The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Image: WWE
We’ve got a big time main event for WrestleMania!
On a new Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa discuss the reasons behind Roman Reigns choosing CM Punk as his opponent for April’s mega event.
The guys also look at booking habits and patterns repeating themselves in both WWE and AEW and the wrestling life of Frankie Cain/The Great Mephisto who passed away this week.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including the doom of AVA and how it will be addressed on NXT tonight, last night’s RAW with the CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns main event segment, Nick Hogan at the Performance Center, Hiromu leaving New Japan, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of the Great Mephisto, the Reigns vs. Punk promo segment at the end of RAW plus a complete report on the show, Hiromu leaving New Japan, Peacock business, ratings, more on the departure of Ava, CMLL news and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: The Great Mephisto passes away
15:29: Roman Reigns & CM Punk set for WrestleMania 42
18:31: Hiromu Takahashi leaving NJPW, other NJPW notes
24:46: Ava posts message critical of US administration & closes X account, new Peacock numbers, ratings
38:54: CMLL & AAA notes, Diego Lopes breaks both feet during UFC fight
42:17: WWE Raw recap, lineups for the week
The World Heavyweight title match for WrestleMania 42 is official.
Roman Reigns on Monday officially chose CM Punk as his opponent for WrestleMania 42, which takes place on April 18 and 19. Roman’s choice followed a war of words between the two that quickly grew personal.
Reigns’ decision became the focal point of the main event segment of Monday’s Raw, with this year’s Royal Rumble winner coming out and asking the fans who he should choose. CM Punk came out and first called out Finn Balor, which angered Reigns. The two traded barbs, with Punk accusing Reigns of being a part-timer while Reigns knocked Punk for taking “a ten year vacation.” Reigns refuted the idea that he followed Punk’s lead, as he said Punk was an example of everything not to do. He accused Punk of making his life harder after appearing on his friend’s (Colt Cabana’s) podcast, took his wiseman, and brainwashed his cousins and even almost brainwashed him, as they shook hands at Survivor Series only for Punk to mock him on the way to the back.
In the end, Reigns told Punk that he could choose Punk because he’s on Netflix and is the top star, but it runs deeper than that. Reigns told Punk that he hated him, and WrestleMania would be the best day of his life because Punk will acknowledge him.
Reigns won the Royal Rumble on Saturday, last eliminating Gunther. Liv Morgan won the women’s Royal Rumble, but on Monday said she would go to SmackDown to get a better idea of who she’ll choose.
Date: February 2, 2026
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA
The Big Takeaway —
Roman Reigns will face CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42.
**********
Show Recap —
Instead of the usual start, Raw kicked off immediately with a shot of Bron Breakker marching around ringside. He tore up the announce table and confronted the announcers, who begged off. Breakker tossed the announce table over and demanded a mic.
Breakker entered the ring as his Vision teammates frantically made their way down. Breakker called out Adam Pearce as the Vision and Paul Heyman urged him to calm down. Breakker accused Pearce of ruining his Rumble appearance, and he threatened to ruin Raw.
Heyman took the mic as the Vision continued to talk down Breakker. Heyman said this was all Pearce’s fault. Pearce has to approve every Visa for the trip, so he had to know who the masked man was. He also accused Pearce again of making Bron the number two entrant.
Breakker grabbed the mic and demanded that Pearce come out. Pearce entered and was guarded by security. Pearce was in no mood for this. Pearce reminded them that the Rumble drawing was random. He said he would give Breakker a gift and let him keep his job after that piss-poor performance on Saturday.
Breakker snapped and scrambled out of the ring (tripping over in the process because he was so upset), but he was stopped by Bronson Reed before he could try to get through security. Pearce bailed.
LA Knight’s music hit. He appeared from the crowd and blindsided Austin Theory and Logan Paul with a steel chair. Reed chased him off. An upset Breakker went to the back.
(This was a good start to the show. The only negative was Theory and Paul got up almost right away and weren’t selling the Knight chair shots.)
********
There was a Royal Rumble recap video. Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer, and Gunther were shown at the arena earlier today.
They let us know Je’Von Evans lasted the longest in the men’s Rumble match with a time of 40:58.
Evans’ shoulder and ribs were taped up. He was off to a good start until he missed a Stinger splash. El Grande took over, and there was a modest, “We want Gable” chant. Evans came right back and hit a crazy leaping dive to the outside, almost flying right over El Grande.
