Slam’s Alex Podgorski is in St. Petersburg, Florida, for this year’s Royal Rumble. Check here for his live coverage throughout tonight’s event:
6:20pm: Roads were closed in all directions in a three-block radius as throngs of people made their way towards Tropicana Field for the 2024 Royal Rumble Premium Live event. Lines stretched as far as the eye could see with fans of every background waiting in line.
6:40pm: The building appears to be 55-60% full with the upper decks appearing to be the most full. The pre-show is set to start at 7pm.
7:00pm: The moment the music stops the entire arena starts WOOing as if The Nature Boy himself had descended onto St. Petersburg. Massive pop as the pre-show begins.
7:30pm: Unfortunately no matches were announced for the pre-show so fans are left entertaining themselves. Various chants erupt among pockets of fans as the the building appears to now be closer to 70% full. This, however, is not including a large section of floor next to the hard camera that is cordoned off and left bare.
7:55pm: The crowd pops loudly as the commentators make their way down. First is Michael Cole who gets a huge pop, followed by Corey Graves, who gets a relatively weaker reaction. Hulk Hogan is seen somewhere in the building and his appearance gets the largest pop out of anyone thus far.
Triple H cuts a promo on the big screen hyping up the event and how the Road to WrestleMania 40 begins tonight.
2024 Royal Rumble event begins
A CM Punk chant erupts as the opening signature appears.
They show various “earlier today” shots of wrestlers coming to the arena. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Rhea Ripley received the loudest positive reactions while Logan Paul gets the loudest negative reaction. CM Punk, interestingly, receives more of a mixed reaction.
8:10pm: Match #1: Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Before the match begins, we are treated to the first of what is likely to be many surprises as Pat McAfee comes out and is announced as the special guest commentator.
Entrant #1: Natalya and entrant #2 is Naomi, making her return to WWE. The reaction she gets is EXPLOSIVE!
Naomi is overcome with emotions as the crowd pops big for her. Natalya becomes the heel by default as this crowd wants to see Naomi for the first time in a long time.
#3 is Bayley who gets plenty of chants of her own but soon gets shut down by Naomi. Natalya hits a move on both of them but fails to eliminate Naomi, even with Bayley’s help.
#4 is Candice LeRae, who hits a few moves but Bayley knocks her down as #5 TNA’s Jordynne Grace enters the match, leading to a “TNA” chant, followed by a big brawl between Grace and Naomi.
#6 is Indi Hartwell, who aligns herself with LeRae and lands a double-team attack on Bayley. Bayley survives elimination, as does Natalya.
#7 is Asuka who immetiately lands a shotgun dropkick on two women, aligns herself with Bayley, and misses a running hip attack. Hartwell almost eliminates Asuka but she herself is eliminated seconds later.
#8 is Ivy Nile. She shines for a moment but doesn’t do much as #9 Katana Chance enters. Chance does plenty of headscissors and kicks but Grace overpowers her. A double vertical suplex spot gets applause from the audience, who then pop bigtime as #10 Bianca Belair enters.
Belair dominates for a moment throwing women around left and right, though she doesn’t manage to eliminate anyone. She gets interrupted several times on her big power spots. Belair hits a handspring moonsault as #11 Kairi Sane enters. So far no only one person has been eliminated.
Sane and Asuka start working together as Belair tries overpowering all three of them. So far the crowd reactions appear to be louder for entrances than for anything else. A few close calls as a few women end up on or near the apron. It takes three women to eliminate Candace LeRae.
#12 is Tegan Nox who hits a big senton into a corner followed by a Molly-Go-Round in tribute to Molly Holly. The normal pall doesnt last long as both Nox and Natalya are eliminated and then #13 Kayden Karter enters.
Kairi Sane almost pulls off an incredible move by bending her legs in a certain way so that her feet don’t touch the floor but it doesn’t last and she gets eliminated. Seconds later, Bayley turns on Asuka and eliminates her, which leads to #14 Chelsea Green entering.
