This year’s Royal Rumble is right around the corner. The first WWE pay-per-view of the year, one of the Big Four, and a major, MAJOR stop on the Road To WrestleMania.
Not only that, but the January extravaganza plays host to not one, but two of the most exciting matches of the wrestling calendar, as 30 men and women enter their respective Rumble, matches to battle their way to a championship opportunity on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
This year’s Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, January 29th, 2022, and will emanate from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis – marking the largest venue to host the event in its illustrious 30+ year history. The “main show” will begin at 1 am in the UK. However, there will be a ‘Kickoff’ show beforehand, which will be shown for FREE on WWE’s YouTube channel, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
Who is in the 2022 Royal Rumble?
Men’s:
Johnny Knoxville was the first man to enter himself into the 2022 Royal Rumble match, posting on Instagram, Knoxville said that he wanted to start the new year off by “kicking ass and taking names.” He went on to explain that he would channel his wrestling heroes The Rock, Abdullah the Butcher and Gorilla Monsoon to give himself the best chance of victory.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio declared themselves as entrants on the January 3rd episode of Raw in a backstage promo.
The Street Profits entered themselves into the Royal Rumble on the January 3rd episode of Monday Night Raw before they went on to beat Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez in tag team competition.
Austin Theory was added into the match as a surprise by Vince McMahon, who told Theory that if he wins the Royal Rumble he can go all the way to WrestleMania and face the champion of his choosing. Vince McMahon has been mentoring Austin Theory in recent weeks.
Sheamus declared himself for the 2022 Royal Rumble on the January 7th episode of SmackDown whilst discussing Ridge Holland’s gruesome injury at the hands [knees] of Ricochet during WWE Day 1.
Damian Priest took to Twitter on January 10 to declare himself for the Royal Rumble, making the bold claim that he will walk out of WrestleMania with two championships as he is the current United States Champion.
AJ Styles entered himself into the match by posting a video to Twitter on January the 10th stating that he’s done everything there is to do in WWE except win the Royal Rumble.
Big E is amongst the bookmaker’s favourites to win the men’s Rumble and declared his entry on the 10th of January edition of Raw. The former WWE Champion will be hoping to carry his success of 2021 into the new year and add a Royal Rumble success to his bulging CV.
Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss made their announcement for the men’s Royal Rumble via social media. The scamps were in a good mood as they told jokes before declaring their entry into the showpiece match.
Sami Zayn will enter the 5th Royal Rumble match of his WWE career after declaring himself in on SmackDown. The former Intercontinental Champion will surely have his sights set on Jackass star Johnny Knoxville after performing in his own “InZayn” stunt show on SmackDown.
Kofi Kingston announced that he will be part of his thirteenth Royal Rumble match on SmackDown. The New Day star has become synonymous with the match over the years as Kingston seems to outdo himself on finding unique ways to avoid elimination.
Kevin Owens has announced that he will be entering the Royal Rumble for only the third time in his career. At the 2021 event, Owens was unsuccessful in his bid to dethrone Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Chad Gable & Otis are on a roll having captured the Raw Tag Team Championships from RK-Bro. Upon entering, the pair promised that the Alpha Academy would be represented in the main event of WrestleMania.
Women’s
On the Friday 7th of January edition of Friday Night SmackDown, 19 of the 30 competitors in the Women’s Royal Rumble were announced in a quickfire segment feature Charlotte Flair – alongside returning Hall of Famers Lita & The Bella Twins – fans were shocked to hear that current IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James would be making her sensational WWE return during the event.
- Rhea Ripley
- Nikki ASH
- Nikki Bella
- Brie Bella
- Shotzi
- Natalya
- Michelle McCool
- Dana Brooke
- Carmella
- Queen Zelina
- Mickie James
- Kelly Kelly
- Aliyah
- Summer Rae
- Naomi
- Lita
- Tamina
- Charlotte Flair
- Shayna Baszler
Liv Morgan & Bianca Belair both announced their entry into the Royal Rumble match in the opening segment of the January 17th episode of Raw. Belair said that she was going to win the Rumble for a second year in a row, before main eventing WrestleMania once again.
Sasha Banks made a surprise return from injury on the January 28th episode of SmackDown and declared that she is “ready to Rumble.”
Sonya DeVille entered herself into the Royal Rumble after suffering a loss to Naomi on the January 28th episode of SmackDown.
This list will be updated throughout January as more names are confirmed for the 2022 Royal Rumble.