Top WWE champion still favored to win 2024 Royal Rumble; plans "not changed" - Reports
The latest reports suggest that WWE is determined to make the current top champion the winner of the 2024 Royal Rumble event.
The star in question is the Intercontinental Champion Gunther. At the 2023 Royal Rumble event, The Ring General broke the record for the longest time spent in a Rumble match and was moments away from capitalizing over Cody Rhodes but remained unsuccessful.
Recently, the 36-year-old star also became the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, leaving The Honky Tonk Man's record behind. Given that The Ring General has been dominating on the main roster, reports from Sky Bet noted that he was considered the top pick to win next year's Royal Rumble match.
Behind Gunther, LA Knight and Cody Rhodes were favored as the next two superstars to win the 30-man rumble contest. Fans also highly wished for Knight to win the multi-man extravaganza.
However, according to the latest reports from Steve Carrier of Ringside News, a tenured member of the WWE creative team shared that plans for Royal Rumble have not been changed.
This, for the time being, indicates that the 40-year-old star isn't winning the 30-man contest, instead, Gunther has been chosen to come out at the top.
"The winner of the Rumble has been decided. And it hasn’t changed since the decision was made. And I’m not offering spoilers. But our plans have not changed." [H/T - RSN]
Where is the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble?
After the official merger of UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment, the latter announced the location, venue, and date of the first premium live event of 2024.
The Stamford-based promotion has announced that the 2024 edition of Royal Rumble will be held at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, on January 27. The above-mentioned arena is expected to hold 42,000+ wrestling fans.
The following Monday Night RAW (January 29) will also be broadcast live from Amalie Arena in Tampa.
In WWE, anything can happen at the last minute, and with Vince McMahon's potentially making changes on RAW, fans should expect a surprising turn of events. It remains to be seen if Gunther will win the 2024 Royal Rumble.
Do you think The Ring General will win the Royal Rumble next year? Sound off in the comments section below.