Green avoids elimination twice but then goes down as Grace goes after Bianca. Grace skins the cat and she and Belair end up on the apron. Belair gets a massive ovation as she hits her KOD slam on the entrance ramp to eliminate Grace seconds before #15 Piper Niven enters.
Green almost gets eliminated but then Niven catches her Beauty and the Beast-style and carries her to the steps. Niven is wearing something that makes her look like Kharma as she throws women around effortlessly. She hits corner splashes on anything that moves including some corner splashes that see some women squished in the corner.
#16 is Xia Li who quickly becomes a background character. #17 is Zelina Vega who gets a big pop from the crowd both during her entrance and when she counters a powerslam into a spinning DDT. #18 is Maxxine Dupri, who hits a few headscissors and then cowers in fear to avoid getting smashed by Piper Niven. Some coordinated spots occur involving Dupri, Niven, and Belair.
Another elimination occurs as #19 Nia Jax enters. Jax eliminates a few people and then tries to out-power Niven only for a stalemate to occur. Jax collides with Niven with Dupri in the middle, squishing her. Jax tries slamming Niven but fails as #20 Shotzi enters…or, rather, she waits a bit and leds the two monster women run into each other. Shotzi waits until it’s safe(r) to dive onto Jax and then Dupri hits a backwards Caterpillar/Worm. Everyone gangs up on Jax but she fights them all off, leading to a torrent of boos, which are compounded when bayley eliminates Dupri. Jax’s gets even more boos as she eliminates Niven.
Jax press slams another woman onto Niven on the floor as #21 Becky Lynch enters to an ovation even louder than Naomi’s. Becky goes after Nia and dropkicks her from the top-rope. Becky hits two women with simultaneous forward-and-backward DDT variations which leads to a “let’s go Becky” chant.
Becky gets an elimination as #22 Alba Fyre enters. She runs wild and hits some sort of double Gory Bomb on two smaller women. Lynch avoids elimination as she ducks a clothesline from Jax and then #23 Shayna Baszler enters. Baszler runs wild and even manages to judo hip throw Jax.
Bianca Belair avoids elimination once again as #24 Valhalla enters…but her entrance is interrupted by R-Truth! Truth enters the women’s Rumble and is immediately thrown out by Nia…and so is Valhalla!
Michin is #25. Naomi eliminates Alba Fyre and then #26 Zoey Stark enters. Stark throws a few women around and gets an aided elimination, which leads to #27 Roxanne Perez. Perez hits a muti-rotation headscissor but soon she runs into Nia Jax. Jax eliminates three women, including via powerbomb toss.
#28 is Jade Cargill, making her WWE debut! She gets an enormous pop and is treated like a superstar from the moment she enters. Jade stares down Jax and a “let’s go Jade” chant starts. Jax lifts Jade onto her shoulders but Jade counters with a fireman’s carry slam of her own. Jade Cargill lifts Nia Jax up, carries her to the ropes, and eliminates her, leading to “Holy S**T chants”. That was the loudest pop of the night thus far.
#29 is Tiffany Stratton who throws a few people around for a moment and then #30 is Liv Morgan. Morgan almost gets eliminated by Roxanne but then fires back with an elbow to eliminate Roxanne.
Both Bianca and Jade hit power moves but then they get cut off.
In quick succession Cargill eliminates both Becky lynch and Naomi. Bayley eliminates both Tiffany and Bianca by having Tiffany pull on Bianca’s hair to pull her down.
We’re down to three; Bayley, Jade, and Liv. All three of them end up on one side of the apron. All three women try eliminating each other. Liv hits a reverse STO to eliminate Jade and then Bayley kicks Liv to the floor. Bayley has won the match! The crowd erupts in cheers!
Winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Bayley
Bayley gets her moment to celebrate and points at the WrestleMania sign and fireworks go off. The camera pans to Rhea Ripley watchnig Bayley’s celebration with a big smile on her face.
