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Royal Rumble (2019)

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Royal Rumble (2019)
Promotional poster featuring AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
205 Live
DateJanuary 27, 2019
CityPhoenix, Arizona
VenueChase Field
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
NXT TakeOver: Phoenix 		Next →
Elimination Chamber (2019)
Royal Rumble chronology
← Previous
Royal Rumble (2018) 		Next →
—

Royal Rumble (2019) is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands. It will take place on January 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] It will be the thirty-second event promoted under the Royal Rumble chronology.

Production

Background

As is tradition, the winner of the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches will earn a world championship match of their choosing at WrestleMania 35. The men will have their choice of either Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship, while the women can choose either the Raw Women's Championship or the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Storylines

The card will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands,[2][3] with storylines produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live,[4] and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.[5]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Fabulous Truth (Carmella and R-Truth) defeated Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal) to win the second season of Mixed Match Challenge. Their prize for winning was each getting the #30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble matches at the pay-per-view.[6] In the weeks following TLC, multiple wrestlers were announced for both Rumble matches.[7][8]

At Crown Jewel, Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to recapture the then vacant Universal Championship, thanks in part to then-Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin.[9] At TLC, Strowman defeated Corbin in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, thus stripping Corbin of his authoritative power and earning a Universal Championship match against Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.[6] On the January 14 episode of Raw, Corbin confronted Strowman and insulted him, leading to a chase to the parking area where Corbin hid in a limousine. Strowman shattered the glass and broke the door off, only for WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to appear, revealing that was his limo. McMahon then fined Strowman $100,000. Strowman then argued with McMahon, who then canceled his match with Lesnar. An angry Strowman proceeded to flip over then limo. Later that night, John Cena, Drew McIntyre, Corbin, and Finn Bálor expressed their interests in facing Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Mr. McMahon scheduled a fatal four-way match where the winner would face Lesnar, which Bálor won after defending his spot earlier in the night against Jinder Mahal.

At TLC, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship.[6] On the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, Styles earned another opportunity against Bryan at the Royal Rumble by defeating Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe in a fatal five-way match.[10]

At TLC, Asuka defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the SmackDown Women's Championship.[6] On Raw the following night, the McMahon Family (Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Triple H) announced that they would now be running both Raw and SmackDown and announced that former champions would no longer have automatic rematch clauses, meaning that Lynch would not automatically receive a rematch for the title and would instead have to earn one.[11][12] After pleading their cases to Triple H on the January 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, a triple threat match between Lynch, Flair, and Carmella was scheduled for the following week to determine Asuka's challenger at the Royal Rumble,[10] which was won by Lynch.[13]

On the TLC pre-show, Buddy Murphy retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander.[14] On the December 26, 2018 episode of 205 Live, General Manager Drake Maverick scheduled Murphy to defend the title at the Royal Rumble in a fatal four-way match with his opponents to be decided in qualifying matches.[15] The following week, Kalisto and Akira Tozawa qualified for the match by defeating Lio Rush and Drew Gulak, respectively.[16] Hideo Itami won the final spot by defeating Alexander.[17]

At TLC, Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax.[6] On the January 7, 2019 episode of Raw, Rousey appeared on Alexa Bliss' new show, "A Moment of Bliss", and mentioned that she wanted to face Sasha Banks next. Jax interrupted, stating that she wanted a rematch against Rousey. Banks came out, humbled by Rousey's comments, and challenged Jax to a match in which the winner would earn a championship opportunity. Banks then defeated Jax to earn a Raw Women's Championship match against Rousey at the Royal Rumble.[18]

At Crown Jewel, Shane McMahon won the WWE World Cup, replacing The Miz in the finals, who was deemed unable to compete due to a pre-match brawl.[9] Following this, The Miz began a pursuit to form a tag team with Shane, claiming that they could be the best tag team in the world. Shane finally agreed to the pairing, and on the January 8, 2019 episode of SmackDown, Miz challenged The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble, and The Bar accepted.[13]

Matches

No.Matches*Stipulations
12019 Men's Royal Rumble match30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 35[7]
22019 Women's Royal Rumble match30-woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 35[8]
3Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Finn BálorSingles match for the WWE Universal Championship[19]
4Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo ItamiFatal four-way match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship[20]
5Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ StylesSingles match for the WWE Championship[21]
6Asuka (c) vs. Becky LynchSingles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[22]
7Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Sasha BanksSingles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[23]
8The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) (c) vs. Shane McMahon and The MizTag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[24]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

Men's Royal Rumble match participants

20 of the 30 entrants have been announced as of December 19, 2024.

