The 2017 Royal Rumble was the 30th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 29, 2017, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This was the second Royal Rumble to be held at this venue after the 1997 event, and the fourth to be held in the state of Texas, after the 1989, 1997, and 2007 events.

The 1997 Royal Rumble was the 10th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 19, 1997, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 1997 event, the winner received a match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13. The main event saw Shawn Michaels defeat Sycho Sid to win the WWF Championship. The main match on the undercard was the 1997 Royal Rumble match, which Stone Cold Steve Austin won after last eliminating Bret Hart. Additionally, Vader defeated The Undertaker, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Goldust to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.