WWE News - WWE unveils preliminary artwork for Royal Rumble

Royal Rumble will take place on 29th January 2017 in San Antonio, Texas
 

The introductory artwork for Royal Rumble has been revealed by the WWE, along with the announcement of travel packages that will be available on Tuesday. It was made official last week that the 30th annual Royal Rumble PPV will be held in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

This will mark the return of the January PPV to Alamodome for the first time in two decades. Royal Rumble is one of the company’s ‘Big Four’ events which is headlined by a 30-man Royal Rumble match. This show also serves as a kick-start to get the Road to Wrestlemania underway.

According to WrestlingInc.com, the winner of the Royal Rumble match will be entitled to a title opportunity for the championship in his respective brand with the brand split being in full-effect.

WWE’s official Twitter account tweeted out the event’s detail along with the image.

Since all the ‘Big Four’ pay-per-views are going to be dual-branded, this image includes performers from both the red and blue brand. Some of the RAW superstars included are ‘The Big Dog’ and current United States Champion Roman Reigns, ‘The Man’ Seth Rollins and the WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. They are joined by some of the premiere women competitors like Charlotte, Bayley and new RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks.

Representing Smackdown Live are veterans like John Cena and Randy Orton along with the ‘Eater of Worlds’ Bray Wyatt, ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ Dean Ambrose, Smackdown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles.

One of the more surprising inclusions in this picture is RAW newcomer and current Cruiserweight Champion, TJ Perkins. TJ Perkins was involved in the critically acclaimed Cruiserweight Classic series, which he went on to win defeating Gran Metalik in the finals thereby winning the Cruiserweight title.

A glaring exclusion that immediately springs to mind is that of the current WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz. ‘The Awesome One’ is one of the most marketable and well-presented stars in the WWE and has been for the past few years.

The return of his real-life Maryse to the WWE as his valet and winning the Intercontinental Champion back in April on RAW after Wrestlemania has given the former WWE Champion a new lease on life. Considering the way he has been featured and his standing within the company, it comes as a bit of a surprise that he is not amongst the prominent names on display. Especially when you consider that all the main roster title holders have found a place.

Now that the details have been confirmed, who is your early favourite to win the Royal Rumble match?

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