When is WWE Royal Rumble 2018?

On Wednesday, WWE announced where the Royal Rumble pay-per-view will take place in 2018. Prep your stomach for authentic cheesesteak sandwiches.

On Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, Philadelphia will host the Royal Rumble pay-per-view for the third time since the inaugural event in 1988.

WWE made the announcement official on Thursday that Philly will being the official host of the 30th anniversary of the first “Big Four” pay-per-view of the calendar year.

“We have had a longstanding relationship with WWE that dates back to 1974 at the Spectrum,” said Comcast Spectacor’s John Page in the official release of the announcement.

“The Wells Fargo Center has hosted many incredible WWE events over the past 20 years, including WrestleMania XV. Royal Rumble 2018 will build on that success as we will welcome WWE fans from all over the world to Philadelphia.”

2018 will mark the third time the Rumble has come to the City of Brotherly Love. The first two times — 2004 and 2015 — were both memorable shows. 2004 marked the late Chris Benoit winning his Royal Rumble match after setting the record for the most time in a single Rumble match at over 62 minutes. 2015 brought one of the greatest Triple Threat matches in WWE history with Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins and John Cena wrestling for the WWE World title.

Also of note from the announcement: WWE will host four straight nights in Philadelphia with NXT TakeOver on Saturday, Jan. 27, followed by the Rumble the next night, and then Raw and SmackDown Live in consecutive nights to wrap up the four-day weekend for the company.

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In terms of wrestling lore, not many cities rank higher than Philadelphia. Known as one of the frantic crowds in the wrestling business, the City of Brotherly Love was the birthplace of Extreme Championship Wrestling.

The Royal Rumble signifies the start of WrestleMania season, so next January in Philly should be quite awesome.