Cody Rhodes, Bayley win epic Royal Rumble matches, earn WrestleMania shots

Cody Rhodes won his second consecutive men’s Royal Rumble match and Bayley won her first women’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday night and both competitors will get championship shots at WrestleMania.

Rhodes capped the night with a celebration. He was left with only CM Punk in the ring. The two went back and forth, giving it their all to see who would be able to go on and main event WrestleMania. Both competitors nailed each other with their finishers, but it was Rhodes who was able to get the upper hand.

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Cody Rhodes after winning the men’s Royal Rumble match at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Jan. 27, 2024. (Joe Camporeale-USA Today Sports)

He stood on the top rope, pointed to the WrestleMania 40 sign and then to the direction of WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns. It will likely be Reigns vs. Rhodes for the second straight WrestleMania.

Bayley picked up her first Royal Rumble victory. She lasted over an hour in the ring after she entered the match at No. 3. She eliminated seven competitors, including a returning Liv Morgan.

She then suggested on X that RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley would be in her sights.

“I beat @RheaRipley_WWE’s record, now I’m ready to beat her at #WrestleManiaXL,” she wrote.

Both the men’s and women’s Rumbles saw some epic returns.

Bayley celebrates after winning the women’s Royal Rumble match on Jan. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Joe Camporeale-USA Today Sports)

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Andrade returned to WWE after he was released in 2021. He had been with Luca Libre AAA Worldwide and All Elite Wrestling before making his return. Additionally, Omos and Sami Zayn were back in the ring. Pat McAfee entered the match for 38 seconds before he eliminated himself. And NXT stars Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes appeared too.

The women’s Rumble saw the returns of Morgan and Naomi – who had been with TNA Wrestling since last year. TNA Wrestling Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace made a surprise appearance. Jade Cargill made her WWE debut and NXT stars Roxanne Perez and Tiffany Stratton appeared in the match.

There were two other matches on the card as well.

Logan Paul defeated Kevin Owens via disqualification to retain the United States Championship. The referee caught Owens using brass knuckles to punch Paul and called the match. Owens then power-bombed Paul through the announce table.

Roman Reigns enters the arena for Royal Rumble at Tropicana Field on Jan. 27, 2024. (Joe Camporeale-USA Today Sports)

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Roman Reigns retained his championship in a fatal four-way match with A.J. Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton. Reigns has been the champion for more than 1,200 days and will walk into WrestleMania 40 as the champion. Reigns pinned Styles for the victory.

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