What time is the Royal Rumble? How to watch the WWE wrestling event, format, matches and history

And for the first time Netflix subscribers will be able to watch all the action for free, as part of a historic £4billion 10-year deal between the WWE and the streaming giant.

January saw the debut of WWE Raw on the platform, with the latest plots, beefs and bouts available every Monday, 52-weeks a year, as the wrestling roadshow travels across the USA and beyond.

But the Royal Rumble is the first major event to feature on Netflix - one of the so-called ‘big five’ , along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is the Royal Rumble?

This year’s Royal Rumble the 38th time it has taken place - will be on Sunday, February 1.

Where is the Royal Rumble being held?

The Royal Rumble is taking place at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

What time will the Royal Rumble start in the UK?

UK wrestling fans should prepare for a later night, with the action starting at around 1am.

How can I watch the Royal Rumble in the UK?

For the first time the Royal Rumble will be available for free to Netflix subscribers. Previous events have been available on a pay-per-view basis only.

If you want to watch but don’t yet have a Netflix subscription you can sign up for £4.99 or more here.

What is the history of Royal Rumble?

The first Royal Rumble took place in 1988 as part of the WWF organisation and is now an annual event, continuing after the rebrand to WWR in 2002 (due to a lawsuit brought by the World Wildlife Fund).

The first winner was Hacksaw Jim Duggan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin holds the record for most Royal Rumble match wins with three.

Traditionally held in the latter half of January, this year’s event will be the first to take place in February.

What is the format of the Royal Rumble?

The Royal Rumble is a wrestling match involving 30 competitors and the winner is the last man, or woman, standing.

The wrestlers do not enter the ring at the same time, but instead are assigned entry numbers via lottery (or according to the plot that is to play out.) The match begins with the first two wrestlers, with the remaining wrestlers entering the ring at regular timed intervals according to their entry number. For obvious reasons, the most common number to win is 30.

The match lasts an hour and in 2018 a women's Royal Rumble match was included for the first time, using exactly the same rules.

Wrestlers are eliminated from the match if moved over the top rope and both feet touch the floor.

What else is happening on the night?

Aside from the men’s and women’s Royal Rumbles, last year’s winner Cody Rhodes will be taking on Kevin Owens ina ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Championship

How much does the winner of Royal Rumble get?

As wrestling is ‘sports entertainment’, there is no prize money - with WWE wrestlers earning an annual salary that is not dependent on their results. The salaries reportedly range from $250,000-$5,000,000.

Along with with the trophy though, the winner trafitionally receives a world championship match at Wrestlemania.