The Royal Rumble is one of the special premium live events on the WWE calendar where truly anything can happen.
Last year, WWE fans saw Jey Uso win the men’s Royal Rumble match and earn a title shot at WrestleMania 41. Uso went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship in a wild upset over Gunther. Charlotte Flair won the women’s Royal Rumble match and challenged Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s World Championship but came up just short.
Both the male and female competitors on the WWE roster will try to climb to the top of the mountain and earn the title shots again. First, they will have to outlast 29 other opponents and make sure they’re thrown over the top rope to eliminate them from the Royal Rumble match.
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The match starts with two participants in the ring with a new competitor entering the ring every 90 seconds or so. The only way participants can be eliminated is if they’re thrown over the top rope and both of their feet hit the ground.
One of the best things about the match is the feeling that anyone could win and anyone could be in the match. WWE legends, stars who recovered from injuries or wrestlers who fans haven’t seen in a while have been known to make epic returns and stun the audience.
The road to WrestleMania 42 has barely formed, and there’s a feeling in the air that anyone could win the Royal Rumble matches and come out on top.
Beyond the Royal Rumble matches, the rest of the card is pretty solid.
Sami Zayn will challenge Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship while Gunther will try to be the “career killer” and end A.J. Styles’ tenure in WWE.
The Royal Rumble takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time. It will be broadcast on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.
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Read below for five predictions for the event.
Gunther comes into the Royal Rumble on a bit of a hot streak since he lost to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41. In that span, he regained the World Heavyweight Championship and later lost it to CM Punk. He retired Goldberg and John Cena and now has A.J. Styles in his crosshairs. It will be a huge moment for the “Ring General” should he get another major win on his resume.
Drew McIntyre will likely retain the Undisputed WWE Championship after winning it in a cage match against Cody Rhodes with some indirect help from Jacob Fatu. The only question is how he will win it. Zayn is one of the top guys on the SmackDown brand and earned his shot after winning a fatal four-way match over Trick Williams, Damian Priest and Randy Orton. But McIntyre has been on a roll as of late and made sure his adversaries know it too, as he took out Rhodes and Fatu at Saturday Night’s Main Event. McIntyre should stay on top at the Royal Rumble and at least through to WrestleMania.
Alexa Bliss, Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella were among the top surprises in the women’s Royal Rumble last year, while NXT stars Roxanne Perez, Lash Legend, Jaida Parker, Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia joined the fray. Jordynne Grace was also involved in the event after coming over from TNA.
This year, there may not be as many surprises, but some injury returns are possible. Tiffany Stratton hasn’t been seen since she lost her title to Jade Cargill. Bianca Belair has been out of action since April and was only a referee at Evolution. Those two could be coming back.
NXT stars are prone to making an impact in the Royal Rumble. They may not have the same impact Perez had last year, but it could be something special. Sol Ruca and Zaria have already been seen going up against Flair and Bliss on the main roster. Jacy Jayne is also poised for a call-up after a successful run as the women’s NXT champion.
The women’s side featured some major returns last year, but this year, it will be the men’s match that gets pro wrestling fans talking.
The biggest rumor has been the return of Chris Jericho. WWE fans have been clamoring for it since his contract with AEW reportedly ended. Jericho is a legend in WWE. He hasn’t been in a WWE match since 2018 and hasn’t been on WWE programming since 2022.
Two other pro wrestling superstars that could be making their debuts are Powerhouse Hobbs and EVIL. Hobbs was a superstar on the AEW roster since 2020 and was a two-time champion. EVIL was a star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a one-time IWGP heavyweight champion and a four-time NEVER openweight champion. Both have been rumored to be making their WWE debuts, and it could be coming soon.
There is also the chance of WWE guys who haven’t been on WWE programming in a while returning. Fans cannot count out LA Knight doing his best to get into the match and trying to win it all. Seth Rollins has been out with a legitimate injury, but after his ruse to win at SummerSlam, anything is possible with him. Oba Femi has also been announced for the Rumble and could shock the world.
Bron Breakker and Liv Morgan will win this year’s men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches respectively.
Breakker had an epic match against Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship to start 2026 and a rematch would make for an epic WrestleMania 42 main event. Breakker had a viral moment at last year’s Rumble when he speared iShowSpeed. But he was eliminated by Roman Reigns after eliminating three participants. Breakker has improved greatly since then and could be in line for another title shot.
Morgan returned to RAW earlier this month after coming back from an injury. She and Perez are No. 1 contenders for the women’s tag team titles but the larger goal would be to get back to the top of the women’s division. A win at the Royal Rumble will do that, but would likely mean a rift in the Judgment Day if Raquel Rodriguez defeats Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship.
It would definitely make for an interesting WrestleMania if that’s the case.