Evans was distracted by Rayo, so El Grande nailed a dropkick on the apron and lawn-darted him into the ring post. El Grande had control through a break, and it was really dull. (Perhaps they need to be reminded that much of the world can see what they’re doing, or not doing, during commercials.)
Evans fought back with chops, forearms, kicks, and a satellite DDT. Evans fought out of a submission hold, and with El Grande lying on the other side of the ring, Evans went to the top and hit a senton leg drop all the way to the other side. It was a long way to go, so he didn’t quite nail it.
Rayo distracted the referee, allowing Bravo to trip Evans off the top rope. Rayo handed El Grande the metal plate while the ref dealt with Bravo. The original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) entered to his music and posed in the aisle.
The distraction allowed Evans to hit a running knee strike and OG Cutter for the pinfall win.
Match result: Je’Von Evans defeated El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) (12:30)
This match was ok. It was a bit more deliberately paced than I expected, with a lot of striking. The crowd liked Evans, but they were pretty quiet during the bulk of the match.
********
Michael Cole announced an attendance of 13,746.
There was a Rumble video package, this time highlighting some of the newer faces from NXT, recent callups, and Royce Keys (Powerhouse Hobbs).
Jimmy and Jey entered during a break. Jimmy’s back after being gone for a few weeks as the company was out of the country. They issued a warning shot to Alpha Academy, who they would be defending their tag titles against next week. They shouted out Roman Reigns for winning the Royal Rumble, and that was that.
Cole congratulated Bad Bunny and Jelly Roll on their success at the Grammy Awards.
********
AJ Styles’ music hit, and the crowd cheered, but Gunther excitedly walked out instead and did Styles’ pose. The crowd booed as Gunther tried to speak. Eventually, he said Styles found out what Goldberg and John Cena did. When you step in the ring with the career killer, your career and legacy die.
Dragon Lee ran out as Gunther spoke. He attacked Gunther, nailed a great-looking suicide dive, and sent him into the ring post using a hurricanrana.
Dragon Lee charged at Gunther while he was in the timekeeper’s area, but Gunther popped up and nailed him with the ring bell. Gunther put him in the dreaded sleeper hold until officials quickly broke it up.
Gunther went into the ring and picked Dragon Lee up by his mask (while Lee was ringside). Gunther put him in the sleeper again, this time with Dragon dangling over the side of the ring. Officials desperately tried to pull Gunther away (including Shawn Daivari, who grabbed Gunther by the hair), but he only let go after Lee passed out. Gunther put his coat on and left.
********
There was a replay of Reed and Logan trying to kill Knight weeks back when Reed gave him a Tsunami on top of a car.
Heyman approached Pearce and asked him to make a match between Breakker and Knight. Pearce said no. Pearce didn’t appreciate Breakker interrupting his show. He told Heyman to escort Breakker out of the building and tell Reed he has a match against Penta.
Heyman asked Pearce if he knew who he was talking to and in which city. (Fans chanted “ECW.”) Pearce told Heyman, “F.A.F.O” (a line Heyman used on Pearce on Saturday). Heyman chuckled, and he left.
*******
During a break, Maxxine Dupri told Byron Saxton she was still shocked over what Nattie did. But just like there was a new Nattie, there was a new Maxxine. She beat the greatest women’s wrestler of all time to become the IC champion. This Maxxine was breaking ankles and taking names.
She was sick and tired of being walked over. Nattie didn’t elevate her, she elevated herself. Nattie taught her how to train, but Dupri taught herself how to survive. Dupri would give Nattie a lesson next week: that no one can decimate this Maxxine.
********
Breakker was still pissed and tossing stuff around backstage. Heyman tried to calm him down by telling him that Pearce had plenty of ammunition against him already. Breakker screamed at Heyman that he didn’t care. Breakker barged through a door and left.
Erik and Ivar entered, presumably for a match. They were surprised upon hearing the music of Oba Femi. The announcers were surprised too, as they were expecting a tag match.
Femi entered the ring and destroyed both guys. He gave Ivar a chokeslam and gave Erik a powerbomb. Femi posed as fans chanted his name.
(This was a cool segment for Femi. Not so much for the other guys.)
