Royal Rumble 2023

Royal Rumble 2023 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the Raw, SmackDown and NXT brands. It took place on January 28, 2023 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It was the thirty-sixth event under the Royal Rumble chronology. The event aired on pay-per-view worldwide, along with being streamed on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network internationally.

Production

Background

First held in 1988, the Royal Rumble is one of WWE's biggest annual events, a part of the "Big Five" alongside WrestleMania, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. Each Royal Rumble event features the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which thirty competitors enter the fray at timed intervals. Participants are eliminated when they are thrown over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. A Royal Rumble match is held for both the male and female rosters, with the winner selecting a championship of their choosing to challenge for at WrestleMania 39.

On September 7, 2022, WWE announced that the thirty-sixth Royal Rumble event would take place on January 28, 2023, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Tickets for the event went on sale later that month on September 30.

Storylines

After a feud between Bray Wyatt and LA Knight had been taking place for a number of weeks, advertisements about a "Pitch Black Match" sponsored by Mountain Dew appeared on WWE's YouTube channel. On the December 30, 2022 episode of SmackDown, following weeks of attacks on Knight that Wyatt denied carrying out, Knight challenged him to a match at the Royal Rumble, which was accepted by Wyatt. Later, it was revealed the two would face off in a Pitch Black Match. Commentator Michael Cole revealed the following week that the only known stipulations of the Pitch Black Match were anything goes with victory being achieved through pinfall or submission.

On the January 2, 2023 episode of Raw, Bianca Belair defended the Raw Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. However, after seeing a figure donning an Uncle Howdy mask, Bliss snapped, attacking the referee before turning her attention to Belair. Bliss would then DDT Belair onto the steel steps twice, busting her open. Two weeks later, Belair returned, declaring she would face Bliss again and again. This brought out Bliss, who mentioned the Royal Rumble Match. Belair would interrupt, announcing that Bliss could face her for the title at the event, which Bliss accepted. Later that night, the match was made official.

In late 2020 and early 2021, Kevin Owens feuded with Universal Champion Roman Reigns, however, Owens would fail to win the title due to frequent interference from members of The Bloodline. Owens and Reigns would have their last singles encounter at the 2021 Royal Rumble, where Reigns would beat Owens in a Last Man Standing Match. On November 26, 2022, at Survivor Series, Owens was a part of the team facing off with The Bloodline in the WarGames Match. The Bloodline would emerge victorious after Sami Zayn attacked Owens, his former friend, in order to prove his loyalty to The Bloodline. Owens continued his encounters with The Bloodline, teaming up with John Cena on the December 30 episode of SmackDown to defeat Reigns and Zayn. The following week, Owens challenged Reigns to a match at the Royal Rumble. It was later confirmed that Reigns would defend the WWE Championship and Universal Championship against Owens at the event.

Match Preview

Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight	Preview
Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss	Preview
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens	Preview
30 Woman Royal Rumble match	Preview
30 Man Royal Rumble match	Preview

Results

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
(c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.

Cody Rhodes won the Men's Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 39 (71:42)
Bray Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match (5:05)
Bianca Belair (c) defeated Alexa Bliss to retain the WWE Raw Women's Championship (7:35)
Rhea Ripley won the Women's Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 39 (61:03)
Roman Reigns (c) (w/Paul Heyman & Sami Zayn) defeated Kevin Owens to retain the WWE Championship & WWE Universal Championship (19:15)

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations (Women)

Brand

– Raw

– SmackDown

– NXT

– Free agent

– Legend

– Winner

Draw	Entrant	Brand/ Status	Order	Eliminated by	Time	Elimination(s)
1	Rhea Ripley	Raw	-	Winner	1:01:08	7
02\!2	Liv Morgan	SmackDown	29	Rhea Ripley	1:01:07	3
03\!3	Dana Brooke	Raw	2	Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY	11:43	0
04\!4	Emma	SmackDown	3	Dakota Kai	10:12	0
05\!5	Shayna Baszler	SmackDown	6	Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY	13:28	0
06\!6	Bayley	Raw	13	Liv Morgan	27:09	5
07\!7	B-FAB	SmackDown	1	Rhea Ripley	0:36	0
08\!8	Roxanne Perez	NXT	4	Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY	4:34	0
09\!9	Dakota Kai	Raw	10	Becky Lynch	22:20	5
10\!10	IYO SKY	Raw	11	Becky Lynch	20:49	5
11\!11	Natalya	SmackDown	5	Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY	3:08	0
12\!12	Candice LeRae	Raw	7	IYO SKY	5:11	0
13\!13	Zoey Stark	NXT	16	Sonya Deville	26:34	0
14\!14	Xia Li	SmackDown	14	Zelina Vega	15:30	0
15\!15	Becky Lynch	Raw	12	Bayley	10:45	2
16\!16	Tegan Nox	SmackDown	8	Asuka	3:41	0
17\!17	Asuka	Raw	28	Rhea Ripley	33:15	3
18\!18	Piper Niven	Raw	25	Raquel Rodriguez	28:05	2
19\!19	Tamina	Raw	15	Michelle McCool	11:58	0
20\!20	Chelsea Green	Free agent	9	Rhea Ripley	0:05	0
21\!21	Zelina Vega	SmackDown	17	Lacey Evans	11:30	1
22\!22	Raquel Rodriguez	SmackDown	26	Rhea Ripley	20:40	3
23\!23	Mia Yim	Raw	24	Piper Niven	17:44	2
24\!24	Lacey Evans	SmackDown	20	Raquel Rodriguez	14:05	2
25\!25	Michelle McCool	Free agent	22	Rhea Ripley	13:53	2
26\!26	Indi Hartwell	NXT	18	Sonya Deville	4:51	0
27\!27	Sonya Deville	SmackDown	21	Asuka	10:17	3
28\!28	Shotzi	SmackDown	23	Mia Yim	8:39	1
29\!29	Nikki Cross	Raw	27	Liv Morgan	9:16	1
30\!30	Nia Jax	Free agent	19	Asuka, Lacey Evans, Liv Morgan, Mia Yim, Michelle McCool, Nikki Cross, Piper Niven, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi & Sonya Deville	1:57	0

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations (Men)