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About a week from now, WWE will present the 37th edition of the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event from Tropicana Field in Florida.
The company has booked two matches for the event in the form of Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens for the United States Title, as well as Roman Reigns defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Fatal Four-Way against LA Knight, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles.
While more matches could be added to the card, there could also be some creative tweaks that we could witness on the night. Let us take a look at three things WWE must do before the 2024 Royal Rumble.
#3 The Beast returns to WWE
Brock Lesnar is one star who is sure to put his name in contention whenever an edition of Royal Rumble or WrestleMania comes around.
The Beast has not been seen in a WWE ring since SummerSlam last year, where he lost to Cody Rhodes in a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest.
With WWE looking to have the strongest lineup heading into the Royal Rumble on January 27th, it may be wise for them to have Brock return on Monday and declare himself for the high-stakes men's match.
During a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the company is looking to bring him back either early next week or at the PLE itself.
"At any time. Yes, maybe next week. I would think that [last night] would not be the week to have Brock Lesnar return, given that this might be one of the lower-rated shows, considering they went against the football game and the Emmy Awards. So if he's going to return for the Rumble, next week would be the week." Meltzer added: "I would presume that whatever angle he's going to do will be shot in the Rumble itself."
Brock is no stranger to the Royal Rumble as he is one of the few WWE Superstars who have won the marquee Battle Royal on more than one occasion, with his first coming in 2003 and the second more recently in 2022.
#2 Have Seth Rollins fit and firing
One of the biggest question marks after this week's RAW is around Seth Rollins' knee.
The World Heavyweight Champion picked up an injury this past Monday during his title match against Jinder Mahal, with The Visionary looking visibly in pain both during and after the contest.
Whilst the seriousness of the injury is not yet clear, Wrestling Observer Radio reported that he was due to have an MRI scan:
"I just know he’s getting an MRI," Meltzer added. "Then we'll find out. Basically, I was told that it could be something minor, it could be something worse. We won’t know until the MRI result comes back."
Earlier today, it was revealed that Rollins had been pulled from advertisements for the two live events this weekend, as well as Monday Night RAW. A fit Rollins is crucial to the success of the Royal Rumble, and the promotion will be sweating over it.
#1 Cody Rhodes' number
One of the most exciting segments set to take place on RAW next week is the face-off between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes.
The two former AEW stars are arguably the biggest favorites heading into the men's Royal Rumble match next week.
One development that may arise from their segment could be Cody's intention to start the Rumble match from number 1 to prove that he can win it from the start of the contest, as opposed to last year when he won the match from number 30.
In what was a career achievement for him last year, Cody Rhodes was asked by FOX’s Ryan Satin about how it felt to win the Royal Rumble match, to which he responded with the following:
"I love this audience and some people think it’s try-hard or fake emotions. This is a real story. I don’t know how I stumbled onto this. I have the privilege but also the burden of... I don’t play a character. I’m me and me was enough tonight… I popped my eardrum but I don’t care but gosh, just a wonderful Royal Rumble and like I said, the Rhodes don’t have any frame of reference on going to WrestleMania in terms of going on last in a big, big spot. So I’m proud to be able to say I’m the one to do it." [H/T Post Wrestling]
Given his strong desire to be the best, do not be surprised if Cody Rhodes picks the number one spot on RAW ahead of the Royal Rumble match.
