Roman Reigns to defend title in fatal four-way match at WWE Royal Rumble


Roman Reigns will have three title challengers at the Royal Rumble.
WWE has announced that Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles in a fatal four-way match at the Royal Rumble. The match was made after Reigns disrupted a number one contender’s bout on SmackDown’s New Year’s Revolution episode.
Orton vs. Knight vs. Styles headlined tonight’s SmackDown. It was supposed to determine Reigns’ Royal Rumble challenger, but Reigns and The Bloodline interfered in the match and attacked all three competitors.
#TheBloodline just took an absolute classic away from us… 😡@WWERomanReigns, @WWESoloSikoa and Jimmy @WWEUsos doing what they do best: showing everybody who runs #SmackDown. 😤☝️#SmackDown: New Year's Revolution pic.twitter.com/yeXxgnY37g
— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2024
Reigns stood triumphant at the end of the show after The Bloodline laid out Orton, Knight, and Styles, but SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis informed Paul Heyman that Reigns will now have to defend his title in a fatal four-way match at the Rumble.
The Tribal Chief is NOT going to like this… 👀@RealNickAldis just informed @HeymanHustle that @WWERomanReigns will defend his Championship against @RandyOrton, @RealLAKnight and @AJStylesOrg in a Fatal 4-Way match at #RoyalRumble! #SmackDown: New Year's Revolution pic.twitter.com/v0r6BkygHu
— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2024
A power struggle between Reigns and Aldis has been building in recent weeks. Reigns wasn’t happy that Aldis made the Orton vs. Knight vs. Styles number one contender’s match without running the idea past him first.
Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida is hosting the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 27. Here’s the updated card for the event:
- Men’s Royal Rumble match
- Women’s Royal Rumble match
- Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles in a fatal four-way match
- United States Champion Logan Paul defends against Kevin Owens
