Wrestling’s Royal Rumble Coming to Philadelphia in 2018
Roman Reigns and The Rock at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia in 2014 | Image via WWE
The greatest wrestling match in the world is coming back to Philadelphia.
That’s basically the lede I wrote in October 2014, when WWE announced the 2015 Royal Rumble would be held at the Wells Fargo Center.
Now it’s coming back again: WWE and Wells Fargo Center announced today the Rumble will be back in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 28, 2018. But it gets better for wrestling fans: NXT, essentially WWE’s minor league, will be at the WFC on Saturday. Raw, the WWE’s flagship weekly TV show, will be there on Monday. Smackdown, the secondary show, will also be here.
That’s four consecutive nights of WWE wrestling in the same building. Not bad for Philly, historically one of the biggest wrestling markets.
“We have had a long-standing relationship with WWE that dates back to 1974 at the Spectrum,” Comcast Spectacor’s John Page said in a release. “The Wells Fargo Center has hosted many incredible WWE events over the past 20 years, including WrestleMania XV (1999). Royal Rumble 2018 will build on that success as we will welcome WWE fans from all over the world to Philadelphia.”
The last time the Royal Rumble was in Philadelphia, fans booed the purported good guy who won the Rumble (Roman Reigns). Reigns, whom some fans don’t like in part because he is reportedly considered “the guy” by WWE management, was later cheered when he won the WWE title on an episode of Raw at the Wells Fargo Center late in 2016 — but since then has returned to getting booed by a significant portion of the audience.
“We are excited to have Philadelphia serve as host to one of WWE’s biggest events of 2018,” said John Saboor, WWE executive vice president of special events. “We look forward to an unprecedented four consecutive nights of WWE action at Wells Fargo Center as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Royal Rumble.”
The Rumble is a 30-man match that starts with two entrants. Another is added every two minutes. Wrestlers are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. It’s incredibly fun for wrestling fans — who, yes, all know that the outcomes of professional wrestling matches are predetermined.
This will be the third Rumble at the Wells Fargo Center. In addition to the 2015 event, the 2004 Rumble was held in the building.