WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show Results
January 29, 2017
San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome)
Results by: Jason Namako of Wrestleview.com
“The Irish Lass Kicker” Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella and Naomi vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Mickie James and “The Queen of Harts” Natalya
Natalya and Nikki start. Natalya taunts Nikki, who slaps her in response. Natalya quickly tags Bliss in. Nikki works over Bliss and gets 2. Naomi in, double dropkick by Naomi and Nikki to Bliss. Natalya in, Naomi blocks a snap suplex, but Bliss comes in. Lynch now in, then Mickie, then Nikki and the babyfaces hit a triple suplex! Team Bliss heads outside as Nikki and Lynch nail them with baseball slides, followed by Naomi wiping out everyone with a slingshot plancha!
– Commercial –
Back from commercial as Lynch with clotheslines and a dropkick to Natalya. Lynch begins to bring that straight fire to Natalya, hitting the springboard sidekick in the corner, followed by a forearm off the apron. Mickie then sends Lynch into the barricade, followed by Natalya hitting a snap suplex to Lynch on the outside!
Back in, Natalya works over Lynch, who gets free, but Natalya stops a tag and drives Lynch into her corner. Mickie in and unloads with shots to Lynch. Bliss in, does the same, continuing to work over Lynch. Bliss distracts the ref, allowing Mickie to get a cheap shot in from the apron. Bliss gets 2. Natalya in and she and Bliss drive down Lynch by the hair. Lynch then rolls up Natalya for 2. Natalya comes back with a clothesline for 2. Michinoku Driver by Natalya, then takes a shot at Naomi. Lynch blocks a German, but Bliss blind tags in. Lynch nails Bliss and goes to tag in Nikki, but Natalya pulls Nikki off the apron. Lynch with an inside cradle to Bliss for 2, followed by an enziguri.
Naomi in, springboard crossbody to Bliss, dropkick takes out Natalya and Mickie. Flip-Over Clothesline and a Sit-Out Facebuster by Naomi, followed by the Speedball Series and an enziguri for 2. Mickie breaks up the pin, Lynch with the Bex-Plex to Mickie, then Nikki with a Spear to Natalya. Naomi with a shot to Bliss from the apron, followed by a split-legged moonsault for the win.
Winners: “The Irish Lass Kicker” Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella and Naomi by pinfall (Split-Legged Moonsault)
Team Naomi celebrates their win after.
RAW Tag Team Titles (two referees assigned): “The Swiss Superman” Cesaro and “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus (c’s) vs. The Club (“Machine Gun” Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows)
Cesaro quickly with a shot to Anderson for 2. Deadlift Gutwrench Suplex by Cesaro for 2. Slingshot Shoulder Block by Sheamus for 2. Cesaro back in, Finlay Roll/Double Stomp combo by the champions for 2. Anderson comes back with a Step-Up Kick in the corner. Gallows in, but Sheamus regains control and hits a running knee drop for 2. Cesaro in, but Gallows hits him with a back body drop. The Club continues to take control.
– Commercial –
Back from commercial as Gallows keeps working over Cesaro. Cesaro comes back with a Muscle-Plex to Gallows. Gallows stops a tag, but Cesaro breaks free and tags in Sheamus. Sheamus makes a comeback, hitting Irish Hammers and a corner spin kick to the Club, followed by the Beats of the Bodhiran to Gallows. Top Rope Clothesline by Sheamus, followed by an assisted White Noise by the champions for 2. Gallows stops the Cesaro Swing, Anderson in, takes out Sheamus, then rolls up Cesaro with his feet on the ropes, but the second referee catches him. Cesaro hits Swiss Death on Anderson for a close 2. Anderson blocks the Neutralizer, but then Cesaro hits the Swiss-19 on Anderson, followed by a Top Rope Crossbody for 2. Anderson with a backslide for 2. They exchange uppercuts, then Anderson with a spinebuster for 2. The Club goes for the Magic Killer, but Sheamus stops it. Anderson avoids the Brogue Kick and Sheamus accidentally hits the first ref! Cesaro with the Cesaro Swing to Anderson as the second ref takes over the match. Sharpshooter applied by Cesaro, but Gallows breaks it up. Anderson covers, but Sheamus breaks it up. Sheamus and Gallows brawl as it begins to break down. Sheamus almost hits the second ref, but then the Club hits him with the Magic Killer. Cesaro gets rid of Gallows, but Anderson rolls him up, hooking the tights to steal the titles.
Winners and NEW RAW Tag Team Champions: The Club by pinfall (Roll-Up w/tights)
The Club celebrate their title win after as Cesaro can’t believe what happened.
“The Boss” Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
Nia quickly drives Sasha into the ropes. Sasha avoids a charge, hits Shotgun Knees in the corner. Sasha unloads with shots, but Nia catches Sasha off the ropes and drives her into the corner, followed by an avalanche. Nia with a biel, then mows down Sasha with a running body attack.
– Commercial –
Back from commercial as Nia continues to work over Sasha. Sasha goes for the Bank Statement, but Nia shoos her off. Nia then goes to work on the injured knee of Sasha. Sasha avoids a charge, sending Nia into the ringpost. Sasha hits Meteora for 2 as Nia powers out. Nia then hits a Pop-Up Samoan Drop for the win.
Winner: Nia Jax by pinfall (Pop-Up Samoan Drop)
Nia stands tall over the fallen Sasha after.
Segment where RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon bans Seth Rollins from the Royal Rumble for attempting to go after Triple H at NXT TakeOver, plus she will address Rollins’ actions on RAW tomorrow night.
Segment where hometown boy, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, appears before the live San Antonio crowd.
Coverage for the Royal Rumble PPV begins at 7PM ET.