Who are the stars that will main-event WrestleMania?
The road to WWE's premier event is officially underway after the 2024 Royal Rumble took place Saturday. WWE’s first premium live event of the year was highlighted by the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, with the winner of each getting a championship shot at WrestleMania.
There was also Roman Reigns putting his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line in a fatal four-way match against Randy Orton, AJ Styles and LA Knight. Also, Logan Paul defended his United States Championship for the first time.
Here's a recap of all the action from the 2024 Royal Rumble:
Is the story almost finished? It could be.
Two of WWE's biggest signings in recent years − Cody Rhodes and CM Punk − were the final two stars standing in the Royal Rumble match. They were both main event-worthy candidates, and they went back-and-forth in almost getting each other over the top rope.
When Punk looked to be closing in, Rhodes countered the GTS, and he was able to throw Punk over the top rope to win the Royal Rumble for the second straight year, guaranteeing himself another title shot at WrestleMania. Rhodes is the third person to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches, and first to do it since Stone Cold Steve Austin did it in 1997-98.
Now who will he face? It was clear; Rhodes pointed to Roman Reigns, who was in a suite, likely setting up another main event match between the two at WrestleMania 40.
All entrants for the men's Royal Rumble match will be listed, as well as when/if they are eliminated.
Eliminated by Drew McIntyre.
Eliminated by CM Punk.
Eliminated by Drew McIntyre.
Eliminated by Cody Rhodes.
Eliminated by Sami Zayn.
Eliminated by Gunther.
Eliminated by Damian Priest.
Eliminated by Jey Uso.
The commentator gets up from the announcer's table to get in the match. After seeing Bron Breakker and Omos, he eliminated himself in 38 seconds.
Eliminated by Bron Breakker.
Eliminated by Dominik Mysterio.
Eliminated by Bron Breakker.
Eliminated by Cody Rhodes.
Eliminated by Gunther.
Eliminated by Omos.
Winner.
Eliminated by Bron Breakker.
Eliminated by Cody Rhodes.
Eliminated by Kofi Kingston.
Eliminated by Karrion Kross interference.
Eliminated by Bobby Lashley.
Eliminated by CM Punk.
Eliminated by Bobby Lashley.
Eliminated by Carlito.
Eliminated by Cody Rhodes.
Eliminated Finn Bálor.
Andrade returns to WWE after leaving the company in 2021. Eliminated by Bronson Reed.
Eliminated by Carmelo Hayes.
The Uso brothers start the match against one another. Eliminated by Bron Breakker.
Eliminated by Gunther.
The build-up to this match had been great with the on-air distaste between the two stars, and it featured quick back-and-forth action from the jump.
Owens had an impressive frog splash on Paul, but the champion kicked out. The roles were reversed a few moments later, and Owens was also able to kick out of the pin. Paul tried to suplex Owens off the top rope, but the challenger reversed it in a big fall for both competitors. Paul eventually landed the right-hand punch he had promised would take out Owens, but the challenger didn't stay down and kicked out.
Paul then tried to sneak in another brass knuckle hit, but the referee caught it and had Paul's friend escorted out. But Austin Theory and Grayson Waller came in as a distraction, and Theory was able to get the brass knuckles to Paul. Paul tried to land the punch, but Owens got the knuckles off and used them to his advantage. The punch landed, and Owens was set to be champion, but the referee caught the knuckles on Owens' hand during the pin. The referee stopped the match by disqualifying Owens, and Paul retained his title.
A frustrated Owens didn't let it slide, going back in the ring and unleashing an attack on Paul, sending him through the announcer's table in what is sure to be just one chapter of this building rivalry.
Could the Tribal Chief finally be dethroned?
All the challengers had it out for Reigns for months, and they wasted no time by going after him to start this heavyweight battle. The champion was able to get on offense, taking Styles up for an impressive drop. It didn't last long, and all sides began to hit their finishers, including LA Knight executing a BFT on Reigns, and Styles hitting a Styles Clash on the champion, but both pins got broken up. Randy Orton hit three straight RKOs, ending with Reigns, and when he went for the pin, Solo Sikoa came out and stopped the referee from counting to three.
Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on LA Knight and Orton, and tried to take out Styles before he ran into the barricade. Styles then landed the Phenomenal Forearm on Reigns and tried to pin all three stars but they kicked out.
Late in the match, LA Knight took out Orton and had the momentum to hit a BFT on Reigns. But Reigns pushed LA Knight out of it and it resulted it taking Styles out on the ropes. Reigns hit the Superman punch on LA Knight, then hit Styles with the spear and pinned him to retain his title.
Sixty-three minutes and three seconds.
It took over an hour, but Bayley went from No. 3 to the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match. There were several great spots in the match, but the final three came down to Bayley, Jade Cargill and Liv Morgan.
All three ended up on the edge of the ring, and Morgan and Bayley tried to get the powerhouse Cargill out of the match. It took several attempts, but Morgan was able to eliminate Cargill, but Bayley seized the moment by taking out Morgan before she could even realize it and winning her first Royal Rumble match while also breaking the record of longest time in the ring for a women's match.
Bayley will now get to challenge Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley, or possibly, go after fellow Damage CTRL member and WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky. Regardless, Damage CTRL now stands on top of the women's division.
All entrants for 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.
