WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will take place at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, January 31, 2026! Follow along here for spoilers and information on the event's card, lineup of matches and news regarding the pay-per-view.
The following are my predictions for the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble PPV. Check back for Royal Rumble 2026 results and review coverage here when the time comes and take part in the WWE Royal Rumble Drinking Game while watching this event, too!
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| WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Spoilers |
Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
I'm VERY surprised they put the title on McIntyre, for a number of reasons. First, I don't think it's the right call to have Jacob Fatu as a heel and to bypass the McIntyre feud in order to have him against Cody Rhodes. Second, I don't think McIntyre is walking into WrestleMania as champion, so if I'm right about that, he either loses the belt here in a hot potato transitional situation, or he has to lose it at something like Elimination Chamber.
Before anyone complains and thinks that I'm just boohooing "everything" and that I'm 100% down on this, I'm not at all saying this. In fact, I think it's interesting that they're shaking things up, and this opens up a lot of room for some cool stuff to happen to prevent the next few months from being boring.
However, if we're being honest, WWE does have a track record of messing this stuff up and turning these scenarios into illogical chaos, because they think unpredictability equals good writing, which isn't a 1:1 comparison.
I have my rightful skepticism that this is going to all end up well when we can look back on it, but without the benefit of hindsight, I'm left to just speculate.
At this particular moment, we don't even know who has advanced to the Fatal 4-Way at Saturday Night's Main Event, so McIntyre could be up against Randy Orton, The Miz, Ilja Dragunov, Sami Zayn, Damian Priest, Solo Sikoa, Matt Cardona, or Trick Williams.
I expect a babyface to fight McIntyre, which narrows the list down to Orton, Dragunov, Zayn, Priest, and Cardona.
Out of those, Cardona feels like a guaranteed retain (but they might be wanting to just feed him to Drew). Priest wouldn't win the title, either, but they might try to roll his ambulance match victory into some momentum there. Dragunov would definitely come up short, but he'd be the most interesting opponent in terms of just a hard-hitting match.
However, it ultimately comes down to Orton or Zayn for me. Do the Saudi folk want so badly for Orton to be in the match that that is where they go? Or is this Zayn's shot for the world title?
In a way, I don't see anyone walking out with the belt except for McIntyre, so that he can lose the title back to Rhodes. But since I don't see an obvious Royal Rumble winner in mind to set up a clear WrestleMania match, either, this is all sort of up in the air.
Update: Yeah, Sami Zayn isn't winning that title. Sorry, everyone who gets their hopes up.
PREDICTION: Drew McIntyre retains.
30-Man Royal Rumble Match (2026)
Confirmed participants (15) = Austin Theory, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Cody Rhodes, Dragon Lee, Gunther, Jacob Fatu, Je'Von Evans, Jey Uso, Logan Paul, Oba Femi, Penta, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa
* Brock Lesnar isn't confirmed, but expected. Dominik Mysterio is on the poster, but that doesn't have to mean he's in there.
* Rey Mysterio appears to be injured, which could force him to be pulled from the match; pending
Cody Rhodes losing the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre definitely has me confused about the game plan for this.
I'm still hoping we don't end up with Rhodes versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and I don't want to see Reigns fighting anyone for the title, for that matter.
I also don't think McIntyre is holding this belt heading into Mania, so if he drops it, when does he lose it? And to whom?
So many people are going to be tossing out scenarios like Oba Femi winning this and the title at Mania, and while I'm down for that, I do hesitate to put any stock into it. WWE could very well just have that title change be something to shock people for a month before settling back into the status quo.
What about Gunther, too? I guess he's fighting Brock Lesnar?
I'm at a loss at the moment for anything I would feel confident in predicting, but for now, I'll stick to my Roman Reigns prediction.
PREDICTION: Roman Reigns wins.
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match (2026)
Confirmed participants (17) = Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, Giulia, Iyo Sky, Jordynne Grace, Lash Legend, Liv Morgan, Lyra Valkyria, Maxxine Dupri, Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez
* Tiffany Stratton is on the poster, but not yet confirmed.
Assuming the champions heading into WrestleMania are Jade Cargill and Stephanie Vaquer, I think the only real options worth talking about here are Cargill's opponents possibly being Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, or Bianca Belair, and Vaquer's only options being Ripley, Iyo Sky, and I guess Becky Lynch.
Mathematically, that should point to Ripley being the most likely winner. However...
PREDICTION: Bianca Belair wins.
AJ Styles vs. Gunther — If Styles loses, he will retire
Wow, so I guess AJ Styles is just retiring without wrestling in 2026 pretty much at all. I just assumed he would have a retirement tour. 10 years after his Royal Rumble debut is something, but I'm disappointed we won't get Styles against people like Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans, etc.
PREDICTION: Gunther wins.
This page will be altered on a regular basis to reflect changes to the show including any new matches added to the lineup, adjustments to the card, revised predictions and any other information about this event. Stay tuned for the latest updates!
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