The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event that takes place every year on the WWE network. The winner of the rumble match gets to fight for their desired championship title, so it’s important to win this match if you want your career to continue.
In 2017 there were 27 participants in the royal rumble including 5 women and 20 men. The first participant was announced at number one and they were followed by two more numbers until all twenty-seven participants have been revealed. There are some surprise entrants too with Kurt Angle making his return after thirteen years away from Wrestling as well as Rey Mysterio who hasn’t wrestled since 2010 due to injury but has now recovered fully enough for this big challenge. Here’s what we know about each participant so far.
History of the Royal Rumble
The match was first introduced in 1988 and only featured 20 people in the ring at once with a number displayed above each wrestler’s head. The wrestlers were eliminated when they were thrown over the top rope and both feet hit the floor. The same rules apply today, but 28 people are now allowed to compete at one time.
The Royal Rumble winner in 2017 is most likely to fight for a championship at WrestleMania 33. The prize includes a title opportunity against the champion of their choice, whether it’s the world heavyweight championship, intercontinental championship or WWE universal championship.
2017 Participants:
Roman Reigns – Universal Champion who cheated to win the title. The fans are not happy with him and neither is the chairman, Vince McMahon.
Sami Zayn – A well-loved underdog who always fights for good and always manages to come up short.
Finn Balor – Former Universal Champion who was forced to vacate his title due to injury. He has worked hard and has finally made a full recovery, returning like a phoenix from the flames.
Rusev (with Lana) – A power couple who came into the WWE together and are now married with child. They recently started their own wrestling promotion called RusPro which has already had over 100,000 downloads on itunes.
Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper) – Another wrestler who came into the WWE via Tough Enough, he is known for his long hair and very strange movements that come out of nowhere such as getting superkicked in the face while upside down. He also has a lot of siblings but none of them are wrestlers.
Baron Corbin – Started off his career in TNA but was fired after failing to show up for work, leading him to join WWE where he became successful through winning Money in The Bank at WrestleMania 33.
Goldberg – One of the most successful wrestlers in WCW history as well as WWE and now holds the record for the number of wins in a royal rumble match, 5 to be exact.
Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) – Universal Champion who cheats and attacks his opponents without a fair fight, a typical heel in the industry.
The Miz (with Maryse) – A former WWE Champion who has been around since 2006 when he joined the company from Tough Enough. He is known for his controversial personality and involvement with WWE’s version of ‘Total Divas’.
Samoa Joe – A former TNA wrestler who had a fight with Brock Lesnar on Monday Night RAW and he enjoyed it so much that the WWE signed him straight away.
Big E (with Kofi Kingston) – A member of New Day along with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, they have been together for over three years now and are just as loved by the fans.
Randy Orton – A WWE veteran who has been around since 2002, he is a nine-time world champion and was recently made into one of Vince McMahon’s kayfabe “stooges” along with Triple H. Despite his family being in the industry for generations, he only joined because his father was one of the top wrestlers.
Cesaro (with Sheamus) – Despite being two years older than him, he has worked with Cesaro since 2010 after they formed a tag team called The Real Americans together. They are now both successful singles competitors but are still friends outside of work and continue to support each other.
Big Show – Second-generation pro wrestler who was once a bodyguard for Snoop Dogg and a former world champion. He has been around since 1995 and is currently working with Big Cass as a tag team called The Bar.
John Cena – Iconic WWE wrestler who started off wrestling in the indie circuit which led him to be signed by the WWE in 2001 at age 23. He is known as a face who has won the WWE Championship an astonishing 12 times.
AJ Styles – A former TNA wrestler who came into WWE last year during the 2016 Royal Rumble where he eliminated the company’s longest running world champion, Triple H. He used to be called The Phenomenal One but now goes by his real name in WWE.
Chris Jericho – One of the top five wrestlers who has been in this industry for over 20 years, he is known as a heel because he likes to mock his opponents when they are down and celebrate when they are in danger of being eliminated. He began wrestling when he was 19 but absolutely hated it at first.
The Undertaker – Former WWE Champion and record holder for the most WrestleMania wins. He is known as a heel due to his cryptic persona and weird movements such as suddenly disappearing at Survivor Series or randomly appearing in the ring after being buried alive.
Shinsuke Nakamura – A Japanese wrestler who is known as a heel because he likes to use underhanded tactics such as kicking people when they aren’t looking or locking them into submission holds for a very long time. He has been with WWE since 2016 and was eliminated in this year’s Royal Rumble after being the first person to be eliminated.
The winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble
Roman Reigns is the winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble after the other competitors were all eliminated. He is known as a face because he gets a lot of support from the fans. He will be able to fight for any championship title at WrestleMania 34.
The winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble match, Roman Reigns, has won a chance to fight for any championship title at WrestleMania 34. However many other wrestlers like John Cena and The Undertaker should also be fighting for their first ever WWE Championship or Universal Championship
