Predicting Every Entrant In The 2024 Men's Royal Rumble
1/3/2024 2:58 PM
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CM Punk and Cody Rhodes are already in - but what about the other 28?
As Andy Williams sang it in the 1963 Christmas jam, (♪) It’s the most wonderful time of the year (♪).
And he’s right - it’s Royal Rumble season!
The Royal Rumble has been, since its 1988 inauguration, a repeat smash hit, with 2023’s offering - the first under the Triple H regime - cementing itself amongst the Mount Rushmore of Royal Rumbles. From Cody Rhodes’ passionate victory to GUNTHER’s assertive start-to-finish performance, from the dominance of The Judgement Day to the stunning display of athleticism from Logan Paul and Ricochet, the match offered everything a Royal Rumble should.
The build to WWE’s annual over-the-top extravaganza began earlier than ever before for 2024’s version, kicking off on 27 November when Cody Rhodes declared himself for the thirty-man field, looking to emerge victorious across back-to-back years. Only one other man has since entered their name into the hat, that being CM Punk, so it’s hardly a bad place to start, given The Punker’s prolonged appearance on lists such as these.
Who’s joining them?
Note, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens will not be featured here, owing to their expected participation in the Undisputed Universal and United States Championship bouts, respectively. As the defending US Champion, Logan Paul is also absent.
WWE, understanding the buzz they’d found themselves in following Survivor Series: WarGames, looked to flog tickets to their next premium live event immediately by promoting a Cody Rhodes announcement just two days removed from the raucous Chicagoan event. It was always going to be Royal Rumble-related and Rhodes, as the first man to declare their entrance, was instantly set as the favourite to win - unless…
…CM Punk chucks him out.
Punk rapidly overtook ‘The American Nightmare’ as the bookie’s favourite to win the Rumble before it became public knowledge that he was officially back in WWE. This, unless he wrestles on Raw between now and 27 January, will also mark his first televised WWE match since the infamous night of 27 January 2014, so there’s a chance for a poignant piece of booking here in a CM Punk victory.
Given that Shinsuke Nakamura’s current position in WWE sees him entangled in a bitter rivalry with Cody Rhodes, it would be rather foolish of Triple H to omit the two-time NXT Champion from the field two years in a row. An expected Iron Man of the Rumble he may be, but don’t expect Nakamura to get another victory.
The care and patience that went into Sami Zayn’s triumph across 2022 and 2023 was refreshing from WWE, but the refocus on Cody Rhodes, the rise of Jey Uso, and the return of CM Punk has left the 2023 WrestleMania headliner without a definitive story heading into this year's ‘Mania. A big Rumble run should help Sami find his path.
A strong Royal Rumble performance would go a long way in restoring Bobby Lashley as an imposing powerhouse threat as his middling partnership with The Street Profits is currently sending him the opposite way. His size aside, Lashley deserves a big push to make up for his lackadaisical run post-Elimination Chamber that saw him bumped from the WrestleMania card entirely in favour oShane McMahon!
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For context, this list is being prepared on Thursday, 28 December, four days before Drew McIntyre once more challenges for Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship. History tells us that Seth, this close to WrestleMania and a presumed title showdown vs. CM Punk, isn’t going to be toppled, so send McIntyre into the Royal Rumble to chuck a few bodies out.
Doudrop reverted to her Piper Niven moniker in the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble and given that WrestleVotes reported in March that Triple H indeed has plans to rename Butch back to Pete Dunne, expect to see the same spotlight shone on ‘The Bruiserweight’ in 2024.
WWE’s stop-start fascination with Karrion Kross looks like it’s finally about to pay off approaching 2024, with the re-signed Authors of Pain by his side. Couple the new alliance with Kross’ size, power, and on-screen presentation, and it makes the tattooed brute a shoo-in for a monster push in the new year.
The Judgement Day, theoretically, should dominate the Royal Rumble match in 2024 in the same manner as The New Nexus did in 2011. Enter soon after each other, beat up a bunch of goobers, dump them out, rinse and repeat until a big monster enters. That starts with Finn Bálor.
The Judgement Day can’t dominate without their leader, can they?
‘Dirty’ Dom won’t do so much of the dominating, but he will get a cheeky elimination or two.
This is where The Judgement Day’s Royal Rumble domination gets intriguing. JD McDonagh, forced out of the group following his loss to R-Truth, will seek redemption above all else. To do that? He’ll eliminate himself at the demand of Rhea Ripley, orchestrating the group’s beatdowns from ringside. Whether that puts him back in the group’s ranks is a post-Royal Rumble issue to think of.
R-Truth won’t win the Royal Rumble. He won’t even come close.
He’ll get battered by The Judgement Day in what will likely be the end of what has been a typically hilarious R-Truth angle.
Sorry, Ron.
Bron Breakker is twiddling his thumbs in NXT at the moment; he has been since dropping the NXT Championship in April and should have been called up in the Draft. Alas, a Royal Rumble call-up should see the second-generation unit stampede through the field. Boldly, Bron should achieve the most eliminations, too. Nothing record-breaking, but a good six or seven at a minimum will set him on the right track.
