Reviewing the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble

Hard to believe, but this year marked the fifth Women's Royal Rumble Match in WWE, and it was quite interesting and very amazing. The phenomenon that started in 2018 took place in WWE's 35th annual Royal Rumble event in St. Louis, and similar to the men's match, 30 women competed for the ultimate goal: a championship opportunity at the grand stage known as WrestleMania. Past winners included Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Bianca Belair, and tonight, one more woman joined that list. First off, the notable moments.

It happened. It finally happened! The very wish I've made ever since the very first Women's Rumble was announced: Melina appeared as an entrant! You can imagine my elation and emotion when Melina's music hit after Sasha Banks entered at #1. I was so, so overcome; I was in tears. Melina is my all-time fave; I've been a diehard fan for nearly 17 years, and ever since the Women's Rumble debuted, I've only had one hope, one simple wish: that Melina would appear as an entrant. The fifth time was the charm; Melina made her fabulous red carpet entrance, and went face to face with Sasha Banks--a very epic moment. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. It only took just 55 seconds for The Boss to eliminate The Dominant Diva, but even so, I was so happy to see Melina in the Rumble!

The Women's Rumble saw the continuation of the months-long feud between Naomi and Sonya Deville, which has seen Sonya use her power as a WWE official to continuously hold down Naomi. It was on SmackDown that we finally got to see Naomi get her chance to face Sonya one-on-one, with Sonya attempting to order the referee in charge to be completely in Sonya's favor, but to no avail. Naomi defeated Sonya, who appeared on the Rumble kickoff and blamed the official for being biased in Naomi's favor, and as promised, Sonya was the #11 entrant in the Rumble, but didn't quite enter yet. Moments later, Cameron made a surprise appearance at #13, and after being informed by Corey Graves about Cameron's friendship with Naomi, the evil Sonya chose to enter and attack Cameron before eliminating her. She ended up suffering Naomi's wrath, however, as Naomi entered at #14, went after Sonya, and ousted her, besting her for the second straight night. Though, Sonya would cause Naomi to be eliminated later on. This isn't over.

Another epic surprise entrant was Ivory, but the epic thing was how she entered. This was Ivory's second Rumble appearance; she was a surprise entrant in the very first one in 2018, but for this year, the WWE Hall of Famer decided to heel it up and return under her villainous "Right to Censor" gimmick that she portrayed in 2000 and 2001. It may have been two decades, but it was just like riding a bike for Ivory; she lambasted the state of the women's division--referring to them all as "wayward girls," but her rant was interrupted by Rhea Ripley, who picked up Ivory, placed her over the top rope, and shoved her off. It was short, but it was awesome seeing RTC Ivory after over two decades.

The announcement of Mickie James being in the Women's Rumble was a huge shocker. For one, we all know how her most recent tenure in WWE ended. Secondly, she's in Impact Wrestling as their Knockouts Champion. As a result of this, WWE did something that I don't think they've ever done: they have opened the forbidden door. Prior to her title defense against Deonna Purrazzo, Mickie promised to bring the Knockouts Championship with her to WWE's Royal Rumble, and her defense being successful allowed her to do just that. Mickie entered at #20, and she had her title around her waist, marking the first time that the Knockouts Championship was shown on WWE TV. In addition, Mickie came out to Hardcore Country, which has been her entrance theme outside of WWE since 2010! Mickie's appearance has me hopeful that the forbidden door gets opened a bit wider for more women, especially with WrestleMania coming up.

We got to see a battle of the superheroes at the Women's Rumble! Well...one superhero versus an evil "almost a superhero." The music of Nikki A.S.H. drew the attention of Rhea Ripley, who was awaiting her treacherous former tag team partner, only for Nikki to come from behind and go after Rhea. Nikki wasn't able to eliminate Rhea, but her distractions allowed SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to oust her. Nikki wasn't done there, as we received yet another surprise entrant in the form of Molly Holly, who appeared as Mighty Molly for the second straight year. This drew the ire of Nikki A.S.H., who brutally attacked Molly before she could enter the ring, only to toss her in and eliminate her. I'm serious, this match needs to happen at WrestleMania. Nikki A.S.H. vs Mighty Molly--and have The Hurricane officiate.

The Women's Rumble also saw Lita enter at #26, and after eliminating Mickie James, she went right after Charlotte Flair, who antagonized her a few weeks prior. Other than her accolades, Lita's already in the Women's Rumble history books: she delivered the very first elimination in the match's short history by ousting Mandy Rose back in 2018. Lita lasted a good bit in the match before being eliminated by Charlotte, but if it were up to me, it wouldn't end there. I think we should see Charlotte vs Lita one-on-one, maybe for the title.

The Bella Twins were also announced for the Rumble, with Brie Bella entering at #19 while sister Nikki Bella entered at #23. Once both Bellas were together, they faced off against not only Liv Morgan, but another surprise entrant in Sarah Logan, bringing two-thirds of The Riott Squad back together. The Bellas ousted both women, as well as Alicia Fox after a short "Team Bella" reunion; but as I watched, I came up with a prediction. I had a feeling that when the opportunity would come, Brie would eliminate Nikki, and the reason was simple. When the Bellas were participants in the first Rumble in 2018, they were half of match's Final Four--Asuka and Sasha Banks represented the other half. After the twins ousted Sasha, Nikki committed the betrayal and eliminated Brie, so one had to figure that Brie had to be out for payback. Sure enough, that's what happened: Brie nearly ran into Nikki, but took the opportunity to eliminate her sister--an elimination four years in the making.

In all this madness, who ended up winning the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble? None other than Ronda Rousey. In her first WWE appearance in almost three years, Ronda entered at #28 and eliminated Shotzi, Brie Bella, and Nikki A.S.H. before being part of the Final Four that also consisted of Charlotte Flair, Shayna Baszler, and last year's winner Bianca Belair. However, the latter two were eliminated by Charlotte, bringing it down to just her and Ronda, and after duking it out, Ronda ousted the SmackDown Women's Champion and became the fifth Women's Rumble winner.

We know where this is going. It's Ronda vs Becky Lynch. It's the one-on-one confrontation that is four years in the making. This is why Ronda Rousey was brought back, and this is why she won the Rumble. The build to this match will be a good one!

I enjoyed this year's Women's Rumble very much. I'm still elated that Melina entered, I was also happy to see Cameron in it as well, along with Lita, Sarah Logan, Summer Rae, Michelle McCool, and the Bellas. As for an aftermath, well, I think we'll see Cameron stick around to help out Naomi against Sonya. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bellas hang around as well. And regarding next year's Wish List, I hope Melina makes another appearance, but I also have others I hope to see in the Rumble. I still want to see Kaitlyn do one, and I've wanted Candice Michelle to appear in a Rumble since it began. And after seeing Shane McMahon enter the Men's Rumble, I think we'll see his sister, Stephanie McMahon enter the Women's Rumble next year.

If you like this story, click the heart; click "subscribe" for more of my stories! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, as they help me write more material on this amazing site, but no pressure!