9:35pm: Match #2: Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal-4-Way: Roman Reigns [c] vs. LA Knight vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
After ten minutes of entrances (including plenty of pyro for three men and a special Slim Jim-themed entrance for LA Knight) the match begins. The three challengers get pops while Reigns gets a mixed reaction. It seems more people enjoy his entrance theme more than the man himself.
A three-on-one situation starts the match with all three challengers going after Reigns but that doesn’t last too long. The crowd chants “YEAH” at everything Knight does, no matter what it is or who he does it to. both Reigns and Styles get launched onto one of the announce tables but it doesn’t break. Then Knight gets suplexed onto it as well.
Orton shows he hasn’t really missed a beat as he lands his trademark Garvin Stomp and a snap powerslam without any signs of ring rust. at the same time, the crowd boos loudly anytime Reigns does anything.
The crowd really loves knight as he gets impresses with a Shelton Benjamin-style jump to the top rope followed by a superplex and then gets a close near-fall on Reigns. Even when he interrupts a Styles Clash, Knight doesn’t actually get booed.
As for Orton, hits three RKOs in a row despite appearing to injure his shoulder. He almost gets a three-count but here comes Solo Sikoa to throw the referee out.
Sikoa teases an Umaga-style running hip attack through the barricade but Styles, who was at ringside, dodges. Reigns gets up to find Orton and Knight stacked on top of one another and then turns around into a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles covers Reigns on top of the mountain of men beneath him, but Knight kicks out, breaking up the pin.
Styles pulls out a chair which leads to “we want tables” chants from the crowd. He Reigns with it, then Knight, and goes for Orton but Orton pokes his eye. Then Orton turns around and eats a Spear. Knight hits Reigns with a back suplex and an elbow. Reigns sends Knight into the rope to send Styles falling to stop another Phenomenal Forearm. Then Reigns hits Knight with a Superman Punch and a spear to secure yet another win.
Winner and STILL Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
10:10pm: Match #3: United States Championship Match: Logan Paul [c] vs. Kevin Owens
The crowd sounds tired from the previous two matches as both men are getting more subdued reactions, despite their best efforts. Owens hits chops but they’re barely getting any noise. Paul, who is doing whatever underhanded trick he can, isn’t getting anywhere the boos that Reigns got in the previous match.
Paul works the arm, rips off Owens’ wrist tape and continues to act as obnoxiously as possible until finally the crowd reacting to him more loudly. A “let’s go Logan/Logan sucks” chant emerges as Paul gets his knees up to avoid a senton bomb, but then he misses when he tries the same move. The crowd’s reactions are still subdued, with kick-outs getting polite applause and the odd chant but nothing substantial. Not even a Steen Breaker or a top-rope fisherman buster get anything rivalling earlier reactions.
The crowd wakes up as the finisher and counter exchange begins. Some awkward encounter ensues with one of Logan’s friends stalling for time. Shenanigans ensue and some unidentified wrestlers run down to interfere with the match. One of them gives Logan brass knuckles. He goes to use them, but Owens pulls them off. Then Owens punches Paul with them and gets a cover. One, two, three! But the moment the ref counts three he sees the brass knuckles on Owens’ hand and calls for the disqualification.
Winner and STILL United States Champion due to a Disqualification: Logan Paul
Post-match, Owens powerbombs Paul through one of the announce tables.
They announce the attendance figure for the event: 48,044, which is a record for Tropicana Field. They also note, among other things during the “By The Numbers” video that it has been 3,653 days since CM Punk competed in his last Rumble match.
10:40pm: Match #4: Men’s Royal Rumble Match
#1 is Jey Uso and #2 is Jimmy Uso. The brothers fight hard and then both go down as #3 Grayson Waller enters cutting a promo, only to eat a superkick from Jey. Then he and Jimmy double-team Jey.
#4 is Andrade returning to WWE. He gets a “welcome back” chat and some respectful cheers as he hits running knees to two different men. That’s followed by a Three Amigos in tribute to Eddie Guerrero but the third one gets blocked by Waller.
