The road to WrestleMania will soon begin charting its course. Before we can reach the final destination at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia though, we must first head to the starting point in St. Petersburg, Florida -- the site of the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble.
This weekend, 30 men and 30 women will compete in their respective Royal Rumble matches, with the winner of each guaranteeing themselves a title shot of their choosing at WrestleMania 40. SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay spoke with WWE Raw star Ivy Nile ahead of this premium live event, where Nile shared her excitement about the possibility of competing in the 2024 Women\'s Royal Rumble match.
\"Isn\'t that crazy that I was an alternate last year? That\'s crazy,\" Nile said. \"I really believe in visioning yourself. Like last year, I envisioned just making that run down the way, and just envisioning myself in it. I definitely am doing the same thing this year and gosh, I\'m just getting goosebumps thinking about it. To say you were in a WWE Royal Rumble, that\'s insane to me. I\'m very hopeful that I\'ll be in it, but you never know. If Nia Jax is in it, we will see, I\'m coming after her first. We\'ll see. It\'s definitely an exciting time backstage, and just hoping and waiting.\
Potential Surprise Entrants
As of this writing, only a handful of competitors have been confirmed for the 2024 Women\'s Royal Rumble, leaving the field wide open for surprise entrants to appear. When asked about who she\'d like to see emerge as a surprise in the match, Nile pointed toward another powerhouse -- WWE NXT star Lash Legend.
\"I gotta say, I hope my girl Last Legend comes up from NXT. Like I said, we\'ve had some of the best fights, but that\'s also my girl. Gosh, I honestly love the element of surprise. I think that\'s why everyone watches the Rumble, because you just never know who\'s gonna show up, and I think that\'s so exciting. I mean, you kind of wish for some things, and then if someone is there and you\'re starstruck, you\'re just standing there like \'What?\' So gosh,I really love the element of surprise.\
On the topic of surprises, Nile tells SEScoops that there are specific two names that would cause her to feel starstruck if they were to compete in the Royal Rumble this year.
\"I think AJ [Lee] would be amazing. Gosh, like star-struck by, I\'m a huge Ronda Rousey fan. Of course, I just think she\'s amazing. I would definitely -- I don\'t know what I would do. I would start running down, or if I\'m running to them in that case, I don\'t know, it would be crazy.\
WWE Royal Rumble takes place Saturday, January 27 from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
