The first of two Royal Rumble matches ended with a surprise return and win. Ronda Rousey won the Rumble, after entering at No. 28, by last eliminating Charlotte Flair. 

The final four came down to Rousey, Flair, No. 30 entrant Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair. Flair, who was on an elimination tear after tossing out Lita and Rhea Ripley, got both Belair and Baszler out of the Rumble. Belair had Baszler up for the Kiss of Death, but Flair lifted Belair up from the hips and eliminated both Baszler and Belair at the same time.

Flair and Rousey didn't have much of an ending stretch. The two stared each other down, and then Flair jumped Rousey in the corner, Rousey caught Flair's leg and tossed her over.

Returning legends (using that word liberally) for the Rumble included Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Cameron, Ivory, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Mickie James, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Sarah Logan, Lita and Molly Holly. Lita got the biggest pop at all when she entered at No. 21. 

The match's No. 1 and No. 2 entrants were Sasha Banks (in awesome Sailor Moon-themed gear) and Melina, of MNM fame. The announcers spoke up Melina like a formidable legend, a 5-time women's champion, but Sasha eliminated her immediately. Sad times for Melina. Sasha was a Legend Killer here, also eliminating Kelly Kelly in mere moments. 

Banks reign of terror was ended by Queen Zelina Vega, who entered at No. 7. Tamina dumped Banks onto the apron, and Vega caught her with a big push kick for the elimination. A surprisingly brief run for Banks. 

Cameron, Naomi's old dancing partner from the Funkadactyls, was a surprise entrant. She ran wild, but was cut off by Sonya Deville, who's feuding with Naomi. Deville quickly eliminated Cameron, but the next entrant in the Rumble was Naomi. Naomi got the better of Deville, eliminating her from the match. Deville reappeared minutes later, helping Charlotte to eliminate Naomi.

There was a nice moment where Might Molly came in a surprise entrant, but she was ambushed on her way to the ring by Nikki A.S.H., who was waiting by the ring barricades. Nikki eliminated her, getting good heat from the crowd.

Rating: 3.5 stars. It was an OK Rumble. A lot of the action was sloppy, as has been the case with most women's Royal Rumbles, a lot of which is due to much of the field being made up by wrestlers who only perform once every few years. There were long stretches of time where it felt like not much was happening, though it was nice to see the familiar faces. 

And of course, Ronda Rousey's return. Ronda looks out of practice, and her offense wasn't as impactful as you may hope. There were some submission holds and a lot of punches in the corner, but many of her strikes looked underwhelming. But she's a super athlete and performer, so she's almost assured to get back to form in a quick period of time. And she still absolutely has a star aura, which is the most important thing. 

WrestleMania season just got much more interesting.