Now that I’ve given my personal spin on how I’d book the Women’s Royal Rumble, let’s dive into how I would book the Men’s Royal Rumble match.
For this, I will be fantasy booking how I would book the Men’s Royal Rumble match. This will include entrant by entrant, eliminations, moments that I would like to see in the match, all in a way that is realistic and a hopeful estimation of what can occur on Saturday night.
Without further ado, let’s jump into this year’s Men’s Royal Rumble!
Who Is Confirmed So Far?
As of Saturday, January 27, 17 men have been confirmed to be in the Royal Rumble. Those men include Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, Kofi Kingston, Damian Priest, Santos Escobar, R-Truth, Carlito, Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, and Jimmy Uso. With that, all of them will be incorporated into my booking of the match.
Other Monday Night Raw Entrants:
- Dominik Mysterio
- Finn Balor
- JD McDonagh
- Jey Uso
- Jinder Mahal
- The Miz
- Sami Zayn
Out of all the remaining wrestlers on Raw, I suspect and have the seven listed above to be in the Royal Rumble. The weird one is Mahal, but (spoiler alert) I have a plan for how I would use him in this match.
People like Bronson Reed, Ivar, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, and Xavier Woods just missed the spot.
Other SmackDown Entrants:
- Karrion Kross
- Rey Mysterio
- Sheamus
These are the only three I would add to this match from SmackDown. Kross makes sense since Lashley is booked for the PLE. Mysterio I suspect will make his big return to heat up the feud between LWO and Legado Del Fantasma. And finally, I reasonably hope that Sheamus is ready enough to enter the fray.
People like Dragon Lee, Pete Dunne, and Tyler Bate just missed the cut.
So, with the 17 already confirmed participants, plus the additional 10 wrestlers that I’d have compete in the match, that means we have filled out 27 of the 30 spots.
Surprise Entrants:
Carmelo Hayes
The former NXT Champion is seemingly already on the main roster (though not official) for SmackDown. Hayes is not only a star in the making, but with Theory and Waller both being in the match, it’s a no-brainer to include Hayes.
Andrade “Cien” Almas
It’s a near certainty that Andrade is set to come back to the WWE after leaving AEW. By all accounts, the Royal Rumble would be a great spot for him to make his “re-debut” and hopefully jumpstart some interesting storylines that could transpire post-Royal Rumble.
X-Pac
A lot of legends (realistic ones) come to my mind when I think of who could be an option to make a surprise return at the Royal Rumble. X-Pac, amongst all the dirt sheets, seems to be the most likely candidate and one that I think could be a fun moment if used correctly. Of course with the former DX pal Triple H in charge, X-Pac showing up on Saturday night is definitely a strong possibility.
Other Possible Surprises: You heard it from me first, but don’t be shocked if Ken Shamrock makes a big return. He’s technically signed with the company it seems, and it would be such a welcoming surprise to have Shamrock make an appearance. I know some people are hoping for MJF to appear, but, I’m sorry to burst your bubble folks, but I don’t envision the shocking debut happening. Be on the lookout for Wade Barrett/Bad News Barrett to jump from commentary to the ring for this night too.
No. 1-10:
Now that we have all 30 participants, let’s break everything down, entrant by entrant, elimination by elimination.
#1: Cody Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” was the final entrant to come out last year. This time around, he’s number 1 and he lasts all the way to the end.
#2: Jimmy Uso. Who else better to face off with Rhodes than someone from The Bloodline?
#3: Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is typically an early entrant in these matches, and his inclusion early on would provide some more adversity for Rhodes.
#4: Grayson Waller. The cocky and brash heel screams an early addition to the match and would hopefully show people just how good he can be.
#5: Dominik Mysterio. Arguably the biggest heel in the company, Mysterio coming out as the first member from The Judgment Day would provide some funs boos from the Tampa crowd.
#6: Chad Gable. The leader of Alpha Academy kicks things off for his group.
#7: Austin Theory. Waller’s tag team partner is here, as the two of them gang up on the uber babyface in Rhodes.
#8: Akira Tozawa. The next member of Alpha Academy is here. Unfortunately he isn’t here for the long haul…
*Mysterio musters up some more heat from the crowd by scoring the first elimination, tossing out Tozawa.
#9: Kofi Kingston. The New Day’s represent is routinely an early presence in the Royal Rumble. This year is no different.
#10: Finn Balor. Mysterio is not alone as Balor joins the fray.
No. 11-20:
#11: Otis. The last member of Alpha Academy enters. Notable, Otis hits a caterpillar onto the a heel like Theory or Waller.
#12: Carmelo Hayes. Hayes makes a beeline to the ring for Theory and Waller. The NXT star gets a big boost.
