WWE Royal Rumble 2023: Everything you need to know

The WWE Royal Rumble has a beautiful simplicity to it with the two battle royals the feature of the night.

The Undisputed Universal Championship will be defended on the show as will the Raw Women’s Championship.

What to expect from the Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble starts at 02:00 on Sunday 29 January 2023 and will be broadcast live on DStv’s WWE channel and Supersport.

Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight (Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match)

Bray Wyatt will face LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match at the Royal Rumble, as the mysterious Uncle Howdy continues to add fuel to the flames of the explosive dispute.

Since their first meeting backstage on SmackDown, Wyatt and Knight have been embroiled in a bitter feud. However, the precise nature of that struggle has been a source of persistent discussion.

Wyatt has argued that he is not at blame when Knight is kidnapped, tortured, or attacked backstage. Wyatt also states that he is constantly at odds with himself in order to keep himself from becoming overwhelmed by his dark history.

As both opponents were in the ring together, the frightening Uncle Howdy suddenly emerged in front of the WWE Universe. This raised more questions than answers, as it was unclear whether Wyatt had been vindicated by the unexpected change of events.

Regardless of Uncle Howdy’s involvement, Knight made an appearance on the Dec. 30 edition of the blue brand as Wyatt was apologizing for snapping and attacking a cameraman the week before in order to put him out of his misery. Uncle Howdy unexpectedly appeared and attacked Wyatt with Sister Abigail after Bray angrily accepted the offer for a bout at Royal Rumble!

Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair battles Alexa Bliss

A very dangerous Alexa Bliss will battle Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title at the Royal Rumble, with the terrifying Uncle Howdy lurking in the shadows.

The surprising emergence of multiple Uncle Howdy masks in the audience during a hard-fought Raw Women’s Championship Match between Belair against Bliss on Raw prompted The Goddess of WWE to utterly break. After taking out the referee, Bliss launched a vicious attack on WWE’s EST, bashing her on the steel steps and knocking her unconscious.

Bliss made it apparent after the eerie attack that the title was all but hers. She later argued that the titleholder should fear her rather than Bray Wyatt or Uncle Howdy since she is the “face of evil.” Despite an emerging Uncle Howdy’s reservations about the scenario, Bliss maintained her focus when Belair returned from her injuries. However, as the two enraged Superstars brawled into the audience, Uncle Howdy made another appearance to greatly impact the melee and raise further question on whether he is truly in control.

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Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Expect massive upheaval on The Island of Relevancy when Kevin Owens confronts Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.

Over the past few years, Reigns and Owens’ long-running rivalry has created a spectacular series of horrific Universal Title showdowns, including a Steel Cage Match, a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match, and a Last Man Standing Match.

Now, KO is at conflict with The Head of the Table and The Bloodline once more. On the final SmackDown of 2022, he partnered with “The Greatest of All Time,” John Cena, to defeat Reigns and Sami Zayn as a tag team.

Still enraged by his defeat, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion accepted Owens’ challenge for a title fight at the Royal Rumble.

Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble Matches

The Road to WrestleMania begins at Royal Rumble, and the stakes are bigger than ever in this year’s high-stakes Royal Rumble Matches for men and women.

Every match will start with only two Superstars in the ring. A new Superstar enters the fray every 90 seconds. Elimination comes only once a Superstar has crossed the top rope and both feet have touched the floor. This process is repeated until just one person remains as the Royal Rumble Match winner.

And what about the prize? When WrestleMania returns to Hollywood on April 1 and 2, there will be a guaranteed World Championship match.

Confirmed men’s Royal Rumble entrants

The following Superstars have declared for this year’s 30-Man Royal Rumble Match:

Cody Rhodes

Kofi Kingston

Ricochet

Bobby Lashley

Seth “Freakin” Rollins

Austin Theory

Gunther

Drew McIntyre

Sheamus

Omos

Braun Strowman

Baron Corbin

Santos Escobar

Rey Mysterio

Karrion Kross

Brock Lesnar

The Miz

Xavier Woods

Confirmed women’s Royal Rumble entrants

The following Superstars have declared for this year’s 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match:

Liv Morgan

Raquel Rodriguez

Rhea Ripley

Candice LeRae

Shayna Baszler 

Zelina Vega

Emma

Lacey Evans

Bayley

Dakota Kai

IYO SKY

Xia Li