit: WWE.com
Gallery Links:
WWE Photos > Weekly & Pay-Per-View Digitals > 2019 > Smackdown > January 1st
Screen Captures > WWE Programs > Smackdown > 2019 > January 1st