*Hayes sticks it to them again, as he eliminates both Theory and Waller from the match.
#13: Gunther. Business is about to pick up. The Intercontinental Champion is here and he is already tossing people out. He first goes head-to-head with his former rival Gable, and then the man who will be his next challenger, Kingston.
*Gunther eliminates both Gable and Otis from the match. He tries to eliminate Kingston but Kingston makes a grand save to keep himself in it.
#14: The Miz. Another one of Gunther’s rivals enters the match with “The A-Lister.”
#15: Jey Uso. Crowd goes nuts as Uso is as over as ever. He squares off with his brother Jimmy.
*Jimmy Uso is eliminated by Jey Uso. Also, Kingston gets thrown over the top rope by Gunther.
#16: R-Truth. The hilarious and over the top R-Truth is here to be the comedic genius he always is.
#17: JD McDonagh. The Judgment Day’s presence in the match gets even bigger, although McDonagh stay doesn’t last long.
*R-Truth shockingly throws McDonagh out of the ring in quick fashion, picking up a nice elimination.
#18: Damian Priest. A fired up Mr. Money in the Bank joins the fray, and immediately goes after R-Truth.
*Priest eliminates Truth after the latter begs for them to team up in the match.
#19: Drew McIntyre. “The Scottish Psychopath” is here and he quickly wrecks havoc.
*McIntyre eliminates Hayes and also throws over The Miz.
#20: Bobby Lashley. Another big time player joins the party.
*Nakamura and Rhodes go at it once again, and ends with Rhodes eliminating Nakamura.
No. 21-30:
#21: Santos Escobar. The leader of Legado Del Fantasma makes his mark quickly by beating down fan favorites Rhodes and Uso.
#22: Jinder Mahal. Stop the presses. “The Modern Day Maharaja” enters to a chorus of boos.
#23: X-Pac. The crowd goes nuts! X-Pac goes face-to-face with Mahal.
*X-Pac eliminates Mahal, with massive crowd approval. However, the party is short lived as Mysterio ruins the fun by throwing over X-Pac.
#24: Sheamus. “The Celtic Warrior” is back! He goes face-to-face with Gunther.
#25: Sami Zayn. Another return as a huge babyface enters with Zayn coming in.
*Zayn makes his mark early by dumping over Mysterio.
#26: Karrion Kross. The vibe goes down as Kross comes out. Him and Lashley go at it.
*Kross eliminates Lashley.
#27: Andrade. He’s back! Tampa crowd is reinvigorated.
*In the meantime, Priest and Balor, after beating down on Rhodes and Uso, turn on each other momentarily, as Priest eliminates Balor.
#28: CM Punk. “The Best in the World” is here and marks his first WWE match since 2014, conveniently a Royal Rumble match.
*Punk scores his first elimination by tossing away Priest.
#29: Carlito. The LWO mate makes a beeline to Escobar.
#30: Rey Mysterio. Shades of the 2014 Royal Rumble, Mysterio gets the last spot, only this time with cheers, as he helps Carlito in his efforts against Escobar
*Mysterio eliminates Escobar.
The Finish:
With all entrants done, it’s time for the ending stage of the match, as 11 men remain.
Gunther racks up another elimination by throwing out Kross. The Mysterio story continues to develop, as Carlito is eliminated by McIntyre. Escobar tries to re-enter the match to cost Mysterio, but Andrade comes to Rey’s side, only for Andrade to turn against him and eliminate Mysterio. This elimination, will set up Andrade joining Escobar’s side on the next SmackDown.
Speaking of Andrade, he’s eliminated shortly after by Punk.
It’s time for another Gunther portion of the match. Gunther tosses out Sheamus before surprisingly getting eliminated by Jey Uso, to a massive pop!
Five remain. Unfortunately for Uso, Jimmy Uso comes back into the ring despite being eliminated, and takes out Jimmy himself, making it a Final Four.
The Final Four standing are Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk, all from Raw.
First out is Zayn, who gets eliminated by McIntyre. Rhodes and Punk then double team McIntyre and send him packing as well.
The final two, as many expect, is Rhodes and Punk. And after a good amount of offense by both guys, Punk gets a GTS and tosses Rhodes out of the ring to secure his first Royal Rumble win and a main event at WrestleMania!
Final Stats:
The winner, Punk, would come away with three eliminations. Not the most thought, as Gunther again leads the way with four this time. In total, 14 different men (plus an already eliminated Jimmy Uso) score an elimination.
Rhodes is the Iron Man of the match, lasting over an hour in the match. Conversely, McDonagh lasts the shortest amount of time with just around 30 seconds. Tozawa is close behind though too.
The Road to WrestleMania is here!
How would you book the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble? What surprises do you hope to see? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!
