WWE Championship Handicap Match Announced For Royal Rumble 2018

AJ and Sami and Kevin, Oh My!

By Michael Hamflett / January 3, 2018

WWE

AJ Styles will defend the WWE Championship against both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble on January 28th.

'The Phenomenal One' challenged the duo after 'The Underdog From The Underground' scored a pinfall win over him following yet more diversionary hijinks from Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan on the Tuesday 2nd January edition of SmackDown Live!

'KO' earning his own victory over AJ the prior week triggered the Champion to offer himself up to the two-on-one stipulation - duly agreed to by Bryan as an incensed McMahon looked on.

The blue brand fleshed out the pay-per-view card overall too, with additions to both Rumble matches as well as advancement in the United States Title Tournament. The updated card is now as follows:

30-Man Royal Rumble Match: John Cena, Elias, Finn Bálor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton, Baron Corbin

30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: Asuka, Naomi, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Paige, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Carmella, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Natalya

Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Title: Brock Lesnar Vs. Braun Strowman Vs. Kane

2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title: AJ Styles Vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

WWE United States Title Tournament: Bobby Roode or Zack Ryder or Mojo Rawley vs. Jinder Mahal or Xavier Woods

Authored by Michael Hamflett

Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett

Posted On: 3rd Jan 2018

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WWE Smackdown AJ Styles WWE Royal Rumble 2018