Strowman and Kane Battle After Raw Goes Off the Air, More On AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn Tonight, Official Rumble Rules
After WWE Raw went off the air last night, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman eventually left the ring, and Braun Strowman came out shortly after.
Strowman demanded someone come out and fight him, and that prompted The Monster Among Men’s Royal Rumble opponent Kane to answer the challenge. It was not an official match, but the two men brawled for a bit before Strowman finally put Kane through a table to end the show.
More On AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn Tonight
As noted, AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn in a non-title match will headline tonight’s WWE Smackdown Live, and WWE.com has posted the following preview:
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WWE Champion AJ Styles and Sami Zayn will square off in a non-title match on SmackDown LIVE tonight. The battle marks the first time these two Superstars will face each other one-on-one on the blue brand, though these two have been no strangers to one another in recent weeks.
When the two match combatants last crossed paths, The Phenomenal One found his name in the loss column after a distraction by Zayn led Kevin Owens to a shocking victory on the final SmackDown LIVE of 2017. The result left Zayn & Owens celebrating on the entrance ramp while Styles engaged in a testy confrontation with SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon.
Can Styles settle the score with Zayn after this past week’s actions? Will Owens return the favor to Zayn in his battle with The Phenomenal One, or will Shane-O-Mac make sure the match occurs without incident?
Find out when Styles and Zayn step into the ring on the first SmackDown LIVE of 2018 — tonight at 8/7 C on USA Network.
Official Rumble Rules
WWE.com has also released the following, official rules for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches:
Oftentimes, men’s and women’s sports have slightly different regulations. The basketball is smaller in the women’s leagues and the games are shorter; women’s tennis features fewer sets than a men’s match; body-checking is prohibited in women’s hockey. However, as revealed by Raw General Manager Kurt Angle in the opening minutes of Monday Night Raw, management of both Raw and SmackDown LIVE have agreed that the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match will feature no such alterations to its rules.
In other words, the historic Women’s match will be contested in the exact same fashion as the Men’s match: 30 Superstars will enter, one at a time, at consistent intervals. An elimination occurs when a Superstar is sent over the top rope with both feet touching the floor, and the last woman standing will receive a Championship Match at WrestleMania. In the same vein as 2016’s first-ever Women’s Hell in a Cell Match and 2017’s inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank Match, the historic Women’s Royal Rumble Match continues to pave the way for the Women’s Evolution and prove that WWE’s female Superstars are judged on the same merit as the men.
The field has already begun to fill for both matches. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Paige, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Naomi, Asuka, Natalyaand Ruby Riott have declared for the Women’s match, while Finn Bálor and John Cena join Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and Elias as confirmed participants in the Men’s. Both matches can be seen at the Royal Rumble event, streaming live Sunday, Jan. 28, on the award-winning WWE Network.