The Royal Rumble matches are not only an important event in WWE’s calendar year, but the matches in itself are typically one of the most entertaining and compelling aspects of the professional wrestling world year in and year out.
This year, both Royal Rumble matches have been heavily built up, leaning into the excitement of what this PLE brings to fans every go around.
For this, I will be fantasy booking how I would book the Women’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 Women’s Royal Rumble match!
Who Is Confirmed So Far?
As for Friday, January 26, 10 women have been confirmed to be in the Royal Rumble. Those women include Bayley, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Ivy Nile, Maxxine Dupri, Ivy Nile, Alba Fyre, Shotzi, Zelina Vega, and Michin. With that, all of them will be incorporated into my booking of the match.
Other Monday Night Raw Entrants:
There are plenty of active main roster women to choose from, mostly on the Monday Night Raw roster. For Raw, the following have been unconfirmed:
- Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
- Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
- Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
- Natalya and Tegan Nox
- Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark
- Nikki Cross
- Valhalla
- Xia Li
Liv Morgan has been out of action since July with a shoulder injury. Raquel Rodriguez has been inactive with a health issue. Trish Stratus has not been seen since losing to Lynch at Payback in September. And, Sonya Deville has been inactive since July after tearing her ACL. However, this of course doesn’t mean that any of them can not show up come Saturday.
In my booking, the only active competitors I have not included in the Royal Rumble are Chance and Carter. It’s not that I don’t like the former tag team champions, both them two seem so solidified as a team, to the point where them coming out as singles competitors wouldn’t fit my ideal bill.
As for the inactive competitors, I expect Morgan to 100% be back at the Rumble. Also, I do envision Stratus being a good person to add into this match. Not only is she a Hall of Famer, but the decorated superstar has teased on her socials that 2024 could be a big one. However, the same doesn’t apply to Rodriguez. Rodriguez is dealing with something personal, and while I would love to put her in the match, I realistically don’t see her making an appearance. As for Deville, while there is speculation of her returning on Saturday, I do think the timetable of her return is just a smidge too early to believe.
Other SmackDown Entrants:
For SmackDown, the following have been unconfirmed:
- Damage CTRL (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
- B-Fab
- Elektra Lopez
- Isla Dawn (confirmed to not be in the match)
- Scarlett
Charlotte Flair has been out of action since December with multiple knee injuries. Dakota Kai, while appearing, hasn’t been in the ring in action since May. Tamina has been MIA since last year’s Royal Rumble match.
In my booking, I only have down both members of Damage CTRL being in the match. However, weirdly, Isla Dawn will not be in the match as it was confirmed that only Fyre will represent The Unholy Union in the match. B-Fab and Scarlett are valets so that explains their absence and Lopez just debuted on SmackDown and her presence is not necessarily needed for Vega to be eliminated. That confrontation makes more sense for TV in my mind.
As for the inactive side of things, Flair is a no go. She was just recently injured and there is zero chance she will be in the match. There is a chance Kai is ready, and while her inclusion could be a great addition to the Damage CTRL storyline, I think it’s best to have her just at ringside. For Tamina, it’s an out of sight, out of mind situation. I not only wouldn’t have her in the match, but I also don’t believe she will show up this weekend.
So, with the 10 already confirmed participants, plus the additional 15 wrestlers that I’d have compete in the match, that means we have filled out 25 of the 30 spots.
Surprise Entrants:
Naomi
The former multi time WWE Women’s Champion is heavily rumored to be making her return this Saturday. Naomi walked out of the company over disagreements with creative back in May of 2022. Now Trinity, the ex-WWE star went to Impact Wrestling/TNA where she truly made everyone feel the glow once again. She became the Knockouts Women Champion and had impressive matches with many people on the roster. Most recently, she dropped the title and is as of now, no longer with TNA. All signs point to Naomi lighting up Tampa, Florida.
Tiffany Stratton
Stratton seems to be wrapped up with NXT, losing in her feud with Fallon Henley. The former NXT Women’s Champion is ready to move up to the main roster and the Royal Rumble will be a great chance for her to reclaim her spotlight.
Lyra Valkyria
Last year, the NXT Women’s Champion at the time, Roxanne Perez, took a spot in the Royal Rumble match. This year, that champion is now Lyra Valkyrie, and I see no reason not to include the developmental brand’s top women’s champ. Valkyria had an impressive end of 2023, beating Becky Lynch for the title. An appearance for the Royal Rumble would be another great accomplishment for the Irish star to check off.
