WWE Royal Rumble 2026 takes place today (Sat., Jan. 31) from King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The show begins at 12 pm ET with the free Countdown show, leading right into the main course at 2 pm ET on the ESPN App in the United States, and on Netflix everywhere else.
It’s time to say goodbye to AJ Styles
It’s a little unconventional to lead a Royal Rumble preview without discussing one of the Royal Rumble matches on today’s card, but WWE hasn’t done a great job of hyping up those bouts. So let’s first talk about
AJ Styles’ potential retirement match today against GUNTHER.
A lot of fans were shocked last month when GUNTHER forced John Cena to actually give up in his retirement match. Instead of being humble about achieving the biggest win of his career, GUNTHER decided to go the obnoxious asshole route by bragging about how he made Cena “tap out like a little bitch.”
AJ Styles is also making plans for his WWE retirement in 2026, and he had enough of the Ring General disrespecting Cena’s legacy. The Phenomenal One confronted GUNTHER about it, and they wrestled in the main event of the Jan. 12 episode of Raw. AJ was on the verge of victory when he locked GUNTHER in the Calf Crusher late in the bout. However, the Ring General used his smarts to escape the hold by tapping out on AJ’s hip, out of the referee’s eye sight. Styles thought the match was over and released the hold. But the match continued and GUNTHER won with a sudden powerbomb.
Styles demanded a rematch at Royal Rumble, but GUNTHER wasn’t interested in pulling double duty on the card. However, he would give AJ exactly what he wants under one condition, and that’s by putting his career on the line. Styles talked to his wife and accepted the challenge.
That’s how the stage is set for AJ’s potential retirement match today in Saudi Arabia. This is a lot sooner on the calendar than anyone thought Styles would retire in 2026, leaving some hope that he’ll find a way to win. But the truth of the matter is that the bigger story here is about GUNTHER being a career killer in WWE. Now he gets to send another legend into retirement, just as he did last year with Goldberg and Cena, who are both bigger names than The Phenomenal One. In fact, Styles hasn’t beaten any WWE top stars since 2024, and that includes a loss against a YouTube douchebag last year at WrestleMania. AJ is the clear underdog going into this fight against GUNTHER, who is one of the most protected heels on the WWE roster.
Will AJ Styles kick off The Phenomenal Farewell Tour on a high note by beating the Ring General, or will his WWE career unceremoniously end by tapping out like a little bitch? Tune into Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia to find out.
The rest of the card
Here are the remaining three matches that are currently advertised for Royal Rumble:
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Championship
This is Drew McIntyre’s first defense of the WWE championship (excluding house shows) since he shockingly won the belt from Cody Rhodes earlier this month in Three Stages of Hell. Zayn earned a title shot by winning a Fatal 4-way match in Montreal against Trick Williams, Randy Orton, and Damian Priest.
There are three main things to know going into this bout: Sami Zayn has never won the WWE championship, Sami Zayn has never beaten Drew McIntyre, and Sami Zayn has never lost a match in Saudi Arabia.
At least one of those facts must change tonight when McIntyre and Zayn clash over the top prize in WWE. Will Sami Zayn come up short once again in a major title match in front of a live audience that adores him? It would be pretty surprising if McIntyre drops the title so quickly after winning it, especially with rumors about a potential WrestleMania 42 match against Jacob Fatu and/or Cody Rhodes on the way.
Men’s Royal Rumble match
Here are the rules of the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match. It’s essentially a Battle Royal where two wrestlers start the match, a new superstar enters the fray at regular intervals, and elimination occurs when a competitor goes over the top rope and both feet hit the floor. The winner of the match is the last person standing after 29 other wrestlers have been eliminated. The winner earns a world title match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
These 21 stars have been confirmed by WWE to be in the men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia:
- Cody Rhodes
- Jey Uso
- Solo Sikoa
- Jacob Fatu
- Rey Mysterio
- GUNTHER
- Dragon Lee
- Penta
- Roman Reigns
- Bron Breakker
- Logan Paul
- Bronson Reed
- Austin Theory
- Je’Von Evans
- Oba Femi
- Brock Lesnar
- Randy Orton
- Damian Priest
- Trick Williams
- Ilja Dragunov
- The Miz
That means there are nine spots left for potential surprise entrants like Powerhouse Hobbs aka Royce Keys, Joe Hendry, the return of Chris Jericho, LA Knight, Seth Rollins, Omos, and so forth.
