WWE Royal Rumble 2012 location reportedly set for St. Louis on Jan. 29, to feature 40 participants

Next year's WWE Royal Rumble will take place on Jan. 29, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri, and will reportedly feature 40 men once again, instead of the usual 30.

Randy Orton seemingly gave away the location at a recent autograph signing session when a fan asked him if the event would be held in St. Louis and he replied simply, "yeah." One of his handlers then claimed it was simply a strong rumor but Wrestling Observer has since reported that it is, in fact, the official location. Video of Orton is after the jump.

In addition to reporting the location, the Observer also brought word of the 40-man Rumble:

As things stand right now, the Royal Rumble in January will again be a 40 man Rumble. Unlike everything else, that one I don't think will change.

When the original idea was floated of a 40-man Rumble match it was immediately panned for the many negative effects it could potentially have on the most famous match in professional wrestling. The biggest issue was that it would mess with the pacing and flow of the match, as well as overload it with jobbers and mid-card acts that have no real shot at winning.

When last year's event went off without a hitch and none of those issues came to pass, it became clear the 40-man Rumble works just as well as the traditional 30 participants. Let's hope this year's event goes just as smoothly.