Tag: royal rumble 2026

Royce Keys: Never thought I’d be part of something as big as WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Debuting for WWE in the Royal Rumble was a dream come true for the former Powerhouse Hobbs.

Now known as Royce Keys, Hobbs arrived in WWE as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match last Saturday. He signed with WWE after finishing up with AEW last month, ending a nearly six-year run that included TNT and Trios Championship reigns.

WWE uploaded a behind-the-scenes video today documenting Hobbs’ debut. It includes comments from him before the match, along with interactions he had with Cody Rhodes and Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

“This is wild. This is like something out of a movie, man,” Hobbs said while taking a look at the Rumble stage. “This whole setup. Walking down this aisle and into the ring and background. It’s pretty amazing, man. I’m getting goosebumps under this sweatshirt. It’s crazy. It feels real. Looking at the ring, the seats, the stage setup — it’s real. Never thought I would be part of something this big. This is huge. Leading to the Grandaddy of Them All, you know? WrestleMania. This starts tonight.”

Hobbs then caught up with another former AEW wrestler in Cody Rhodes — and Hobbs took a moment to explain how much Rhodes means to him.

“He’s probably going to get mad, but this dude doesn’t know how special he is to me. Thank you for everything. That dude’s been there for me, like, toughest time of my life when my mom passed away. But if I gotta kick his ass, then I gotta kick his ass [laughs]. This is special, man. It’s just like, seeing familiar faces. It’s real. You know, I’m home, I’m moved in. So it’s time to collect.”

WWE included brief footage of the talk Hobbs had with Levesque before the Rumble. Hobbs said Levesque helped ease his nerves by telling him that he was in WWE for a reason.

“We’re going to get rolling and get some good sh*t started,” Levesque told Hobbs. “We’ll be in a good place.”

Hobbs entered the Rumble at number 14 and eliminated Damian Priest during his time in the match. It was Bronson Reed who ended up eliminating Hobbs from the match.

“Eliminating a former World Champion. Ah, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,” Hobbs said after competing. “I’m going to take everything I want. Everything.”

WWE crowns men’s Royal Rumble 2026 winner

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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.

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.

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.

Result of AJ Styles WWE Royal Rumble career-threatening match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The in-ring career of AJ Styles appears to have come to an end at WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

At Saturday’s PLE in Saudi Arabia, Styles lost to Gunther in a career-threatening match. The bout went nearly 25 minutes before Styles passed out in a sleeper, giving Gunther the win and seemingly ending Styles’ time in the ring. However, a moment that took place after the match raised some questions over whether this is really it for Styles.

Styles took in the support from a shocked Riyadh crowd after the bell rang. He then removed his gloves and went to leave them in the ring, but Styles instead put the gloves back on and posed for the fans. It was not clarified what Styles meant by the gesture.

It’s been known for months that the 48-year-old Styles would be retiring at some point in 2026. If this is the end, his final match came rather abruptly. Gunther used underhanded tactics to beat Styles when they faced off on the January 12 episode of Raw. WWE then ran an angle where Gunther forced Styles to put his career on the line in order to get a rematch.

Gunther — who has been nicknamed the “Career Killer” by WWE — had already retired both Goldberg and John Cena before defeating Styles today.

On January 28, Styles made a couple of trademark filings that have led to speculation about his next move and whether he could potentially continue his career in some form outside of WWE. He applied to trademark the term “The Phenomenal AJ Styles,” along with the “P1” logo that he’s used dating back to at least 2012.

WWE crowns women’s Royal Rumble 2026 winner

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Liv Morgan is set for a big 2026 with a WrestleMania title shot already secured.

Morgan was crowned the winner of the 2026 women’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday, entering the bout at number 14 and last eliminating Tiffany Stratton to get the victory. This is the first time Morgan has ever won the Rumble. She joins Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley on the list of wrestlers who have won the women’s edition of the match since it was introduced in 2018.

The final four in this year’s Rumble were Morgan, Stratton, Sol Ruca, and Raquel Rodriguez. Dissension within The Judgment Day looks like it will be a story heading into WrestleMania after Morgan took advantage of an opportunity to eliminate her fellow faction member Rodriguez.

We then saw Stratton eliminate Ruca, but Morgan followed up on that by connecting with Oblivion on Stratton for the victory.

After spending several months out of action with a shoulder injury, Morgan made her return to WWE programming at Survivor Series in November 2025. She’s now set to challenge for either the Women’s World Championship or WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April. Those respective titles are currently held by Stephanie Vaquer and Jade Cargill.

Morgan challenging for the Women’s World Championship would make the most sense given that she and Vaquer are both on Raw — and Vaquer is already feuding with Rodriguez over the title. Vaquer is set to defend against Rodriguez in a Philly Street Fight on Raw this coming Monday.

Triple H hypes ‘epic’ WWE Royal Rumble, says ‘a lot of surprises in store’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

While appearing on ESPN’s Get Up this morning, Paul “Triple H” Levesque hyped that WWE has an “epic” Royal Rumble in store this weekend.

Saturday’s PLE is being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will be the first Royal Rumble since WWE’s new PLE deal with ESPN began. When asked what casual fans can expect, Levesque said there will be surprises like the Royal Rumble has always been known for. He also said both the men’s and women’s Rumble matches will feature stacked lineups of established stars.

“The Royal Rumble is one of those events that’s amazing to see, because every couple of minutes there is a new entrant that enters into the fray, right? So as this match goes on over the course of the hour that it takes or so, you’re getting constantly surprised by who is next,” Levesque said. “And the strategy of what happens when that person comes out. This year is going to be no different.

