On the final RAW before the Royal Rumble, WWE builds up the hype for a fierce confrontation between the two top favorites
Which WWE star will punch their ticket to the main event of the 2024 Royal Rumble mega-show WrestleMania?
The traditional 30-man battle will take place on Saturday – on Tuesday night, the wrestling empire ramped up the hype for the popular event and highlighted the two favorites from the field of participants known so far: Cody Rhodes and CM Punk.
WWE RAW: Cody Rhodes and CM Punk in a face-off
Rhodes – last year’s Rumble winner – and Punk, freshly returned to WWE after around 10 years, engaged in an intense in-ring face-off on the Monday Night RAW TV show, where the two laid out their claims to victory.
In fact, there is much to suggest that one of the two is the designated winner: according to media reports, Punk is to face the World Champion at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia in April – who had previously announced on RAW that he wanted to fight his way through to WrestleMania despite the torn ligament he suffered last week. Rhodes appears to be heading for a rematch against Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who cheated him out of the Mania win last year.
The only X-factor in the equation would be an unannounced Rumble appearance by megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – who hinted at a generational clash with Reigns in a surprise appearance earlier this year.
Which entrant will triumph at the Royal Rumble 2024?
There was no sign of The Rock on Monday’s RAW, the attention belonged to Rhodes and Punk, who set the stage for the Rumble with sharp rhetorical attacks – and arguably a singles duel in the distant future.
Punk teased Rhodes with provocative references to the legacy of Cody’s late father, Dusty Rhodes, who had always cultivated his image as the “American Dream”, a working-class hero from humble beginnings.
As the son of an electrician who had worked his way up in wrestling without a family connection, he was actually more of an “American Dream” than Cody, Punk said.
Rhodes then turned the tables and said that Punk had been a revolutionary with his legendary “Pipe Bomb” in 2011 and had inspired many people, including himself. Then, however, Punk had simply turned his back on wrestling according to the “after me, the deluge” principle.
It was then Rhodes who picked up the ball and really changed the industry – an allusion, among other things, to the founding of WWE competitor AEW, which Rhodes helped found and from which Punk recently also left in disagreement: He, Rhodes, was ultimately the bigger revolutionary than Punk.
Austrian phenomenon Gunther also gets involved
Mutual threats followed: Punk explained that Rhodes had written a nice story since his WWE comeback in 2022, but unfortunately won’t complete it now: “A much bigger superstar is coming around the corner and he’s going to take it all away from you. And I’m talking about me.”
Rhodes replied with a quote from Western legend John Wayne: “True courage is being scared to death and getting in the saddle anyway.” Punk should only try to get in his way.
The Rumble takes place on Sunday night at the Tampa Bay Rays’ MLB stadium. In addition to Rhodes and Punk, the men’s announced participants include former champions Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, as well as Austrian phenom Gunther.
Intercontinental Champion Gunther – who last year set a record for the longest match time in Rumble history – also made a prominent appearance on RAW: He had a confrontation with World Champ Rollins at the beginning of the show when Rollins announced that he would not relinquish his title despite his injury.