The 2024 WWE Royal Rumble will occur this Saturday, January 27th, at 8 pm from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The event will stream live on Peacock. As well as air on local cable and satellite providers.
With the event rapidly approaching, let’s look at the current matches on the card and my predictions on who I think will walk out victorious on Saturday night in Florida.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
This match will feature some of the best female wrestlers in the world, competing for the ultimate prize, to win a chance at a Championship opportunity at Wrestlemania 40. In previous years, there have been a few legends and surprise entrants in the match.
Last year’s Royal Rumble winner was Rhea Ripley, who challenged Charlotte Flair for the Women’s World Championship. A match she won and a title she still holds today.
Several superstars had made their cases in the previous weeks about why they were entering the rumble match and would win it.
Looking at the field, I would say Bayley is long overdue to win the Rumble. She has done everything in her storied career except win the Rumble match.
Now would be the time to have Bayley win, as she has the best storyline going into this match. Bayley has teased that if she wins the Rumble, she will challenge Rhea Ripley so that Damage CTRL will have control of both Women’s World Championships when she wins.
All signs point toward a showdown with a Babyface Bailey against Iyo Sky. And a Becky Lynch vs Rhea Ripley showdown at Wrestlemania. The real question is, how do we get there?
Does Bayley win the Rumble and have the stable she created turn on her? Or does Damage CTRL either advertently or inadvertently cost her the match, opening up the door for Lynch to win the match and go on to challenge Ripley at Wrestlemania?
Only time will tell, but in the hope of WWE doing the right thing, let’s predict Bayley will win, and the fallout will happen after the match or in the future.
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal Four Way Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
This match should be a good one that features four main event-level talents, but only one man can emerge victorious in this match. That man would have to be Roman Reigns. To have his historic run end in a match like this would seriously hurt the legacy of this run.
You can argue that maybe the Rock interferes, costing Roman the match and the title, leading to the highly anticipated and talked about Wrestlemania 40 showdown.
Whether Reigns vs. The Rock will happen at Wrestlemania 40 and will be for the title remains to be seen. It does appear this match will not be the time and place for Roman to lose.
I’m looking for each star to have their moments to shine, with Roman ultimately picking up the victory, most likely on AJ Styles, who has the least to lose in this match by taking the pinfall.
WWE United States Championship Match: Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens
This feud has been interesting. While Logan Paul is a big name and someone who will bring in viewers, was putting on the WWE US Title this quickly on him the right call? Whether you agree with it or not, one thing you cannot deny is that Paul is an incredible athlete.
The one problem with having another part-timer as champion is that his opponent has to be someone who can promote the match week in and out on their own. At least Roman Reigns has Paul Heyman, whereas Logan Paul does not. Kevin Owens is the perfect opponent to fill that role. He’s intense and has excellent promo skills.
Owens would be a great choice to put the US Title on; however, I cannot see the WWE taking the title off Paul right after winning it. While I feel Paul will walk out of this match victorious, I’m expecting an action-packed, fast-paced match.
It’s hard to tell if this will be a one-off match, but for Owens’s sake, I hope this feud continues longer and leads to a big Wrestlemania match, which Kevin Owens deserves!
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
This has been the most interested I have been in a Royal Rumble match in a long time. All the different stories multiple wrestlers have and are trying to finish coming into this match have been brilliant!
There are various Superstars you can argue could or should win the match. And the WWE has multiple angles and feuds that can come out of this one match.
The current favorite to win this match is CM Punk. Since his return to the WWE at the Survivor Series and Rollins’ reaction to his return, it appears this is the direction WWE was planning to go.
The story here is CM Punk coming back to right his wrong. He has never won a Royal Rumble match or main evented a Wrestlemania. Rollins’ current injury status is uncertain; however, all signs indicate him being available at Wrestlemania 40. But does CM Punk need to win the Rumble to be in a main-event match?
Cody Rhodes has been talking about finishing his story. It’s a story that he fell short of finishing last Wrestlemania against Roman Reigns. But with talks of The Rock potentially coming back at Wrestlemania to challenge Reigns, that puts Cody’s potential dream of winning the WWE Universal Championship on hold.
The WWE has been referencing the difficult task for Cody and the last time a superstar won the Royal Rumble back-to-back. This will likely cause more intrigue for Cody Rhodes in the match.
Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre are other superstars who have spoken about going onto Wrestlemania 40 and finishing their story!
Then there is Gunther, who returned to Raw recently and stood face-to-face with the current World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins. Gunther was the original favorite to win the Rumble match before CM Punk returned.
There were rumors of a Brock Lesnar return to the Royal Rumble to set up a showdown with Gunther at Wrestlemania possibly. With a Lesnar return at the Rumble currently up in the air, given recent events, will the WWE go with the original favorite to win the Rumble?
While Gunther or Cody Rhodes need to win more than Punk at the Royal Rumble, I will still go with CM Punk winning the Rumble to complete the first half of his story and then going on to complete the remaining part of the story at Wrestlemania 40.