  – Raw
  – SmackDown
  – Free agent
Wrestler[7] Date Notes
R-Truth December 16, 2018 Won the Mixed Match Challenge tournament to enter the match at #30
Drew McIntyre December 17, 2018 Announced on Raw
Aired on tape delay on December 24, 2018
Big E December 29, 2018 Announced on SmackDown Live
Aired on tape delay on January 1, 2019
Kofi Kingston
Xavier Woods
Finn Bálor[Note 1] January 4, 2019 Announced on WWE's Twitter page
Seth Rollins Announced during a live event
Jeff Hardy January 5, 2019 Announced on WWE's Twitter page
Dean Ambrose January 6, 2019 Announced on WWE's Twitter page
Bobby Lashley Announced during a live event
Samoa Joe January 6, 2019 Announced on WWE's Twitter page
John Cena January 7, 2019 Announced on Raw
Elias January 7, 2019 Announced on Raw
Baron Corbin
Jinder Mahal
Apollo Crews Announced during a WWE.com exclusive backstage interview
Andrade "Cien" Almas January 7, 2019 Announced on Zelina Vega's Twitter page
Mustafa Ali January 8, 2019 Announced on his Twitter page
Rey Mysterio Announced on SmackDown Live
Kalisto January 14, 2019 Announced during a WWE.com

Women's Royal Rumble match participants

14 of the 30 entrants have been announced as of December 19, 2024.

  – Raw
  – SmackDown
Wrestler[8] Date Notes
Carmella December 16, 2018 Won the Mixed Match Challenge tournament to enter the match at #30
Ember Moon December 28, 2018 Announced on Raw
Aired on tape delay on December 31, 2018
Natalya
Bayley
Ruby Riott
Liv Morgan
Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks[Note 2]
Mandy Rose January 5, 2019 Announced on WWE's Twitter page
Sonya Deville
Alicia Fox January 7, 2019 Announced on Raw
Zelina Vega January 7, 2019 Announced on her Twitter page
Naomi January 8, 2019 Announced on SmackDown Live
Mickie James January 14, 2019 Announced on WWE.com
  1. ^ Though scheduled to face Brock Lesnar at the event for the WWE Universal Championship, Balor is still listed as an official participant in this match as well.
  2. ^ Though scheduled to face Ronda Rousey at the event for the WWE Raw Women's Championship, Banks is still listed as an official participant in this match as well.

References

  1. ^ "Royal Rumble tickets available now". WWE. October 11, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More - 411MANIA". 411mania.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE TLC live review: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs Asuka in a TLC match for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the IC Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Burdick, Michael. "2019 Men's Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Burdick, Michael. "2019 Women's Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Crown Jewel live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Undertaker and Kane vs. DX, World Cup tournament". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Powell, Jason. "1/1 Powell's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: Five-way match for a WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble, John Cena returns, New Day's New Year's Celebration". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  11. ^ Keller, Wade (December 17, 2018). "12/17 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Vince McMahon shaking things up, TLC fallout, Balor vs. Ziggler". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  12. ^ Keller, Wade (December 18, 2018). "12/18 WWE Smackdown Results: Keller's report on WWE TLC fallout, Asuka's title victory, Bryan's WWE Title reign continues, Becky responds to Ronda, Shane's pep talk". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Barnett, Jake (January 8, 2019). "1/8 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella for a shot at the Smackdown Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble, Sheamus and Cesaro vs. The Usos in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  14. ^ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE TLC 2018 Kickoff Show coverage". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  15. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "WWE 205 LIVE REPORT: LOOKING BACK AT 2018 AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  16. ^ Vishwakoti, Anish. "1/2 Anish V's WWE 205 Live TV Review: Lio Rush vs. Kalisto and Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak for spots in the four-way for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at the Royal Rumble". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  17. ^ Martin, Adam. "SPOILERS: WWE 205 Live tapings from Jacksonville to air January 9 on WWE Network". WrestleView. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  18. ^ Powell, Jason. "1/7 Powell's WWE Raw TV Review: First Raw of 2019 with Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and John Cena appearances, Hulk Hogan hosts a tribute to Gene Okerlund, Bobby Roode and Chad Gable vs. The Revival for the Raw Tag Titles, Alexa Bliss talkshow with Ronda Rousey". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  19. ^ Burdick, Michael. "Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman". WWE. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  20. ^ Powers, Kevin. "Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. TBD – WWE Cruiserweight Championship Fatal 4-Way Match". WWE. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  21. ^ Burdick, Michael. "WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles". WWE. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  22. ^ Staff, WWE.com. "SmackDown Women's Champion Asuka vs. Becky Lynch". WWE. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  23. ^ Burdick, Michael. "Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks". WWE. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  24. ^ Bristout, Ralph. "SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon". WWE. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
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