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Bayley, to the delight of St. Petersburg, Florida, won an up-and-down Royal Rumble that featured limited surprise appearances. The most notable surprise appearances were those of Naomi, Liv Morgan and former AEW star Jade Cargill. Cargill showed well, lasting until the Final 3 and receiving a standing ovation from the Florida crowd.
Naomi was the longest-lasting entrant in the Royal Rumble until Bayley won the match, as both lasted over an hour. Early in the Rumble, Naomi feuded with fellow TNA Knockout member Jordynne Grace. Bayley received early help from Damage CTRL in the form of the Kabuki Warriors, but Asuka and Kairi Sane were quickly eliminated.
The WWE Women’s Royal Rumble seemed to have a clear favorite, in the form of Becky Lynch, according to the story. But the bettors didn’t see it that way. Although Lynch had solid +275 odds to win the Royal Rumble, this didn’t seem like the story WWE was telling to get Lynch to WrestleMania in an inevitable showdown with Rhea Ripley. Instead, it was Bayley at dominant odds of -275 as Damage CTRL continues to dominate the WWE women’s division.
On Friday night’s SmackDown, the Kabuki Warriors won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, hinting that Damage CTRL may have a tendency to win all the gold. Ultimately, Bayley will likely challenge Iyo Sky at WrestleMania.
Key moments from the WWE Women’s Royal Rumble 2024
- Naomi came in at #2 as the first surprise entrant of the night and received a huge pop and “welcome back” chants.
- Bayley came in at #3 and received huge “Bayley” chants.
- Jordynne Grace entered at #5, wearing the TNA Knockouts Championship, and the announce team acknowledged that she beat Naomi for the title.
- Grace and Ivy Nile (who arrived at 9), both connected with delayed stereo suplexes.
- Natalya saved Tegan Nox from an elimination, only to attempt to eliminate Nox. Nox turned the tables and eliminated Natalya.
- Kairi Sane had an incredible elimination for a while, only to be legitimately eliminated. Asuka followed shortly after.
- Nia Jax came in at number 19 and absolutely dominated the match with a ton of heat. In total, she had eight eliminations.
- R-Truth entered in Valhalla’s place at #24 and was quickly eliminated by Nia Jax. So was R-Truth.
- In fact, Jade Cargill made her debut with “holy shit” chants and Cargill eliminated Nia Jax by herself.
- The Final 3 was between Bayley, Liv Morgan and Jade Cargill, with Bayley taking the victory.
Aside from Bayley and Lynch, there were no credible favorites to win the women’s Royal Rumble. Debutant Jade Cargill was listed as the third biggest seed, but the only intrigue in her Royal Rumble appearance was her debut and how she looked in a WWE ring. It’s safe to say that in her limited introduction, she passed her first test with flying colors. Towards the latter stages of the Royal Rumble, Cargill hinted at a showdown with Bianca Belair, much to the delight of the crowd.
Triple H was recently asked about Cargill’s disappearance from WWE programming, and The Game did not hold back discussing WWE’s big plans for the Florida native.
“I don’t believe in her any less now than I did then (when she signed with WWE),” he began, adding that her development has taken priority before her debut. “It’s interesting when she came in, we talked about her development and where she would land. But where the development was, I want to make sure that no matter what they throw at Jade Cargill, she’s ready, and it’s not her fault. I think she was limited in that.”
Outside of Cargill, there were few if any dark horses that could upset the women’s Royal Rumble applecart. Bianca Belair won in 2021 and has calmed down since Iyo Sky cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase against her. Nia Jax is a monster heel, and monster heels rarely win the Royal Rumble. In fact, in the young history of the women’s Royal Rumble, no monster heel has ever won.
Lasting one hour, three minutes and three seconds, Bayley’s victory is a huge story, as many expect her to challenge not Rhea Ripley, but fellow Damage CTRL member Iyo Sky at WrestleMania 40 .
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