Maryse
Surprisingly, one of the only stars of the Divas era to not be in the Royal Rumble match is Maryse. The last time Maryse wrestled was at the Royal Rumble in 2022 for a mixed tag team match with her husband, The Miz. We know Maryse is an ambassador for the company so it’s not fat fetched that we see in the ring again.
Jade Cargill
And finally, the 30th and final person I have in my Royal Rumble is none other than Jade Cargill. Cargill has not yet wrestled for WWE, having only appeared on Raw, SmackDown, and NXT a couple of times to tease her signing. All signs point to a massive debut for a probable star in the women’s division.
Other Possible Surprises: Michelle McCool is always an option in these matches. Kaitlyn and Mickie James are reasonable options. And of course, Sasha Banks/Mercedes Mone and AJ Lee are two names that everyone is hoping to see show up on Saturday. However, the former is seemingly All Elite, and latter, while possible and would create the biggest pop of the match, I don’t expect Lee to make a return this year, sadly.
No. 1-10:
Now that we have all 30 participants, let’s break everything down, entrant by entrant, elimination by elimination.
#1: Becky Lynch. Having Lynch at #1 further fuels an underdog story that is seemingly being built up between her and Rhea Ripley. And judging by who I have at #2, Lynch is a shoe-in option as the first entrant.
#2: Tiffany Stratton. Stratton has history with Lynch, with Stratton losing her NXT Women’s Championship to Lynch. Having “Tiffy Time” come out this early and lasting awhile would be a great assist to boost her credibility.
#3: Zoey Stark. Keeping up with the list of past Lynch rivals, Stark would be a perfect person to jumpstart the rumble. Obviously, WWE is very high on Stark and I’d book her to have a good showing too.
#4: Ivy Nile. The upstart has showed that she has real promise ever since coming to Monday nights.
#5: Zelina Vega. Vega is an underdog type of character, so having her come out early on in the match would be a no-brainer for the LWO stablemate.
#6: Chelsea Green. This is where we get our first dose of comedy. For this, I would have her come out to the ring and not enter, instead wait at the announcer table or just at ringside until her tag partner, Piper Niven enters.
#7: Maxxine Dupri. Speaking of Alpha Academy, Dupri makes her first Royal Rumble appearance but teaming up with her now found ally in Nile.
#8: Valhalla. Makes sense. Valhalla, Dupri, and Nile have all been feuding for quite some time.
*Valhalla is quickly tossed out by Dupri. However, right when Dupri is celebrating, Stratton comes from behind and makes her first elimination, taking out Dupri.
#9: Indi Hartwell. A filler in the match that may or may not have to go at it alone without her tag team partner.
#10: Piper Niven. Here comes Niven. Green finally enters the ring, as the former Tag Team Champions do some damage.
*Niven, with Green, throw out Hartwell for our third elimination of the match.
No. 11-20:
#11: Bianca Belair. The winner of the 2021 Royal Rumble enters. Immediately when she enters, Green and Niven, who were standing tall in the ring, go face-to-face with the EST.
*Belair does what Belair does, using her strength to eliminate Niven and then throws Green over the top rope for her personal second elimination.
#12: Asuka. Just when Belair is seemingly dominating in the ring, here comes Asuka, the woman who broke her longest women’s championship reign. Of course, this is just the start of Damage CTRL having a major presence in the match.
*Asuka, after pushing aside Belair, tosses out Nile for an elimination.
#13: Tegan Nox. The Raw superstar has never been as frequently utilized as she is now on the main roster, deservingly so.
#14: Naomi. It’s time to Feel the Glow! Naomi makes her grand return to WWE to a massive pop from the hometown crowd.
#15: Natalya. Natalya is known for lasting long in these type of matches. She comes in at the midway point.
#16: Kairi Sane. The second person of Damage CTRL makes her way down to the ring, to Asuka’s delight.
*Sane and Asuka make their tandem well known by throwing Vega over the top rope.
#17: Alba Fyre. To be honest, I was surprised Fyre is actually in this match. However, she’s a good hand and another filler spot.
#18: Michin. Another SmackDown star enters the fray and quickly tries to go after Damage CTRL.
