WWE Royal Rumble 2024 LIVE — Fans fume as CM Punk loses to Cody Rhodes on ‘perfect storyline’ return & Logan Paul result

WWE, explained

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., known as WWE is an American professional wrestling promotion.

WWE, a multi-national integrated media and entertainment conglomerate, has also made inroads into other industries, like American football, movies, and other economic endeavors.

As the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the promotion was established in 1953.

More on CM Punk’s wife, AJ Lee

AJ Mendez, also known as AJ Lee, is a retired pro wrestler.

Her career highlights include winning the WWE Divas Championship a record-tying three times and holding it for an overall record of 406 days.

AJ is now a screenwriter and author, and in 2022 she opened up about her struggle living with bipolar disorder in an interview with .

On April 4, 2017, AJ Lee released a memoir titled Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules.

More on CM Punk’s 2014 exit

CM Punk walked out of WWE in 2014 immediately after the Royal Rumble and was controversially fired on his wedding day soon after.

The former World Heavyweight Champion spent seven years away from wrestling and tried his luck at UFC but lost both of his fights inside the octagon.

The ex-Intercontinental Champion then ended his absence in 2021 when he signed with AEW.

Despite being the promotion’s top star, the two-time AEW World Champion was let go in September.

That was after two backstage altercations, first with Kenny Omega as well as The Young Bucks and then Jack Perry.

But Impact didn’t let that get in the way of a potential deal despite its ties to AEW.

Smackdown titles

Each WWE Brand has four belts. The SmackDown belts are listed below:

• Universal Championship
• SmackDown Women’s Championship
• Intercontinental Championship
• SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Royal Rumble 2024 Results

Let’s look back at all the winners of the 2024 Royal Rumble:

• Bayley won the Women’s Royal Rumble Match
• Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton
• US Champion Logan Paul def. Kevin Owens via DQ
• Cody Rhodes won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Previous Women’s Royal Rumble Winners

And here’s all the women who have won the Royal Rumble Match:

• 2023 Rhea Ripley
• 2022 Ronda Rousey
• 2021 Bianca Belair
• 2020 Charlotte Flair
• 2019 Becky Lynch
• 2018 Asuka

Past Vince McMahon allegations

Vince McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of the WWE in June 2022 after a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal accusing him of paying $12million in hush payments to four women.

The WWE’s internal investigation found McMahon made $14.6m in payments to women who had accused him of sexual misconduct.

The American businessman has since reportedly repaid the company for the cost of the investigation.

The U.S. Sun contacted the WWE and McMahon’s attorney for comments on the allegations.

What we know about Vince McMahon lawsuit

WWE founder Vince McMahon has resigned after he was hit with disturbing allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a lawsuit this week – he denies all the accusations.

Former employee Janel Grant alleged in a lawsuit on Thursday that McMahon promised her a job and promotions in exchange for sex, according to the .

Some of the disturbing allegations against the American businessman include that he defecated on the alleged victim during a threesome and that he trafficked her to other men at WWE.

Grant accused the 78-year-old of sharing explicit photographs and videos of her without her consent in March 2020 as well as locking her inside his private locker room and forcing himself on her over a massage table.

Other allegations include that he sexually abused her with sex toys he named after WWE wrestlers.

The lawsuit includes screenshots of Grant’s alleged conversations with McMahon over text, including a May 2020 message reportedly from the wrestling tycoon that read, “I’m the only one who owns u and controls who I want to f**k U.”

Grant alleged that, in March 2022, McMahon tried to traffic her to a top WWE star and texted her, “Part of the deal was f**king U,” the suit claims – the WWE star in question was not named in the lawsuit.

Grant claims McMahon forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 after his wife Linda McMahon learned about their relationship.

McMahon allegedly agreed to pay her $3million to sign the document and keep quiet but stopped making payments after the first $1m payment, according to the suit.

Previous Men’s Royal Rumble Winners

Here’s all the men who have emerged victorious from the Royal Rumble Match:

• 2023 Cody Rhodes
• 2022 Brock Lesnar
• 2021 Edge
• 2020 Drew McIntyre
• 2019 Seth Rollins
• 2018 Shinsuke Nakamura
• 2017 Randy Orton
• 2016 Triple H
• 2015 Roman Reigns
• 2014 Batista
• 2013 John Cena
• 2012 Sheamus
• 2011 Alberto Del Rio
• 2010 Edge
• 2009 Randy Orton
• 2008 John Cena
• 2007 The Undertaker
• 2006 Rey Mysterio
• 2005 Batista
• 2004 Chris Benoit
• 2003 Brock Lesnar
• 2002 Triple H
• 2001 Stone Cold Steve Austin
• 2000 The Rock
• 1999 Mr McMahon
• 1998 Stone Cold Steve Austin
• 1997 Stone Cold Steve Austin
• 1996 Shawn Michaels
• 1995 Shawn Michaels
• 1994 Bret Hart & Lex Luger
• 1993 Yokozuna
• 1992 Ric Flair
• 1991 Hulk Hogan
• 1990 Hulk Hogan
• 1989 Big John Studd
• 1988 Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Logan Paul secures victory

Logan defeated Kevin Owens by disqualification at the Royal Rumble – after being hit with a KNUCKLE DUSTER.

