Tag: royal rumble 2018

Strowman vs. Kane winner to face Brock Lesnar at WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is hyping that Brock Lesnar’s next challenger will be decided on tonight’s episode of Raw.

A video that WWE put out this afternoon announced that Braun Strowman vs. Kane on Raw tonight is now a number one contender’s match, with the winner set to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Championship at next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Strowman and Kane have been feuding since TLC in October and have regularly faced each other at house shows since then.

The finish to Strowman vs. Kane at the house shows has been Kane getting disqualified minutes into the match, then Strowman fighting back and putting him through a table with a powerslam. Strowman previously lost to Lesnar in a Universal title match at No Mercy in September.

Dave Meltzer reported last month that WWE had changed their plans after Lesnar vs. Finn Balor was originally scheduled for the Royal Rumble, which will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 28th.

Lesnar has been advertised locally for next Monday’s Raw in Providence, Rhode Island, though WWE has yet to officially announce that he’ll be on the show.

After announcing last week that Roman Reigns would be facing Cesaro on Raw tonight, WWE has now also confirmed that Reigns’ Intercontinental Championship will be on the line in the match.

Dave Meltzer talks change in Royal Rumble main event plans on WOR

Posted on by F4W Staff

It doesn’t appear that Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor will be happening at the Royal Rumble.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio last night that Lesnar vs. Balor for the Universal Championship was originally scheduled for the pay-per-view, but WWE changed their plans yesterday as they decided to move away from that match. Meltzer mentioned that Vince McMahon thinking Balor wasn’t over enough to face Lesnar right now was one of the reasons behind the decision.

Meltzer also speculated that McMahon may have made up his mind prior to the official change of plans given how Balor was positioned in the men’s elimination tag match at Survivor Series. It isn’t clear who will be challenging for Lesnar’s title at the Royal Rumble at this point in time.

Balor lost to Samoa Joe by referee stoppage due to passing out in the Coquina Clutch on Monday’s episode of Raw. After defeating AJ Styles at TLC, Balor lost to Kane on Raw the next night and was laid out by him the following week. The idea was apparently to build Balor back up prior to the Royal Rumble.

Royal Rumble 2018 will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on January 28th. The challenger for either the Universal or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 will be decided then, with Roman Reigns tentatively scheduled to challenge for Lesnar’s title in New Orleans.

Subscribers can listen to last night’s WOR with Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez recapping Raw below:

Right click save

WWE bringing the Royal Rumble back to Philadelphia in 2018

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is bringing the Royal Rumble back to Philadelphia next year.

Though much of this week’s focus is on Sunday’s show at the Alamodome, Philly.com broke the news on Thursday morning that the 2018 Royal Rumble will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event will be held on January 28th of next year.

In addition to the Rumble, the arena will also host three other WWE shows that week, with NXT TakeOver taking place on Saturday, Raw on Monday, and SmackDown on Tuesday. Holding four straight nights of shows in the same city is WWE’s plan for their “big four” pay-per-views going forward.

“WWE has enjoyed a very special relationship with the city and its fans over decades, and that important heritage made Philadelphia a very natural choice to host this unprecedented four-night celebration,” WWE’s executive vice president of special events John Saboor told Philly.com. “Our decision to place next year’s Royal Rumble celebration in Philadelphia is truly another exciting and important step in the continued growth of WWE’s four largest annual events.”

Philadelphia was last home to the Rumble in 2015, where the fans were vocal in their opposition of Roman Reigns’ win in the main event. The city has been in the running to host WrestleMania in recent years, but lost out to New Orleans for 2018’s event.