The 2023 Royal Rumble is set to be the most successful events domestically in the history of WWE.
As reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, approximately 20 million people were subscribed to the Peacock streaming platform at the end of 2022, which is the home of the WWE Network in the United States.
WWE Presents The 36th Royal Rumble Event on Saturday January 28th
With the number of subscribers more than doubling compared to the previous year, it is “a virtual lock” that more people in the USA will watch the Premium Live Event on January 28th than have watched any Rumble in the history of the event.
The current record is held by each of the 2 days of WrestleMania 38, which holds the accolade of the most watched WWE pay-per-view by Americans in the history of the company.
Despite a record almost guaranteed to be broken, the milestone is not set to last very long. In the same report, it is stated that both days of WrestleMania 39 in April will “almost surely” break any viewership record that is set by the January Premium Live Event.
The Royal Rumble is the beginning of the road to WrestleMania, which has generally seen an increase in viewership of the product from January to April. This is due to the build to WrestleMania taking place and the culmination of the NFL season on February 12th, as Monday Night Football is one of the biggest competitors for Raw on Monday nights.
Many watch the Rumble event with high anticipation due to the high likelihood of a surprise return or debut in the company. One shock debut may have already been spoiled, as a media partner of the company are heavily hinting at a new face appearing on TV in San Antonio.
The current card is as follows:
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match – Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens – Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss – Singles match for the Raw Women’s Championship