Thirty male Superstars from Raw and SmackDown LIVE will fight for a title match opportunity when the 2019 Men’s Royal Rumble Match takes place on Sunday, January 27. The winner of the massive melee will go on to challenge for either the Universal Championship or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Coming out of Raw last night, there is only one addition to the Men’s Royal Rumble Match: Titus O’Neil. He declared himself for the contest in this backstage promo.
There are now 19 confirmed participants in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. Here is the updated list.
Andrade
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin
Big E
Bobby Lashley
Dean Ambrose
Drew McIntyre
Elias
Jeff Hardy
Jinder Mahal
John Cena
Kofi Kingston
Mustafa Ali
R-Truth (who earned the coveted No. 30 spot by winning WWE Mixed Match Challenge with Carmella)
Rey Mysterio
Samoa Joe
Seth Rollins
Titus O’Neil
Xavier Woods
Both Finn Balor and Kalisto were pulled from the Men’s Royal Rumble Match last week.
Balor got removed after beating John Cena, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin in a Fatal 4-Way Match on Raw to earn the right to challenge Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
Kalisto’s removal seems to be due to a miscommunication issue. It was announced during Raw last week that Kalisto declared for the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. Kalisto, however, was already slated to compete in a WWE Cruiserweight Championship Fatal 4-Way Match at the Royal Rumble against Akira Tozawa, Hideo Itami and title holder Buddy Murphy. His name was then pulled from the match last Tuesday.
A tradition dating back to 1988, the Men’s Royal Rumble Match starts with two participants, and WWE Superstars enter the ring at equal intervals. This continues until all 30 Superstars have entered the bout. Elimination occurs when a Superstar is thrown over the top rope, and both of his feet hit the floor. The last Superstar in the ring will be declared the victor.
