Another WrestleMania season is upon us. Before we get to the grandest stage of them all, there are a few pitstops. The first is this weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble. The Premium Live Event is one of the most-anticipated of the year. The thrills and uncertainty are what make this one of the greatest spectacles in all of professional wrestling.
The Rumble is built around two matches — one for the men and women of WWE — with 30 entrants each. While many superstars have declared, there’s still plenty of empty spots waiting to be taken. The 60 participants have one goal in mind: earn a title match at WrestleMania. This year is unlike the rest as it’s the first Rumble to take place overseas.
Find out the match card, where to watch, and all other important information below.
WWE Royal Rumble Matches
As explained above, this event is unique. Each Rumble match is roughly an hour long, so the cards are very short to account for them. There are only four matches total. AJ Styles is putting his wrestling career on the line against Gunther — a man who has retired both John Cena and Goldberg. It may very well be the final time we see Styles in the ring, so soak it in, folks.
Drew McIntyre is putting the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Sami Zayn. McIntyre won the title at SNME earlier this month, and this marks his first defense. Zayn won a No. 1 Contender’s match on WWE Raw to earn the opportunity.
Then there’s the Rumble matches themselves. Far more women have declared this year than the men, which is a bit surprising. Thus far the 17 women who have officially declared are: Jordynne Grace, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, Raquel Rodriguez, Roxanne Perez, IYO Sky, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Asuka, Chelsea Green, Giulia, and Maxxine Dupri. Another entrant may have already been spoiled on accident.
As for the men, the list is as follows: Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Bron Breakker, Gunther, Penta, Dragon Lee and Jey Uso.
There’s still plenty of room for some big appearances like the return of Tiffany Stratton, Bianca Belair, LA Knight, Seth Rollins, the debut of former AEW star Powerhouse Hobbs or maybe even Chris Jericho.
What time/where to watch
This year’s event is in Saudi Arabia on January 31st. The pre-show begins at 1:00 p.m. ET while the main show begins at 2:00 p.m. ET. Like all other WWE PLEs, it will stream on ESPN+ domestically and Netflix internationally.
Stay tuned to VICE for live updates throughout the Royal Rumble.
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