Who will be the superstar who main events at WrestleMania?
The road to WrestleMania officially begins with Royal Rumble 2024 taking place on Saturday. WWE's first premium live event of the year is highlighted by the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches, with the winner of each match earning a championship shot at WrestleMania.
Roman Reigns is also scheduled to put the WWE's undisputed world title on the line in a fatal four-way match against Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and L.A. Knight. Also, Logan Paul defends his United States Championship for the first time.
Follow USA TODAY Sports for all the action from the Royal Rumble:
The tribe leader is still at the top.
All of the competitors have been vying for Reigns for months, and they've wasted no time in going after him to start this heavyweight fight. The champion was able to attack, putting Styles down impressively. It didn't last long, and all sides started hitting knockouts, including LA Knight who executed a BFT on Reigns and Styles and hit a Styles Clash on the champion, but both pins were broken up. Randy Orton hit three RKOs in a row, ending with Reigns, and when he went for the pinfall, Solo Sequa came out and held the referee at a count of three.
Sekoa hit a Samoan Spike on LA Knight and Orton, and attempted to eliminate Styles before crashing into the barricade. Styles then landed a massive forearm on Reigns, and tried to pin the three Superstars, but they kicked out.
Late in the match, LA Knight overpowered Orton and had the momentum to hit a BFT on Reigns. But Reigns pushed LA Knight out, knocking Styles off the ropes. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on LA Knight and then hit Styles with a Spear, pinning him and retaining his title.
Sixty-three minutes and three seconds.
It took over an hour, but Bayley went from third place to the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match. There were many great spots in the match, but the bottom three places went to Bayley, Jade Cargill and Liv Morgan.
The three ended up on the edge of the ring, and Morgan and Bayley tried to take the powerful Cargill out of the match. It took several attempts, but Morgan was able to eliminate Cargill, but Bayley seized the moment by taking Morgan out before she knew it and winning her first Royal Rumble match while also breaking the record for the longest in-ring tenure for a women's match. .
Bayley will now face World Women's Champion Rhea Ripley, or perhaps go after fellow Damage CTRL member and WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky. Regardless, Damage CTRL now stands at the top of the women's division.
All participants in the Women's Royal Rumble match will be listed, as well as when/if they are eliminated.
Liv Morgan returns from injury.
Eliminated by Bayley.
She was eliminated by Bianca Belair.
You have finally arrived.
Jade Cargill made her in-ring debut after signing with WWE in September.
He was eliminated by Liv Morgan.
He was eliminated by Tiffany Stratton.
He was eliminated by many stars.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
Classic tr truth.
R-Truth, known for being confused about matches, showed up and was confused about the whereabouts of the men. Then Nia Jax dumped him.
He was eliminated by Nia Jax in five seconds.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
She was eliminated by Naomi.
He was eliminated by Jade Cargill and Becky Lynch.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Jade Cargill.
Eliminated by Bayley.
She was eliminated by Shayna Baszler.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
She was eliminated by Becky Lynch.
Eliminated by Piper Niven.
Eliminated by Bayley.
He was eliminated by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
He was eliminated by Tiffany Stratton.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
She was eliminated by Nia Jax.
He was eliminated by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
Eliminated by Bayley.
Another surprise is that Grace is currently the TNA Knockouts Champion.
She was eliminated by Bianca Belair.
Removed via damage control.
winner.
The first surprise at the Royal Rumble is Naomi, as she will be returning to WWE after leaving the company in May 2022.
Eliminated by Jade Cargill.
Eliminated by Tegan Nox.
The ESPN star has returned to WWE.
Just like last year, Pat McAfee appeared at the Royal Rumble to serve as a special commentator for Saturday's event. He was previously a commentator on “SmackDown” in 2022.
What time is Royal Rumble 2024?
The 2024 Royal Rumble match will take place on Saturday, January 27 at 8 PM ET.
Where is Royal Rumble 2024?
The 2024 Royal Rumble match will be at Tropicana Field – home of the Tampa Bay Rays – in St. Petersburg, Florida.
How to watch Royal Rumble 2024
The event can be broadcast on peacock, but you must have a premium or premium subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on the WWE Network.
Royal Rumble 2024 match card
The matches are not in order
- Men's Royal Rumble match
- Women's Royal Rumble match
- US Championship match: Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens
- Fatal Four-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE World Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. L.A. Knight
- Winner of the Men's Royal Rumble Match: CM Punk
- Women's Royal Rumble Match Winner: Bayley
- US Championship match: Logan Paul (c) defeated Kevin Owens
- Fatal Four-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE World Championship: Roman Reigns (c) defeated Randy Orton, AJ Styles and L.A. Knight
As Saturday approaches, 21 of the 30 participants have been announced. they:
- Cody Rhodes
- C m Bank
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Bobby Lashley
- Drew McIntyre
- Gunther
- Damian the priest
- Kofi Kingston
- Chad Gable
- Otis
- Akira Tozawa
- Santos Escobar
- R the truth
- Carlito
- Grayson Waller
- Austin's theory
- Jimmy Uso
- Dominik Mysterio
- Finn Balor
- JD McDonagh
- Ivar
By Saturday, 11 women had been confirmed to participate in the match. they:
- Bailey
- Nia Jax
- Becky Lynch
- Bianca Belair
- Maxine Dupree
- Ivy Nile
- Alba Fire
- Shotzi
- Zelina Vega
- Mishin
- Valhalla
A 30-person match starts with two participants, and every 90 seconds, another competitor enters the match.
