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EXPECTANCY ALREADY GROWING AROUND ROYAL RUMBLE 2024

We may still be enjoying all that 2023 has to offer, but Royal Rumble 2024 is already on the radar of many. Indeed, it’s already worth browsing through the online bookmakers list to see what odds the betting sites are offering and on who to win the huge WWE event. But what else do we know about the 2024 edition of one of the wrestling highlights of the year?

The dust has hardly settled on Royal Rumble 2023. Surprise appearances were made by Booker T, Edge and Youtuber and all-round celebrity fighter Logan Paul, with the latter lasting the longest in the ring and producing the viral video clip moment on the night with his mid-air collision with Ricochet. Paul’s eleven minutes far exceeded Edge’s one minute four seconds, while Booker T didn’t even make the minute mark after entering at number 21. Brock Lesnar was another late entrant but could hardly be considered a surprise.

Paul was undoubtedly one of the stars of the night, and may well feature again at Wrestlemania. Yet it was Cody Rhodes, coming in at number 30 who claimed victory, reaching the Final 4 alongside Paul, plus current WWE superstars Seth Rollins and GUNTHER. Rhodes may have earned the right to a world championship opportunity at Wrestlemania, but GUNTHER took a lot of the plaudits with his incredible feat of endurance. The Austrian fighter was in the ring for a staggering 62 minutes, beating the record for the longest time spent in the crazy surrounds of the Rumble. It certainly was a dramatic event.

But 2024 could be even bigger? With stars such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin rumored to appear in 2023, but then those cameos failing to materialize, could we see some star-studded appearances in 2024? Well, the event is already taking shape, and the futures markets on the best sports betting sites are already offering up odds. Unsurprisingly after his heroics last time out, GUNTHER is leading the odds race. Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins retained his heavyweight crown at Money in the Bank, and it’s therefore no surprise to see the fighter next in the list. Then comes Cody Jones, who of course will be attempting to retain his title. Surprise names on the futures list include Hollywood heavyweights The Rock and John Cena. That would be a sight to behold. But no Stone Cold?

And where will the event take place? WWE is in a great place at the moment with audience numbers breaking records – the recent Money in the Bank live event in London set firsts across the board. So it’s no surprise that a host of cities appear to be bidding for the Royal Rumble 2024. One of the early favorites is Orlando. The city has reportedly offered up an outdoor venue in the shape of the Camping World Stadium, with January 27 a mooted date. And it’s not hard to see why Orlando is hot on the event – with a potential live audience of 54,000 people plus a reported $28 million economic boost, the rewards for staging one of WWE’s showpiece events is evident. If the event was to take place in Florida, it would be the first time the Camping World Stadium has been on WWE hosting duties since 2017’s Wrestlemania 33. 

For WWE fans and followers, Orlando hosting makes perfect sense. It has become the de facto home of the sport in recent years with plenty of top WWE showpiece events taking place in the city and of course the high-profile WWE Performance Centre being located there. Indeed, if Orlando is to play host in 2024, it would be the third time the Royal Rumble has passed through, with the most recent event taking place there back in 2016. However, it would be the first Rumble at an outdoor stadium in the city, signifying WWE’s determination to take their events to even bigger venues. A positive sign of the health of the product. 

 

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