Heading into tonight's (Sun., Jan. 26, 2014) WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) that took place at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, there were strong rumors floating around that Roman Reigns was in for a big push, likely in the form of tearing ass through the Rumble match and maybe flirting with breaking Kane's records for most eliminations.
Well, the match has come and gone and he didn't just flirt with it, he outright broke it.
Indeed, Reigns tossed a total of 12 wrestlers, one more than the 11 Kane dumped back at the 2001 Rumble. Both lasted to the final two before getting eliminated by match winners Batista and Stone Cold Steve Austin, respectively.
Here are the 12 wrestlers Reigns took out:
- Kofi Kingston
- Dolph Ziggler
- Kevin Nash
- Great Khali
- Goldust
- El Torito
- JBL
- Luke Harper
- Antonio Cesaro
- Seth Rollins
- Dean Ambrose
- Sheamus
Yes, that list includes his two Shield stablemates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. In fairness, Ambrose tried to dump Reigns not long before he ended up tossed himself. Rollins was simply caught in the crossfire.
Family issues.
It should be noted that Reigns was put over even stronger than Kane back in 2001, as he was reversed at the last second on his way to getting tossed and no sold it after going over the top rope. It looks like he's in line for a big babyface run, as pointed out by Austin in his tweet reacting to the match:
Roman Reigns #MVP of #WWE #RoyalRumble. Helluva babyface run coming for this kid down the road.
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) January 27, 2014
For complete results, reactions, GIFs, pics, videos, and all the Royal Rumble fallout you can handle click here.