Randy Orton guaranteed himself a world title shot at WrestleMania by winning the Royal Rumble after eliminating Roman Reigns in a frantic main event that saw Brock Lesnar once again embarrassed by Goldberg and the Undertaker make his return to the Rumble.

Orton clinched his second Royal Rumble victory, backing up his 2009 success, by defeating 29 other men in one of the showcase events on the WWE calendar, but it was nearly Roman Reigns who was celebrating a second victory as he faced Orton in the final two.

After eliminating Bray Wyatt and, more importantly, The Undertaker, Reigns looked favourite for success, but a spear attempt suddenly turned into an RKO and Orton threw Reigns out of the ring to clinch a shot at one of the two world titles at WrestleMania later this year.

The early stages of the match were dominated by Braun Strowman, who earlier in the night cost Reigns his shot as Kevin Owens’s WWE Universal title, as the giant eliminated the likes of Jack Gallagher, Mojo Rawley, Big Cass and Kalisto before seeing off Mark Henry.

Strowman also eliminated the Big Show after picking up the ‘World’s Largest Athlete’, but Baron Corbin would stop Strowman in his tracks and eventually eliminate him with a powerful clothesline.

All the while Chris Jericho had ensured he stayed out of the firing line by crawling out of the ring and hiding, a ply that would ensure the No 2 entry would survive more than an hour to reach the final four.

Royal Rumble entry list: 1. Big Cass (Eliminated No 3) 2. Chris Jericho (Eliminated No 27) 3. Kalisto (Eliminated No 4) 4. Mojo Rawley (Eliminated No 2) 5. Jack Gallagher (Eliminated No 1) 6. Mark Henry (Eliminated No 5) 7. Braun Strowman (Eliminated No 9) 8. Sami Zayn (Eliminated No 25) 9. Big Show (Eliminated No 6) 10. Tye Dillinger (Eliminated No 8) 11. James Ellsworth (Eliminated No 7) 12. Dean Ambrose (Eliminated No 16) 13. Baron Corbin (Eliminated No 21) 14. Kofi Kingston (Eliminated No 11) 15. The Miz (Eliminated No 24) 16. Sheamus (Eliminated No 13) 17. Big E (Eliminated 10) 18. Rusev (Eliminated No 20) 19. Cesaro (Eliminated No 14) 20. Xavier Woods (Eliminated No 12) 21. Bray Wyatt (Eliminated No 28) 22. Apollo Cruz (Eliminated No 15) 23. Randy Orton - WINNER 24. Dolph Ziggler (Eliminated No 17) 25. Luke Harper (Eliminated No 22) 26. Brock Lesnar (Eliminated No 19) 27. Enzo Amore (Eliminated No 18) 28. Goldberg (Eliminated No 23) 29. The Undertaker (Eliminated No 26) 30. Roman Reigns (Eliminated No 29)

But all eyes were on the explosive Brock Lesnar when he arrived as the No 26 entrant, and The Beast promptly got rid of Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler as he wreaked havoc in the ring. After sending Enzo Amore back from where he came from within seconds, Lesnar’s rival, Goldberg, came out at No 28 to reignite their feud. After embarrassing Lesnar at Survivor Series on his return to the WWE, Goldberg backed up the 89-second victory by spearing Lesnar and immediately eliminating him.

But Goldberg was stopped in his tracks by The Undertaker, with the Phenom’s gong hitting as the lights went out. With Goldberg waiting for him, Undertaker suddenly appeared in the ring behind Goldberg before the two went at it. They eliminated Corbin and Rusev, before The Deadman threw Goldberg out of the ring in another dramatic twist.

But The Undertaker’s attempt would not last much longer. The final entrant proved to be Reigns, and e shocked the Phenom when he eliminated him, much to his anger, and a frosty staredown afterwards suggested this could be the start of something else in the pipeline.

