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On Saturday, World Wrestling Entertainment will hold one of its largest premium live events, the 2025 Royal Rumble, at downtown’s Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be the first time in the event’s 37-year history that the Royal Rumble has been held in Indianapolis.
The Royal Rumble is the first of several major WWE events heading to Indianapolis as part of an agreement with Indiana Sports Corp. In future years, WWE fans will be able to see WrestleMania and Summerslam in Indianapolis.
This week features numerous ancillary events and activities ahead of Saturday night’s main event, including WWE Smackdown, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
But the main attraction is the popular Royal Rumble match, set for 6 p.m. Saturday. But what exactly is the Royal Rumble, and what can fans expect this year?
How important is the Royal Rumble event?
The Royal Rumble is one of WWE’s flagship premium live events. Debuting in 1988, it is WWE’s third-longest running event, behind only Wrestlemania and Survivor Series. It is one of the company’s most popular shows, and WWE considers it the beginning of the “Road to Wrestlemania.”
Indianapolis has hosted numerous WWE television shows and premium live events over the last 30-plus years, but those events were always held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse or the former Market Square Arena. This year’s Royal Rumble is only the second WWE show to be held in an Indianapolis football stadium. The first was Wrestlemania 8 at the Hoosier Dome in 1992 in front of 62,000 fans.
Why is this year’s Royal Rumble taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium?
For the majority of its history, the Royal Rumble has been held in smaller arenas similar in size to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. However, with the exception of 2021 during the pandemic, the Royal Rumble has been held in larger venues—either NFL stadiums or Major League Baseball parks—since 2019. The event was also held in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas in 1997 and 2017.
How many people are expected at this year’s event?
As many as 65,000 people will be in attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium. That would make this year’s show the most-attended Royal Rumble in history ahead of the the 1997 event at the Alamodome, which had just over 60,000 fans.
How does the Royal Rumble match work?
The match is a variant of a traditional over-the-top-rope battle royal. There are two Royal Rumble matches—one for the men’s roster and one for the women.
Each match features 30 wrestlers. The match will start with two wrestlers, and a new wrestler will enter the match after a two-minute interval—with the fans in attendance getting into the act by counting down from 10 to the next entry.
A wrestler is eliminated by being thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor. The last person standing wins the match and earns a championship match at Wrestlemania, which this year takes place in Las Vegas.
Who is in this year’s Royal Rumble?
Each year, the Royal Rumble match features a combination of current wrestlers, returning wrestlers, and legends from years past. Only a handful of wrestlers, male and female, have been announced as competitors in this year’s matches.
The wrestlers in the men’s match announced thus far are: John Cena, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura.
The women’s match features the following wrestlers announced to date: Bayley, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair.
What are the origins of the Royal Rumble?
The concept of the Royal Rumble match was created in the late 1980s by WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, who at the time was a close adviser to then-WWE owner Vince McMahon. The idea was pitched to former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol, who was hosting a WWE special on the USA Network and wanted a unique match for the show.
Patterson spoke about the creation of the event in a 2003 interview on the WWE Confidential show.
Has the Royal Rumble match always featured 30 wrestlers?
No. The first Royal Rumble had 20 wrestlers participating. In 2011, the match featured 40 wrestlers, and in April 2018, WWE held a special event called the “Greatest Royal Rumble” that took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and featured 50 wrestlers.
Has anyone from Indiana ever won the Royal Rumble match?
No, but several Indiana natives have competed in the Royal Rumble. They include the Ultimate Warrior (Crawfordsville), Mick Foley (Bloomington), Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. (Hammond), and Ruby Riott (Lafayette).
Have any wrestlers won multiple Royal Rumble matches?
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the only person to win three Royal Rumbles (1997, 1998, 2001). Others have won the event twice: Hulk Hogan (1990, 1991), Shawn Michaels, (1995, 1996), Triple H (2002, 2016), Brock Lesnar (2003, 2022), Batista (2005, 2014), John Cena (2008, 2013), Randy Orton (2009, 2017), Edge (2010, 2021), and Cody Rhodes (2023, 2024).
Only Hogan, Michaels, Austin and Rhodes have won the match in back-to-back years.
What other matches are taking place at this year’s Royal Rumble?
The Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, will defend his championship against Kevin Owens in a Ladder Match, where one must climb a ladder to retrieve the championship belt, which will be suspended above the ring.
Also, the WWE Tag Team Championship will be on the line as the champions, DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) will defend against the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley).
Are tickets to the Royal Rumble still available?
Yes. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.
Where can I watch the Royal Rumble if I don’t have tickets?
WWE streams all of its premium live events, including the Royal Rumble on Peacock. The show is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
As the countdown to the Royal Rumble in Indy continues, you can check out the highlights from last year’s show here.
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