The only way to get eliminated from the match is to be thrown over the top rope of the ring and hit both feet on the ground. If only one foot hits the ground, the competitor can re-enter the ring. The match continues until there is one person left in the ring who has not been eliminated. The winner of the match then gets a guaranteed championship match at WrestleMania.
The match was first held in 1988 – “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan won the inaugural event – and has been held every year since. Below is the list of winners:
- 1988: “Hasaw” Jim Duggan
- 1989: Big John Studd
- 1990: Hulk Hogan
- 1991: Hulk Hogan (second win)
- 1992: Ric Flair
- 1993: Yokozuna
- 1994: Lex Luger and Bret Hart
- 1995: Shawn Michaels
- 1996: Shawn Michaels (2nd win)
- 1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin
- 1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin (2nd win)
- 1999: Vince McMahon
- 2000: The Rock
- 2001: Stone Cold Steve Austin (3rd win)
- 2002: Triple H
- 2003: Brock Lesnar
- 2004: Chris Benoit
- 2005: Batista
- 2006: Rey Mysterio
- 2007: Undertaker
- 2008: John Cena
- 2009: Randy Orton
- 2010: The Edge
- 2011: Alberto del Rio
- 2012: Seamus
- 2013: John Cena (second win)
- 2014: Batista (second win)
- 2015: Roman Reigns
- 2016: Triple H (second win)
- 2017: Randy Orton (2nd win)
- 2018: Shinsuke Nakamura
- 2019: Seth Rollins
- 2020: Drew McIntyre
- 2021: Edge (2nd win)
- 2022: Brock Lesnar (2nd win)
- 2023: Cody Rhodes
The women's Royal Rumble match was introduced in 2018, with Asuka winning the first edition. Below is the list of winners:
- 2018: Asuka
- 2019: Becky Lynch
- 2020: Charlotte Flair
- 2021: Bianca Belair
- 2022: Ronda Rousey
- 2023: Rhea Ripley
Save the best for last when it comes to the men's match; Five winners came in the top 30, the most of any entry. All of the wins have occurred since 2007. The second is No. 27 with four wins and No. 1 and No. 24 with three wins. The numbers 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 20, 21 and 26 have never been winning numbers.
The later numbers were the most successful, with 22 of the 37 winners (59.4%) coming at least 22nd or later.
On the women's side, the number 28 was the most successful as it was the only participant number to achieve two wins (2019, 2022).
The idea of the Royal Rumble winner receiving a title shot at WrestleMania was not introduced until the 1993 event.
Since then, the winner of the men's match has mostly succeeded in capturing a title in the main event, going 16-14 in those matches with a 53.3% success rate. However, the winners are on a losing streak, with the previous three – Edge, Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes – losing to Roman Reigns.
Women's winners have had great success in the match's short history. Royal Rumble victors have gone 4-2 in WrestleMania matches, including Rhea Ripley last year.
The Royal Rumble is known to be an event where a surprise entry occurs, usually stars of the past or newly signed talent. WWE has gone to great lengths to keep surprise arrivals from spoilers, so fans have no idea who might show up on Saturday. But here are the popular candidates who are likely to make it into the match:
- the rock
- Sasha Banks
- Naomi
- Jade Cargill
- Liv morgan
- Gable Steveson
- Andrade
The Road to WrestleMania will not officially begin until the WrestleMania 40 banner is erected, and will be hanging inside Tropicana Field, where the winner of the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches will point to signify their shot at the upcoming tournament.
When WWE Superstar Bayley returned from injury at SummerSlam 2022, she brought back Dakota Kai and Io Sky to form Team Damage CTRL, hoping to help the former NXT talents make a name for themselves on the main roster.
A year and a half later, even with some bumps in the road, the faction has continued to rise to a dominant level, taking gold twice. Sky is the current WWE Women's Champion. As if the group needed more firepower, it now includes some decorated stars in addition to Asuka and Kairi Sane, who captured the Women's Tag Team Championship on Friday.
It's been a long journey for the now five-woman group, and there were times when Bayley, the de facto leader of Damage CTRL, wondered if success was on the horizon. But now, the three-time Women's Champion is “very proud” of what the group has accomplished ahead of Saturday's big Royal Rumble show.
“There were tough times where we were like, 'Okay, maybe this isn't going to be exactly everything we hoped for,'” Bailey told USA TODAY Sports. “I'm proud of what Damage CTRL has brought to the women's division.”
– Read more about Bayley and Damage CTRL here.
Being featured on the cover of WWE 2K24 isn't the only thing Bianca Belair has accomplished as a breakout wrestling star.
When she defeated Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37, it marked the first time two black women had headlined a WWE main event. A three-time champion and former Royal Rumble winner, Belair also has one of the longest reigning women's titles in the past 20 years.
And if her star power in the ring wasn't enough, she and husband Montez Ford have become major celebrities to star in. Special reality show, airs next month. She also mentioned that her husband spent the past two years talking about her being on the cover of the video game.
With everything going well for Belair, she's hoping the high level she's at now will translate into a successful road to WrestleMania, which begins with the Royal Rumble on Saturday.
“I think I've set my tone as being a history maker, that I'm breaking barriers, so I would love to become the first woman to ever win the Royal Rumble twice and go to WrestleMania,” Belair said.
– Read more about Bianca Belair here.
Future teen idol. Typical social media ninja. Alcohol buff. Explorer. Creator. Beer advocate.”