Royal Rumble weekend begins with the first NXT TakeOver show of 2017 in San Antonio, Texas, also the site of the Royal Rumble show.
NXT TakeOver coverage begins with its usual pre-show which will start at 7 p.m. ET on the WWE Network. The pre-show will lead right into NXT TakeOver:San Antonio, which begins at 8 p.m. ET, also to be broadcasted exclusively on the WWE Network. Te show is scheduled to end at approximately 10 p.m. ET
Below is the NXT TakeOver: San Antonio card:
Roderick Strong vs. Andrade Almas
#DIY (c) vs. The Authors of Pain: NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Eric Young vs. Tye Dillinger
Asuka (c) vs. Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce: NXT Women's Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Bobby Roode: NXT Championship Match
As for the Royal Rumble show, it begins with the Royal Rumble Kickoff which starts at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 29. It is a two-hour kickoff show that will have three matches broadcasted: Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks; Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya; Sheamus and Cesaro defending their RAW Tag Team Titles against The Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows). The Royal Rumble is set to begin at around 7 p.m. and is scheduled to go for about 4 hours, continuing the trend of Big 4 pay-per-views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) going for around 4 hours in length.
Below is the card for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view:
Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville: WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley: RAW Women's Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns: No Disqualification match for the WWE Universal Championship (Chris Jericho will be suspended in a shark cage above the ring)
AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena: WWE Championship Match
2017 Royal Rumble Match: 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 33
