The 38th edition of WWE's Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Unlike many previous years, the Rumble approaches with numerous potential winners that would make sense as WrestleMania headliners.
While there are only four matches set for Saturday's event, all four of them are intriguing in their own way, with the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches as well as two championship bouts.
Cody Rhodes and CM Punk are two of the biggest favorites for the men's Rumble. Both men are determined to finish their stories by winning a world title match in the main event of WrestleMania 40. But they aren't the only ones in the running. Intercontinental champion Gunther set the record for the longest time in a traditional Rumble match last year and looks to win the whole thing in 2024. Drew McIntyre has stepped up his game in recent months and Jimmy Uso looks to bring another world title to The Bloodline.
Bayley is a leading candidate to win the women's Rumble. Becky Lynch is always a safe choice for big matches. Speaking of big, the physically imposing Nia Jax has performed well above expectations since returning at last year's Rumble. Or perhaps a rumored surprise entrant, like Jade Cargill or Liv Morgan, could swipe the pass to WrestleMania.
It will be an exciting night of action as WrestleMania Season gets underway. Let's take a look at who the CBS Sports experts feel will emerge victorious when the Royal Rumble comes to Florida. The event streams live on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday with a kickoff show beginning one hour before.
2024 WWE Royal Rumble predictions
Men's Royal Rumble Match
As always, we enter the Rumble matches not knowing every participant in the match. We do, however, know who the most likely winners are, with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Gunther all emerging as the favorites in a deep field. While Rhodes winning, going on to WrestleMania and "finishing the story" by beating Roman Reigns makes sense, it's hard to imagine Punk not being the man pointing to the WrestleMania sign when the night ends. Punk's return was a massive headline and he's a natural WrestleMania headliner. One of Punk's biggest complaints about his first run with WWE was that he never got his "WrestleMania moment." WWE has a chance to correct that this year. CM Punk wins -- Brent Brookhouse (also Shakiel Mahjouri)
Women's Royal Rumble Match
Bayley feels like the right woman to get the win on Saturday. WWE has spent considerable time telling the story of Bayley slowly falling out with the group she founded, Damage CTRL. With Iyo Sky as WWE women's champion, Bayley could win the Rumble and choose to go after one of Damage CTRL's own, effectively splitting from the group and setting up a compelling story of her going against the entirety of her former stable. Bayley wins -- Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Undisputed WWE universal championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
There's not much question over whether Reigns will hold on to his title on Saturday. A reign as historic as his is not going to end in a somewhat random fatal four-way match just months before WrestleMania. The real question is, who will eat the pinfall? Given Styles and Orton have not been pay-per-view opponents for Reigns during his run as champion, it makes sense for them to remain fresh by not being pinned by the champion. Knight has already had his shot and came up short. It seems sensible for Reigns to retain his title by pinning Knight. Roman Reigns retains the title -- Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
United States championship -- Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens
This might be the hardest match to call on the card even if it can only go two ways. Saturday marks Paul's first U.S. title defense since cheating Rey Mysterio out of the title in November. Paul parading around with a WWE title is a fantastic way to market the product to Paul's large social media audience. It's also hard to imagine Paul will fall short in his first title defense. On the other hand, WWE is sorely in need of active singles champions. Reigns and Paul aren't regular television performers and world champion Seth Rollins is nursing a knee injury. It might be wise to give the title to a top fan-favorite superstar like Owens. Ultimately, it feels too soon to end Paul's reign. Expect him to win via shenanigans in preparation for another appearance at WrestleMania. Logan Paul retains the title -- Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
