After a few chaotic weeks on SmackDown between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens, it all came down to a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship. Adam Pearce got Owens to get to this place successfully after hiring some contracts, and now it was time for Owens to do his part and put Reigns on. Owens came out first, and then Roman Reigns touched the entrance ramp with Paul Heyman at his side, though there was not enough curiosity about Jey Uso.
Owens charged directly at Reigns, but Reigns dealt a Superman Punch and overthrew Owens shortly after. Owens stood up and dodged a Reigns spear with a big kick and then hit Reigns with a pop-up bomb, but Reigns stood up on the 4th count.
Reigns caught Owens, but Owens got to his feet and threw Reigns into the ring post. Reigns, however, turned him around and threw Owens’ shoulder first on the steel stairs. Reigns followed him with a spear that sent him hard to the ground.
Reigns waited for Owens to get up and then grabbed the steel steps and hit them against Owens. He grabbed them again and hit Owens in the face, sending him to the ground. Reigns hit him again with his footsteps, causing Owens to come down once more. Owens stood up and kicked Reigns in the face, knocked him over, and took the steps out of his hands.
Owens hit Reigns’ face against the stairs three times and then threw him at the LED screens several times. Reigns stood up and Owens first hit him with more LED screens and then kicked him in the face. Then Owens went to pick up the steel steps and crashed them into Reigns, sending him to the team table.
Then Owens climbed up and grabbed a chair, but Reigns hit him in the eye. Reigns hit Owens with a chair in the ribs, but Owens fought. They would trade attacks until Owens hit Reins in the face with a large kick, then grabbed a chair and hit Reigns in the knees and legs, followed by a blow to Reigns’ back. Reigns returned the favor with several attacks that left Owns injured and then Reigns tried to push Owens to the edge, but Owens surprised him and made him fall to the edge. Reigns hit Owens with a Superman Punch and then threw Owens to the tables, breaking them in half.
Still, Owens stood up in time. Owens, however, felt the pain and went behind the scenes for some unknown reason. He kept walking until he bumped into the backstage training ring. Suddenly, Reigns came across a golf cart, which collided with Owens, and the collision caused a broken windshield.
Owens was low, but he rose to the count again, and Reigns unloaded him with his fists. Owens rose again to count eight, and before Reigns could attack him again, Owens punched him with an emerging power that bombarded him against the table. Then Owens came up and splashed Reigns, breaking the table in the process. Reigns barely made it to the count again, and his legs were spaghetti at the time.
Owens sent Reigns back and grabbed a ladder. Owens hit the ladder against Reigns’ face, leaving him on a table. Then Owens climbed into a forklift and lifted a trowel. He then lifted the paddle and climbed on top, jumping and hitting a seat against Reigns and smashing the table below. The referee started the count, and Owens stood up, and Reigns rose to the count of 9, but he was quickly heard again.
Owens continued to drag Reigns to the concession area and Reigns was bleeding in some places. Owens dragged Reigns into the ring area once more, and the referee started the count again. Reigns would overcome it, but then turn the tables and nail Owens through the LED screen. He barely counted, but he left the stage and ended up standing, beating the count to 9.
Roman pulled out some handcuffs and tried to secure Owens, but Owens stopped him and hit Reigns with a light stick. Owens then handcuffed Reigns to the light structure. He was then about to be counted, but Reigns hit the referee against the post and left him out before he could count him.
He then hit Owens with a hard blow, sending him to the ground, and then Heyman went out to get the handcuffs, but a new referee came out who started the count. After a while (a bit long in which the referee stopped counting because it took a long time), Heyman was able to remove Reigns, and once he did he instantly applied a guillotine to Owens, who seemed missing.
The referee started the count, and that was all he wrote for Owens.
Here is the full Royal Rumble card:
WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg
WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing)
WWE Women’s Team Championships: Asuka and Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
Men’s Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, John Morrison, Sheamus, Mustafa Ali, Edge , TBA
Women’s Royal Rumble: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Beliar, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina, TBA
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk to me about all the WWE stuff on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!