By Jason Powell

Prowrestling.net Members can look forward to their exclusive Royal Rumble audio review with Jason Powell and Chris Shore later tonight. Join us on Monday nights for Prowrestling.net Live at 10:30 p.m. CT (11:30 ET). Jason Powell and Will Pruett will be co-hosting this week's live show and your calls are welcome during Monday's Prowrestling.net Live..

WWE Royal Rumble 2014
Aired live on pay-per-view
Pittsburgh, Pa. at Consol Energy Center

Pre Show

The show opened with Josh Mathews and the panel of Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and Jim Duggan. HBK spoke about the strategy of entering the Rumble first since he entered No. 1 and actually won the match. Duggan said his strategy is "fire, ready, aim." Awesome. HBK picked the New Age Outlaws to win the tag title match, while Duggan and Flair picked the tag champs to retain...

Renee Young was in the social media lounge and read tweets from children and nerds (unless your tweet was read)... Mathews recapped the recent Randy Orton and John Cena storyline as footage was shown... Flair predicted Orton will retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. HBK and Duggan picked Cena... JBL and Jerry Lawler were shown making their entrances...

Backstage, Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox stood by as Alberto Del Rio drew his Royal Rumble number, then Kofi Kingston drew his number. Del Rio was happy. Kingston said he's had better. R-Truth drew his number and did not look happy. The Real Americans drew numbers. Antonio Cesaro was happy. Jack Swagger drew and said he wanted Cesaro's number.

Great Khali drew a number. Damien Sandow came up behind him, read the number, and said, "Maybe next year." Sandow drew his number and then Khali returned the favor by laughing at him...

The announcers hyped the pay-per-view and noted that Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt will open the pay-per-view. Michaels said that despite what happened last year, he likes Bryan whenever he's in the ring... Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL spoke briefly from their table and set up the tag title match...

Powell's POV: Let the speculation begin that Bryan is working the first match because he will be entering the Royal Rumble match.

1. Goldust and Cody Rhodes vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Outlaws were introduced as being a combined 301 pounds. They did their usual entrance routine and drew cheers, which makes no sense. The action was fast paced from the start with Goldust performing a summersault off the ring apron onto Road Dogg, then Cody performed a shoulder block off the top rope onto Gunn. [C]

Lawler said the last time the Outlaws won a tag title match was in November 1999. Goldust sold for a bit and then made a hot tag to Cody, who got the better of Road Dogg. Cody taunted Gunn with a crotch chop, drew him in the ring, and performed a springboard split-legged dropkick onto both me. Road Dogg went for his finisher, but Cody countered into CrossRhodes for a good near fall when Gunn stopped the count.

Gunn made a blind tag. Cody hit his finisher on Road Dogg, but then Gunn hit the Fameasser on Cody and pinned him to win the match and the tag titles...

The New Age Outlaws defeated Goldust and Cody Rhodes to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in 6:30.

Powell's POV: Really? Well, the crowd popped for the title change. I'm not just not sure what we're supposed to think of the Outlaws, who turned on C.M. Punk, are aligned with The Authority, yet are playing to the fans as if nothing ever happened. We've seen The Brotherhood in some great, lengthy matches, so it felt off to see them lose clean so quickly. This frees up Goldust and Cody for a possible singles match at WrestleMania 30, so keep an eye out for a potential angle in the Rumble match. Again, though, I'd rather see them continue to work as a team because they've been so good.

They cut to the panel, where HBK boasted about being the only one to get the pick right. They spoke about the Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show match. Michaels and Flair picked Lesnar, and Duggan didn't really make a prediction... The Royal Rumble numbers video aired...

Josh hyped the Rumble match. Duggan predicted Dolph Ziggler would win. HBK said he was going to go with C.M. Punk, but now he's concerned because he's the first entrant. Michaels said The Shield will win, so he has three chances of winning. Flair predicted that Batista will win the Royal Rumble... A shot aired of Daniel Bryan backstage. Mathews hyped that Bryan vs. Wyatt would open the pay-per-view...

WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View

The opening video played to start the pay-per-view... Daniel Bryan made his entrance and led the huge "Yes!" chants. The Spanish broadcast team was shown. Bray Wyatt made his entrance and he had his backup with him...

Powell's POV: So Bryan's master plan of getting Bray Wyatt alone because Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were in the Royal Rumble match didn't pan out? Shocking.

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan). Early in the match, Bryan performed a suicide dive onto Harper. The referee turned and saw Rowan going after Bryan and made the call to toss Rowan and Harper from ringside. Bray told the troops that he doesn't need them to fight this war for him and pointed them to the back. Wyatt turned around and was greeted with a cross body block off the top rope from Bryan at 2:40.

Bryan performed what appeared to be a curb stomp on Wyatt, but the production team missed the shot. They showed a slightly better view for the replay. Later, Wyatt stood on the floor and placed Bryan's head against the ring post as Bryan was lying on his back in the ring. Wyatt threw repeated punches at the head of Bryan. With Bryan on the floor, Wyatt performed a senton splash and then asked the ringside crowd, "Why aren't you helping him?"

Back inside the ring, Wyatt performed a good one arm slam of Bryan at 12:30, then went into crab walk mode before getting up and crashing into him in the corner. Bryan came back with a drop toe hold in the corner and then fired kicks at Wyatt. Bryan performed a top rope huracanrana for a two count at 15:00.

There was a short "this is awesome" chant. Wyatt went for a running clothesline and Bryan ducked, then Wyatt came off the ropes with a great elbow to the head. Wyatt ended up tumbling to ringside and Bryan ran off the ring apron and performed a tornado DDT on the floor. Bryan followed up with a great running dropkick on the floor.

Bryan rolled Wyatt back inside the ring and performed a missile dropkick. Bryan threw kicks at Wyatt and tagged him with the last big one to the head, but Wyatt ended up kicking out at two again. Bryan performed a pair of running dropkicks in the corner, but Wyatt caught him with a running clothesline that Bryan sold with a flip. Wyatt covered Bryan for two.

Wyatt set up for Sister Abigail. He gave Bryan a kiss, but Bryan rolled him up for two. Bryan applied the Yes! Lock, but he had to release the hold because Wyatt bit his hand. The crowd got very quiet and may not have picked up on the bite. Wyatt sat Bryan on the top rope, but Bryan performed headbutts that knocked him down, then performed a top rope splash.

Bryan stood up and signaled for the running knee, but Wyatt rolled to ringside to avoid it. Bryan went for a suicide dive, but Wyatt caught him and performed Sister Abigail into the ringside barricade. A loud "this is awesome" chant started as Wyatt picked up Bryan and carried him back to the ring. Wyatt kissed Bryan's head and performed Sister Abigail for the win...

Bray Wyatt defeated Daniel Bryan in 21:30.

Powell's POV: A hell of a way to open the show. That was great. It would have been even hotter if their feud had better storyline support because the fans would have come into the match hotter for the match than they did. Even so, this was another good outing for Bryan, and an eye opening performance for Wyatt. An unexpected gem.

Backstage, Renee Young interviewed Paul Heyman, who apologized for what Brock Lesnar was going to do to Big Show. He said Lesnar is going to take Show down and then go on to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. "This is the dawning of a new era," Heyman said. "A new era because the WWE Universe is going to be conquered and subjugated by Brock The Unmerciful...

Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger was shown sitting in the front row... Josh Mathews introduced the panel of Flair, Duggan, and Michaels to the crowd... The broadcast team recapped footage from the Lesnar and Big Show feud...

2. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Big Show. Lesnar worked over Show with a chair prior to the match. Once the bell rang to start the match, Lesnar wound up with the chair, but Show put him down with the knockout punch. Lesnar went to ringside. Show went after him and was favoring his left hand/arm and cussed out of frustration (censored).