What we also know is that Damian Priest picked a bad number for his Rumble entry, and [SPOILER] has probably picked an even worse number.
It’s worth pointing out that Finn Balor was denied a spot in the Royal Rumble by GM Adam Pearce for waiting too long to declare for the match
Out of this list of 21 confirmed stars, the most likely names to actually win the Royal Rumble include Rhodes, Fatu, GUNTHER, Roman Reigns, Bron Breakker, and Brock Lesnar, in some order.
WWE didn’t bother bringing in Lesnar or Reigns for any appearances on Raw or SmackDown leading into this PLE. Even so, stars of that magnitude are always a threat to win the Royal Rumble, just like they’ve done before.
Fatu was a giant dumbass when he returned from injury a few weeks ago to attack Drew McIntyre, and instead inadvertently helped him win the WWE championship from Rhodes. Rhodes and Fatu have come to blows over it multiple times since then, and it’s a good bet that they will violently cross paths again in the Royal Rumble.
GUNTHER is pulling double duty on this card, as he’s also potentially sending AJ Styles into retirement. If his match with Styles comes earlier in the night and the men’s Royal Rumble is the main event, then the Ring General may be physically compromised when his number is called.
Bron Breakker’s stablemates in The Vision (Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, Austin Theory) are all in this match too, and the plan is to work together to ensure Bron wins. But can he really trust that a YouTube douchebag won’t try to hog the spotlight and toss him out if the opportunity strikes?
There will also be a lot of attention on Oba Femi’s performance in the Royal Rumble, as this has been hyped up as his main roster call-up. Will he make a memorable first impression by having the most eliminations in the match?
Women’s Royal Rumble match
The rules for the 30-woman Royal Rumble match are the same as the men’s bout, except they are required to wear much more restrictive clothing in Saudi Arabia.
Here are the 17 names that WWE has confirmed will be in this match:
- Rhea Ripley
- IYO SKY
- Liv Morgan
- Roxanne Perez
- Raquel Rodriguez
- Becky Lynch
- Charlotte Flair
- Alexa Bliss
- Asuka
- Bayley
- Lyra Valkyria
- Nia Jax
- Lash Legend
- Chelsea Green
- Jordynne Grace
- Giulia
- Maxxine Dupri
That leaves 13 spots available for potential surprise entrants like Bianca Belair, AJ Lee, Tiffany Stratton, Trish Stratus, Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, and the rest of the NXT roster.
A lot of people think it’s finally Liv Morgan’s time to win a Royal Rumble match. She returned to WWE in November by kicking John Cena in the dick, and she looks like the favorite to win this bout. If Morgan doesn’t win, it may be the result of a betrayal from her Judgment Day stablemate Roxanne Perez.
Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY are right next to her as serious contenders to win the Royal Rumble. They are currently the WWE women’s tag team champions, but are always in the conversation for a world title match at WrestleMania.
Becky Lynch is the women’s Intercontinental championship and still arguably the biggest women’s star in WWE. Like with Lesnar and Reigns on the men’s side, a star of this magnitude is always a threat to win.
Charlotte Flair won last year’s Rumble match, and it will be interesting to see if she turns on her friend Alexa Bliss as she tries to win it again this year.
Jade Cargill never defends the WWE women’s championship, but Jordynne Grace plans to force the issue by winning the Royal Rumble and earning a title match at WrestleMania. If WWE is looking for an opponent for Jade on the big stage, a much more plausible scenario might be a surprise return and Rumble win for Bianca Belair.
Summary
The Saudi Arabian government’s sportswashing campaign to distract from all of its human rights abuses has been wildly successful, and WWE continues doing its part to help in that regard by bringing one of its most popular events of the year to Riyadh for a ridiculous amount of money.
This card may very well be remembered as the end of AJ Styles’ WWE career, or perhaps the night that Sami Zayn finally wins the WWE championship. The men’s Royal Rumble match stands out for being more unpredictable than normal, whereas the women’s bout is getting more attention for the restrictive rules about their ring gear.
What will you be looking for at Royal Rumble?
