SAN ANTONIO – The Wyatt Family is headed to the main event of WrestleMania 33, but not the member you might expect.

In front of 52,020 WWE fans at the Alamodome, recently converted Wyatt acolyte Randy Orton won his second Royal Rumble Match and punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 33. The Viper’s victory was the capper to a Rumble Match that had no shortage of delights, shocks and surprise entrants, and truly made good on the promise of “Friend vs. Friend, Foe vs. Foe, Every Man for Himself.” Don’t believe us? Let’s review:

However, once The Wyatts entered the match — Bray himself was the first at No. 21 — the complexion of the melee changed almost instantly. Orton RKO’d everyone in sight after his own entrance, seemingly clearing the way for the ultimate triumph of The New Face of Fear. The on-the-outs Luke Harper seemed as though he was on a mission to re-earn Wyatt’s trust at No. 25, but then he went and clobbered the patriarch himself with a discus clothesline. He would have also administered Sister Abigail had Orton not stopped the betrayal with an RKO. (Goldberg later eliminated Harper.)

The other, complexion-changing moment of the match was the unexpected arrival of Roman Reigns at No. 30, just hours after losing his bid for the WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens. Not only did The Big Dog eliminate The Undertaker, he cleaned house of several stragglers to bring the bout to a 1-on-2 confrontation with Wyatt and Orton.

In a clash between two titans of the ring, The Undertaker eliminates Goldberg during the 30th annual Royal Rumble: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

Gunning hard for his second Royal Rumble Match win, Reigns managed to power his way out of the Sister Abigail-RKO combo and eliminate The Eater of Worlds. The Apex Predator struck Reigns quickly thereafter, administering an RKO and tossing the former WWE Champion over the ropes to secure his main-event ticket to The Showcase of the Immortals.

They say that anything can happen in WWE, and although there are some who may claim Orton, as a veteran, was a favorite to win, consider the idea that, should he challenge for the WWE Championship, the champion himself may not be who it is right now after WWE Elimination Chamber. Added the variable of how Wyatt will respond to his lieutenant achieving a goal he badly wanted for himself , and it’s truly anyone’s guess as to what happens next.



Rumble Match Statistics

Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations

No. Name Eliminated Eliminated By Time 1 Big Cass Strowman 9:57 2 Chris Jericho Sheamus, Cesaro Reigns 1:00:13 3 Kalisto Strowman 8:17 4 Mojo Rawley Strowman 6:16 5 Jack Gallagher Henry 3:20 6 Mark Henry Gallagher Strowman 3:17 7 Braun Strowman Big Show, Ellsworth, Henry, Kalisto, Dillinger, Big Cass, Rawley Corbin 13:11 8 Sami Zayn Undertaker 46:55 9 Big Show Strowman 1:42 10 Tye Dillinger Strowman 5:27 11 James Ellsworth Strowman :15 12 Dean Ambrose Lesnar 26:55 13 Baron Corbin Strowman Undertaker 32:39 14 Kofi Kingston Sheamus, Cesaro 16:13 15 The Miz Undertaker 32:44 16 Sheamus Woods, Kingston, Big E Jericho 12:13 17 Big E Sheamus, Cesaro 9:46 18 Rusev Goldberg 22:31 19 Cesaro Woods, Kingston, Big E Jericho 6:44 20 Xavier Woods Sheamus, Cesaro 4:47 21 Bray Wyatt Reigns 24:11 22 Apollo Crews Harper 5:46 23 Randy Orton Reigns WINNER 20:52 24 Dolph Ziggler Lesnar 4:21 25 Luke Harper Crews Goldberg 9:56 26 Brock Lesnar Enzo, Ambrose, Ziggler Goldberg 4:30 27 Enzo Amore Lesnar :18 28 Goldberg Lesnar, Rusev, Harper Undertaker 3:21 29 The Undertaker Corbin, Goldberg, Miz, Zayn Reigns 8:46 30 Roman Reigns Undertaker, Jericho, Wyatt Orton 5:05

Total match time 1:02:06