“There’s a lot of surprises in store, but also it’s one of the most star-studded Rumbles that I can recall. You’ve got Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Jey Uso, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul’s going to be in there. On the women’s side, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan. They’re just stacked cards. This one is going to be epic.”

The NFL has its Super Bowl coming up soon, and Levesque told Get Up that WWE is now starting its own playoff season with the Royal Rumble. It will begin the road to WrestleMania 42, which takes place in Las Vegas this April.

Saturday’s Rumble PLE has a 2 p.m. Eastern start time, airing live on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.

Updated list of WWE Royal Rumble 2026 entrants

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has confirmed some new Royal Rumble entrants, including the first slate of names for the women’s match.

Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez, Raquel Rodriguez, Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, and Asuka are officially set to compete in the 2026 women’s Royal Rumble match. The winner of the 30-woman battle royal earns a title shot at WrestleMania 42, which would be against either Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer or WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill if there are no title changes before then.

The first entrant for the men’s Rumble match was confirmed last week with Cody Rhodes declaring. Now, the field is up to six announced entrants with the additions of Gunther, Jey Uso, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and Penta. Gunther will be pulling double duty at the Rumble PLE with him also set to face AJ Styles in a singles match where Styles will retire if he loses.

On the men’s side, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre are the champions heading into Mania season. The Royal Rumble will determine the WrestleMania challenger for one of those belts.

Saudi Arabia is hosting Royal Rumble 2026 on Saturday, January 31. The PLE has a start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, airing live on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 —

  • Men’s Royal Rumble match
  • Women’s Royal Rumble match
  • WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends against either Randy Orton, Damian Priest, Sami Zayn, or Trick Williams (will be determined at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24)
  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles (Styles forced to retire if he loses)

AJ Styles to put career on line at WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AJ Styles is set to retire at some point in 2026 — and that could potentially happen as soon as the Royal Rumble.

WWE has announced that Gunther vs. Styles will take place at the Saturday, January 31 PLE in Saudi Arabia. It’s a career-threatening match where Styles will retire if he loses. He agreed to the stipulation after it was proposed by Gunther as the only way that Gunther would accept another match after how things ended on Raw last week.

The January 12 Raw episode was headlined by Gunther defeating Styles after hitting a low blow and powerbomb. Gunther had tricked Styles into thinking the match was over by tapping out in a Calf Crusher behind the referee’s back. With Styles letting go of the hold, Gunther was able to pick up the victory soon after.

A promo segment then opened Raw today with Styles attempting to goad Gunther into a rematch by calling him scared. Gunther would not give in, saying there was no incentive for him to face Styles again. But he then came up with the idea for Styles to put his career on the line. He gave Styles the rest of the show to think about his answer. After talking it over with his wife, Styles revealed his decision.

“She said exactly what I was thinking — kick his ass,” Styles said as the matchup was made official.

Gunther has already retired Goldberg and John Cena and will now be looking to do the same to Styles. In their storyline, Styles has taken exception to how Gunther has acted so disrespectfully after defeating Cena.

The Royal Rumble is being held in Riyadh on January 31 and has a start time of 2 p.m. Eastern. Gunther will be pulling double duty on the show with him also confirmed as one of the men’s Rumble entrants.

Here is the updated card:

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 —

  • Men’s Royal Rumble match
  • Women’s Royal Rumble match
  • WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends against either Randy Orton, Damian Priest, Sami Zayn, or Trick Williams (will be determined at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24)
  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles (Styles forced to retire if he loses)

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 start time revealed

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has locked in a start time for its Royal Rumble 2026 PLE.

The event is taking place in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, January 31. When the official poster was revealed last week, there was no start time listed. WrestleVotes has now reported that — after some back and forth internally — WWE has settled on 2 p.m. Eastern as the start time for the PLE broadcast. It’s the first time the Rumble has ever been held outside of North America, with the time zone difference being the reason for the afternoon start in the United States.

The Rumble will air live on the ESPN app in the U.S. and on Netflix internationally.

Men’s and women’s Rumble will both take place as the road to WrestleMania 42 begins. Among the advertised talent for the Rumble PLE are Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Stephanie Vaquer, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, CM Punk, Becky Lynch, Tiffany Stratton, Drew McIntyre, Penta, Jade Cargill Dominik Mysterio, Jey Uso, and IYO SKY.

WrestleMania 42 is set to be held in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

In 2027, WrestleMania will head to Saudi Arabia for the first time ever as WWE’s controversial relationship with the Saudi government continues to grow.

Triple H reveals official WWE Royal Rumble 2026 poster

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On social media today, Paul “Triple H” Levesque unveiled the official poster for WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

The PLE is taking place from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, January 31, making this the first time the Rumble has ever been held outside of North America. It will stream live on the ESPN app in the United States and on Netflix internationally.

WWE released the poster to promote that Royal Rumble tickets are going on sale tomorrow (December 10). The following wrestlers are featured on the poster:

  • Brock Lesnar
  • Roman Reigns
  • Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Charlotte Flair
  • World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk
  • Becky Lynch
  • Tiffany Stratton
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Penta
  • Jade Cargill
  • Dominik Mysterio
  • Jey Uso
  • IYO SKY

The PLE will kick off the road to WrestleMania 42, with Bron Breakker rumored to be the favorite to win the men’s Royal Rumble match. The card will feature a men’s Rumble, a women’s Rumble, and two more matches to be determined.

“The current plan for Royal Rumble is a four-match show with two title matches and the two Rumble matches,” Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “The two matches are not finalized even though it’s just under two months away. WrestleVotes first reported this and we confirmed that as the current plan.”