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What's the story?
As confirmed by WWE's official website earlier today, this Sunday's Royal Rumble Kickoff show will feature three matches including Bobby Roode defending his newly won US Championship.
In case you didn't know...
In a recently concluded US Championship tournament 'The Glorious One' Bobby Roode won the vacant US Title after defeating Jinder Mahal in the finals of the tournament. This is also Bobby Roode's first championship win on the main roster ever since his call-up from NXT.
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The heart of the matter
As noted, current WWE US Champion Bobby Roode is all set to make his first US Title defense this Sunday as The Glorious One gets set to defend the red, white, and blue title in an open challenge at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Additionally, former NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival will also face-off against Balor Club members Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a rematch from Raw's 25th Anniversary episode at the Manhattan Center.
Lastly, WWE has also confirmed a six-man tag team match between the stars of 205 Live as the babyface team of Kalisto, Lince Dorado, and Gran Metalik square off against the team of Drew Gulak, TJP, and Gentlemen Jack Gallagher.
What's next?
The Royal Rumble pay-per-view is set to take place this coming Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Royal Rumble PPV will also feature a WWE Championship match between AJ Styles who will defend his belt against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The Universal Championship is also slated to be defended in a triple threat featuring Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Kane. Other than that, the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Titles will also be up for grabs.
The first ever Women's Royal Rumble match will also be taking place at this year's Royal Rumble PPV and as usual, the traditional Men's Royal Rumble will also take place as well.
Author's Take
The Royal Rumble card has shaped up as a very exciting match card and it'll now be interesting to note which superstar accepts Bobby Roode's US Title open challenge.
