World Wrestling Entertainment’s road to WrestleMania kicks off in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The WWE’s annual Royal Rumble event takes place at Tropicana Field on Saturday, laying the groundwork for the company’s biggest show of the year on April 6 and 7: WrestleMania.
A fan favorite, the Royal Rumble’s featured match is its namesake: a 30-wrestler battle royale in which participants must eliminate their opponents by throwing them over the top rope and onto the ground outside the ring. It begins with two wrestlers in the ring and every two minutes, a new one joins the fold. The match is often filled with plenty of returns and surprises. The winner earns a shot at a world title match at WrestleMania.
The match begins with two wrestlers in the ring and every two minutes, a new participant comes out to join the match. In past installments, there has been a bevy of surprise entrants, from stars of yesteryears to returns no one expects. Since 2018, the WWE has featured both a men’s and a women’s Royal Rumble match.
Here’s a look at the card and predictions for the show:
What to know
How to watch
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27
Time: Preshow at 5 p.m. MT, main card at 6 p.m. MT
Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
TV: Peacock
Colorado connections
Fayez Nureldine, AFP via Getty Images
Bobby Lashley greets the crowd ahead of his match during the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Crown Jewel pay-per-view in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Oct. 21, 2021.
Bobby Lashley: Billed from Denver and residing in Parker, the chiseled former WWE champion will be in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Otis: A former collegiate wrestler at CSU-Pueblo, he is one half of tag team Alpha Academy with former Olympic wrestler Chad Gable. He will be in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Main card
Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Singles match for WWE United States championship
How we got here: Paul won the United States title after beating Rey Mysterio on Nov. 4 at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Owens won an eight-man tournament that culminated at the Jan. 5 episode of “SmackDown” to be declared the No. 1 contender.
Who should win: Paul.
Social media influencer Logan Paul has taken to pro wrestling like fish to water. He’s taken his bigger-than-life and polarizing personality and has become one of the most hated wrestlers in the WWE. And a bad guy that carries that much hatred against him has to get his comeuppance on the biggest stage. To me, that’s WrestleMania. He’ll win here, but it won’t be clean — it’ll be by nefarious means.
Who will win: Paul.
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight
Fatal four-way match for Undisputed WWE Universal championship
How we got here: Orton, Styles and Knight competed in a triple-threat match the on Jan. 5 episode of “SmackDown” for a shot at Reigns’ title at the Royal Rumble. Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline faction attacked the competitors during their match. So SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis announced that all three would face Reigns at the Royal Rumble in a fatal four-way match.
Who should win: Reigns.
By the time it’s the Royal Rumble, Reigns will have held the Universal title for 1,245 days. In terms of the history of WWE’s world championships, it fourth-longest reign ever behind Bruno Sammartino (2,803), Hulk Hogan (1,474) and Bob Backlund (1,470). Having him lose the title anywhere outside of WrestleMania seems unfathomable at this point. While Orton, Styles and Knight all are deserving of another title run at some point, it’s not happening here.
Who will win: Reigns.
Women’s Royal Rumble match
The winner of the 30-woman Royal Rumble match earns a world championship match at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia.
Announced participants: Bayley, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax
Top potential winners:
- Bayley: The founder of the Damage CTRL faction, Bayley’s fallen down the ranks a bit in the group after Iyo Sky won the WWE women’s championship and Asuka and Kairi Sane joined. If she wins here and chooses to take on Sky, it could cause major friction in the group.
- Becky Lynch: The six-time world champion would become the first two-time women’s Royal Rumble champion if she wins here. Always a contender for the title, she’s been eyeing Rhea Ripley’s Raw women’s title for weeks now.
- Bianca Belair: A three-time world champion, Belair was just named one of the three cover athletes for WWE 2K24, along with Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley. A Ripley-Belair match at WrestleMania would be amazing.
- Jade Gargill: The inaugural AEW TBS champion, Cargill signed with the WWE last September but has yet to make her debut in the company. It feels like the Royal Rumble would be a great place for a debut — a win would be an even bigger splash.
Who should win: Belair.
Yeah, yeah, I know Lynch has been the one who started a feud with Ripley, but Belair taking on the Raw women’s champion at WrestleMania is a dream match that hasn’t been realized. They haven’t had a one-on-one match with each other since 2020 when they were still in NXT.
Who will win: Bayley.
The rise of Damage CTRL has been among the better stories in the women’s division these past several months. Having Bayley at odds with her stablemate Iyo Sky would be fun.
Men’s Royal Rumble match
The winner of the 30-man Royal Rumble match earns a world championship match at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia.
Announced participants: Akira Tozawa, Bobby Lashley, Chad Gable, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Otis, Shinsuke Nakamura
Top potential winners:
- CM Punk: The wildly popular yet controversial pro wrestler made his return to the WWE following the end of the main event of Survivor Series. While the Rumble will be his in-ring debut since his return, he’s exchanged verbal barbs with world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins for weeks now. A win here would set up a huge match between the two at WrestleMania — as long as Rollins recovers from his legitimate knee injury.
- Cody Rhodes: The son of the son of a plumber won the Rumble last year and main evented the second night of WrestleMania last year against Reigns. However, he fell short, losing to the Tribal Chief and failed to win the title. He could become the fourth pro wrestler to win back-to-back Rumbles (joining Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin) and punch his ticket into a rematch with Reigns. Well, unless …
- The Rock: The most electrifying man in sports entertainment made waves when he appeared on Raw and alluded that he sits at the head of the table (what Reigns — his cousin — refers to himself as). While a win here punches his ticket to ‘Mania, he is The Rock and he doesn’t need to win this for that match to happen in April.
- Gunther: The WWE intercontinental champion — with the longest-ever reign at nearly 600 days now — was the first one out at last year’s Rumble and lasted until the end when Rhodes eliminated him.
Who should win: CM Punk.
Rhodes was called the prodigal son when he returned to the WWE two years ago after leaving and making runs in Japan, the independent scene and All Elite Wrestling. Punk’s return is on a whole other level. It seemed unfathomable that he would ever return following his ugly public departure from the company (something that was repeated with AEW this past September). Now an opportunity for him to potentially main event WrestleMania against Rollins, who in the past has publicly stated that he doesn’t like Punk, is intriguing.
Who will win: CM Punk.
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