How I Would Book: The 2023 Male and Female Royal Rumble Matches

Women’s Royal Rumble

The 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble starts with Liv Morgan and Dakota Kai coming out at number 1 and 2 respectively. Both women go for the early elimination before Xia Li comes out to help fellow heel Dakota. Tegan Nox is in at number 4 and she has history with all 3 women. After Dakota Kai is taken out, Morgan and Nox both hit their finishes onto Xia Li before they eliminate her. Scarlett is the next person to enter the Royal Rumble match before Emma comes out at 6. Emma goes straight after Scarlett (a person she’s feuded with recently) before former 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke enters the match. And then, the clock counts down to zero and the name “Piper Niven” pops up on the titantron. The former NXT UK Star (no longer called Doudrop) comes out and the crowd + the wrestlers in the ring look completely stunned. Niven comes in and dominates, eliminating: Tegan Nox, Scarlett, Emma and Dana Brooke. Liv Morgan and Dakota Kai both team up to try and take down Piper, but they get pushed away before Indi Hartwell comes in at number 9. Hartwell stands up to Niven, but she also gets laid out before Aliyah makes her in-ring return. Instead of going for Niven, Aliyah runs and takes out Dakota Kai (the person who put her on the shelf for months), but she too gets dropped by Niven. Tamina comes in at number 11 and we get a really cool face-off between the two heavyweights, but nothing that Tamina does affects Niven and she gets thrown over the top rope meaning Piper Niven has 5 eliminations. However, things are about to change.

As the clock counts down to zero, Raquel Rodriguez’s music hits. The former NXT Women’s Champion walks down to the ring and Niven’s eyes are fully locked in on her. This allows Aliyah to jump onto the back of Niven before Hartwell and Morgan grab onto her legs and Raquel Rodriguez delivers a big boot to send Niven crashing over the top rope (Aliyah held on to the ropes). Iyo Sky is the next woman to enter the Rumble and she works with her tag team partner Dakota Kai to eliminate Aliyah before Candice LeRae enters at number 14. Candice LeRae stands face to face with the Women’s Tag Team Champions before Indi Hartwell stands alongside her “mother”. The two teams battle it out inside the ring and Indi Hartwell ends up being the last one standing. However, this didn’t turn out great for Mrs. Lumis as Liv Morgan came from behind and threw her out for her first elimination of the night. Nikki Cross was the next person to enter the match and she went after Candice LeRae before Alba Fyre came out and we got a cool stare-off between two Scottish female wrestlers. “Michin” Mia Yim was in at 17 and she looked like she might be able to eliminate Dakota Kai before Iyo Sky made the save. Things then turned fully into Damage Control as Bayley came in at number 18 and she eliminated Mia Yim. Meanwhile, Candice LeRae was also able to get rid of Nikki Cross, but she too felt the wrath of Damage CTRL and she was eliminated as a result of it. We then heard the sound of an engine as Shotzi returns in her tank. She got in the ring and stood alongside Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan to face off against Damage CTRL. Raquel Rodriguez was able to get rid of Dakota Kai before Shotzi eliminated Iyo Sky. As Bayley realised she was in a 4-on-1 situation (including Alba Fyre), she rolled under the bottom rope and made her way down the entrance ramp. As this was going on, the clock hit zero and Becky Lynch’s music hit. Becky fought the Role Model back into the ring before she got hit with a right hand from Shotzi, a Chingona Bomb from Raquel, a Gory Bomb from Alba and the ObLIVion from Morgan before Becky Lynch hit the Man-Handle Slam and eliminated the Grand-Slam Champion.

Number 21 was Zoey Stark before Lacey Evans re-debuted at number 22. Lacey Evans showcased her new “vicious” side by eliminating Alba Fyre before Valhalla came in at number 23. Valhalla didn’t last long as she was eliminated by Raquel Rodriguez before Asuka made her return after over a month out. She stood toe-to-toe with Zoey Stark and both women engaged in a battle of strikes before the game changed when Rhea Ripley entered the Royal Rumble match. Ripley came in and made an instant impact, eliminating Zoey Stark and Shotzi. We then got ourselves a really cool stand-off as legendary female wrestler Meiko Satomura made her Royal Rumble debut and stared down Rhea Ripley. It got even cooler as Asuka booted Ripley in the back of the head and we got a stare-down between two of the most legendary Japanese female wrestlers in history. NXT’s Cora Jade came in at number 27 and whilst that happened, Becky Lynch eliminated Lacey Evans. Shayna Baszler was then in at number 28 and she managed to eliminate Meiko Satomura before Zelina Vega came in at number 29. Zelina was happy to stand outside and watch while everyone was fighting one another and Asuka wasn’t happy about this so she started to shout Japanese at her. This allowed Rhea Ripley to come from behind and chuck Asuka out of the Royal Rumble match. Zelina Vega laughed at Asuka and this caused the Empress of Tomorrow to snap as she wrecked Vega around the ringside area before she chucked her lifeless body back into the ring and Ripley picked up another elimination. Everyone then stood up in excitement for number 30 and that quickly changed when Ronda Rousey’s music hit.