#5 is Carmelo Hayes. Waller gets eliminated as Hayes finds himself double-teamed in a corner. #6 is Shinsuke Nakamura. The crowd (plus Pat McAfee) sing the entire refrain of his song as he hits knees to everything in sight, including both Jimmy Uso and Andrade, the latter of whom he has history in New Japan as La Sombra.
#7 is Santos Escobar. Escobar gets a decent pop and then he finds himself hugging Andrade. But when Andrade turns down some kind of truce they start fighting. Seth Rollins appears in some section of the crowd way out of view of the cameras as #8 Karrion Kross enters. Kross attacks Jey Uso and then #9 is Dominik Mysterio, who is booed like crazy. Dominik takes his time getting into the ring and when he does Kross throws him around with ease.
Few people have been thrown out when #10 Carlito comes out. Carlito knocks Dominik down and is about to spit the apple in Dominiks face when Escobar launches him onto the apron. Then Carlito counters and eliminates Escobar as #11 Bobby Lashley enters.
Lashley runs through people like a not knife through butter until Dominik tries cheap-shotting him, only to eat a spear. Lashley eliminates Carlito and Kross. But then Kross eliminates Lashley from behind. Chaos erupts as The authors Of Pain back up Kross and then Lashley’s crew help him.
#12 is Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser gets a moment to show off and then its #13 Austin Theory. Theory nearly eliminates Escobar and then its Finn Balor at #14 who immediately comes to Dominik’s aide and eliminates Escobar.
#15 is Cody Rhodes who gets a monster pop. Seriously, he gets such a big pyro treatment you think he had just won.Cody gets a quick elimination but it’s not long before he gets double-teamed as well.
#16 is Bronson Reed, who goes after Cody right away and then double clotheslines both Cody and Balor. Impressive strength spot as Bronson presses both Cody and Balor over his head into a Samoan Drop. The crowd boos Bronson as he eliminates someone but then they cheer as Cody and Nakamura have a quick exchange.
#17 is Kofi Kingston who soon disappears into the background as Cody lands an inverted Cross Rhodes through the ropes to eliminate Nakamura.
Kofi eliminates Austin Theory as #18 GUNTHER enters the match. Dominik tries chopping GUNTHER but GUNTHER lariata him down. Anyone brave enough to cross GUNTHER gets chopped. GUNTHER has a short encounter with Cody, scoop slams Bronson and eliminates Kofi as #19 Ivar enters. He runs wild for a moment but then finds himself in a sleeper from GUNTHER. A “Meat” chant erupts as Bronson and ivar trade clotheslines and then it’s #20 Bron Breakker!
Bron runs wild and eliminates Jimmy Uso and Finn Balor. Then he stares down GUNTHER. The two men have a big power exchange and Bron wins
#21 Omos and he is titanic. Seriously, from way up here in the press box Omos TOWERS over everything. Omos chokeslams Dominik and then eiminates Bronson. Bron spears Ivar and eliminates him as #22 is Pat McAfee. He gets up from the announce desk and immediately realizes how screwed he is.
McAfee plays with the crowd for a minute before common sense compels him to eliminate himself. Then its #23, JD McDonagh.
#24 is R-Truth who tosses McDonagh into the ring so that he can be eliminated. Truth thinks this is a tag match and wants to tag Dominik. Dominik escapes a sleeper from GUNTHER and “tags” Truth. Truth does the You Can’t See Me, only for GUNTHER to boot him down.
#25 is The Miz who unloads with kicks on GUNTHER and lands a satellite DDT. Then he and Truth team up for a moment, only for Truth to align with Dominik. Dominik hits a 619 as #26 Damian Priest enters. Priest eliminates Truth right away and gets monster heat for it.
Priest runs wild and has an apron suplex exchange with Cody when #27 CM Punk enters and the place goes insane. Fans sing along with Punk’s music and soon the CM Punk chants drown out all other noise. Punk eliminates Dominik but then eats an elbow from Priest.
#28 is Ricochet, #29 is Drew McIntyre, and #30 is Sami Zayn.