Philadelphia will be the host of next year’s Royal Rumble weekend at the Wells Fargo Center from January 27 to January 30, 2018, as first reported by Philly.com.
Philadelphia had previously held the Royal Rumble in 2004 and 2015, but this will be the first time that the Wells Fargo Center will play host to four consecutive WWE events, with NXT TakeOver on the 27th, the Rumble on the 28th, RAW on the 29th and Smackdown on the 30th as part of WWE’s new business model for their big four PPVs.
In the article, Wells Fargo Center president John Page noted that the city bid on acquiring the Rumble PPV weekend, making it the third major WWE event that cities have begun to bid on, following the footsteps of Wrestlemania and Summerslam.
WWE confirmed the news on Thursday morning with the following press release:
Philadelphia to Host 30th Anniversary of WWE® Royal Rumble® in 2018
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
WWE® (NYSE: WWE) announced today that the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia will host the 30th anniversary of WWE Royal Rumble® on Sunday, January 28, 2018.
As part of Royal Rumble Weekend, WWE will host four consecutive nights of action at Wells Fargo Center with NXT® TakeOver® on Saturday, January 27, 2018; WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday, January 28, 2018; WWE Monday Night Raw® on Monday, January 29, 2018; and WWE SmackDown® Live on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. Ticket information about these events will be announced in the future at wwe.com.
“We are very happy to continue Philadelphia’s amazing relationship with WWE by bringing Royal Rumble back to our city,” said Larry Needle, Executive Director of PHL Sports, a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We look forward to working closely with WWE to build a great fan experience for all those attending from around the world.”
“We have had a long-standing relationship with WWE that dates back to 1974 at the Spectrum,” said Comcast Spectacor’s John Page, President, Wells Fargo Complex. “The Wells Fargo Center has hosted many incredible WWE events over the past 20 years, including WrestleMania XV (1999). Royal Rumble 2018 will build on that success as we will welcome WWE fans from all over the world to Philadelphia.”
“We are excited to have Philadelphia serve as host to one of WWE’s biggest events of 2018,” said John Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President, Special Events. “We look forward to an unprecedented four consecutive nights of WWE action at Wells Fargo Center as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Royal Rumble.”
Royal Rumble is one of WWE’s biggest events of the year and officially kicks off the road to WrestleMania. The event is highlighted by a 30-man Royal Rumble match featuring Superstars from both Raw® and SmackDown®, with the winner receiving a Championship opportunity at WrestleMania. The event will be broadcast around the world live on WWE Network. The 2018 Royal Rumble marks the 30th anniversary of the prestigious event, which was first held in January 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ONT.
This year’s Royal Rumble takes place this Sunday, January 29 live at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.