The YouTube star defended his United Stations championship at the pay-per-view in Florida.

It was a brutal affair and Paul was even put through a table and left with bloodied injuries.

But the match took a shock twist when Owens brandished a brass knuckle and landed a right hand.

Initially he pinned Paul and looked to have won the title – until the referee noticed the illegal weapon.

How NXT became its own brand

Founded in 2010, NXT was created to be a talent pool for wrestlers who wanted to then graduate into the WWE through the draft.

However, over time, NXT became a brand of its own and has established its own unique characters and storylines – with one of its most famous names being British star Paige, who won the inaugural women’s championship back in 2012.

NXT has made its way to these shores, with the NXT London takeoever in 2015 being a resounding success as Finn Balor beat Samoa Joe in the main event.

NXT titles

The belt titles for NXT are:

• NXT Championship
• NXT Women’s Championship
• NXT North American Championship
• NXT Tag Team Championship

Raw titles

The belt titles for the Raw brand are:

• WWE Championship
• Raw Women’s Championship
• United States Championship
• Raw Tag Team Championship

Smackdown titles

Each WWE Brand has four belts. The SmackDown belts are listed below:

• Universal Championship
• SmackDown Women’s Championship
• Intercontinental Championship
• SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Fan congratulates Cody Rhodes

Fans have taken to social media to react to the news of Cody Rhodes' Royal Rumble win.

One congratulated Rhodes and wished him the best.

How Raw is different from Smackdown

Raw and Smackdown are the two main brands of the WWE franchise.

Wrestlers rarely crossover, except for during Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.

The key differences between the brands are as follows,

• The ropes are blue in SmackDown, red in Raw.
• Raw wrestlers include Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar.
• SmackDown stars include John Cena, Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks.
• Raw shows run for three hours, SmackDown for two hours.
• Different storylines, although they sometimes intertwine.

The main WWE brands

WWE is a huge franchise with multiple distinct brands.

The talent pool has mainly been split between Raw and SmackDown since 2002.

The brands were originally the names of the two most popular shows but as the franchise expanded, they became their own brands.

Raw and Smackdown have separate storylines and are broadcasted at different times to give more wrestlers exposure.

Entertainment over competition, continued

Vince McMahon, the owner of WWE, recognized the predetermined nature of professional wrestling in public in 1989 to avoid paying taxes on athletic commissions.

Recognizing that wrestling has its roots in both dramatic theater and competitive sport, WWE markets its product as sports entertainment.

Entertainment over competition

WWE events are entertainment-based performance theater rather than actual competitions, as is the case with other professional wrestling promotions.

These contain narrative-driven, planned, and partially choreographed fights.

However, fights frequently entail movements that, if executed incorrectly, can put performers at risk of injury, or even death.

WWE headquarters

WWE's main roster is split into two main touring groups and a development roster is situated in Orlando, Florida.

It is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, as more than 1 billion homes globally have access to WWE in 30 different languages.

Stamford, Connecticut serves as the company’s global headquarters, and it also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich.

WWE, explained

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., known as WWE is an American professional wrestling promotion.

WWE, a multi-national integrated media and entertainment conglomerate, has also made inroads into other industries, like American football, movies, and other economic endeavors.

As the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the promotion was established in 1953.

More on CM Punk's wife, AJ Lee

AJ Mendez, also known as AJ Lee, is a retired pro wrestler.

Her career highlights include winning the WWE Divas Championship a record-tying three times and holding it for an overall record of 406 days.

AJ is now a screenwriter and author, and in 2022 she opened up about her struggle living with bipolar disorder in an interview with .

On April 4, 2017, AJ Lee released a memoir titled Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules.

More on CM Punk's 2014 exit

CM Punk walked out of WWE in 2014 immediately after the Royal Rumble and was controversially fired on his wedding day soon after.

The former World Heavyweight Champion spent seven years away from wrestling and tried his luck at UFC but lost both of his fights inside the octagon.

The ex-Intercontinental Champion then ended his absence in 2021 when he signed with AEW.

Despite being the promotion's top star, the two-time AEW World Champion was let go in September.

That was after two backstage altercations, first with Kenny Omega as well as The Young Bucks and then Jack Perry.

But Impact didn't let that get in the way of a potential deal despite its ties to AEW.

CM Punk almost signed with Impact

Impact made a “major” money offer to CM Punk which he had considered, according to .

The ex-WWE Champion had "amazing" talks with higher-ups, who thought they were "very close" to signing him.

However, a deal never materialized and the 45-year-old instead made his long-awaited return to WWE.

This brought an end to a near-decade-long feud between the American grappler and the company.

What’s next?

WrestleMania 40 is starting to take form after the 2024 Royal Rumble.

After Cody Rhodes won the 30-men over-the-top-rope battle royal it is almost certain he will challenge Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

Bayley, on the other hand, looks set to fall out with Damage CTRL following a few tensed weeks.

Therefore, The Role Model will take on WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY at Mania.