Bubba Ray Dudley one of the surprises entrants in Philadelphia
Monday 26 January 2015 05:33, UK
Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble Match and booked a WWE World Heavyweight Title shot at against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania – thanks to help from The Rock.
Reigns battled his way to the final three in in Sunday’s 30-man melee in Philadelphia and initially thought he had claimed victory when he tossed Big Show and Kane over the top rope.
The former Shield star, though, was subjected to a vicious beating from The World’s Largest Athlete and The Big Red Monster which was only quelled when The Rock emerged.
The Great One – who had previously teased an appearance at the Rumble on Twitter by posting a picture of himself in Philadelphia – combined with his cousin, Reigns, to topple the giants.
Rock blasted Big Show with a Rock Bottom after Reigns had administered a Superman punch and it was just as well, with the Royal Rumble Match not actually having concluded at that point.
Rusev was still in the contest, having slid under the bottom rope earlier in the contest and not gone over it, but a refreshed Reigns was able to send the Bulgarian packing following a spear and rubberstamp a main-event match in California on Sunday, March 29.
Reigns’ triumph was the key moment in the Royal Rumble but there were plenty of other intriguing goings-on in a bout that featured WWE’s top current crop as well as a smattering of legends.
Reigns, Rusev and Bray Wyatt eliminated six Superstars apiece during extremely impressive showings, but there was disappointment for perennial fan favourites Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler.
Bryan, who entered at No 10, was expelled early by Wyatt, while Ziggler enjoyed only a brief stint after coming out at No 30, dismissed by the powerful pairing of Big Show and Kane.
Bubba Ray Dudley, Diamond Dallas Page and The Boogeyman were shock entrants, with Bubba igniting the Philadelphia crowd when he called for tables after emerging at No 3 and then teamed up with R-Truth to perform a Dudley Death Drop on The Miz.
There was also good news for Kane, however, as while the veteran saw his hopes of main eventing WrestleMania squashed, he did score four eliminations to take his overall tally in Rumble matches to a record 43.
Missed WWE Royal Rumble? Catch a repeat all week long on Sky Sports Box Office.
WWE Royal Rumble will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 743) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 752) until 9pm on Saturday, January 31.
Repeat showings will last for three hours, with the final showing BEGINNING at 9pm on Saturday, January 31.
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