Royal Rumble 2017 reportedly confirmed for San Antonio

After conflicting reports yesterday (Sept. 29), wrestling’s two most prominent reporters now agree. The Wrestling Observer says they’ve heard from multiple sources the 2017 edition of WWE’s Royal Rumble event will take place in San Antonio, Texas. This puts them on the same page as PWInsider, and gets us as close to full confirmation as we’re likely to get until the company announces it.

That announcement is expected to come next week.

Heading to San Antonio puts the pay-per-view (PPV) in the same city which hosted it 20 years ago. The 1997 Rumble had the biggest live audience in the show’s history. It was held in the Alamodome - a multi-purpose stadium - and was headline by hometown hero Shawn Michaels defending his WWF title.

Stone Cold Steve Austin won that year’s Rumble match, which featured numerous Mexican stars to play on San Antonio’s proximity to the border and to the city’s Latino population.

This year’s show will be one of the four - five co-branded PPVs WWE plans to hold during the brand split era, with stars from both the Raw and SmackDown Live rosters on the card.

Reports confirming San Antonio as the host do not mention venue (it’s unlikely to be the Alamadome, with the ~19,000 seat AT&T Center where WWE held Raw this past January being a logical choice), nor any other details such as whether it will be a three or four-plus hour show, how many wrestlers will be in the Rumble itself, etc.

Those should start to trickle out once the location is confirmed by WWE.

Stay tuned.