Back in the ring, Show hit Brock with a punch to the gut, then went for another, but Lesnar ducked it. Lesnar hoisted up Brock for the F5 and pinned him clean. After the match, Lesnar sold the knockout punch and then grabbed his chair again. Lesnar struck Show with a hard chair shot to the back, then the side, and took it easy with a third. Show rolled to ringside and Lesnar followed to hit him with many more shots. Lesnar and Heyman eventually walked backstage together, then Show got up and was helped backstage...

Brock Lesnar beat Big Show in 2:00.

Powell's POV: A nice payday for Lesnar for a short night. He worked up a hell of a sweat from the early chair swinging. Brock looked like a ruthless beast. However, the announcers did a piss poor job of putting the post-match attack over. They acted somber when the situation called for a sense of urgency. Heyman, who normally calls off Brock in these situations, stood by and watched this time around. I was also surprised to see Show up and walking backstage, albeit slowly, with some help from the trainer and referees.

A commercial aired for a tax service...

The Shield were shown talking in what appeared to be a dark storage closet. Dean Ambrose said they have 27 enemies in the ring during the Royal Rumble match. Roman Reigns said the match would come down to the three of them. Seth Rollins said it would then be truly every man for himself. He said only one of them can go on to headline WrestleMania and they get that, but The Shield will still stand united.

Reigns said he's feeling confident that he has the winning number. Ambrose asked him what number he has. Reigns said he'll have to wait. Ambrose asked Reigns if he would show him his number if he showed him his, then got worked up and said he wouldn't show his number. They said the only matter that numbers is three...

Backstage, Renee Young interviewed Randy Orton, who said that John Cena will go to the back of the line after tonight. Renee said Brock wants a shot, Batista wants a shot, and now Bray Wyatt has thrown his name into the hat. Orton said no one will touch him. He said Lesnar and Batista are good but not great, and Wyatt is a Duck Dynasty reject and is not face of WWE material. Orton said he would make sure everyone knows that the face of WWE is definitely not John Cena...

A WrestleMania 30 commercial aired. It's 70 days away... The announcers spoke at ringside. Lawler said someone should call the sheriff because Bryan and Wyatt stole the show. They hyped the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, then a video set up that match...

Randy Orton made his entrance to some boos. John Cena made his usual entrance and received some boos. Lilian Garica handled the in-ring introductions, then a "Daniel Bryan" chant broke out...

Powell's POV: If someone punched your father, would you make your usual entrance and play to the crowd the way Cena did? Maybe Cena is just used to Randy Orton beating up his father at this point.

3. Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship The Daniel Bryan chants continued and grew louder. JBL said he's not sure if the fans realize that Bryan was in the first match and lost. Cole said some still see him as the uncrowned champion due to the way it was taken from him. Orton got Cena down and looked to the crowd, which greeted him with Bryan chants and some apathy. Orton applied the side headlock and a Y2J chant started.

There were loud "boring" chants as Orton went to the chin lock of doom, which Cena quickly stood up and broke. Cena clotheslined Orton to the floor and received a smattering of boos. Cena went to the floor and tried to whip Orton into the steps, but Orton reversed it and Cena took a careful bump into the stairs. The "Daniel Bryan" chant started up again.

Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Orton avoided it and DDT'd Cena. A loud "You Both Suck" chant broke out. Cena came back and performed some of his signature spots. He leaned down for the pre Five Knuckle Shuffle bit, but Orton reached up with a shot to end that sequence.

Later, Orton went for the hanging DDT, but Cena avoided it and tossed Orton to the floor. Cena went after Orton, who was waiting and performed the hanging DDT off the ring apron and onto the floor at ringside. Back inside the ring, Orton held his ear to taunt the crowd. He went for the RKO, but Cena avoided it and put him in the STF.

A short time later, Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Orton held onto the ropes. Cena tried to pull him off, but the referee was bumped by Orton's feet in the process. Cena applied the STF and Orton immediately tapped out. Cena watched the trainer check on the referee, then turned into Orton striking him with the title belt. The referee turned and counted, but Cena kicked out at two.

