Every year, WWE kicks off the Road to WrestleMania with the Royal Rumble – and the 2022 edition is more unpredictable than ever.
The two flagship matches will always big the focus for the annual extravaganza, with 30 women and 30 men all battling to earn a world championship match at the Show of Shows in April.
Each match already has some shocking entrants confirmed, with the current IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts World Champion Mickie James making her sensational return less than a year after she was released by WWE.
Meanwhile, Jackass Forever star Johnny Knoxville is sure to bring some carnage to proceedings – but both bouts are sure to have more surprises planned.
The rest of the Rumble card is stacked too, with three huge title bouts featuring some of the biggest names on the roster, plus a massive mixed tag team bout featuring two Hall of Famers.
As ever, we’ve put together our regular guide with the full match card, streaming details and more.
Here’s everything you need to know about the show…
When is WWE Royal Rumble 2022?
WWE presents the Royal Rumble tonight (January 29) with all the action on the main card kicking off at 1am for fans in the UK.
How can you watch WWE Royal Rumble 2022?
Of course, there will be a Kickoff show available on the WWE Network, WWE.com, the WWE app, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch at midnight.
For fans in the UK, you can tune into the main Royal Rumble show by either streaming live or watching on demand via the WWE Network – or order the event via BT Sport Box Office.
WWE Royal Rumble full match card
- Men’s Royal Rumble: Austin Theory, Dominik Mysterio, Rey Mysterio, Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Sheamus, Madcap Moss, Happy Corbin, Kofi Kingston, Sami Zayn, Johnny Knoxville, Damian Priest, AJ Styles, Big E, Kevin Owens, Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Chad Gable, Otis, Riddle, Randy Orton, Omos, Ricochet, Rick Boogs, Shinsuke Nakamura
- Women’s Royal Rumble: Shotzi, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Shayna Baszler, Tamina, Mickie James, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Lita, Queen Zelina, Carmella, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Nikki A.S.H., Rhea Ripley, Naomi, Charlotte Flair, Liv Morgan, Sonya Deville, Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks
- Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop
- WWE Title: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
- Universal Title: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins
- Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz and Maryse
What can you expect from WWE Royal Rumble? Surprise entrants, title changes and more
The Royal Rumble is one of the most intriguing nights of the year for wrestling fans, kicking off the Road to WrestleMania while promising plenty of surprises and drama.
This year, more than ever, it’s hard to pick a winner for the two flagship matches, but out of the names already announced, we’re going to pick Kevin Owens and Bianca Belair.
Aside from the winners, we’ve got guaranteed surprise entrants, and in the men’s bout we’re hoping to see the likes of X-Pac and Gangrel join the fun alongside some NXT stars like Bron Breakker and LA Knight.
For the women’s match, the feeling is WWE must have something huge planned considering the legends they’ve already announced – including Mickie James, who holds the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts World Title.
While there are reports the company wants Ronda Rousey back in the fold, we’ve got our fingers crossed for the UK’s own Paige making a triumphant return from a career-ending injury just like Edge did in 2020.
It might seem unlikely, and we’ve not got the inside scoop there, but anything is possible.
Elsewhere, Edge and Beth Phoenix should beat The Miz and Maryse here, although there’s the possibility for shenanigans – and the title match between Doudrop and Becky Lynch is the easiest to predict, with The Man retaining the gold.
However, Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins are much tougher to figure out, with one of the two championships expected to change hands to let WWE build to Lesnar vs. Reigns for WrestleMania.
Put on the spot, we’re going to pick the All Mighty to dethrone Lesnar and Reigns to beat Rollins, but honestly this could go either way.
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