The 36th annual Royal Rumble is set to take place on Saturday, January 28, 2023. Live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The Royal Rumble marks the beginning of the road to WrestleMania, which will take place at SoFi Stadium in LA this year. Typically at the Royal Rumble, we see a number of new storylines starting, as well as some returning superstars. Last year, we saw the storyline of Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns forming, after he lost the WWE title earlier in the show, he entered the Rumble at 30 and won it all, to guarantee himself a main event title shot at WrestleMania.
This is actually one of the biggest and most fun premium live events of the year. Because you never know who’s going to show up in the 30-man or 30-woman Royal Rumble match. Two entrants will start the match, and every 90 seconds a new competitor will arrive. You’re eliminated when you go over the top rope and both feet hit the ground. That last part is pretty important, as we’ve seen over the years from the likes of Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, Shawn Michaels and Naomi that just because you’ve gone over the top rope, doesn’t mean you’re eliminated. The winner of the match, who outlasts 29 other competitors, will get a shot at the WWE Championship or the Universal Championship. Currently, Roman Reigns has both titles, so there’s not much of a choice. But still a title shot in the main event of WrestleMania is still a big deal.
Main Event Preview
Typically, the Main Event is the 30-man Royal Rumble match or the 30-woman Royal Rumble match. But given how big of an attraction Roman Reigns is, that’s who we’ll be talking about here. Roman Reigns is putting his titles on the line against Keven Owens, once again at the Royal Rumble. In 2021, these two also fought at the Royal Rumble, in a Last Man Standing Match, which was pretty epic.
Things are a bit different this time. The Bloodline has two-thirds of the titles in the WWE. The WWE Championship, Universal Championship along with the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team titles. And then there’s the Honorary Uce, Sami Zayn, which seems to be on the ropes with Reigns these days. After having Tribal Court on Monday at the Raw is XXX episode, it’s clear that Sami’s time in the Bloodline might be coming to an end. And that could happen at the Royal Rumble.
Many are speculating that Kevin Owens actually signed Sami Zayn’s name on the contract. We don’t know if that happened or not, but that would definitely be interesting. Owens and Zayn grew up together and have been friends for something like 30 years. So there’s definitely history there. Now will Reigns lose his titles at the Rumble? Probably not. But it should be soon.
The Royal Rumble matches
Typically, the WWE will announce a number of participants in the Royal Rumble. This year, they’ve announced fewer than they did in recent years. But we do know that Cody Rhodes is returning at the Rumble. Many are picking him to win the whole thing, and eventually dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
Others are expecting The Rock to show up, and potentially win. There was a plan to have The Rock vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania Hollywood this year. The two are cousins, and it could have made for a pretty interesting storyline. But it’s being reported that The Rock won’t be able to do WrestleMania this year. So that might not happen.
On the women’s side of the Rumble match, we are expecting some returns. But perhaps not many that will be around for a while. We do typically get some hall of famers in the Rumble, but they are only there for the Rumble. Last year, the WWE brought in the Impact Knockouts Champion, Mickie James. Who entered the Rumble with the Impact title around her waist. Which was quite surprising, and makes us wonder, if Triple H will open that forbidden door once again for someone else.
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 match card
Below is the current match card for the Royal Rumble 2023 event. It’s possible that some more could be added, and some could be cut. As we have seen in the past, and there’s also still one more episode of Smackdown before the Royal Rumble happens on Saturday.
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens.
- 30-man Royal Rumble match.
- 30-woman Royal Rumble match.
- Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight.
- WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss.
How to watch WWE Royal Rumble 2023
In the US, you can watch the Royal Rumble on Peacock. It’s cheaper than the WWE Network was at just $4.99 per month. And if you have Comcast or Spectrum, you can get it for free. The PPV is included in the cost of Peacock. So it’s a no-brainer to sign up for Peacock. Which you can do here.
Outside of the US, you will have to watch WWE Royal Rumble 2022 on the WWE Network. Unfortunately, the WWE is only on Peacock in the US.
What time does WWE Royal Rumble 2023 start?
The 2023 Royal Rumble takes place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX on January 28. Those that don’t have a ticket, the action will start at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
The kickoff show will start on Peacock at 7PM ET/4PM PT. The Kickoff show is a one-hour long pre-show that will break down all of the action before the show starts.
2023-01-27 15:11:23