The crowd chanted "This is awful." Cena stood up and hit the Attitude Adjustment on Orton, who kicked out at the last moment. They got back to their feet and Orton hit Cena with the RKO, but this time Cena kicked out at the last moment. Orton went for the punt kick, but Cena avoided it. They jockeyed for position and Orton applied a sleeper, which he turned into the STF (kinda).

Cena teased tapping, but Cena countered into the STF. Orton rolled him back into a pin for a two count. Orton hit the Attitude Adjustment on Cena (yes, really) for a two count. They stood up and Cena dropped Orton with the RKO for a two count. The fans were receptive to both near falls.

Cena placed Orton on the top rope and then set him up for the Attitude Adjustment from the second rope, but Orton broke free. Cena ended up performing a tornado DDT from the second rope and then applied the STF. Orton scrambled to get to the ropes. He touched the bottom rope as Cena pulled him to the middle of the ring and reapplied the hold.

The Wyatt Family sounder played and the screen went black and their graphic flashed. When they went back to the shot of the ring, the Wyatt Family were standing on the ring apron. Cena knocked Bray Wyatt off the apron, then tried to knock Erick Rowan down, but Rowan dropped off the apron before Cena could hit him. Cena turned back toward Orton, took the RKO, and was pinned...

Randy Orton defeated John Cena to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 20:55.

Orton left through the crowd. The Wyatt Family remained in the ring and beat up Cena. Wyatt had Harper and Rowan pick up the fallen Cena. "Behold the creators of the new world," Wyatt said before performing Sister Abigail on Cena. The adult males chanted "yes" in response...

Powell's POV: The fans are clearly sending a message, but the question remains whether Vince McMahon will listen. The first part of the match was slow and opened the door for that type of reaction. As ugly as it got, Orton kept his composure more than he has in the past, and the fans were definitely buying into the near falls down the stretch. As much as I enjoyed the fans telling WWE what they want, I respect the way Orton and Cena hung in there. That said, if you think this was ugly, just imagine what the WrestleMania 30 crowd will do if WWE gives them Orton vs. Batista for the title.

A WWE Network video package aired and then the announcers discussed the network at ringside... Backstage, Renee Young interviewed the New Age Outlaws and recapped how they won the WWE Tag Team Championship. Back live, Road Dogg boasted about how they do tag team wrestling better than anybody. They taunted Young with two words "New Champs"...

A pizza roll commercial and an Elimination Chamber ad were shown... The broadcast team spoke about the Rumble match and set up a video of various wrestlers talking about why they are going to win the Royal Rumble match. The video featured The Miz, The Uso Brothers, Big E Langston, Fandango, Batista, Damien Sandow, Ryback, and Rey Mysterio...

Powell's POV: Where the hell was that video when they were trying to sell the pay-per-view?

The panel made their predictions (again). Duggan rambled about someone surprising people, HBK went with The Shield and Punk, and Flair picked Batista. He got some boos. Flair snapped his head back to the fans and said, "Learn to love it"...

4. The 30-Man Royal Rumble match. C.M. Punk was the the No. 1 entrant. The No. 2 entrant was Seth Rollins. Punk got the better of Rollins with the high knee, but Rollins avoided the GTS. Damien Sandow was the No. 3 entrant. The fans were behind Punk as he got the better of both men briefly. The No. 4 entrant was Cody Rhodes, who hit CrossRhodes on Sandow. Moments later, Damien Sandow was eliminated by Cody Rhodes.

The No. 5 entrant was Kane, who came out in a dress shirt and pants. He took off his shirt and worked the match in his pants and shoes. Kane dominated for a bit, but Kane was eliminated by C.M. Punk. The No. 6 entrant was Alexander Rusev, who got some time to shine.

Powell's POV: Rusev is getting a big push in NXT and has been working recent main roster live events. His NXT manager Lana did not accompany him to the ring, and he wore short spandex rather than the brown gladiator type gear that he normally wears.

The No. 7 entrant was Jack Swagger, who came out with Zeb Colter. Zeb carried a sign that read "Every 90 second another illegal crosses the border." The No. 8 entrant was Kofi Kingston, who went right after Punk with a jumping punch.

