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Roman Reigns is set to once again go to war against Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble

wwe12 January 2023 13:32
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The 36th annual Royal Rumble Premium Live Event is on the horizon with the traditional men's and women's Royal Rumble matches taking place on the same night. Winners of both the men's and women's matches receive a choice of which world championship to challenge for at WrestleMania 39.

The men can choose to challenge for either Raw's WWE Championship or SmackDown's Universal Championship—currently held and defended together as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship—while the women have their choice between the Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship.

ROMAN REIGNS VS KEVIN OWNES FOR THE UNDISPUTED UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Brace yourself for major disruption on The Island of Relevancy when Kevin Owens challenges Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. The longstanding rivalry between Reigns and Owens spawned an incredible series of brutal Universal Title showdowns over the past few years, including a Steel Cage Match, a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, and a Last Man Standing Match.

Now, KO has again found himself at odds with The Head of the Table and The Bloodline. He recently teamed with “The Greatest of All Time” John Cena to hand Reigns and Sami Zayn a tag team loss on the final SmackDown of 2022. Still seething over the defeat, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion accepted Owens’ challenge for a title matchup at Royal Rumble.

BIANCA BELAIR PUTS THE RAW WOMEN'S TITLE ON THE LINE AGAINST ALEXA BLISS

At Royal Rumble, a very dangerous Alexa Bliss will challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Title with the ominous Uncle Howdy lurking in the shadows.

In a hard-fought Raw Women's Championship Match pitting Belair against Bliss on Raw, the sudden appearance of several Uncle Howdy masks in the crowd caused The Goddess of WWE to completely snap. After taking out the referee, Bliss executed a brutal attack on The EST of WWE, smashing her on the steel steps and taking her out of action.

In the wake of the haunting onslaught, Bliss made it clear that the title was all but hers. She later insisted that the titleholder should not fear Bray Wyatt or Uncle Howdy but that Belair should fear her because she is the "face of evil." Despite doubts being cast on the situation by an emerging Uncle Howdy, Bliss maintained her focus when Belair returned from her injuries.

As the two irate Superstars brawled into the crowd, however, Uncle Howdy again made an appearance to drastically affect the melee and cast further doubt over whether he is actually the one in control.

BRAY WYATT TAKES ON LA KNIGHT IN A PITCH BLACK MATCH

At Royal Rumble, Bray Wyatt will battle LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match, as the mysterious Uncle Howdy continues to add fuel to the fire of the explosive conflict. A contentious conflict has grown between Wyatt and Knight ever since they first stood face-to-face backstage on SmackDown. The exact nature of that conflict, however, has been open to constant speculation.

Wyatt has insisted that he has not been responsible when Knight has been kidnaped, tormented or attacked backstage. Wyatt also claims he is in constant conflict to stop himself from being consumed with his dark past. The ominous Uncle Howdy suddenly appeared before the WWE Universe as both adversaries were in the ring together. This added more questions than answers, though, as it was unclear whether Wyatt was vindicated by the sudden turn of events.

Regardless of Uncle Howdy’s involvement, Knight emerged on the Dec. 30 edition of the blue brand as Wyatt was apologizing for snapping and attacking a cameraman the week prior with the goal of putting him out of his misery. After Bray aggressively accepted the challenge for a matchup at Royal Rumble and tensions quickly escalated, Uncle Howdy suddenly appeared and attacked Wyatt with Sister Abigail!

What will happen when Wyatt and Knight go head-to-head in a Pitch Black Match? Will Uncle Howdy play a role in the match?

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

The Road to WrestleMania begins at Royal Rumble, and the stakes are higher than ever heading into this year's Men's and Women's high-stakes Royal Rumble Match.

Each match will begin with just two Superstars in the ring. Every 90 seconds, a new Superstar enters the fray. Elimination only occurs when a Superstar has gone over the top rope and both feet have touched the floor. This continues until there is just one man left standing as the winner of the Royal Rumble Match.

And his prize? A guaranteed World Championship match when WrestleMania goes Hollywood on April 1 and 2.

The following Superstar has declared for this year's 30-Man Royal Rumble Match:

• Kofi Kingston

• Ricochet

• Bobby Lashley

• Seth "Freakin" Rollins

• Austin Theory

• Gunther

• Drew McIntyre

• Sheamus

• Omos

• Braun Strowman

• Baron Corbin

• Santos Escobar

• Rey Mysterio

The following Superstar has declared for this year's 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match:

• Liv Morgan

• Raquel Rodriguez

• Rhea Ripley

• Candice LeRae

• Shayna Baszler

• Zelina Vega

Which Superstars will join the free-for-all for a chance to earn a title matchup on The Grandest Stage of Them All?

Find out when Royal Rumble emanates live on Sunday 29 January on SuperSport.

Source: WWE

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