Has there been a Men’s Royal Rumble in recent memory with more plausible candidates to win than this one?
CM Punk is the betting favorite. Cody Rhodes could definitely grab the victory in order to help finish his story at WrestleMania. Gunther seems to have his sights set on a world title too.
What about Drew McIntyre? Or could The Rock make his arrival? There are a lot of options for WWE, which promises to make this Rumble a memorable one.
We’ll update this post throughout the match with interesting tidbits as they happen, plus we’ll have a table at the bottom to capture the most important things: who entered when and who ended up eliminating them.
Men’s Royal Rumble talking points:
- Jey Uso’s smile quickly left his face when he saw brother Jimmy announced at No. 2, the first time the two brothers have really been in the same ring for months
- Grayson Waller tries to have an episode of The Grayson Waller during the match, but Jey blasts him off the apron before he can even get in the ring, which then turns into an alliance between Waller and Jimmy
- Andrade made his WWE return, entering at No. 4
- Santos Escobar is happy to see Andrade and tries to give him a hug, but that fondness is not reciprocated
- After Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross eliminate each other, they start brawling on the outside, and their fight quickly grows to include AOP and the Street Profits
- Bron Breakker makes his first Rumble appearance, eliminating Jimmy Uso and Finn Balor shortly after entering
- Pat McAfee looks as surprised as anyone when his music hits, and while he climbs in the ring, he quickly eliminates himself after finding himself faced with Omos and Breakker
- When JD McDonagh is on his way to the ring, he gets destroyed by Breakker, who is angry over his own elimination
- R-Truth throws McDonagh into the ring, where he’s quickly thrown back out, and then waits for a tag before he enters the fray
- Seth Rollins is shown in a luxury box, as is Roman Reigns (not the same one), watching as we get to the final four: McIntyre, Gunther, Punk and Rhodes
Men’s Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations:
| Entry # | Wrestler | Order | Eliminated by | Time | Eliminations |
| 1 | Jey Uso | 23 | Gunther | 1 | |
| 2 | Jimmy Uso | 12 | Bron Breakker | 0 | |
| 3 | Grayson Waller | 1 | Carmelo Hayes | 0 | |
| 4 | Andrade | 8 | Bronson Reed | 0 | |
| 5 | Carmelo Hayes | 6 | Finn Balor | 1 | |
| 6 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 9 | Cody Rhodes | 0 | |
| 7 | Santos Escobar | 2 | Carlito | 0 | |
| 8 | Karrion Kross | 4 | Bobby Lashley | 1 | |
| 9 | Dominik Mysterio | 21 | CM Punk | 1 | |
| 10 | Carlito | 3 | Bobby Lashley | 1 | |
| 11 | Bobby Lashley | 5 | Karrion Kross | 2 | |
| 12 | Ludwig Kaiser | 10 | Kofi Kingston | 0 | |
| 13 | Austin Theory | 7 | Cody Rhodes | 0 | |
| 14 | Finn Balor | 13 | Bron Breakker | 1 | |
| 15 | Cody Rhodes | WINNER | 4 | ||
| 16 | Bronson Reed | 14 | Omos | 1 | |
| 17 | Kofi Kingston | 11 | Gunther | 1 | |
| 18 | Gunther | 28 | Cody Rhodes | 3 | |
| 19 | Ivar | 15 | Bron Breakker | 0 | |
| 20 | Bron Breakker | 18 | Dominik Mysterio | 4 | |
| 21 | Omos | 17 | Bron Breakker | 1 | |
| 22 | Pat McAfee | 16 | Himself | 1 | |
| 23 | JD McDonagh | 19 | Jey Uso | 0 | |
| 24 | R-Truth | 20 | Damian Priest | 0 | |
| 25 | The Miz | 22 | Gunther | 0 | |
| 26 | Damian Priest | 25 | Sami Zayn | 1 | |
| 27 | CM Punk | 29 | Cody Rhodes | 2 | |
| 28 | Ricochet | 24 | Drew McIntyre | 0 | |
| 29 | Drew McIntyre | 27 | CM Punk | 2 | |
| 30 | Sami Zayn | 26 | Drew McIntyre | 1 |