At WrestleMania 34, Cesaro and Sheamus lost the titles to Braun Strowman and 10-year-old Nicholas. On March 26, WWE also scheduled Cesaro and Sheamus to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against The Hardy Boyz ( Jeff and Matt Hardy). At WrestleMania 34, The Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Rollins, thus making Rollins the defending champion. On March 26, WWE scheduled a four-way ladder match between then-champion The Miz, Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, and Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Championship. Samoa Joe, who had been out with an injury since January, came out and warned Reigns that Lesnar would beat him again. Reigns alleged that there was a conspiracy against him. On Raw following WrestleMania 34, Reigns expressed frustration about not being told about his future matches and opponents, singling out the steel cage match with Lesnar. On April 9, Brock Lesnar, who had renewed his WWE contract, was scheduled to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage match, as a rematch from WrestleMania 34.
From these tryouts, eight were selected to receive training by the WWE, which would include an opportunity to earn a spot in the Royal Rumble match itself. In the weeks leading up to the event, the WWE held tryouts in Saudi Arabia. The event will also be the first WWE pay-per-view to feature Arabic commentary.
It will also air on traditional pay-per-view in the United States and internationally. On March 26, WWE announced three matches for the event: a ladder match between The Miz, Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, and Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Championship, a tag team match between Cesaro and Sheamus and The Hardy Boyz ( Jeff and Matt Hardy) for the Raw Tag Team Championship, and John Cena against Triple H.Īs revealed on March 22, 2018, the event will broadcast live on the WWE Network. On March 19, 2018, WWE scheduled seven championship matches for the event: the WWE Championship, Universal Championship, Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, SmackDown Tag Team Championship, and Cruiserweight Championship. The event is a part of a 10-year strategic multi-platform partnership between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program. On March 5, 2018, WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority announced the Greatest Royal Rumble, a live event to be held on April 27, 2018, at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The event is highlighted by the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal whose participants enter at timed intervals. Since its creation in 1988 by Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, the Royal Rumble has been an annual event held by WWE and is typically shown on pay-per-view (PPV). 4.2 Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations.