Professional Wrestling has seen a massive boost in popularity in the last year, and one of the most important events is the annual WWE Royal Rumble, which throws the future of championships and the company itself into the air each year.
The Royal Rumble airs on Peacock this Saturday, January 27th. Although Wrestling Premium Live Events (PLEs) often feature a variety of matches, the Royal Rumble is known for just one specific match format adapted each year. The main match, also called the Royal Rumble, features 30 wrestlers that enter one at a time every 90 seconds, with the last wrestler standing being declared the winner.
This PLE features two Royal Rumbles, one for the men’s division and one for the women’s. The Royal Rumble is widely regarded as the beginning of the road to Wrestlemania, the biggest wrestling event of the year, as the winners of each Rumble match will be able to pick any champion they like at Wrestlemania, where they headline the event in a match for the belt.
The Men’s Royal Rumble is set to be one of the most important throughout the history of the PLE since the WWE brought back a wide variety of famous talent in 2023, including John Cena, Randy Orton, and the controversial CM Punk.
Some favorites for this year’s Men’s Royal Rumble include the likes of CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther. CM Punk only recently returned to WWE after spending roughly a year in the WWE’s rival wrestling brand, All Elite Wrestling. He drove fans crazy when he walked out during Survivor Series, the most recent PLE, in his home state of Illinois.
Rhodes is the winner of the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble and seeks a rematch at Wrestlemania with Roman Reigns, who he lost to at the 2023 event. Gunther holds the Intercontinental championship, one of many WWE titles passed between wrestlers, but wants to possess the World Heavyweight Championship by winning the Rumble and taking it from current champion Seth Rollins.
The Women’s Royal Rumble is also set to be an exciting contest between former Women’s champions, with the favorites being “The Man” Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, and Bayley.
Lynch and Jax both want to win the Rumble and challenge current champion Rhea Ripley and are more than willing to go through each other to do so, something they’ve proven through their weekly interactions on Monday Night RAW. Bayley is the leader of the faction Damage CTRL and wants to win the Rumble to empower her faction further and prove that she deserves to remain in it.
In addition to these matches, the event will feature matches between Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and LA Knight, as well as between Logan Paul and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed Universal and U.S. titles, respectively.
Plenty of exciting matches and wrestlers are appearing at this year’s Royal Rumble, so be sure to check it out at 7 P.M., January 27th, exclusively on Peacock.
