LA Knight disclosed that Brock Lesnar’s WWE Royal Rumble elimination did not unfold as it was supposed to.
While not revealing the story in entirety, Knight told Chris Van Vliet on the latest episode of the Insight Podcast the elimination did not go as planned.
“I did (eliminate Brock Lesnar). And man, I’ll tell that story someday, but it feels too new and fresh to me. But I’ll just say things went differently than they were supposed to.”
During the WWE spectacle match in January, Cody Rhodes and Knight threw Lesnar over the top rope in a surprising move. However, footage from the match appeared to show Lesnar instructing Rhodes and Knight to attack him before sending him over the top rope. Roman Reigns eventually won the classic battle royal and challenged CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania.
Knight participated in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania against The Vision. Barely a couple of years ago fans were rallying behind him to win the Money in the Bank briefcase which could contribute to his re-focused pursuit this year,
Brock Lesnar heard Jey Uso's music then told Cody Rhodes and LA Knight to eliminate him. pic.twitter.com/QiuQiqcjgj
Arizona Sports & Events Alliance has reached out to us to clarify that our original report is incorrect.
“While I was told the TKO/Arizona deal involved Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and SNME, a source with the Arizona Sports & Events Alliance said today that this report is inaccurate,” our Bryan Alvarez writes.
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Original report —
More info on TKO’s new deal with Arizona.
WWE’s parent company alongside the Arizona Sports & Event Alliance announced on Tuesday that they will bring seven events to the state that will include WWE, UFC, Zuffa Boxing, and Professional Bull Riding. Bryan Alvarez has some new details regarding what WWE would be bringing to the table in the deal.
“The new Phoenix agreement is for a Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and Saturday Night’s Main Event,” he writes.
WWE currently only has their event schedule set through Money in the Bank, which takes place on September 6 in New Orleans. They have yet to reveal locations for this year’s Survivor Series or the 2027 Royal Rumble.
Significant shows held in Arizona
Some prominent shows held in Arizona in the past include WrestleMania XXVI at State Farm Stadium back in 2010, which had the infamous second and final match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. It was also home to the 2019 Royal Rumble at Chase Field that saw Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins win that year’s Rumble matches.
UFC has also run events in Arizona, including UFC 274 back in May 2022 at the Footprint Center that saw Charles Oliveira defeat Justin Gaethje to retain the UFC lightweight title.
WWE has reportedly begun planning Bron Breakker’s return ahead of WrestleMania 42.
According to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, there is a lot of optimism within WWE on Breakker being medically cleared and ready for a return before WrestleMania 42. On the chance that he is not cleared on time, WWE has a backup plan in place for Breakker, the details of which are not yet available.
Breakker last competed at the Royal Rumble. He was the second entrant in the men’s Rumble but was taken out by a masked attacker. This contributed to his elimination by Oba Femi within seconds of entering the match. Breakker kicked off the February 2 edition of Raw upset about his spot being taken away from him at the Royal Rumble and demanded answers from Adam Pearce. Breakker flipped over the commentary table before The Vision tried to calm him down.
On the February 10 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Breakker needed emergency surgery for the hernia.
“That had nothing to do with the Royal Rumble,” Meltzer said. “People are going like, ‘Oh, that’s why they did the thing at the Rumble.’ It’s like, it had nothing to do with the Rumble, even though, yeah, he probably had it long before that. It had nothing to do with any bookings, anything that they were doing. And then it was just like he got checked out and had to have emergency surgery. That’s the basic story on that.”
AJ Styles wishes a fellow TNA legend got the chance to compete for WWE at least one time.
While speaking on the Phenomenally Retro Podcast, the now-retired Styles reflected on one of his favorite TNA matches against Abyss. Styles reflected on their Lockdown 2005 bout and labeled Abyss one of the top five giants he’s worked with across his extensive career.