Powell's POV: Yes, the WWE stop watch is broken again this year, as they entrants are entering before the 90-second mark.

The No. 9 entrant was Jimmy Uso. The No. 10 entrant was Goldust, who had a brief flurry of offense until Rusev took him down with a shot. Punk, Cody, and Rollins teamed up Rusev. Eventually, Alexander Rusev was eliminated by a group of wrestlers. Punk tossed Kingston over the top rope and Rusev caught him. Rusev set Kingston on the barricade and caught him with knees, then left him there.

Kingston stood up on the edge of the barricade and positioned himself, then got a running start and jumped back onto the ring apron to save himself. Cool spot. The No. 11 entrant was Dean Ambrose, who actually made his entrance from the backstage area rather than through the crowd. The No. 12 entrant was Dolph Ziggler, who got a nice ovation as Cole said he was entering his sixth Rumble match.

Ziggler threw a missile dropkick and then went to the corner and threw punches at Rollins until Ambrose threw him down. A loud "Let's Go Ziggler" chant broke out. The No. 13 was R-Truth. R-Truth was eliminated by Dean Ambrose. Moments later, Jimmy Uso were eliminated by Ambrose. Kingston had another near elimination moment, but he hooked the bottom rope with his feet.

The No. 14 entrant was Kevin Nash. He had Nash written on his gear and the graphic also read Nash. "Diesel is back," JBL said. Jack Swagger was eliminated by Kevin Nash when Nash shoved him over the top. Nash went after the two Shield members and they all fought in the corner. The No. 15 entrant was Roman Reigns, who ran out and immediately threw a dropkick to Punk, whose head was sticking out over the ring apron.

Kofi Kingston was eliminated by Roman Reigns. Ziggler performed a DDT on Reigns, who came right back with a spear. Dolph Ziggler was eliminated by Roman Reigns, which drew some boos from the Ziggler fans. Nash charged at Reigns, who held down the ropes, causing Kevin Nash was eliminated by Reigns.

The No. 16 entrant was The Great Khali. The Great Khali was eliminated by The Shield. Khali took a safe bump to the floor. Cody Rhodes was eliminated by Goldust. Moments later, Goldust was eliminated by Roman Reigns. The Shield set up for a Triple Powerbomb on Punk, who was the only man left with them in the ring.

The No. 17 entrant in the match was Sheamus, who worked over all three members of The Shield. Sheamus went on a huge flurry and put down all three members of The Shield, then played to the crowd and was cheered. Sheamus tried to pick up Reigns, but he was jumped by the other two members of The Shield. The referee visibly whispered instructions into Reigns.

The No. 18 entrant was The Miz. The No. 19 entrant was Fandango. Summer Rae escorted him onto the ramp and the crowd did the hummed along with the theme song briefly. The No. 20 entrant is was El Torito. Yes, really. He was escorted onto the stage by Los Matadores, and then he charged to the ring. Cole said Torito is the smallest competitor in Rumble history.

Punk did the bit where h put out his hand while Torito swung at him. Torito was able to give Punk a huracanrana, but Fandango tagged Torito. Fandango pressed Torito over his head, but Torito came back with a huracanrana and then knocked him off the ring apron. Fandango was eliminated by El Torito. Moments later, El Torito was eliminated by Roman Reigns.

The No. 21 entrant was Antonio Cesaro, who came out with Zeb, who had a sign that read "you can time it yourself by they stole your watch." Cesaro entered the ring and immediately performed the Cesaro Swing on Rollins. The crowd counted along for a bit, but then stopped counting and just cheered.

The No. 22 entrant was Luke Harper. Reigns speared Cesaro. Punk and Harper exchanged punches. The No. 23 entrant was Jey Uso. The remaining entrants at this point were all three members of The Shield, Punk, Sheamus, Cesaro, Miz, Harper, and Uso.

