WWE Champion Declares Himself for the Men’s Royal Rumble on Monday Night Raw

The WWE Intercontinental Champion, Gunther, returned to WWE Raw after a few short weeks off. In doing so, the longest-reigning champion declared himself for the men’s Royal Rumble. Gunther claims he is sick of hearing everyone declare themselves part of the match and reminds them about what happened when he was in the Royal Rumble last year. Gunther made history entering at #1 and outlasting nearly every single competitor in the match besides Cody Rhodes who threw him over the ropes, walking out victorious for a title shot against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Although Gunther didn’t win, he did impress fans with his performance, earning the “Iron Man” title for lasting an hour in the match.

Several other WWE Superstars have declared themselves for the Rumble and have stated that they intend on winning no matter what it takes. Those men include CM Punk who will make his PLE in-ring return in an attempt to collect the thing he didn’t in his initial run with WWE: a WrestleMania main event. Punk has already made it clear to current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins that he may come after him. Since several other superstars have had a face-to-face with Rhodes ahead of the PLE, Punk has also requested to get in the ring with him. The man that many are talking about, Rhodes, is hell-bent on finishing the story that he couldn’t at last year’s event against Reigns, to win the big one and become the top guy of the company. 

Drew McIntyre also has a story he wants to finish, though, as when he won the World Championship it was during the COVID-19 pandemic with no fans. Former 2018 Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura was revealed as an entrant during WWE’s 2024 Preview Special on Peacock. Lashley, meanwhile, is determined to become the “All Mighty” once again, and that starts by winning the Royal Rumble.

Not only that, a fatal four-way has been set for the Royal Rumble with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Reigns who will compete against LA Knight, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles. With it being a multi-man match, Reigns wouldn’t need to be pinned in order to lose the titles meaning any of the other three can walk into WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia as champion. 

The road to WrestleMania begins with the 2024 Royal Rumble emanating from Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida on January 27.