‘WWE 24’ Gives a Look Behind the Curtain at the ‘Royal Rumble’

The latest installment of WWE’s behind-the-scenes docuseries examines the start of the road to ‘WrestleMania.’

The newest episode of the WWE 24 series premieres Friday on Peacock, and with WrestleMania 38 only a day away, it is appropriate that the focus is the starting point—January’s Royal Rumble.

Before you get your hopes up for a detailed account of the inner workings of the Rumble match, why Brock Lesnar was booked to win, or what unfolded backstage with Shane McMahon, none of that is covered. Instead, the episode covers pieces of the past, present and potential future of the Rumble.

The Rumble is the single most captivating match on the WWE calendar, and this episode seeks to capture that excitement. It also details the history behind the Rumble concept, looking at how a test run took place in October 1987 with a 12-man Royal Rumble match. Two men started in the ring together and a new competitor entered every two minutes, with the One Man Gang emerging victorious after eliminating Junkyard Dog to win the match.

Vince McMahon is used only sparingly in the episode, sharing his memories of Rumble match architect Pat Patterson, but more of McMahon sharing his likes—and initial dislikes—would have added a lot of depth. I’m likely not the ideal audience, but I would have preferred a far more in-depth account from McMahon on that Rumble from 1987. Clearly, that was not the focus, as this episode used the Rumble as the background to highlight Lita, Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley.

Lita returned for this year’s Rumble, and she detailed her roller coaster of nerves coming back for the event. Her role as a mentor to some of the current stars was also visible, and there was a great (though far too brief) scene from six years ago of Lita congratulating Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch backstage after their masterpiece of a triple threat match at WrestleMania 32.

Theory receives the majority of the facetime. The episode goes into his past as a wrestling fan, as well as touching on his future in WWE. The parts that resonated most with me were the ones detailing Lashley’s journey in the company. This was especially meaningful at the Rumble, which is where he won his second WWE world title in a match against Lesnar.

Lashley has never received the same accolades in pro wrestling as Lesnar, and he shared real emotion talking about his journey in WWE. After winning the title, the post-match celebration with his children also showed a glimpse of Lashley on the phone conducting an interview that ran in Sports Illustrated.

Some notable voices, most notably Lesnar, are missing. Randy Orton could have added a tremendous insight with his years of experience working Rumble matches, and there is also no new interview footage with Becky Lynch. Despite Ronda Rousey winning this year’s women’s Rumble match, her voice is also hardly present throughout the 45-minute episode.

Another particularly disappointing omission was a post-Rumble interview with Kofi Kingston, who was interviewed earlier that day. The episode highlights Kingston’s array of extraordinary feats of athleticism in the men’s Rumble match, which was especially relevant this year when his spot went awry. Kingston was eliminated in a way that was not according to plan. After his years of finding a way to stand out in the Rumble even without winning, a lengthy post-Rumble discussion with Kingston would have brought a special detail to this 24.

Johnny Knoxville and his entourage from Jackass appear throughout this 24. Wee-Man mentions his brief fracas with Lesnar from the Rumble weekend in St. Louis—again, that would have been an outstanding time for a brief cameo of Lesnar mentioning anything related to Knoxville, Jackass or fighting. And there are plenty of other unique details missing: no mention of Drew McIntyre back in the Rumble finale, and no attention paid to Mickie James, who entered the women’s Rumble as Impact Knockouts champion.

Notable for who and what was missing, this episode of 24 is still appointment viewing for those who love the Royal Rumble.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.