Eliminated by Bianca Belair.
She has finally arrived.
Jade Cargill has made her first in-ring appearance after she signed with WWE in September.
Eliminated by Liv Morgan.
Eliminated by Tiffany Stratton.
Eliminated by several stars.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Classic R-Truth.
Known to be confused over matches, R-Truth showed up and was confused as to where the guys were at. Then Nia Jax threw him over.
Eliminated by Nia Jax in five seconds.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Naomi.
Eliminated by Jade Cargill.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Jade Cargill.
Eliminated by Bayley.
Eliminated by Shayna Baszler.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Becky Lynch.
Eliminated by Piper Niven.
Eliminated by Bayley.
Eliminated by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
Eliminated by Tiffany Stratton.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Nia Jax.
Eliminated by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
Eliminated by Bayley.
Another surprise, Grace is currently TNA Knockouts Champion.
Eliminated by Bianca Belair.
Eliminated by Damage CTRL.
Winner.
The first surprise of the Royal Rumble is Naomi, making her return to WWE after departing the company in May 2022.
Eliminated by Jade Cargill.
Eliminated by Tegan Nox.
The ESPN star is back in WWE.
Just like last year, Pat McAfee showed up to the Royal Rumble to serve as a special commentator for Saturday's event. He previously was a commentator on "Smackdown" in 2022.
The 2024 Royal Rumble is Saturday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.
The 2024 Royal Rumble will be at Tropicana Field − home of the Tampa Bay Rays − in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The event can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have their premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.
Matches not in order
Heading into Saturday, 21 of the 30 participants have been announced. They are:
Going into Saturday, 11 women have been confirmed to be in the match. They are:
The 30-person match starts off with two entrants, and every 90 seconds, another competitor enters the match.
The only way to be eliminated from the match is to be thrown over the top rope of the ring and both feet hit the floor. If only one foot hits the floor, the competitor may re-enter the ring. The match goes until there is one person remaining in the ring that hasn’t been eliminated. The winner of the match then gets a guaranteed championship match at WrestleMania.
The match first took place in 1988 – with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan winning the inaugural event – and it’s been held every year since. Here are the list of winners:
The women’s Royal Rumble match was introduced in 2018, with Asuka winning the first edition. Here are the list of winners:
Save the best for last when it comes to the men’s match; five winners have come in at No. 30, the most of any entry number. All of the wins have happened since 2007. The second most is No. 27 with four wins and No. 1 and No. 24 with three wins. Nos. 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 20, 21 and 26 have never been winners.
The later numbers have been most successful, with 22 of the 37 winners (59.4%) coming in at least No. 22 or later.
On the women's side, No. 28 has been the most successful with it being the only entrant number with two wins (2019, 2022).
The concept of the Royal Rumble winner earning a title shot at WrestleMania wasn’t introduced until the 1993 event.
Since then, the winner in the men’s match has mostly been successful in capturing a title at the flagship event, going 16-14 in those matches for a 53.3% success rate. However, the winners are on a losing streak, with the past three – Edge, Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes – all losing to Roman Reigns.
The women winners have been very successful in the short match history. Royal Rumble victors are 4-2 in WrestleMania matches, including Rhea Ripley last year.
The Royal Rumble is known for being the event where surprise entrants happen, usually stars of the past or newly signed talent. WWE has gone through great lengths to keep its surprise entrants from being spoiled, so the public doesn’t know who could show up Saturday. But here are popular candidates to possibly enter the match:
The road to WrestleMania wouldn’t officially begin until the WrestleMania 40 sign was put up, and it’ll be hanging inside Tropicana Field, where the winner of the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match will point to signal their upcoming championship opportunity.
When WWE star Bayley returned from injury at SummerSlam 2022, she brought back Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to form 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 on the road, the faction has continued to elevate themselves into a dominant stable, capturing tag team gold twice. And Sky is the current WWE Women’s Champion. As if the group needed more firepower, it now features some decorated stars with the addition Asuka and Kairi Sane, who captured the Women’s Tag Team Championship on Friday.
It’s been a long journey for the now five-women group, and there were even 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 heading into Saturday's big Royal Rumble.
“There was rough times where we were just like, alright, maybe this isn't gonna be exactly all we hoped for,” Bayley told USA TODAY Sports. “I'm proud of what Damage CTRL has brought to the women's division.”
− Read more about Bayley and Damage CTRLhere.
Being on the cover of WWE 2K24 isn’t the only thing Bianca Belair has achieved as a groundbreaking wrestling star.
When she defeated Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37, it marked the first time two Black women headlined WWE’s flagship event. A three-time champion and previous Royal Rumble winner, Belair also has one of the longest women’s title reigns in the past 20 years.
And if her star power in the ring wasn’t enough, her and husband Montez Ford have become such major celebrities they will be starring in their own reality show, airing next month. She also mentioned her husband had spent the past two years speaking it into existence that she’d appear on the cover of the video game.
With all that’s going right for Belair, she’s hoping the high she’s on right now will translate into a successful road to WrestleMania, which begins with Royal Rumble on Saturday.
“I think I've set the tone that I am a history maker, that I'm breaking barriers, so I will love to become the first woman to ever win the Royal Rumble twice and go to WrestleMania,” Belair said.
− Read more about Bianca Belairhere.
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