WWE Royal Rumble 2022: Start times, how to watch, full card and Peacock – CNET

It’s January, and you know what that means. The road to WrestleMania begins with the Royal Rumble, which takes place on Saturday — that’s right, Saturday and not Sunday — on Peacock. Outside of the Mens’ and Women’s Royal Rumble, the show has a big attraction in the main event: Brock Lesnar defending his WWE Championship agaisnt Bobby Lashley. 

It’s been a dream match for many, and on Saturday it becomes a reality.

The question going into this event is whether Lesnar versus Reigns is still the ultimate destination for WrestleMania, or if Lesnar is on a completely different path with his WWE Championship run. Recall that Lesnar and Reigns were meant to clash at Day 1, but Reigns testing positive for COVID changed those plans. On the show Reigns will defend his Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. 

Elsewhere, Edge is back in action as he teams with his wife, Beth Phoenix, to take on The Miz and Maryse. The Raw Women’s Championship is also up for grabs, as Doudrop challenges Becky Lynch for the gold. And, of course, there are the Royal Rumbles. There’s one for the guys and one for the gals. Royal Rumble matches are among the most fun of the year, so hopefully 2022’s delivers as much as last year’s excellent Rumble did. 

Match card

• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobbly Lashley.
• Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins.
• Men’s Royal Rumble.
• Women’s Royal Rumble.
• Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop.
• Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. Miz and Maryse. 

Start times 

Royal Rumble 2022 takes place at St. Louis, Missouri’s America’s Center on Jan. 29. For those without a live ticket, it starts at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m ET. Grappling fans across the pond will have to stay up late, as the show starts at 1 a.m. UK time. In Australia, Royal Rumble begins at midday AEDT on Monday.  

How to watch: Peacock, WWE Network

As you probably know by now, Peacock is the new home of WWE’s pay-per-views. The WWE Network has in essence migrated to NBC’s Peacock streaming service and that’s where you’ll go to watch Royal Rumble 2022. Peacock has three tiers: Free, Premium and Premium Plus. To watch WWE content, you’ll need a Premium subscription. The good news is that’ll set you back $5 a month, less than the $10 for WWE Network. 

If you’re outside of the US, you’ll watch Royal Rumble 2022 on the WWE Network as usual.