SUMMARY
- Royal Rumble 2024 is over and it had quite a big surprise for fans and even Vince McMahon.
- Women's Rumble 2024 had a new contestant who was rumored to be appearing in the Rumble.
WWE Royal Rumble 2024 is in the books and fans naturally have a lot to say about it. With some rather ‘predictable’ outcomes and surprising appearances, the show had it all. Notably, one such surprise appearance will likely not go down too well with former CEO Vince McMahon.
For those unaware, Royal Rumble 2024 took place on January 27, 2024, at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Amidst the recent Vince McMahon s*xual assault controversy, the event was like a fresh breath of air for the fans. Interestingly, WWE CCO Triple H and other wrestlers were surprisingly mum regarding the situation.
Triple H on Jordynne Grace and the “Forbidden Door”:
“Jordynne Grace coming here from TNA, their champion. I want to thank them for allowing her to be here and participate in the Royal Rumble. I thought she had a spectacular showing tonight. She’s an amazing talent and it’s… pic.twitter.com/EvmL1gpGuD
— meraWRESTLING (@meraWRESTLING) January 28, 2024
With that said, Levesque (Triple H) was very vocal about the inclusion of Jordynne Grace, a TNA star in the women’s Royal Rumble. “Jordynne Grace coming here from TNA, their champion. I want to thank them for allowing her to be here and participate in the Royal Rumble. I thought she had a spectacular showing tonight.” Further, Triple H thanked the fighter’s parent organization for allowing her to appear at the event.
Vince McMahon was always against TNA
As mentioned previously, the signing of Jordynne Grace will likely not have gone down too well with Vince McMahon. Despite having signed stars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode from the company, there has been a lot of bad blood over the years. Notably, according to TNA live events coordinator, Craig Jenkins, McMahon purposefully had Madison Square Garden ‘locked down’ to prevent the rival organization’s event.
Similarly, TNA’s Turning Point 2004 was a three-hour PPV mocking the WWE with fake Triple H and Vince McMahon impersonators. Thus, the two sides have had their squabbles over the years, making it difficult to form an alliance or partnership. As such, the term “forbidden door” was coined, indicating the collaboration between rival professional wrestling promotions.
Speaking in the post-show press conference, “The Game” also spoke about the term.“I’m not gonna use all the cliched terms about what door people go through or anything like that because it’s stupid and silly”. Thus, fans have expressed their excitement for what other crossovers could be seen in the future.
Despite their subtle jabs and shenanigans, the Anthem Sports & Entertainment-led promotion was never able to overtake the WWE. Despite their longstanding rivalry, wrestlers like Mickie James, RVD, and many others have appeared in both the WWE and the TNA.
Royal Rumble and the debut of TNA star, Jordynne Grace
As mentioned previously, there were some ‘predictable’ and surprising outcomes at Royal Rumble 2024. Starting off with the women’s Rumble, Bayley was expected to be the winner coming into the event. As many predicted, Bayley was indeed the winner, but fans were left very impressed by the performances put up by the female roster. All in all, many have labeled this year’s women’s Rumble as one of the best.
Moreover, rumors of the appearance of a TNA star were also realized after Jordynne Grace made her way to the ring. On the night, Grace made an excellent case for herself, wowing fans and the announcers with her performance. Elsewhere, Roman Reigns held on to his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, besting the likes of Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles.
Social media influencer Logan Paul managed to retain his United States Championship. As it turns out, his opponent, Kevin Owens was disqualified for using brass knuckles. Lastly, Cody Rhodes overcame all odds to win his second straight men’s Rumble. Tussling against the expected winner CM Punk in the final moments, ‘The American Nightmare’ managed to come out victorious, sealing his spot at WrestleMania 40.
