WWE Royal Rumble 2023
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 event was the first PLE/PPV event of the year from WWE. The 2023’s show was the 36th edition of the Royal Rumble series and took place on January 28, 2023, from Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.
As always, both men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches featured 30 of the best wrestlers in WWE battling it out in the ring. The winners earned a title shot at WrestleMania 39. This year’s event also featured two high-stakes championship matches. Roman Reigns defended Undisputed Universal Championship against Kevin Owens while Bianca Belair defended RAW Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss. Bray Wyatt faced LA Knight in a Pitch Black match.
Check below for complete details for WWE Royal Rumble 2023 with a match card, tickets, date, start time, and more details.
DATE
January 28, 2022
START TIME
Main Show: 8 PM ET, Pre-Show: 7 PM ET
LOCATION
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX, US
FIGHT CARD
30 Men Royal Rumble Match
Winner Gets World Title Shot at WrestleMania 39
The traditional men’s Royal Rumble match featured 30 participants as always. The winner earns a World Championship match at WrestleMania 39. The list of participants in the match is as below:
- Angelo Dawkins
- Austin Theory
- Baron Corbin
- Braun Strowman
- Bobby Lashley
- Booker T
- Brock Lesnar
- Chad Gable
- Cody Rhodes
- Damian Priest
- Drew McIntyre
- Dominik Mysterio
- Elias
- Edge
- Finn Balor
- Gunther
- Jonny Gargano
- Karrion Kross
- Kofi Kingston
- Logan Paul
- Montez Ford
- Omos
- Otis
- Rey Mysterio
- Ricochet
- Santos Escobar
- Seth Rollins
- Sheamus
- The Miz
- Xavier Woods
Winner- Cody Rhodes
Bray Wyatt vs LA Knight
Pitch Black Match
WWE announced The Pitch Black match which was a new gimmick match. Bray Wyatt took on LA Knight in this match as their feud continued. Wyatt and Knight first got involved in a backstage segment at a SmackDown episode in November where Knight enraged Wyatt enough to drop him with a headbutt backstage. The following week, Knight slapped Wyatt in the ring before Knight was mysteriously attacked by someone. Wyatt said that it was Uncle Howdy who attacked Knight.
Knight continued to blame Wyatt for attacks on him saying Wyatt himself is Uncle Howdy. However, on the December 16 episode of Smackdown, Uncle Howdy presented himself in front of both Wyatt and Knight. When Wyatt came out on December 30 SmackDown edition, Knight challenged Wyatt to a match. This match was later announced by WWE as the Pitch Black match.
Winner – Bray Wyatt
Bianca Belair(c) vs Alexa Bliss
Singles Match for RAW Women’s Championship
Bianca Beliar defended RAW Women’s Championship on January 2 episode against Alexa Bliss. Bliss snapped during the match when she saw Uncle Howdy masked man in the front row and later when Firefly Fun House logo flickered on the screen. Bliss dropped Bianca on the steel steps with a DDT. Bianca Belair replied to Bliss and offered her a rematch. Bliss says the match should be at Royal Rumble, to which Bianca agreed before starting a brawl with Bliss.
Winner: Bianca Belair
30 Women Royal Rumble Match
Winner Gets World Title Shot at WrestleMania 39
Same as men’s match, the women’s Royal Rumble match also featured 30 women from WWE with expectations with the winner earning a shot at either of RAW or SmackDown Women’s World Championships. The list of participants is as below:
- Asuka
- B-Fab
- Bayley
- Becky Lynch
- Candice Le Rae
- Chelsea Green
- Dakota Kai
- Dana Brooke
- Emma
- Indi Hartwell
- Iyo Sky
- Lacey Evans
- Liv Morgan
- Mia Yim “Michin”
- Michelle McCool
- Natalya
- Nia Jax
- Nikki Cross
- Piper Niven
- Raquel Rodriguez
- Rhea Ripley
- Roxanne Perez
- Shayna Baszler
- Sonya Deville
- Shotzi
- Tamina
- Tegan Nox
- Xia Li
- Zelina Vega
- Zoey Stark
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Roman Reigns(c) vs Kevin Owens
Singles Match for WWE Universal Championship
Kevin Owens resumed his rivalry with Roman Reigns when joined his opposition team in the WarGames match. Sami Zayn’s work in WarGames match helped The Bloodline win the match but Kevin Owens continue to target the Bloodline. Owens teamed up with John Cena to defeat Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn in a tag team match on December 30, 2022 episode of SmackDown. The following week, Roman blamed Sami for the loss but Owens interrupted him saying the problem here is not Sami but Owens himself. Owens challenged Roman to put his Universal Championship on the line at Royal Rumble. Roman agreed to the match.
Roman put Owens in a match against his former friend Sami on SmackDown January 13, which ended with a disqualification when The Usos and Solo Sikoa attacked Owens. A contract signing segment was set up on SmackDown January 20 episode of RAW for this match. But, Owens just ran through the crowd and hit Roman with a Stunner along with attacking The Usos and Solo Sikoa. Owens ran away into the crowd until Sami ran out to make the save. Roman held a Tribal Court For Sami Zayn on RAW January 23 episode, where Jey Uso helped Sami to get exonerated. Roman told him that Sami would face his final test at Royal Rumble.
Winner: Roman Reigns
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