The No. 24 entrant was JBL. His music played and the adult males cheered. JBL stood up wearing his suit and tie and played to the crowd with a big smile. He called for Cole to come get his jacket. Cole did, but JBL was eliminated by Roman Reigns. A brief "you still got it" chant broke out for JBL.

The No. 25 entrant was Erick Rowan. The Miz fought with Rowan, but The Miz was eliminated by Luke Harper with a clothesline that knocked him off the ring apron. Jey Uso was eliminated by Luke Harper with a big boot. The Shield and Wyatt Family members squared off.

The No. 26 entrant was Ryback. The crowd was quiet until the next entrant as there was a lot of battle royal style punching and kicking. The No. 27 entrant was Alberto Del Rio. The No. 28 entrant was Batista, who got a good reaction initially, but then the adult males booed when he started dominating in the ring.

Erick Rowan was eliminated by Batista via clothesline. Ryback and Batista squared off, and Batista backdropped him over. Ryback was eliminated by Batista. Alberto Del Rio caught Batista with a kick and then went for the Cross Arm Breaker, but Batista powered him out. Alberto Del Rio was eliminated by Batista.

The No. 29 entrant was Big E Langston, who caught Batista with a clothesline and then everyone settled into battle royal style brawling. "Yes!" chants started. The No. 30 entrant was Rey Mysterio, who was greeted by loud boos and a small "Daniel Bryan" chant. The boos continued as the match went on.

Big E Langston was eliminated by Sheamus with a clothesline. The loud boos continued as the match went on. Mysterio hit the 619 on Rollins, but Rey Mysterio was eliminated by Seth Rollins moments later. There were some cheers for that elimination and then the Daniel Bryan chants started up again. Luke Harper was eliminated by a Roman Reigns Superman punch.

Ambrose tried to dump Reigns over the top, but he held on. Rollins jawed at Ambrose. Cesaro grabbed them both. Ambrose, Rollins, and Cesaro were eliminated by Reigns. Kane emerged from underneath the ring and C.M. Punk was eliminated by Kane. Kane chokeslammed Punk through the Spanish announce table.

The Daniel Bryan chants started up again as the final three of Batista, Sheamus, and Roman Reigns got to their feet. The boos grew as they got to their feet. Sheamus knocked Reigns down, and then squared off with Batista, and the boos from the adult males grew louder. Batista performed a powerslam on Reigns. A loud "No!" chant broke out.

Sheamus performed a rolling senton on Batista and then looked to the crowd and set up for the Brogue Kick. Instead of chanting "Brogue" the fans chanted "No!" Sheamus ended up on the ring apron after a sequence with Batista. Sheamus was eliminated by Roman Reigns.

The match came down to Batista vs. Reigns. Cole framed it as the young gun against the six-time champion. There were cheers when Reigns clotheslined Batista to the mat. He set up for the Superman punch and the crowd responded with a loud "Roman Reigns" chant. Reigns went for the punch, but Batista caught him with a spear.

The fans booed as Batista performed his pre-finishing routine. When Batista turned back to Reigns, he ended up taking a spear. Reigns looked to the WrestleMania sign in the rafters. Batista ended up grabbing him and tossing him out. Roman Reigns was eliminated by Batista.

Batista won the 30-man Royal Rumble in 55:10.

There were loud boos from the crowd and Cole told viewers that it was Batista's second Rumble win. Cole noted that Reigns eliminated 12 men in the Royal Rumble match and broke a record that stood for 13 years. In the ring, Batista stood on the second rope and pointed to the WrestleMania 30 sign in the rafters and then pyro went off. The fans booed as Batista posed to close the show...

Powell's POV: If you think the crowd was tough tonight, just wait until the WrestleMania if it's Randy Orton vs. Batista. This is one of the most stubborn, pigheaded moves I have ever witnessed WWE make. Seriously, get a clue. Sure, they could still call an audible (not getting my hopes up), but the fact that they didn't see this reaction coming or somehow justified not going with Daniel Bryan entering, let alone winning, the Royal Rumble is just insane. Chris Shore and I will have a lot more to say about this in tonight's Dot Net Member exclusive audio review. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

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