Ronda Rousey came in and she managed to eliminate Cora Jade before her and Shayna Baszler worked together to eliminate Liv Morgan (who’d been in from number 1). This means that one of Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch and Raquel Rodriguez are going to the main event of WrestleMania. Becky Lynch and Raquel Rodriguez tried to work together to take out the three heels, but this didn’t work as it quickly became a 2-on-1 situation for Lynch against Baszler and Rousey. In the end, Becky managed to take Rousey down, but she was eliminated by Shayna Baszler. As Baszler and Rousey hugged, Ronda Rousey turned on her “best friend” and chucked her out of the match meaning only 3 remain. Rhea Ripley was trying to eliminate Raquel Rodriguez before Ronda Rousey came over and started to have a fight with Rhea. Rousey won this exchange, knocking down Ripley, but she turned around and got met with a huge boot from Raquel. Rodriguez then hit the Chingona Bomb onto her enemy before she chucked her out meaning it was down to Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley. Raquel Rodriguez had been in the match since number 12 whilst Ripley came into the match at number 25 and that was pretty clear as Raquel was really warned down. However, the rising star kept fighting off her “good friend” as she felt it was her destiny to win the Women’s Royal Rumble, but in the end, Rhea managed to throw Raquel over the top rope to win the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Men’s Royal Rumble

The 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble starts with “the Judgment Day’s” Finn Balor and “NXT’s” Carmelo Hayes. Chad Gable enters the match at number 3 before Finn gets some backup in the form of Damian Priest. Montez Ford is the next person to come out and he does his awesome high-flying offense before Dolph Ziggler comes in at number 6. Mustafa Ali is the next person to come out and he goes straight after Dolph Ziggler. Current NXT Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston is in at number 8 before the “Number 1 Guy” Otis enters the fray. However, things change at number 10 as Omos’ music hits. The Nigerian Giant enters the ring and he straight away blocks the attack from the Judgment Day. He then drops Otis before he eliminates Chad Gable. He throws Carmelo Hayes out through the middle rope before he chucks Kofi over the top. However, Kingston doesn’t get eliminated because he lands on top of Melo. He jumps his way back into the ring before he receives a big boot from Omos. Realising what was going on, Mustafa Ali and Dolph Ziggler tried to work together to eliminate Omos, but this failed miserably as both men were thrown over the top rope. To be fair to Dolph, he hung on to the rope, but Carmelo Hayes, who was still on the outside, pulled Dolph off the ropes meaning the Showoff was eliminated. We then heard a roar.

Yes, Braun Strowman came in at number 11 and he got into the ring and starred right into the eyes of Omos. The Nigerian giant pushed Strowman out of the way before Braun met Omos with a massive right hand that sent him crashing through the middle rope. Strowman then looked at Priest and Otis and they all realised what they had to do. They all went through the middle rope before they picked Omos up and sent him crashing through the Spanish announce table. When they got back into the ring, number 12’s music hit and it was none other than Bronson Reed. Bronson overpowered everyone before he eliminated Kofi Kingston. He then came close to eliminating Finn Balor, but Damian Priest made the save before the Intercontinental Champion Gunther arrived! He dropped Braun with a big boot and Bronson Reed with a clothesline before he eliminated Damian Priest. He then had a face-off with Otis and the Tree-Trunk was more than happy to do a bit of dancing. As Gunther chopped him, Otis kept dancing more and more until Otis rocked the champ with a clothesline. However, he went to bounce off the ropes and Gunther met him with a clothesline to eliminate the Number 1 Guy. Number 14 was Ricochet and he did a good job working with Braun Strowman to take out Gunther. Number 15 was Austin Theory and Austin’s a pretty smart guy. He realised that there were too many “big men” in the ring right now so he went and sat next to Corey Graves and did some commentary for a bit (whilst holding onto his United States Championship). Shinsuke Nakamura then returned to WWE and he was kicking everyone in sight before he was dropped by Braun Stroman. However, as Strowman looked to eliminate Shin, he was punched from behind by Omos and the Nigerian Giant eliminated the Monster of all Monsters.

