WWE has officially set the Undisputed WWE Championship match for the Royal Rumble, with a tournament determining who will challenge new champion Drew McIntyre.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced during Friday's broadcast from Berlin that a No. 1 Contenders Tournament will begin next week. The winner will face McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 31 in Saudi Arabia.
Four qualifying matches will take place on the January 16 episode of SmackDown from London, England:
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Randy Orton vs. The Miz
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Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams
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Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa
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Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov
The four winners will then compete in a Fatal Four-Way match at Saturday Night's Main Event on January 24. The winner of that bout earns the title shot at Royal Rumble.
Notably, former champion Cody Rhodes is not included in the field after losing the title to McIntyre earlier in the evening.
McIntyre captured his third Undisputed WWE Championship on Friday's SmackDown, defeating Rhodes in a brutal Three Stages of Hell match that saw interference from the returning Jacob Fatu. The Scottish Warrior had been chasing the top title since losing it during the ThunderDome era, with his WrestleMania XL victory lasting only seconds before Damian Priest cashed in Money in the Bank.
The Royal Rumble marks the first time WWE's traditional January event will be held outside North America. It is also part of WWE's partnership with Saudi Arabia as part of Riyadh Season, with a stadium reportedly being built from the ground up for the event.
