The 2024 Royal Rumble Reviews

Reverse Hipster's 2024 Royal Rumble Review

Women's Royal Rumble 8.6/10 B

The women had the best rumble of the night. They should have ended the night. Do you want to talk about surprises? They had Naomi returning home from Impact, lasting over 60 minutes and eliminating Becky Lynch. Jordynne Grace, the current Impact women's champion, showed up and looked like she belonged like she was made for WWE. Liv Morgan finally returned. Jade Cargill made her debut and absolutely dominated. She could not have looked any better in her debut. Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne came up and were killing it. Tiffany might have had the best performance in the Rumble, and she is still in NXT. Both NXT girls raised everyone's level.

Also, Bayley won the rumble from the three spots. She is long overdue, and it's not a legacy win, either. Bayley has the hottest woman's storyline in wrestling. Her group is turning on her slowly but surely, and now she has the opportunity to take the title from IYO in the main event of Wrestlemania. The Women's Rumble didn't have any legends, and it had some excellent moments with a satisfying but predictable winner. This was a rock-solid rumble.

Roman vs. Randy vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight 8/10 B-

This is a match that you will enjoy watching, but it is nothing special. The performers did well, but the match was essentially a SmackDown main event that went exactly how you would expect it to go. Even when Roman hit his final spear and won the match, it felt like the match ended early.

Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens 8.5/10 B

I did not care about this match going in, but it was terrific. This may offend some traditionalists, but Logan Paul is one of the best when he steps in between those ropes. He is always delivering quality matchups. He gave Ricochet his best match on the main roster and delivered the best Kevin Owens match I've seen since 2021. This match is knocked down a little by the fact that it ended in a DQ, but it's also helped by how WWE did it. Logan Paul pulled out the brass Knuckles, which are a super underrated weapon in WWE. However, Kevin Owens wrestled the Brass Knuckles away from Logan before he could get them on, and Kevin knocked him out with them. It looked like Kevin was going to win the match, but then before three, the ref noticed the Brass knuckles still on Kevin's hands, and Logan retained. What a match, what a finish, and now this feud is exciting.

The Men's Royal Rumble 8.4/ 10 B

The men's royal rumble didn't have any big surprises and was carried by most of the normal roster for the most part. The best performance in the rumble actually goes to NXT star Bron Breakker, who dominated and made it look easy. Also, we have learned that Bron got all the spots that Brock was going to get. The fact that Bron stepped into that role seamlessly speaks volumes about him. He's been ready for a call-up, which may be the catalyst.

The last few wrestlers in the Rumble were very deserving. Drew, Gunther, Cody, and Cm Punk all these men could have won, and I think people would have been happy. It came down to CM Punk, who entered 27th, and Cody, who entered at 15. CM Punk looked at first glance like he was lazing around tired and gassed, not contributing, but in actuality, he tore his triceps and finished the match to put on a good show. CM Punk is a warrior and team player because he lost to Cody, and even through injury, he put Cody over. Cody won his second rumble in a row and became one of the very few in history to do so. He shows in the ring and in the press conferences that he is the face of the company. WWE better crown him this year.

Rob’s Royal Rumble Review

Women’s Royal Rumble

I felt like the Women’s Royal Rumble needed to kick off with a bang and a big surprise. We got exactly that with the return of Naomi at number two. Naomi got an awesome and emotional response from the crowd, and I’m happy she’s back in WWE. Jordynne Grace came out at number five, and it was another cool surprise for wrestling fans who have paid attention to Grace in TNA. There were awesome performances to carry attention through the middle of the rumble, whether it was hilarious character work like Chelsea Green, stellar in-ring performances like Piper Niven, or intense near-saves like Kairi Sane.

The best story of the match was Damage CTRL. Bayley came out at three and mixed it up with nearly everyone on the roster. Asuka and Kairi Sane came out in the first half of the rumble, and they clearly were not on the same page. Asuka ignored Bayley’s high-five, and Bayley flinched any time Asuka and Sane moved toward her. Bayley expected more help from them, but they got eliminated before the final push and left her to again fight alone. The end of the rumble had a string of great surprises in Roxanne Perez, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, and Liv Morgan.