#19: Liv Morgan. Time for another big return! Morgan, with a great crowd reception, makes a beeline to the ring.
*Morgan makes her presence known, eliminating Fyre from the match.
#20: Shayna Baszler. The Queen of Spades, the women with the most total eliminations in Women’s Royal Rumble history, finally enters.
No. 21-30:
#21: Xia Li. She’s a borderline candidate to be cut from the match in favor of some surprises, but I like her and I think she’s another solid filler piece to have.
*Sadly for Li, her stay is short lived, as Stratton makes her second elimination of the night. However, right after that elimination, Lynch comes from behind and dumps Stratton to the outside, taking out the NXT star!
#22: Lyra Valkyria. One NXT star leaves, another one enters. The NXT Women’s Champion makes her way to the ring.
*Natalya is out as Naomi takes home an elimination.
#23: Maryse. The surprises keep coming, as Maryse makes her first-ever Royal Rumble appearance.
#24: Bayley. The “leader” and final member of Damage CTRL enters.
*Maryse gets targeted by all of Damage CTRL and with that, is eliminated. Asuka and Sane then hand over Nox to Bayley as the Role Model scores a solo elimination.
#25: Shotzi. Damage CTRL is dominating the match, but here comes Shotzi, a woman who has continued to buttheads with the group.
*Meanwhile, Baszler and Stark’s partnership takes note, as Baszler tosses Valkyria out of the ring. However, Stark turns on her partner and eliminates Baszler!
#26: Trish Stratus. Just when Stark is feeling confident, here comes her former mentor. The WWE Hall of Famer is back!
*Stratus dumps Stark over the top rope for the elimination.
#27: Candice LeRae. Her partner may not be in the match anymore, but LeRae is very suited to handle her own in the match.
#28: Nia Jax. Uh-oh…here comes Jax. Everyone in the ring does the typical, stop what you’re doing and stare. Jax pushes them all away.
*Jax starts things off hot by eliminating Michin.
#29: Nikki Cross. Cross, with her stone cold stare, no emotion character, walks straight to the ring and stands still.
*Jax easily tosses Cross out. In addition, Jax picks up another elimination by getting rid of LeRae.
#30: Jade Cargill. And of course, the big debut! Cargill is in the match to a pumped up Tampa crowd.
The Finish:
With all entrant done, it’s time for the ending stage of the match, as 11 women remain.
After a big stare down between Cargill and Jax, the former does damage quickly, eliminating Shotzi first, followed up by the first member of Damage CTRL to be eliminated in Sane, then Naomi, and then finally Morgan.
After a minute or so with no eliminations, two former rivals in Lynch and Stratus square off. Lynch gets the upper hand by tossing Stratus out. That’s not all for Lynch, as she then goes face-to-face with Jax. Finally, revenge is served, as “The Man” gets Jax over the top rope and out of the match. But…don’t celebrate too early, as Cargill makes a major statement by eliminating Lynch, crushing her dreams of being the first 2x Royal Rumble winner!
The final four is here. Who will it be? Damage CTRL’s Asuka and Bayley, Belair, and the debuting Cargill.
A much anticipated Belair and Cargill stare down occurs. And while this may be her big debut, she will not get the upper hand in this, as Belair eliminates Cargill, teasing a potential storyline between the two leading up to WrestleMania.
Belair’s moment in the sun will not happen again though, as Bayley kicks Belair out of the ring. We are down to two…
Asuka and Bayley. Bayley is excited, as she is thinking Asuka is going to let her win as is the plan for all of Damage CTRL to hold the titles. But instead, Asuka tries to eliminate Bayley. She fails.
Bayley is all frustrated. Asuka continues to go after Bayley. It looks like Asuka is about to toss Bayley out, but she reverse it and instead eliminates Asuka to win the Royal Rumble! The crowd is on fire as the breakup of Damage CTRL and turning Bayley into a massive babyface is on the horizon!
Final Stats:
The winner, Bayley, would come away with four eliminations. Not the most though, as Cargill leads the pack with five. Lynch, Belair, Asuka, and Jax get 3. In total, 15 different women score an elimination.
Lynch is the Iron Woman of the match, lasting nearly an hour in the Royal Rumble. Conversely, Cross lasts the shortest amount of time, going just over 30 seconds in the contest.
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!
