Here's your wrestling news for January 31st 2022
And your Headlines for today include
WWE Superstars Earn Major Heat From “Really Angry” Locker Room At The Royal Rumble !
“It Wasn’t An Easy Night.” WWE Talent Opens Up About Problems With Last Saturday’s Rumble !
Shane Mcmahon Scheduled For More Appearances Following Rumble Return !
Reason For Former Universal Champion Being Snubbed From The Men’s Rumble Match Revealed !
Brock Lesnar Breaks 12-Year Record With Royal Rumble Victory !
What Happened After The Royal Rumble Went Off The Air?
Alexa Bliss Fires Out Another Tweet About Being Unhappy With Royal Rumble Plans !
Former WWE Superstar Defends Brock Lesnar’s ‘Unnecessary’ Men’s Rumble Match Win ! And More !
We’re kicking off with Shane McMahon, who returned during the Men’s Royal Rumble match, in his
first match since losing to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 37.
In his return, Shane squared off against the likes of Riddle and Kevin Owens, even eliminating the Prizefighter in a call back
to their 2019 feud, but those backstage aren’t happy with WWE’s Prodigal Son.
Ringside News has learned that Shane was one of the producers for the men’s Rumble match, and
now has major heat backstage for how well he booked himself.
From being able to hold his own with every full-time Superstar he came acoss, to eliminating Owens
and booking himself to be one of the last people eliminated, it’s said that the entire locker room is
“really angry” according to a source within WWE.
The 2022 Men’s Rumble isn’t the first production from McMahon, who also produced the 2020
Rumble, which saw Lesnar score 13 eliminations before being thrown out by Drew McIntyre.
It’s also said that Shane was difficult to work with backstage, as he argued with both several roster members and
fellow producer Jamie Noble, ahead of making himself one of the final four in the match.
It’s been noted that Shane will have some kind of role at WrestleMania, though there’s no word yet on who he’ll face,
but the son of the Chairman isn’t a popular man with WWE’s Superstars at the moment.
Shane may have drawn the ire of the roster with how he booked himself for the Royal Rumble
match, but he wasn’t the only issue with the show.
In an update from PW Insider, it’s said that multiple people within WWE, both on-screen talent and those working behind
the scenes were frustrated with the show, many due to the constant changes that took place over the past few days.
It’s said that the men’s Rumble match underwent around 20 changes, which were made by Vince McMahon, and
these changes including the order of entrances, changes in eliminations and interactions between talent.
It’s said that the same happened with the women’s Rumble match, although the winner for that match was never in question,
and this all made for a “frustrating day” for the roster, with morale said to be “very down” compared
to other recent events. A Superstar who wished to remain anonymous said the following:
“We were all in a whirlwind. Just as you had your role and spots down, everything started over and over and now most of us
were back to square one. It changed again and again. It wasn't an easy night, even before we hit the ring."
This year’s Royal Rumble was the first time in 2 years that fans had been able to attend, and was meant to be a huge way
to kick off the road to WrestleMania, but the show and it’s booking has left
a sore spot for both the fans and those inside WWE
Shane McMahon may not be feeling the love right now, but the Superstars on the main roster will
just have to get used to him being at Premium Live Events.
According to Dave Meltzer, Shane has been booked for WWE’s next big shows,
, the Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia, and WrestleMania 38.
It still hasn’t been finalised who Shane will face at either show, but with the Saudi show just weeks
away, fans can expect Shane’s second of three huge matches to be confirmed very soon.
The last time Shane competed in Saudi Arabia, he earned a victory over Roman Reigns, and if that result seems odd considering that Reigns
has always been booked strong by WWE, we’ll just have to see if another full-time Superstars falls to Shane and his powers over creative.
The 2022 Royal Rumble saw plenty of huge names from the past and present appear, but one name who didn’t compete is Finn Balor.
A former Universal and NXT Champion, Balor was a notable absence from the Men’s Rumble match,
but despite speculation of an injury, that isn’t the case.
Wrestle Votes reports that Balor wasn’t at the Royal Rumble, because he’s not in the U.S. and is instead in Dublin, Ireland at the moment.
Balor hasn’t appeared on WWE programming for two weeks now, with his last match seeing
lose to Austin Theory on the January 17th RAW.
Despite this absence, WWE are said to be confident that Balor will be back in time for WrestleMania,
but for now, Balor is enjoying a hiatus from WWE in his homeland.
Balor wasn’t around to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble match, which saw Brock Lesnar be the
surprise #30 entrant, winning his second Rumble match.
Lesnar’s entry into the match came shortly after he had been screwed out of the WWE title by
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, and the Beast Incarnate broke a record in the process
After entering the match, Lesnar took just 2 minutes and 32 seconds to win the Men’s Rumble
match, breaking the record for the shortest amount of time in a Rumble match by the winner.
The previous record was held by Edge, who won his first Rumble match in 2010, after spent
7 minutes 37 second to earn a World title match against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 26.
With such a short time from entering to winning, we doubt Lesnar’s record will ever be broken, as
the part-time Superstar certainly lived up to this moniker last Saturday.
Many fans had expected Randy Orton to win the Rumble match, which would’ve given the Viper his
third Rumble victory in his home town of St. Louis.
Ultimately, Orton didn’t get that win, and he lasted just 2 minutes 21 seconds before being
eliminated by Lesnar, but the live crowd got one last moment with the Legend Killer.
After the Rumble Premium Live Event went off the air, Orton returned and did his signature pose to send the crowd home happy,
and following Brock’s controversial victory, this was definitely the right call for WWE to make.
The 2022 Royal Rumble event went ahead without any appearance from Alexa Bliss, despite
rumours that she’d be a factor, and maybe the winner, of the women’s Royal Rumble match
On Twitter, Bliss teased being displeased over her snub in the Women’s Rumble match, tweeting lyrics from the Little
Mermaid’s Part of your World, where Ariel says “but who cares, no big deal, I want more.”
Fans were quick to speculate that Bliss is referencing the Women’s Rumble match, and is
trying to move past the 30-woman match she didn’t get to appear in.
This isn’t the first time Bliss’ Twitter account has hinted at problems with the Rumble, as after Ronda Rousey’s win, she posted
a gif that seemed displeased at the Rowdy One’s win, before deleting that tweet.
If you include Rousey, half the Women’s Rumble match, 15 entrants, were either Hall of Famers, free agents or work for Impact
Wrestling, and despite so many spots, WWE didn’t have room for Bliss, something that has ticked off the Goddess.
And we’re ending with more news from the Royal Rumble, as like Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar’s
victory in the Men’s Rumble match has angered fans.
Many believe that Brock didn’t need the Rumble win to get another title shot at Roman Reigns, and
now Nia Jax has weighed in herself on the Men’s match.
When a fan said they wished Jax had been in the Women’s Rumble match, the former WWE
Superstar joked that they must’ve missed it, and was meant to appear.
The same fan went on to say that it baffles them to see WWE rely on part-time talent to challenge for titles when they have
such an incredible roster, but admitted that Lesnar has been pretty regular since his Summerslam 2021 return.
In response, Jax praised Lesnar, calling him “insanely talented” and said that he always gives back when it’s requested.
Although Lesnar is still a part-time Superstar, he’s been a regular on TV in 2022, and while his win
may not have earned him any fans, Nia Jax is on board with the now two-time Royal Rumble winner.