********
Finn Bálor said this was a business based on respect. He always gave respect in the indies and on the main roster. But he was realizing that the respect was not returned to him. He was taken for granted over and over. What happened in Belfast was not a one-off.
He’s been showing up and showing off his entire career, but Pearce still tried to tell him the Rumble was full. It turns out, respect only gets you so far. He wanted the world title. He didn’t think of himself as a bad guy, but warned CM Punk he was willing to do bad things.
********
The Bellas entered. The crowd was chanting something that sounded like booing, and Nikki asked if that was for the Eagles not making it to the Super Bowl. Brie said they were probably saying “Coop,” and Nikki bragged that she had good taste. He was a pro bowler, after all. (I guess she’s dating Eagles player Cooper DeJean.)
Nikki said the Bella twins haven’t appeared on Raw together in over seven years. Nikki shared everyone’s excitement that Brie was back. There were light “Yes” chants.
Brie was happy to be back home. She joked that she didn’t return because Nikki was getting her butt kicked every week. She returned because they were the “original tag team.” The division was better than ever, and they wanted in. It was time for the Bella twins to go for the tag titles.
(This was not a good promo, and this segment was a reminder as to why people don’t like the Bellas.)
********
Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Dupri had a backstage segment with Bret Kreischer. Otis was in a good mood seeing Kreischer, but Dupri was all business. She planned on breaking Nattie’s ankle next week. Dupri left. Otis and Kreischer were excited, and Kreischer took his shirt off.
********
The first hour of the show included just the one 12-minute match. The second match of the evening started a full 40 minutes later…
…and this match went to commercials after 2 minutes.
Penta hit a dive ahead of the break, but it didn’t matter because Reed got the heat moments later. Like the opening match, not much happened during the break. (I guess all these guys did just fly halfway across the world.)
Penta came back and hit a springboard tornado DDT for two. Reed hit a powerslam for two, and Penta came back with a backstabber for two.
Theory jumped on the apron, so Penta kicked him off. Penta also knocked Logan off the apron and wiped out both guys with a dive. Penta accidentally knocked the referee out of the ring when he attacked Logan.
Penta took too much time dealing with the Vision, so Reed hit him with a Jagged Edge (DVD) and Tsunami, but the referee was still out.
Reed went outside and grabbed a chair, but was attacked by LA Knight, who gave him a BFT onto the chair. Knight was chased away by Logan and Theory (who quickly recovered again, as they did in the opening segment).
Reed couldn’t get back in the ring by ten, so Penta won by count-out.
Match result: Penta defeated Bronson Reed via count-out (12:55)
********
The Americanos were interviewed by Saxton during the break. This included Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate doing bad accents.
********
Dominik Mysterio entered. He’s back after being gone for a few weeks with an injury. His mustache is even thicker than before. The crowd chanted “Dirty Dom.” Dom said the only reason he would come back to a place like Philly was to celebrate the winner of the women’s Rumble. He introduced Liv Morgan.
Morgan entered and jumped into Dom’s arms. The crowd chanted, “You deserve it,” (not that loud), and she responded, “I know!” Morgan said they were all in the presence of the greatest Royal Rumble winner of all time.
Morgan wasn’t sure who she wanted to face at WrestleMania yet. She planned to attend SmackDown on Friday to assess her options. What she did know was that we were going to crown a new Women’s World Champion tonight. Morgan introduced her best friend and sister, Big Sexy Raquel Rodriguez.
Rodriguez entered. She said Judgment Day celebrated Morgan’s big win all weekend, but they never addressed something else that happened during the Rumble. Rodriguez asked Morgan why she eliminated her from the match.
Morgan said she knew Rodriguez wasn’t a selfish person. Rodriguez had a title opportunity, and now she did too. A win for one Judgment Day member was a win for them all.
Rodriguez agreed with that sentiment, but told Morgan to stay in the back for her match. Beating Vaquer on her own would make winning the world title that much sweeter. Morgan was on board with this (and relieved Rodriguez didn’t seem upset with her anymore).
Vaquer has new generic-sounding music, and it seems like an immediate downgrade. She also wore new gear, which included long pants. It is a street fight, after all. (Rodriguez wrestled in ripped jeans.)
Vaquer grabbed a table early on to the crowd’s delight, but was unable to use it. Rodriguez powerbombed her through the table moments later. During a break, Rodriguez wrapped a chain around Vaquer’s previously injured ankle, dragged her around ringside and slammed her leg into the barricade and into the side of the ring.