Cargill made one of the most impressive debuts we have ever seen, making it to the final three and displaying her power in elimination spots. Perez and Stratton didn’t look out of place at all, and I think Stratton really impressed anyone who hasn’t seen her yet. In the end, Bayley pulled off the win, and it was a predictable but great story of the match. In her press conference, Bayley said that they showed the depth of their division, and I couldn’t agree more. Across thirty women, the only one who isn’t signed to a WWE contract is Jordynne Grace, and every other superstar is an active competitor. To me, they proved that their roster deserves more opportunities and more time. I’m hoping Bayley can carry a story with Damage CTRL and earn the women a main-event spot at WrestleMania. 

Final Grade: 9/10 Amazing

Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)

This was a weird spot to put this on the card, in the comedown from a great Royal Rumble match. This match was heavily hurt by the fact that nobody believed Roman Reigns would lose here but saved by being one of his only multiman title defenses. There were awesome sequences, and everyone shined at some point in this match. Again, Reigns needed Solo Sikoa to save him, and in kayfabe, I can’t remember the last time Reigns won a match clearly. As a years-long champion, he should not need help every match. In the end, Sikoa’s help saved him from eating a pin, and Reigns found a way later in the match to pin Styles for the win. On we go to WrestleMania, and perhaps one of the only believable times Reigns may lose. 

Final Grade: 6/10 Above Average

Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)

These two had a surprisingly good match in-ring after a mediocre feud. Logan Paul again proved that he may be in the top 10% of current WWE stars in-ring. Paul proved he truly deserves the United States Championship. Kevin Owens was his typical resilient self, and he caught Paul trying to use brass knuckles before using them himself. The crowd went crazy, and I did at home too, as we believed Owens had pinned Paul, but at the last second, the referee caught the brass knuckles on Owens’s hand, DQ’ing him and declaring Paul the winner. It was a great execution of a DQ finish that made me want to see Paul get his comeuppance at a later date. 

Final Grade: 7/10 Good

Men’s Royal Rumble

The Men’s Royal Rumble started super intriguing, with Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso coming out 1 and 2. It was the first official confrontation of their feud that never was and still may be. Jimmy and Jey proved they deserved that match with the crowd's reaction and their in-ring work. The only real surprise throughout the rumble was Andrade’s return and Bron Breakker’s inclusion. Pat McAfee in the Rumble was horrible and ruined a spot between Omos and Breakker that could have been a moment of the night. R-Truth was hilarious, coming out at 24 after mistakenly doing the same in the Women’s Rumble earlier and throwing JD McDonough to the wolves because, remember, Truth kicked McDonough out of Judgment Day.

The final entrances of the rumble were terrible- as the final five included no surprises and minimal people that were credible winners. I was most excited to see CM Punk in this match and mix it up with stars we never thought he would. Instead, Punk was entirely forgettable. He looked gassed during most of this match, and he mostly wrestled people we could have seen him in-ring with ten years ago. The final four of Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Gunther, and Drew McIntyre meant anybody truly could have won. Rhodes and Punk had a good, long sequence as the final two where Rhodes won his second consecutive rumble and finally earned another chance to finish the story. While I wasn’t sold at the moment, Rhodes sold me during the Press Conference that he was the best-case realistic winner of the rumble. Rhodes is ready to be the face of the company, and he can sell any match with his skills on the mic. 

Final Grade: 6/10 Above Average

Rob's Final Thoughts

WWE Royal Rumble produced four solid matches and two Royal Rumble winners that are genuine and beloved by fans. At the same time, overarching predictability and lack of big rumble surprises really hindered the show and left me walking away feeling meh. Upon more reflection, there isn’t much that I can critique about the show. Just because something is predictable doesn’t make it inherently bad. It didn’t blow me away, but Royal Rumble was a fun show, worth the watch, and set a solid foundation for the road to WrestleMania. 

Overall Grade: 7/10 Good

Reverse Hipster's 2024 Royal Rumble Review Final Grade 83.7/100 B

Royal Rumble this year was very solid. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't incredible. It was solid. The Winners were solid, the rumble entrants were solid, and the amount of surprises was okay to solid. This was an enjoyable rumble, but it's probably not touching the greatest royal Rumbles.