Number 17 happened to be the All Mighty Bobby Lashley and he squared off with Omos. Omos didn’t have an answer to Lashley’s quick offense and after Montez Ford superkicked the Giant, Lashley rocked Omos with a spear and then chucked him over the top rope. He then looked over to the commentary desk and saw Austin Theory and the United States Champion realised this. As Lashley went after him, Theory ran into the ring and got dropped by Ricochet. He then went rolling to the outside where he was met by a huge spear from Bobby Lashley that sent him through the barricade. Everyone was then singing as Seth “Freakin” Rollins entered the Royal Rumble match. Seth came in and he managed to eliminate Finn Balor before number 19 entered. Originally, Rey Mysterio was going to enter at number 19, but he was medically disqualified for this match after the beating he suffered from Karrion Kross on last night’s SmackDown. In his place, his son, Dominik Mysterio. Dominik asked Finn if he was alright before he got into the ring and went straight after the Visionary. Santos Escobar came in at number 20 and whilst this was going on, Bobby Lashley was brawling with Gunther. Lashley applied the hurt lock onto Gunther near the ropes, but as Gunther moved out of the way, Lashley was eliminated by a massive clothesline from Bronson Reed. As Bronson smiled at Lashley, Gunther came from behind and eliminated the angry Aussie. Gunther was then met with a surprise he didn’t want as Sheamus was out at number 21. Sheamus and Gunther engaged in a hard-hitting contest in the middle of the ring whilst Montez Ford was coming close to eliminating Carmelo Hayes. The Miz was out at number 22 before Doomsday struck as out came Karrion Kross. Kross went on a rampage, eliminating Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura and Dominik Mysterio. Karrion then goes face to face with an old enemy as Drew McIntyre enters at number 24.

Drew goes after Karrion and ends up sending Kross through the middle rope. Meanwhile, Gunther and Sheamus are at it again and in the end, Gunther wins out and eliminates the Celtic Warrior. However, when IC Champ turns around, he gets blasted by a Claymore which sees him crashing over the top rope meaning Drew McIntyre eliminates Gunther. And then, after 7, nearly 8 long months, Cody Rhodes makes his return. Cody comes in and makes an immediate impact before he comes face-to-face with Seth “Freakin” Rollins. As this happens, the clock counts down to zero and outcomes Solo Sikoa. Rollins and Rhodes attempt to work together to get rid of the enforcer, but Solo was having none of it as he dropped them both down to the ground. He then superkicked Montez Ford in mid-air and then eliminated him before he hit the Samoan Spike onto Carmelo Hayes and chucked him out of the match too. Stupidly, the Miz attempted to attack Sikoa from behind and this angered Sikoa so he headbutted the A-Lister and eliminated him too. 27 then happened to be the Honorary Uce Sami Zayn before Main Event Jey Uso entered the fray. We then got our fourth Bloodline member as out came Jimmy Uso before Sikoa picked up another elimination by eliminating Santos Escobar. We then got our final entrant into this year's Royal Rumble match as out came the Modern Day Wrestling God, Baron Corbin. Corbin dropped Seth “Freakin” Rollins with the Deep-Six, Karrion Kross with a big boot, Drew McIntyre with a chokeslam and Cody Rhodes with the End of Days. However, he was then attacked by all four members of the Bloodline. The Usos dropped him with the 1D, Solo wrecked him with the Samoan Spike before Sami Zayn hit the Helluva Kick to eliminate Corbin.

As the Bloodline stands in a row of 4, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Karrion Kross all stand alongside one another and the brawl begins. Seth Rollins eliminates Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes eliminates Jimmy Uso, Karrion Kross eliminates Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre finally gets some revenge by eliminating Solo Sikoa. As the four men all look at each other realising what’s at stake, Austin Theory comes from behind and eliminates the American Nightmare. You can see the look of sadness and disappointment on the face of Cody Rhodes and Rollins goes after Theory whilst Kross and McIntyre square off. In the end, the field goes down to three as Karrion reverses a claymore which sends McIntyre flying over the top rope. It then looks like Seth is going to be in a 2-on-1 situation against Kross and Theory, but Karrion is clever enough to know that Austin will just turn on him so he attempts to eliminate Theory from the match. As the two are squabbling on the ropes, Seth comes from behind and eliminates Karrion Kross, but Theory holds on. Austin then manages to get back into the ring and he drops Seth with a drop-kick. Realising he needs more to put Rollins away, Theory rolls to the outside and grabs his United States Championship (which is still on the commentary desk). Theory put his United States Championship in the ring and as he attempted to hit the A-Town Down on Seth Rollins onto the belt, Rollins reversed, dropped him with a kick before he delivered a stomp which saw Theory land on the US title. Rollins then picked Theory up and chucked him over the top rope meaning Seth “Freakin” Rollins is heading to the Main Event of WrestleMania.