After the break, Rodriguez booted the steel steps into Vaquer’s ankle. Vaquer avoided a steel chair shot and attacked Rodriguez with a kendo stick. Rodriguez attacked Vaquer with the cardboard cover from the announce table, before lawn-darting her into the ring post (second time we’ve seen that spot tonight).
Vaquer came back with a kendo stick shot and a back suplex. She set up for Devil’s Kiss, but Rodriguez powered up to her feet with Vaquer still on her shoulders and dropped her onto the top rope. Vaquer managed to respond with a thrust kick for two. Rodriguez hit Vaquer on the head with a trash can for a two count. Fans chanted for the Eagles.
Rodriguez tossed a bunch of chairs into the ring, and Corey Graves gave Terry Funk a shout-out. Rodriguez caught Vaquer’s crossbody attempt and hit a fallaway slam onto the chairs. Vaquer avoided a corkscrew elbow drop and hit Rodriguez with Devil’s Kiss onto a steel chair. Vaquer wasn’t done there. She rolled to the outside and hit Devil’s Kiss on top of the steel steps. The previous quiet crowd chanted, “One more time.” She didn’t do it.
During a break, Vaquer attacked with the kendo stick and chucked the trash can in Rodriguez’s face. Rodriguez fought back and wedged a chair between the turnbuckles. She also set up a table outside the ring.
After the break, Rodriguez tried to use the steel steps as a weapon, but Vaquer ducked it and dropped her onto the steps instead. Vaquer placed the trash can over Rodriguez and hit a running meteora in the corner for two. Rodriguez booted the can into Vaquer’s face moments later for two.
Rodriguez took her time setting up a table while the ref checked on Vaquer, who was favouring her ankle. Rodriguez tried a Tejana Bomb through the table, but Vaquer slipped out. Rodriguez hit a clothesline instead.
19 minutes into the match, Morgan entered through the crowd and handed Rodriguez the title belt, urging her to use it as a weapon. Vaquer used the distraction to chuck Rodriguez into the wedged chair, and knocked Morgan off the apron. Roxanne Perez tried to interfere too, but Vaquer knocked her off the ropes, through the outside table.
Vaquer set up Rodriguez for a hurricanrana off the top and through the table, but Rodriguez blocked it and set up for a powerbomb. Vaquer blocked that and hit the hurricanrana anyway. The move sent Rodriguez through the table, but it didn’t look good.
Vaquer followed with a Spiral Tap (corkscrew splash) for the pinfall win.
— After some replays, Morgan laid out Vaquer with an Oblivion. She posed with the title belt before dropping it onto Vaquer.
Match result: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Raquel Rodriguez in a Philly Street Fight to retain the Women’s World Championship (21:55)
This was mostly a good match, but it dragged at times and felt really long, and the lack of crowd reaction really brought it down.
********
Next week on Raw:
********
Roman Reigns arrived in a Range Rover (he had a driver), and he immediately made his way to the ring. Reigns said he’s had highs and lows in Philly. He won his first championship here on his daughter’s birthday, but he also lost his last championship here. He won his first Rumble here, too. (He acknowledged the fans booed him at the time.)
He won his second Rumble on Saturday, and the next city on the schedule was Philly. This was the perfect city to be in, because he had a decision to make. He was about to pose the question of which title he should go after, but stopped as the crowd chanted for CM Punk. Reigns said, “So you don’t want me to go after Drew McIntyre?” Reigns asked if they preferred Punk, and they cheered.
Punk entered. The crowd chanted for Punk as the two men stared each other down. Punk looked into the camera to address Finn Bálor. Punk said Bálor wasn’t sure if he was a bad guy, but Punk warned him that when he was pushed, he was the baddest guy, and he would get his hands on Bálor soon.
Reigns was perplexed at Punk interrupting his segment to talk about Bálor. Punk said he wasn’t interrupting anything. Reigns was a visitor on his show. “I’m the champ, CM Punk, and I call the shots.”
Punk said Reigns had a big decision to make. Punk saw that Reigns was asking for the fans’ help. He mentioned McIntyre, and the fans booed. Punk proposed Reigns vs. McIntyre at WrestleMania, and they booed again. Punk proposed Reigns vs. the best in the world, CM Punk, and they cheered.
