Preview: WWE Royal Rumble, on January 30, 2022

Who will seize a chance at making history?

Fans of the WWE can gear up for another thrilling Pay-Per-View event, the Royal Rumble, which will be held at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri on the morning of Sunday 30 January 2022. SuperSport will air the event live and have a prime-time repeat later the same day.

The Royal Rumble is one of the most eagerly-anticipated Pay-Per-View events in WWE and marks the start of the countdown to WrestleMania, which will be held in early April in Texas. The two feature events will be the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches.

Based on the classic Battle Royal match in which 30 wrestlers (starting with two in-ring, and with a new entrant every 90 seconds) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor, the winner of each Royal Rumble match is the last competitor remaining after all others have been eliminated – they then earn a title match of their choosing at WrestleMania.

Generally title holders do not participate in the Royal Rumble, but WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair dropped a bombshell earlier this month by declaring that she would join the Rumble as a way to pick her own challenger for WrestleMania.

“I am going to be the first champion to win the Royal Rumble and pick the competitor of my choosing to main event WrestleMania,” said ‘The Queen’.

However, opponents such as Naomi, Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler will have very different ideas, as will returning Hall of Famers such as Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Mickie James and Lita.

One the Men’s side, the likes of Sheamus, Austin Theory and Rey Mysterio will be dark horses to watch out for, as will actor and stunt performer Johnny Knoxville – will his entry into the Royal Rumble be merely a stunt, or will the ‘Jackass’ star ruffle some feathers in the ring?

The Rumble matches are not the only events for this Pay-Per-View, which will also feature a WWE Championship match between new title holder Brock Lesnar and former champion Bobby Lashley – for what will surely be a meeting of two of the most powerful superstars in WWE history – as well as a rare ‘mixed’ tag-team clash, as the husband-and-wife pairings of Edge & Beth Phoenix and The Miz & Maryse look to settle their feud once and for all.

In addition, Becky Lynch will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Doudrop and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins will look to end the long tenure of former friend Roman Reigns at the WWE Universal Champion.

Now GOtv viewers can also enjoy some world-class WWE action every Wednesday evening on SuperSport GOtv Select3, with a past Pay-Per-View (17:00 CAT), WWE 205 (21:00 CAT) and a documentary (21:30 CAT).

Don’t miss out on all the WWE content on DStv. Visit DStv to subscribe or upgrade, and join in on the excitement. And while you’re on the move, you can stream the action on the DStv app.

Royal Rumble confirmed matches

– Men’s Royal Rumble Match (30 competitors)

– Women’s Royal Rumble Match (30 competitors)

– Brock Lesnar v Bobby Lashley – Singles Match for the WWE Championship

– Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins – Singles Match for the WWE Universal Championship

– Becky Lynch v Doudrop – Singles Match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

– Edge and Beth Phoenix v The Miz and Maryse – Mixed Tag-Team Match

Royal Rumble broadcast details

All times CAT

Sunday 30 January

02:00: Kick-off Show – LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3, SuperSport Maximo 2 and WWE Channel 128

03:00: WWE Royal Rumble – LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3, SuperSport Maximo 2 and WWE Channel 128