As of this writing, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and LA Knight are slated to fight over who faces Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, doing so on the 5 January New Year’s Revolution SmackDown special. Orton is the predicted favourite, leaving Styles to enter the Rumble, set up his WrestleMania storyline, and further tease his heel turn. He’ll be joined by…
‘The Megastar’ has already challenged Reigns, doing so just two months ago at Crown Jewel. He’s still red-hot at the minute, meaning WWE won’t want to line up a second loss to ‘The Tribal Chief’ so close to the last; this should guarantee him a Royal Rumble spot, even if he’s no longer a favourite to win.
Astonishingly, Jey Uso hasn’t entered a Royal Rumble match since 2014, owing to Vince McMahon’s petulance to exclude tag teams from the fray. One decade later, ‘Main Event Jey’ is one of WWE’s hottest babyfaces who shouldn’t be ruled out of the victory conversation to get another crack at his cousin.
He won’t win, though, because Jimmy should cost him the match instead, setting up that WrestleMania XL showdown.
Surprise entrant discourse for the 2023 Royal Rumble surrounded Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green, who both finished up with IMPACT Wrestling in time for the event, and while Green returned in less-than-stellar fashion, Cardona was nowhere to be seen. He’s once more a fan favourite to enter the 2024 instalment and believes Tropicana Field would “go nuts” if he were to appear. He told Chris Van Vliet via Insight (H/T Wrestling Inc.):
"I really believe that if number whatever and my music hit, whether it be Matt Cardona or Zack Ryder, I do believe the place would go nuts, I honestly believe that. So, we'll see. Always ready but currently, I'm booked on the Jericho Cruise, so they've got to decide quick."
Grayson Waller’s newfound partnership with Austin Theory has already paid off for the 2023 NXT callup, who has found a consistent role on SmackDown after a slow start post-Draft. Reports that WWE is to feature them heavily across programming ahead of WrestleMania spells good news for the brash duo and their strong presence begins in the Royal Rumble match.
If Grayson Waller’s in there, then Austin Theory has to be, too.
Confirmed to be exiting All Elite Wrestling and rumoured to be rejoining WWE, a Royal Rumble comeback appears the likeliest option for Andrade moving forward. It makes the most sense for the once United States Champion to re-debut here, plus he was a big surprise in the 2018 Rumble while still in NXT and received a jovial response; why would that be any different here?
One of the most effective babyfaces in pro wrestling today, Chad Gable is exceptional at making you feel real, authentic emotion; he proved as much in his quest for GUNTHER’s Intercontinental Championship and he’ll do so again with the performance of the 2024 Royal Rumble match. Will he make the final four? Probably not, but he should.
Not everyone can win the Royal Rumble, but there are thirty spots to fill and when you need a good hand to rely on, you look to The Miz. ‘The A-Lister’, now back playing the awkward babyface role that he can never quite get right, will be there on 27 January, will last around ten minutes, and will be lumped out to make someone else look strong. The Dolph Ziggler role.
Is Ken Shamrock on his way back to WWE?
It would certainly seem so; ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ has had a new line of merchandise made available on WWE Shop. Though he turns 60 two weeks after the Royal Rumble, Ken can still go, at least to the extent of a Royal Rumble cameo, and is a star deserving of a nostalgia pop in such a manner.
Santos Escobar is expected to lose in the forthcoming United States Championship number one contender’s tournament to Kevin Owens which, admittedly, isn’t the best call, given Escobar’s recent heel turn and push, but that’s why he should enter the Royal Rumble instead. Easily lumped out in the 2023 affair by Brock Lesnar, Escobar’s appearance here could set up his WrestleMania match, too - and it would be against…
…the very man he turned on to return to his heelish roots.
Rey Mysterio is currently out injured, having undergone surgery for a torn meniscus, owing to the fact that his knees are made of literal gelatine. He should be good to go for the Royal Rumble, though, as he noted on Konnan’s K100 podcast that he’s currently in the fourth week of a six-to-eight recovery period, making him a strong contender for a surprise Rumble inclusion.
If GUNTHER is to look somehow stronger in the 2024 Royal Rumble than he did in the 2023 version, then he needs people he can rely upon. Step forward, Ludwig Kaiser and…
Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci are the perfect fodder to feed to the remainder of the field while keeping GUNTHER’s stance as this tyrant of an Intercontinental Champion alive. He can be eliminated eventually - he’s not winning…yet - but he needs a strong showing.
GUNTHER is not a favourite to win the 2024 Royal Rumble, but he needn’t be. ‘The Ring General’, like in 2023, is there to clean house, tease numerous matches for the next phase of his legendary Intercontinental Championship reign, and come face-to-face with his hopeful WrestleMania XL foe in a repeat of a 2023 Rumble spot.
GUNTHER vs. Brock Lesnar is THE Intercontinental Championship match for WrestleMania XL. Their meeting in the 2023 Royal Rumble cemented that - and it’s going to be epic. Lumps will be knocked, chests will be caved, and hands will be raw, so bloodthirstily their exchange is going to be. WWE must capitalise on this before Lesnar calls it a day.
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