WrestleMania season kicks off on Saturday when WWE brings the Royal Rumble to Indianapolis. The occasion is without doubt one of the most anticipated yearly WWE occasions and this 12 months isn’t any completely different.
As is the usual, there will probably be a males’s and a girls’s Royal Rumble match on the cardboard, with the winners having the ability to problem any champion for his or her title at WrestleMania, which takes place on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas.
To win the match you should be the final individual nonetheless within the ring in any case different opponents have been tossed excessive rope and hit the ground with each toes.
This 12 months’s males’s Royal Rumble is anticipated to have loads of drama and surprises. Amongst these confirmed as entrants are John Cena, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and extra. However there are nonetheless 15 slots which can be to be decided and WWE CCO Paul Levesque mentioned you may anticipate loads of wildness on Saturday night time at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I am desirous about the Royal Rumble,” Levesque mentioned on the Royal Rumble kickoff on Friday. “It makes me assume, nearly anyone may enter the Royal Rumble as a shock. [Turns to Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton] You bought a minute?”
The ladies’s Rumble match can even have loads of each, and much more provided that solely 10 entrants have been introduced. However among the many most notable is the return of Charlotte Aptitude after greater than a 12 months away to get well from a nasty knee damage.
There are solely two matches past the Rumbles on the cardboard for Saturday, however they’re certain to ship the thrill. WWE undisputed champion Cody Rhodes places his title on the road towards pal turned foe Kevin Owens in a ladder match. Plus, the WWE tag group championships are on the road when titleholders #DIY tackle Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons in a two-out-of-three falls match.
Let’s check out who the CBS Sports activities specialists are selecting to win in every match on Saturday’s card, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
WWE Royal Rumble 2024 predictions
Males’s Royal Rumble Match: I felt considerably sure that John Cena would win the Rumble till Monday night time. CM Punk’s confrontation with Cody Rhodes sparked one thing that made it clear Punk vs. Rhodes is the story WWE needs to be telling as a lot as potential. In fact, there’s additionally simply the truth that momentum has utterly stalled out for Cena when his huge return for his final run began with a considerably awkward promo on Jan. 6 and he has been nonexistent since. Positive, he may nonetheless win the Rumble and go on to up his appearances between the Rumble and WrestleMania, however his absence has killed my curiosity whereas Rhodes and Punk have me excited. I feel WWE desires to play into the traditional rivalry between Punk and Cena and the match probably comes right down to these two males on the finish however give me Punk to get the win and Cena to punch his personal ticket at Elimination Chamber — an entire reversal of what I predicted only a few weeks in the past. Choose: CM Punk wins the Royal Rumble — Brent Brookhouse
I awoke this morning believing Cena would win the Rumble, however I am having second ideas. A straight shot to WrestleMania is simply too handy for the down-on-his-luck veteran looking for glory one final time. Orton is not marketed for the Rumble, however I think he’ll pull out a shock victory to arrange a showdown with Rhodes at WrestleMania. Orton will not tie Cena’s world title document, however he can tie “Stone Chilly” Steve Austin’s three Rumble wins. Choose: Randy Orton wins the Royal Rumble — Shakiel Mahjouri
Girls’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Aptitude is such a straightforward plug-and-play choice for the largest WrestleMania matches that it is onerous to not choose her to win right here. The inevitable match with Tiffany Stratton additionally makes an excessive amount of sense to move up. Stratton vs. Aptitude appears like a possible passing of the torch second, even when Aptitude will probably be round for so long as she desires. They’re related sufficient wrestlers whereas separated sufficient by the eras wherein they entered the sport to supply loads of compelling storytelling earlier than an amazing WrestleMania match. Choose: Charlotte Aptitude wins the Royal Rumble — Brookhouse
There aren’t many standouts amongst this 12 months’s girls’s Rumble individuals. Reserving Aptitude reverse Tiffany Stratton for WrestleMania is a good way to spice up Stratton’s profile. Aptitude could be trusted to ship in huge matches, so she may simply return from damage victorious. Choose: Charlotte Aptitude wins the Royal Rumble — Mahjouri
Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Ladder Match): I hope Owens pulls off the upset. It is a compelling twist within the story, plus it might be tough to see Owens lose in three consecutive undisputed WWE title matches. WWE is dedicated to Rhodes as champion. Whereas I do not assume it’d damage him to lose and reclaim the title between now and WrestleMania, I think WWE takes the secure route by preserving the title on him. Choose: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Mahjouri
Because it does not actually matter to be proper or mistaken when predicting wrestling matches — and when you’re betting on scripted leisure you are braver than I’m — I used to be going to choose this one with my coronary heart as a substitute of my head. WWE has solely dipped into the title loss earlier than rapidly regaining the title as soon as with main titles lately, when Jey Uso received the intercontinental title from Bron Breakker earlier than Breakker received it again lower than a month later. It is good to see prolonged title reigns in WWE once more, however generally there needs to be a bit extra drama by way of a sense of unpredictability. From that view, Owens ought to win on Saturday with Rhodes grabbing the title again forward of WrestleMania. A ladder match gives sufficient escape hatches for that loss to return cheaply via outdoors interference. That mentioned, that strategy is not actually how Paul Levesque has booked main titles and Punk’s interplay with Rhodes on Monday targeted on how the stress of being champion will proceed to put on Rhodes down till he lastly breaks at WrestleMania. You do not have that interplay and wipe that story away lower than per week later. Choose: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Brookhouse
WWE Tag Group Championship — #DIY (c) vs. Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons (Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match): It is too quickly to take the titles off #DIY. Kudos to WWE for giving two world-class tag groups ample time to indicate what they’ll do. Anticipate the Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons to look sturdy however drop the final fall by nefarious means. Choose: #DIY retain the titles — Mahjouri
I agree with the logic that WWE will not rip the titles away from #DIY this quickly however I’m very excited to see what these two groups can do in a two-out-of-three falls set-up. Fairly Lethal probably will get concerned to tilt issues within the champions’ favor within the third fall. No matter if the end result feels predictable, that is going to be an amazing match between two achieved tag groups. Choose: #DIY retain the titles — Brookhouse