Rhea Ripley Outlasts 29 Others To Win the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble

Rhea Ripley Outlasts 29 Others To Win the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:24 PM
  • Rhea Ripley became only the fourth superstar, and the first woman, to win the Royal Rumble from number one
  • Chelsea Green made history in the 2022 Women's Rumble match as she was eliminated in just 5 seconds
  • Nia Jax made her return to the WWE after a year away and immediately trash-talked everyone in the ring

The Women’s Royal Rumble match kicked off with Rhea Ripley entering at number one and Liv Morgan entering at number two.

The two were evenly matched before Dana Brooke entered at three and started to dominate. Brooke managed to get the better of both competitors before Emma arrived.

Emma, Brooke, and Morgan then tried to work together to get rid of Ripley. Mami managed to fend them off before Shayna Baszler hit the scene.

Rhea Ripley Outlasts 29 Others To Win the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble
Rhea Ripley went wire to wire as she won the Women's Royal Rumble match. Image: @AmbrLeila
Source: Twitter

The Queen of Spades soon slowed down the tempo with her brand of offence. The longest reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion, Bayley, then entered before B-Fab made her debut in the Rumble.

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The only female member of Hit Row picked up the speed of the match, taking out everyone in her way. Sadly her run ended 36 seconds before Ripley eliminated her.

The NXT Women’s champion Roxanne Perez then made her debut, getting the crowd off their feet. Perez showed why she’s the future of wrestling with her speed and agility. Bayley then had backup as Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky entered.

With all three members of Damage Control in the match, the trio started to dominate, eliminating Brooke and then Emma. They then got rid of Perez which elicited a loud boo from the crowd.

Natalya then returned from injury and looked to settle the score with Baszler. The Queen of Hearts has not been in the WWE since Baszler broke her nose, forcing her to undergo surgery. Baszler soon got the better of her in the early exchanges before targeting Candice LeRae who just entered. Natalya and Baszler resumed their rivalry, with the Queen of Hearts eliminating the Queen of Spades.

Both of Baszler’s feet hit the ground despite her trying to hold onto the ropes, and she continued to focus on Natalya. With both women fighting on the ring apron, Damage Control took advantage, eliminating both for good.

Zoey Stark made her debut and dominated for a bit before Xia Li arrived on the scene.

Becky out for revenge

Damage Control then eliminated LeRae before Becky Lynch entered the match. The Man had a score to settle with Damage Control and immediately went after Bayley.

The trio took out Lynch on Monday Night Raw and the Irish superstar was taken out again by the group outside the ring.

Tegan Nox then made her debut and stole the show for a bit with her high-speed offence. The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard was all action before Asuka made her return.

The Empress, sporting a new look, soon had all eyes on her and soon dumped out Nox.

Piper Niven then entered and had the crowd on their feet. The woman formerly known as Doudrop soon took control of the match as she bullied all in her way until she met her match in Tamina Snuka.

Chelsea Green then made her debut, breaking a record in the process. Green lasted only five seconds before Ripley dumped her out.

Lunch then dumped out Kai and Sky before Bayley eliminated her. With Bayley distracted, Morgan took advantage and eliminated Bayley.

Zelina Vega, cosplaying a Street Fighter character, then entered the ring and produced a quick flurry of moves with Li to get rid of the Chinese superstar.

Raquel Rodriguez was next and used her power to put on a show. Raquel dominated all in her path, including Ripley, who is a powerhouse herself.

Mia Yim entered at 23 and began to take over before Niven and Snuka put an end to her flurry. Lacey Evans then entered and bullied her opponents for a bit. Michelle McCool then made her return, in one of the stranger moments of the match. McCool was sitting at ringside with her daughter when her music hit and climbed the barrier to enter the match.

Another NXT superstar, Indi Hartwell entered the Rumble and stole the show for a bit before Sonya Deville arrived on the scene and eliminated Stark.

Vega was eliminated next thanks to the Cobra Clutch by Evans before Shotzi Blackheart made her way to the ring in her tank.

Deville then eliminated Hartwell before Nikki Cross sprinted her way down to the ring. Nia Jax came out at number 30, making her return to the WWE after over a year away.

Jax soon trash-talked every single superstar in the ring and was soon surrounded by everyone. The remaining women tried to beat Jax down but she overpowered them.

Jax was then eliminated as 11 women combined to throw her over the top rope. Her elimination came after Ripley managed to lift her up for a Riptide, a move that had many shocked.

Rodriguez then eliminated Evans before Asuka eliminated Deville. McCool was the next to go followed swiftly by Blackheart and Yim. Rodriguez then got rid of Niven before Ripley got rid of Rodriguez, leaving just four in the ring.

And then there were 3

Cross was eliminated by Morgan, leaving Ripley, Morgan, and Asuka as the final three.

The trio produced a brilliant finish as they fought on the ring apron. Asuka hit Morgan with the mist before Ripley eliminated her. Morgan then almost knocked out Mami but Ripley produced a brilliant comeback to perform a head-scissors on the ring apron to eliminate Morgan and win the Women’s Rumble match.

Cody books his WrestleMania spot

Cody Rhodes is headed to WrestleMania.

The American Nightmare won the Men's Royal Rumble match, beating Gunther in the final two.

Gunther started as the number one entrant while Rhodes was the final man to enter the match, Sports Brief reported.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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