“So this was the first time every match [on the PPV] was in a cage and we were the main event,” Styles said. “They go, ‘Well, what the heck are we going to do?’ Every match was in a cage. So we started our first, I believe it was the first 10 minutes of our match. The match hadn’t even started yet. It was on the outside. We’re going, fighting all around, and then once we get in the ring, ding ding ding, the match starts. We did another 10 to 15 minutes. But it was one of my favorite matches because — I mean tacks, I got busted open, chains, top of the cage, like outside of the cage, like it was, I don’t know who thought of all this stuff.
“I would love to tell you it was me, but I’m pretty sure it was both of us that came up with this. But I really think that was a brilliant match based on what we had to work with. But it’s like you said, he was probably one of the better big men, definitely that I’ve ever wrestled. He is right up there in my top five of ‘big man’ that could do it all and was willing to do it and could go and had great moves and a different character. Like, he was so good, man.”
Styles further praised Abyss’ character and revealed that there were backstage talks in WWE about having him compete in a Royal Rumble match at one point. However, that never ended up coming to fruition.
“There was a moment in time where we thought we were going to have him in the Royal Rumble. It didn’t go through and I hate that for him,” Styles said. “It would have been just like a stamp on Abyss. The character finally made it to the WWE. I would’ve loved that, but I guess somebody didn’t agree.”
Abyss (Chris Park) never got to make his WWE in-ring debut, but he’s now been working behind the scenes for the company as a producer since 2019. Last month, he made an on-screen appearance during a tribute WWE held for Styles following his retirement.
The 48-year-old Styles wrestled his final match this January and is set to be honored with a WWE Hall of Fame induction next month during WrestleMania weekend.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including lots of thoughts on TNA Impact and the Feast or Fired concept, all of the news including a Gofundme for a WWE referee who lost four family members in a house fire, Mercedes’ next title defense, Royal Rumble and Bron Breakker, and tons more! A packed show, so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, RAW tonight, Finn Balor, Collision with the Tomasso Ciampa title change, the departure of AVA from NXT, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
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.”
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including a full recap of both the Royal Rumble and UFC with special guest Paul Fontaine, lots of Rumble notes and WrestleMania thoughts, what happened with Ava, Sandman retiring, Hobbs’ deal, Billy Gunn, ratings, Collision recap with a title change, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: WWE Royal Rumble recap 32:05: UFC 325 recap 45:58: Ava leaves WWE, The Sandman’s last match announced, Braun Strowman dealing with knee infection 49:55: Clarification on Powerhouse Hobbs/AEW negotiations 55:51: More on Billy Gunn, ratings 1:05:48: CMLL changing their rules for AEW matches 1:11:38: AEW Collision recap
Bryan & Vinny & MARK JONES show is back with our annual ROYAL RUMBLE RECAP SHOW! Tons to talk about including the Saudi crowd, how this plays into next year’s Saudi WrestleMania, all the matches and angles, who was and was not there, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
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.
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.
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.
It’s Wrestling Observer Live on a Royal Rumble Saturday.
For a go home show for one of the biggest PLEs of the year, Friday’s SmackDown was very much by the numbers. Does that bode well for Saturday’s Rumble card (ongoing as I type this)?
With WWE’s ‘less is more’ philosophy, it could be amazing or just three hours of disposable entertainment.
Plus, Tommaso Ciampa challenges Mark Briscoe on tonight’s AEW Collision, Ashley Massaro, and pet peeves that shouldn’t bother me but really do.
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.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about the big news from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW’s Alex Marvez joined us to talk about the life and times of Kim Wood.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
Possible Royal Rumble winners
AJ Styles and whether this is his last match or not
Possible surprises
AEW Dynamite ratings
Simone Johnson’s status in WWE
If booking wrestling today is easier or harder than in years past
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including best wishes to Braun Strowman, the Royal Rumble, many potential surprises, what talent have been told about photos this weekend, Dynamite notes, big date plus panel killing ratings, the Impact TV report, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