Punk told Reigns to take the easy way out and pick McIntyre. Reigns scoffed at the idea that McIntyre was the easy way out. McIntyre was four times Punk’s size, and the last time they fought, he had Punk crying over a little plastic bracelet.
Punk told Reigns to be careful. The last time he wrestled McIntyre, they ran out of staples putting his dumb ass back together. Punk knew that Reigns had beaten McIntyre in the past, but Punk beat him in the most dangerous match this company had to offer, Hell in a Cell.
Reigns said he beat McIntyre for three years straight. Punk said he did, along with all of his cousins. Reigns warned him against talking about his family. They were the only reason this company was where it was today. And the only reason Punk had a company to come back to.
Punk said Reigns manipulated his family and a great number of people into thinking he was this great messiah who put the company on his shoulders and held it high, but all he really did was hold it hostage. Punk heard what Reigns said on Pat McAfee’s show. He laughed at the idea that Reigns took mini-vacations to give others an opportunity, and he had the audacity to say nobody stepped up during that time.
Punk reminded Reigns that he was once champion for 434 days with Paul Heyman by his side. That must sound familiar, because Reigns followed in his footsteps and was champion with Heyman for 1300 days. Punk said he may have done it longer, but that doesn’t mean he did it better.
Punk said Reigns earned the right to call his shot and show up when he wanted. Punk wasn’t mad about it. Reigns chose to be a part-timer. Punk chose to go to ten countries in three weeks. He chose to see the fans worldwide. He chose to go to Poland, Scotland, Denmark, Belgium, London, Toronto, and Philly.
Punk chose to be a fighting champion, just like he chose to bring Reigns into the company along with the rest of The Shield. Reigns followed in his footsteps, and he learned from the best.
Punk said Reigns had a decision to make. Reigns could face the guy he thinks he can beat (McIntyre), or the guy who, on Reigns’ best day, he couldn’t touch. He could face McIntyre or climb Mount Everest with no Sherpa and face the best in the world.
Reigns said Punk made all these towns because he took a ten-year vacation and wanted to get in as much as possible. Reigns laughed at the idea that he learned from Punk. The only thing he learned from Punk was what not to do. Punk wouldn’t be here without him.
When they re-signed Punk, they asked Reigns first. He made a promise to Paul, and he did the best he could. But he would never forget ten years ago when Punk went on his friend’s podcast and made Reigns’ life way harder than it should’ve been. Punk came back, took his wiseman, and brainwashed his cousins. Punk almost brainwashed him, too. Reigns shook his hand like a man (at Survivor Series), but Punk mocked him behind his back.
Reigns made his choice. He could pick Punk because he was the biggest star available. He could pick Punk because he was on the “best show.” But no.
Reigns said, “I’m picking you because I hate you. I’ve always hated you. And WrestleMania is going to be the best day of my life, because in the main event, you will acknowledge me.”
Reigns dropped the mic and left. Punk smirked as Reigns walked away.
(This was a very good setup for WrestleMania, and they gave us plenty to chew on with the show still more than two months away. The rest of the show mostly felt like filler in front of another quiet, big city crowd.)
Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan, this year’s Royal Rumble winners, are both set to make appearances on WWE Raw tonight.
WWE has officially added segments with Reigns and Morgan to the lineup for tonight’s post-Royal Rumble edition of Raw in Philadelphia. Neither has officially revealed which champion they’ll be facing at WrestleMania, but their appearances tonight will continue the build toward that happening.
“Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns is set to return to Raw,” WWE.com wrote. “Will The OTC decide which World Champion he will challenge at WrestleMania? Find out tonight on Raw at 8e/5p on Netflix.”
Morgan’s appearance tonight will be to celebrate her Rumble victory.
“After outlasting 29 other Superstars and eliminating her Judgment Day ally Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan returns to Raw,” WWE.com’s announcement says. “Morgan has now earned the right to headline WrestleMania against a Women’s Champion. Don’t miss all the action, tonight on Raw at 8e/5p on Netflix.”
Reigns facing World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk looks to be the direction for WrestleMania. As for Morgan, tension within Judgment Day could continue to build based on the result of tonight’s Women’s World Championship match. Rodriguez is challenging Stephanie Vaquer for the title in a Philly Street Fight.
