Cracks form in The Bloodline as Roman Reigns retains against Kevin Owens at WWE Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns won the battle against Kevin Owens at WWE Royal Rumble but may have ignited a new war.

Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a physical match against Owens in which the challenger looked to have the champion pinned for the requisite amount of time, but an injury to the referee prevented a count. That was as close as Owens would get to a victory as Reigns took over and finished with a brutality rarely seen from "The Head of the Table."

Accompanied to the ring by Sami Zayn and Paul Heyman, Reigns outlasted Owens and proceeded to order a beatdown on his defeated opponent by the rest of "The Bloodline." Members took turns assaulting a prone Owens, who was eventually handcuffed to the ropes. With Owens unable to defend himself, Reigns appeared ready to strike him with a chair, only for Zayn to intervene. The "Honorary Uce" pleaded with Reigns to stop the brutal attack on his former friend, saying it was "beneath" the champion.

Reigns then handed the chair to Zayn, instructing him to deliver a blow. He struck Reigns with the chair instead, prompting most of the rest of The Bloodline to turn on Zayn. Only Jey Uso relented, choosing to walk away instead of joining in on the assault.

It remains to be seen where Jey's loyalties lie, but it's fair to say Zayn is no longer a member of The Bloodline going forward.

Earlier in the night, Cody Rhodes entered the Men's Royal Rumble at No. 30 and eventually faced down Gunther, who was the match's first entrant, for the right for a title shot at WrestleMania. Rhodes seemed destined for victory, and after battling a weary Gunther and nearly being eliminated himself, "The American Nightmare" stepped into the spotlight as the 2023 winner.

The Men's Rumble was highlighted by a stunning spot involving Logan Paul and Ricochet, with the two performing a synchronized leap from opposite sides of the ring that resulted in the athletes each hitting a midair clothesline on the other.

In the Women's Royal Rumble match, Rhea Ripley did one better than Gunther by entering at No. 1 and outlasting all opponents. Ripley and Liv Morgan both started the match and lasted until the final three, along with a returning Asuka, until Ripley was the beneficiary of Morgan being temporarily blinded by Asuka.

Morgan was the first of the final three to be eliminated, and Ripley then managed to knock Asuka off the ring apron and claim a title shot at WrestleMania.

Meanwhile, the current WWE Raw Women's title holder, Bianca Belair, retained her belt against Alexa Bliss. Additonally, Bray Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match that was highlighted by the black lights that illuminated the ring and the flourescent colours that resulted from them. Knight attempted to fight his way backstage after the match but Wyatt overpowered him when the men reached the stage, with Uncle Howdy appearing at the top of some scaffolding and delivering a flying leap onto Knight.

DAZN provided live text commentary below of WWE Royal Rumble as it happened.