Why Watching Royal Rumble Is The Best Way To Turn Your Friends Into Lifelong WWE Fans

As the old saying goes: Sometimes you need a little help from your friends. But when it comes to the Royal Rumble, sometimes your friends need a little help from you.

It’s no secret that Royal Rumble is one of the most exciting events on the WWE calendar. This year is no exception — just take a look at what the WWE Universe can look forward to on Saturday: Champion Roman Reigns is taking on Kevin Owens in his quest to hold on to the coveted Undisputed WWE Universal title, Bianca Belair is defending the RAW Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss, and Bray Wyatt clashes with LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match. And on top of that, let’s not forget about the cherries on top of an already stacked event: Both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches.

The 2023 Royal Rumble is now just days away, and the excitement has reached a fever pitch — but what if we told you the pressure is on you in addition to all the Superstars competing in their respective Royal Rumble matches?

It’s true.

Because there’s no better way to turn non-fans into fans than by showing them their first Royal Rumble. We’ve been going on about the history of this event for weeks here on USA Insider, and today we’re going to tell you exactly why the Royal Rumble is the perfect place to jumpstart your WWE fandom. 

For lack of better words: Gather your friends to watch with you on Saturday, and be prepared for them to become de facto members of the WWE Universe in the process! Here’s why:

Although WWE has no official offseason like other major sports entities, the unofficial start has always been late January because that’s when the Road to WrestleMania begins.

As we all know, all of the biggest rivalries and storylines come to a head at WrestleMania, so the approximately 3-month-long span of time between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania brings one promise: The absolute best WWE has to offer. Sure, while there’s truly no “wrong time” to start following WWE, you can’t go wrong with starting with Royal Rumble and, therefore, the beginning of The Road to WrestleMania.

There will be some exhilarating moments to be had on Saturday, with some WrestleMania storylines being jump-started — it’s the perfect time for your friends to get properly acquainted with the type of sports entertainment WWE is known for.

We get it — introducing non-fans into anything new can be exhausting and borderline impossible. The barrier to entry can often be too high for some. That’s why it’s so important that anything new introduced into your friends’ lives has to be super-easy to grasp and understand.

(And we’re not saying your friends are stupid. But we’re also saying that if they were so smart, they’d already be fans, so…)

Luckily for your friends, the Royal Rumble matches themselves are straightforward and easy to follow, making the barrier to entry a low fence to jump over for a non-fan. Here’s a quick rules refresher: 30 men or women enter the ring, one at a time. If somebody gets thrown over the top rope and both feet hit the floor, they are eliminated. Last person left standing in the ring is the winner — that’s it! Those are the only rules. Even the most cynical of your friends will be able to grasp what’s going on with match structure like this. 

One of the biggest headaches non-fans have when their friends introduce them to the world of WWE is the fact that there’s just so many wrestlers to follow. There are literally hundreds of WWE Superstars competing across RAW, SmackDown, and NXT — and on Saturday, 60 of them will be walking down the aisle, all of them with one goal in mind: To go on to the main event at WrestleMania.

Here’s the thing: For a non-fan, being introduced to 60 wrestlers for the first time can be a daunting and overwhelming experience.

But luckily, thanks to the buffer between each new Royal Rumble entrant — historically between 90 and 120 seconds — that gives you (the true fan) all the time you need to give your friends the rundown for each participant. 

Trust us, something like “Oh, that’s Rey Mysterio — he’s a legend, he’s won the Rumble before. Oh yeah, he’s small but just wait until you see these crazy moves he does!” goes a long way. You don’t need to go in-depth with each Superstar, just a quick description will do the trick — and your friends will appreciate it. 

This is where the real beauty of the Royal Rumble begins to shine: By the end of the night, there is something for your friends to build on — namely, the march to WrestleMania. By the time the event is complete, there will be a men’s Rumble winner and a women’s Rumble winner, with each going on to WrestleMania to compete for the very top championships in all of WWE.

Not only is that an easy storyline for your friends to become invested in, it’s the single most important storyline currently going on, period. 

RELATED: Who Are The Favorites To Win Royal Rumble 2023 & Take On Roman Reigns At WrestleMania?

After two thrilling and heart-pounding Royal Rumble matches, filled with wild eliminations, near-misses, shocking debuts, and plenty of drama, we’re sure that by the end of the night, even your most stubborn non-fan friends will at least be a tiny bit more interested in WWE thanks to watching it with you by their side.

One word of advice: Be prepared to answer questions about the Rumble winners. After all, you’ll invariably be asked if you think they’ll eventually win at WrestleMania — and that’s when you know your friends are hooked.

So what are you waiting for? Start sending out those text invites now, because not only can you not pass up a chance to hang out with some of your favorite people; this is your single best chance to turn those friends into lifelong WWE fans.

You can watch Royal Rumble on Peacock on Saturday, Jan. 28.