At WrestleMania, Roman Reigns has the chance to ascend back to the summit of WWE.
Reigns will challenge for either the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April. He earned the title shot by winning the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, entering at number 22 and outlasting the rest of the field to win the Rumble for the second time in his career.
.@WWERomanReigns is headed to WrestleMania!!! ☝️ pic.twitter.com/tIiQbzpje6
— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2026
The final four left at the end were Reigns, Gunther, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul. It came down to Reigns and Gunther after their respective eliminations of Paul and Orton. Reigns hit a spear on Gunther — who was pulling double duty after having already defeated AJ Styles earlier in the night — and then threw him over the top rope for the victory.
WWE has not yet confirmed which champion Reigns will be challenging at WrestleMania. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre are the current title holders.
The last time Reigns held WWE gold was his record-breaking World Championship run that was ended by Cody Rhodes in 2024. In today’s Rumble, Reigns and Rhodes were positioned among the biggest threats to win. But Rhodes ended up being eliminated in an angle where McIntyre interfered and blindsided him with a Claymore.
DREW MCINTYRE OUT OF NOWHERE TO ELIMINATE CODY RHODES!!!#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/MxChQx6Mg2
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) January 31, 2026
On commentary during the Rumble, WWE briefly mentioned the “controversial” comments Reigns made on The Pat McAfee Show this week. Reigns cut a promo during that appearance where he challenged the rest of the roster to get over — and he said WWE needs to be able to keep up creatively during the times that he’s not around. Though he’s shifted more toward a part-time schedule in recent years, the 40-year-old Reigns said he still feels like he is 25 and is physically good to go.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. Liv Morgan will also be challenging for gold at Mania after winning the women’s Royal Rumble.
While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show ahead of the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns sent a message to everyone else on the WWE roster.
Reigns’ wrestling schedule has slowed down over the past couple of years — and Saturday’s PLE will be the first time we’ve seen him in action since Survivor Series. He addressed his WWE schedule during today’s McAfee Show appearance, cutting an in-character promo where he challenged everyone else in WWE to step up and get themselves over.
“There’s always a mindset of that,” Reigns responded when asked if he feels like WWE will always be his show. “But to be completely honest and transparent here, two years ago it all changed around and what I’ve been doing out there hasn’t exactly been the same of what I’ve done before. And the way I look at it is, I’m a generous Tribal Chief. I give the people plenty of time. These young talent, they say we hog all the TV time. They’ll complain about one thing, and then I leave an opening, I give them plenty of space to create whatever type of superstardom they want. Get over, kids. Get over. You know what I mean?
“And we’re two years here now, and we haven’t advanced. We haven’t evolved. We have great leadership in Nick Khan. God bless him, what a businessman. He’s a genius. But we have to be able to keep up with that creatively. And that’s why people like me, people who are striving to be the very best, the greatest, the GOATs, the [Michael Jordans], I just can’t sit around and see [mediocrity] — not when I set it up for everybody to just slam it home. I mean, we’re on Netflix for crying out loud. You gotta capitalize. We have people playing around and trying to figure it out. And I got the formula. I know how to cook it up.
“So it’s been a tough couple of years for me, but at the same time, when you come off such a hell of a run, you’ve gotta kind of just pump the brakes for a second. You know, I’ve got five children at home. We all wear those two important hats, being a husband and a father. And I’ve been on the road for a long time. So I needed to be able to pull back a little bit, but I’m fully capable. And I’m only 40 years old. With all the tech and all the information we have now, I feel like I’m 25 years old. So I’m still good to go.”
Reigns will be among the 30 entrants in Saturday’s men’s Royal Rumble match. Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes, and The Vision (Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory) are some of the other participants that have been confirmed.
The PLE is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and has a start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, streaming live on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix elsewhere.
Roman Reigns is the latest to declare for the Royal Rumble.
During Friday’s SmackDown, a video aired showing Reigns’ previous Royal Rumble appearances. It was then confirmed that he would be participating in next weekend’s Royal Rumble match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This would mark Reigns’ first appearance in WWE since the events of Survivor Series, where his team lost to the Vision’s team in the annual War Games match.
After the loss, Reigns seemed to make peace with CM Punk over the loss, but not so much with Cody Rhodes. The two exchanged words, hinting that a future match between the two might take place. But it is also worth noting that new reports indicate plans for WrestleMania have changed with Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship win earlier this month.
In addition to Reigns, Jordynne Grace, Chelsea Green, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Lash Legend, Nia Jax, and Giulia all brought up during Friday’s show in Montreal that they would be in the upcoming Royal Rumble match. Solo Sikoa also declared for the men’s Royal Rumble.
Here is the updated list of declarations for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble:
Seth Rollins doubts that he, Roman Reigns & Jon Moxley will ever reunite as a trio — unless it happens down the road at a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
To promote the new season of “WWE: Unreal,” Rollins and his wife Becky Lynch participated in an “Actually Us” interview for GQ. They fielded questions that have been posed on the internet, with Rollins addressing one post that asked if The Shield will ever get back together. Because Rollins and Reigns are rivals in storyline and Moxley is now with AEW, he thinks the chances are “very slim.”
“Not a lot of love lost between myself and Roman Reigns. Dean Ambrose — Jon Moxley — not currently with the company. Don’t know if he’s ever coming back,” Rollins said. “I would say chances are very slim. Maybe one day there will be a Hall of Fame induction where all three of us will be in the same place at the same time. I would say we’re looking at like a real, real [slim chance]. Maybe Kurt Angle [who once teamed with The Shield for one night] has a better chance.”
The Shield debuted for WWE in 2012 and last teamed together in 2019, when Moxley departed WWE for AEW. Moxley has been one of the faces of AEW throughout its existence, earning praise from Tony Khan as the most consistent presence in company history.
Rollins, who has been sidelined since October due to a shoulder injury, noted during the GQ interview that his rehab is going “quite well.” He’s hoping to make it back for WrestleMania 42, but that all depends on whether WWE will clear him in time.
In 30-plus years as a tag team, TNA tag team champions Matt and Jeff Hardy have wrestled almost all of the biggest teams of the past decade. But they still have a few opponents left on their bucket list.
In an interview with Kevin Lewis of the Budget Cut Podcast, the Hardys were asked about any dream opponents they’d like to work with.
“In my solo dimension, Roman Reigns is still in that realm,” Jeff said. “That’s a pretty big dream match of mine.”
“As far as tag teams, I’m kind of hung up on the Street Profits,” he continued. “I really admire those guys. I would love to see that happen.”
“I would love to wrestle the Street Profits,” Matt said. “I would love to wrestle the Usos again. I would love to wrestle the New Day. Especially as they’re bad guys now, they’re villains. We haven’t done that. So I would love to wrestle those guys. Also, the Motor City Machine Guns. We have never had a match with those guys.” Matt also named Roman Reigns as his dream singles opponent.
Jeff then added one more team to his wish list. “I got to say this one, too, it’s on my bucket list,” he said. “With the Usos, a cinematic match in the Uso Penitentiary. Go to an old abandoned prison and have a killer cinematic match.”
WWE has changed course for its WrestleMania 42 main event.
The plan had been for a third Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns match to headline the show. However, Dave Meltzer wrote in today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Paul “Triple H” Levesque soured on the idea of running a third Rhodes vs. Reigns match in four years.
Meltzer wrote:
“The way it was explained is that Paul Levesque took another look at the Rumble-to-Mania planned direction and decided that doing a Rhodes vs. Reigns match for the third time in four years and spending months building the direction would lead to audience fatigue.”
The change in WrestleMania plans and the decision to have Drew McIntyre win the WWE Championship were made within 48 hours of the title change taking place.
There are now two potential WrestleMania main events under consideration: Rhodes vs. McIntyre, or a three-way with Rhodes vs. McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu.
Meltzer continued:
“We were told that Reigns will be the odd man out of the WWE title picture. He is scheduled to return at the Rumble and one would expect his direction to be clearer there.”
“The two ideas for Mania at this point are a three-way for the title with Rhodes, Fatu and McIntyre, or just McIntyre vs. Rhodes.”
Meltzer also noted that both McIntyre and Rhodes pushed for McIntyre to win the WWE Championship, with the idea that Rhodes going into WrestleMania chasing the title rather than defending it would be a fresher story.
New WWE Champion Drew McIntyre is set to appear on today’s episode of WWE SmackDown in London, where his angle with Fatu and Rhodes is expected to continue.
The full edition of this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available here.
WWE looks to have made a significant change to the planned card for WrestleMania 42.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE decided to shift its WrestleMania plans last week. The new plans are not fully known yet, but Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns is now looking unlikely for the PLE. One possibility is that Drew McIntyre, Rhodes, and Jacob Fatu will face off in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship, though that match could potentially happen somewhere other than WrestleMania.
“WrestleMania changed on Wednesday of last week, which was when they made the decision to go with the McIntyre title win,” Meltzer said. “So that wasn’t decided until Wednesday. I don’t know what the new matches are, although they may be doing a three-way with McIntyre, Jacob Fatu, and Cody Rhodes. That may not necessarily be at Mania, but that’s kind of — that’s not even 100 percent, but I was told that that’s kind of like, it’s a possibility. The Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns thing is probably not happening. But whatever it is, the Mania plans were changed on Wednesday when they made the decision to change the championship.”
Meltzer noted that it’s not known why WWE made the decision to shift the Mania plans. He speculated that they wanted to shake things up and make it less predictable, along with wanting to put the WWE Championship on McIntyre.
McIntyre defeated Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match on January 9 to become the new WWE Champion. The title switch happened in Germany on WWE’s ongoing European tour. One week after his victory, McIntyre is scheduled to make an appearance on SmackDown this Friday in London.
We’ll get some clarity on the WrestleMania plans when Royal Rumble 2026 takes place in Saudi Arabia at the end of this month. WrestleMania 42 is being held in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.
Subscribers can listen to the full Wrestling Observer Radio episode here.
An update is available regarding what led to Roman Reigns defeating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.
On Monday, Brandon Thurston of Post Wrestling posted an article citing text messages revealed in court filings, including an exchange between Vince McMahon and Nick Khan that indicated McMahon was involved with creative plans for WrestleMania in 2023.
This was discussed by our own Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on the post-Raw edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer mentioned that it was actually Roman Reigns who first pitched the idea of Rhodes losing their first WrestleMania match.
Meltzer said:
“It was Roman Reigns’ call. I mean, Vince had to approve it, but Roman Reigns was the one who went to Vince with the idea and pitched the idea that it would be better, it would be more meaningful if he didn’t win the first time, we build to a bigger one the second time and explained it.”
“I think Heyman with Reigns did that. I think they were very persuasive. The argument’s very strong with the benefit of hindsight that they were right because the second year was much bigger than the first year. But Vince made the call and Levesque was on board with the call but Vince was the one who made the call.”
“Vince was the one who had final say at that point. He had final say the whole time. He was the chairman of the board again or whatever. He was in charge of the company and he remained having the final say even though Levesque was ‘in charge of creative.'”
WWE officially merged with the UFC in September 2023 to create TKO Group Holdings. McMahon was named executive chairman of the new company up until he resigned in January 2024 in the wake of the allegations in Janel Grant’s lawsuit.
A clip of Meltzer and Alvarez’s discussion on Wrestling Observer Radio is available below:
WWE star Roman Reigns spent some of his time this holiday week giving back to sick children in his community.
Reigns — who has twice battled leukemia — is a big supporter of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida and frequently makes visits to spend time with patients. He stopped by earlier this month and was back again this week just a couple of days before Christmas. Nearby restaurant Mimi’s Ravioli shared a picture with Reigns, who they called a “true life hero” for picking up pizza to deliver to kids at the hospital.
“I don’t know if you know this guy story but he is a true hero,” Mimi’s Ravioli wrote. “It’s two days before Christmas and all the money in the world and this guy is picking up pizza to deliver to the sick kids at the hospital on his own time. They don’t make them like this guy. This guy is what you call a true life hero. I’m glad we can call Joe [Anoa’i] our friend thank you for stopping by saying hello and bring the kids Pizza.
“It’s an honor to have you walk through my doors buddy. Keep doing what you’re doing and keep paying it forward. God created people like you to make this a better place thank you guys from my family to everyone. I kept the line for 10 straight hours today and Mimi‘s. We won’t stop until every order is done thank you. We are blessed from my family, my friends and my workers. We thank you all.”
In his most recent WWE match, Reigns was on the losing side of WarGames at Survivor Series. There was dissension between Reigns and Cody Rhodes after the bout, with WWE teasing that the two could pick up their rivalry once again.
Reigns is advertised for WWE Royal Rumble 2026, which is being held in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, January 31.