With Reigns joined by Wyatt, Orton and Jericho, we were down to the final four, which soon became final three after a Reigns superman punch did for Jericho from the top rope. After eliminating Wyatt, Reigns looked to be on course for his second Rumble success, only for Orton to turn the tables and clinch victory.

Earlier in the night, John Cena tied Ric Flair’s tally of 16 world championship title reigns by defeating AJ Styles in an early contender for fight of the year. Having suffered a rare, legitimate loss to Styles at SummerSlam last year, Cena had a point to prove, but the defending WWE champion would not go down lightly.

The pair traded finishers, with Cena delivering no fewer than three AA’s to Styles’s two Styles Clash’s, but in the end Cena secured the WWE Championship with an avalanche AA from the middle rope.

As mentioned, Kevin Owens was able to retain the WWE Universal title thanks to interference from Strowman during the no disqualification title defence against Reigns. After falling through a three-storey pile of chairs and being powerbombed through the announcers’ table, Reigns looked on course for victory, only for Strowman to pull him out of the ring and chokeslam him onto another table – all the while with Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage.

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Show all 25 1 /25 WWE Royal Rumble 2017 WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Becky Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella vs Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Micky James The team of Becky Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella kicked off the pre-show by defeating Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Micky James. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Cesaro and Sheamus vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson Luke Gallows lands a leg drop on Cesaro during their Raw Tag Team title match. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Cesaro and Sheamus vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson Cesaro swings Anderson around the ring. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Cesaro and Sheamus vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson Gallows and Anderson celebrate winning the Raw Tag Team titles. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks in the final match on the kick-off show. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns Owens walks out to the ring alongside Chris Hericho, who sent the match suspended above the ring in a shark cage. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns Reigns was attempting to win the WWE Universal Championship. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns Owens celebrates victory after Braun Strrowman attacked Roman Reigns. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Rich Swann vs Neville Rich Swann was unable to defend his Cruiserweight title against former friend Neville. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Rich Swann vs Neville Neville celebrates winning the cruiserweight championship. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Charlotte Flair vs Bayley Bayley fell short in her attempt to beat Charlotte for the Raw Women's championship. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Charlotte Flair vs Bayley Charlotte has now won all 16 of her pay-per-viw title fights. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 AJ Styles vs John Cena Cena and Styles clashed in an early contender for match of the year, WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 AJ Styles vs John Cena Cena needed three AA's to beat Styles. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 AJ Styles vs John Cena Cena celebrates winning the world championship for a record-tying 16th time. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble The 30-man Royal Rumble began with Big Cass and Chris Jericho kicking things off. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Jack Gallagher proved the first elimination from the match. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble The ring quickly filled up with numerous superstars. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble The Big Show and Braun Strowman stare each other down before the latter eliminated the 'World's Largest Athlete'. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Strowman soon whittled down the match by making seven eliminations. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Bray Wyatt joined Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho in the final four. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Reigns eliminated The Undertaker, who did not react well and stared down Reigns afterwards. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble by eliminating Roman Reigns. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Orton guaranteed himself a world title shot at WrestleMania 33. WWE WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Royal Rumble Orton clinched his second Royal Rumble victory. WWE

Charlotte retained her Raw Women’s championship with a comfortable victory over Bayley that finished with a Natural Selection on the ring apron, while the tag team titles changes hands as Cesaro and Sheamus were beaten by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on the pre-show.

Neville won the WWE cruiserweight championship by forcing former friend Rich Swann to submit, while Nia Jax picked up a win on the pre-show against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi beat Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya in the night’s opening match.

Randy Orton celebrates winning the Royal Rumble (WWE)

Results

Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi beat Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows beat Cesaro and Sheamus to win the WWE Raw Tag Team titles

Nia Jax beats Sasha Banks

Charlotte Flair beats Bayley to retain the Raw Women’s Championship

Kevin Owens beats Roman Reigns to retain the Universal Championship

Neville beats Rich Swann to win the Cruiserweight Championship

John Cena beats AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship