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The road to WrestleMania 39 officially starts Saturday night in the form of the 2023 Royal Rumble.
For 35 years, the Royal Rumble has been one of WWE's biggest and most important events, and the 2023 edition has a chance to be special because of the known participants and the surprises who could be part of the show as well.
As is always the case, the premium live event will be headlined by the 30-man and 30-woman Royal Rumble matches, with the winner of each contest earning a world title match at WrestleMania 39.
Additionally, two of WWE's biggest stars in Roman Reigns and Bianca Belair will put their titles on the line at the Rumble, while Bray Wyatt will also compete in his first televised match since returning to WWE in October.
Here is everything you need to know about when and where to watch the 2023 Royal Rumble, plus a rundown of the full match card and a breakdown of the event's biggest matches.
Where: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
When: Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. ET
Watch: Peaco*ck
Royal Rumble 2023 Match Card
- 30-Man Men's Royal Rumble Match
- 30-Woman Women's Royal Rumble Match
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
- Raw Women's Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
- Pitch Black Match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Royal Rumble 2023 Matches to Watch
Men's Royal Rumble Match
A star-studded field will compete in one of WWE's most prestigious matches at the Royal Rumble, but all eyes will be on the returning Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes has been out of action since early June after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, and while it was long assumed he would be back in time for the Rumble, WWE recently removed all doubt.
Rather than saving Rhodes for a surprise entrant, he announced ahead of time that he will be in the Rumble, which is normally a sign that a win is forthcoming.
Even if that does come to fruition, it will be an exciting match for fans in terms of seeing how Rhodes looks after several months on the shelf and seeing where he lands in the order of entry.
Aside from Rhodes, there are several other potential contenders in the match as well, including Bobby Lashley, Gunther, Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre and Rhodes' chief rival in Seth Rollins.
Additionally, there has been plenty of speculation about surprise entrants, including some of the biggest stars in WWE history, such as The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and John Cena.
WWE hasn't given any indication that any of them will be in the Rumble, but it at least seems possible, and that only serves to add to the intrigue of the men's Royal Rumble match.
Women's Royal Rumble Match
For the sixth time in WWE history, the women's Royal Rumble match will be held Saturday, and the 30 competitors will be vying for a Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship match at WrestleMania.
Many of the biggest names in the history of the WWE women's division have won a Rumble already, including Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and Ronda Rousey, and another name will be added to that list this weekend.
Perhaps by design, WWE has avoided announcing too many entrants for the women's Rumble compared to the men, which opens the door for a ton of potential surprises in the form of Superstars returning from injury, NXT Superstars, legends and debuts.
Of those who have been announced, Rhea Ripley has to be considered the odds-on favorite, as she has been on fire in recent months.
Ripley, who finished as the Rumble runner-up to Belair two years ago, has run roughshod over everyone in her path on Raw, women and men included.
Since WWE has yet to book a huge singles match between Ripley and Belair at a premium live event, doing it at WrestleMania 39 makes plenty of sense.
Of course, there are other potential contenders who should be in the match as well, including Lynch and Bayley, plus it is anyone's guess what tricks head of creative Triple H has up his sleeve.
WWE has a deep and talented roster of women and plenty of past stars to draw from, so this year's women's Rumble has a chance to be the best one yet.
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens
Although most of the focus will be on the Rumble matches, the WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens undoubtedly has show-stealing potential.
Reigns and Owens did battle in a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble a couple of years ago, and it was among the most entertaining bouts of the entire year.
This time around, the story is even more compelling because of the involvement of Sami Zayn, who is the Honorary Uce of The Bloodline, but also a longtime friend of Owens.
It seems likely that Zayn will have some level of involvement in the match, and if he does, he may be torn on who to help because of his close personal relationships with both Reigns and KO.
Zayn's actions could also lead to his ouster from The Bloodline, which would possibly set the stage for a match between Reigns and Zayn at Elimination Chamber next month—held in Zayn's hometown of Montreal.
Even without Zayn, Reigns vs. Owens is a great match between two Superstars who have shown in the past that they have considerable in-ring chemistry with one another.
What happens in the match could set the stage for WWE's main event scene on the road to WrestleMania and beyond, and that promises to make it a must-watch encounter.
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