Royal Rumble 2024
Tomorrow night, the road to “WrestleMania XL” begins. The Tampa area will be electric, as World Wrestling Entertainment presents “Royal Rumble 2024” from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. A pre-show will air on Peacock, YouTube, & Facebook at 7pm ET (6 CT, 5 MT, 4PT), then the event will air on pay-per-view & Peacock beginning at 8pm ET.
Since January 24, 1988, “Royal Rumble” has been a staple of WWE. The event’s signature match is the “royal rumble” battle royal. Prior to the event, wrestlers will draw numbers to determine the order in which they will appear. The wrestlers who drew #1 & #2 will start the match. The remaining wrestlers will enter the match at regular intervals. At any point, wrestlers can be eliminated, when they’re thrown over the top rope & both feet touch the floor. When 29 people are eliminated, the wrestler who managed to avoid being eliminated will be the winner.
Over the years, there have been changes to the “Royal Rumble” event. The first show was aired during the evening on USA. The next year, it became a pay-per-view event. The 1989, 1990, 1992, & 1993 events were on a Sunday afternoon. From 1995-2021, “Royal Rumble” was on a Sunday night. The 1991 & 1994 shows and every rumble since 2022 have been on Saturday nights. Since 2015, the event has also been streamed (on WWE Newwork from 2015-2021, then on Peacock from 2022-now).
There have also been changes to the “royal rumble” battle royal. The first rumble only had 20 wrestlers. Since then, there have usually been 30 wrestlers (with the exception of 2011, which had 40 wrestlers; there was also the special “Greatest Royal Rumble” in 2018, which had 50 wrestlers). In 1992 & 2016, the winner of the rumble would also be the WWE Champion. Since 1993 (with the exception of 2016), the rumble winner would wrestle for a world championship at “WrestleMania”, unless circumstances changed. Since 2018, there have been 2 rumbles on the show…a men’s rumble & a women’s rumble.
This year, men such as (last year’s winner) “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, (WWE Intercontinental Champion) “The Ring General” Gunther, (2020 men’s rumble winner) “The Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre, & “The Best in the World” CM Punk (who will compete in a WWE ring for the first time, since “Royal Rumble” 2014) will be vying for a chance to compete for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title or the World Heavyweight Title.
Likewise, women such as (2021 women’s rumble winner) “The E-S-T” Bianca Belair, (Damage Control’s leader) Bayley, “The Irresistible Force” Nia Jax, & (2019 women’s rumble winner) “Big Time Becks” Becky Lynch will be vying for a chance to compete for the WWE Women’s Title (currently held by Damage Control’s “The Genius of the Sky” Iyo Sky) or the Women’s World Title (currently held by Judgment Day member, “The Nigthmare” Rhea Ripley).
In addition to the rumbles, there will be 2 championship matches. In a fatal 4-way match, (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns will defend his championship against “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, & “The Megastar” L.A. Knight. The first man to pin any of his opponents or force any of them to submit will be the winner. This match is usually a disadvantage for the champion, because he doesn’t have to be involved in the decision to lose the championship.
However, Reigns has found ways to overcome odds in his title matches. That’s why tomorrow will be his 1,245th day as WWE Universal Champion (with his 664th day, since uniting the WWE Championship with the Universal Title).
As for his challengers, Orton is a 14-time heavyweight champion in WWE. At 2 “Royal Rumble” events, he successfully defended the WWE Title. In 2008, he defeated Jeff Hardy (who was the Intercontinental Champion, at the time). In 2014, he defeated (one of his long-time rivals) John Cena. Styles is a 2-time WWE Champion. He has successfuly defended the WWE Title at a “Royal Rumble”, as well.
In 2018, he defeated “The Prizefighter” Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a handicap match. Knight is the only man who has yet to win a main roster championship in WWE. However, he has been a champion in other promotions. If he’s in the right place at the right time, he could leave Tropicana Field with the Universal Title.
There may be another factor that all 4 men better beware of. Damian Priest (a Judgment Day member & 1/2 of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) holds the “money in the bank” briefcase, which allows him to have a championship opportunity at any time. If the opportunity presents itself, he could “cash in”, tomorrow night.
Also, (WWE United States Champion) “The Maverick” Logan Paul will look to blow up social media, as he tries to defend the title against Kevin Owens. Dating back to April 2021 (when Paul made his WWE debut), there has been some bad blood between Paul & Owens.
Paul might be a social media superstar with a cocky attitude, but don’t let that fool you. When it’s time to deliver in the ring, he has the goods. Though he has only competed 8 times in a WWE ring, Paul has had spectacular performances & viral moments against the likes of Reigns, (World Heavyweight Champion) Seth “Freakin’ ” Rollins, “The One & Only” Ricochet, & the man that Paul defeated to win the US Title, (WWE Hall of Famer) Rey Mysterio. With this being his 1st title defense, Paul will look to deliver, again.
Owens went through a month-long tournament to become the #1 contender for the US Title. He defeated Austin Theory in the quarter-finals, (NXT superstar) Carmelo Hayes in the semi-finals, & Santos Escobar in the finals. He is a 3-time US Champion & he would love to win the title for a 4th time.
For the 37th year in a row, WWE is ready to rumble. Tomorrow night, 30 go in, but only 1 will win. Which man & woman will have a golden road to “WrestleMania XL” at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? We’ll have all the answers, tomorrow night.
