ESPN is attempting to bring this year’s WWE Royal Rumble to more of their viewers, airing a condensed version of the annual event this weekend.
First reported by Wrestlevotes on Fightful Select, a three-hour episode is listed for this Sunday, February 22 at 8 pm Eastern on ESPN’s main channel. As of now, there is no match listing.
From Wrestlevotes: “The decision is part of a broader effort to promote upcoming WWE PLEs and allows ESPN to evaluate viewership data for an over air presentation of the product.”
WWE and ESPN launched a five-year domestic deal last September for all WWE premium live events to air live on their new ESPN Unlimited subscriber streaming service.
The first-ever Rumble event from Saudi Arabia featured Roman Reigns winning the men’s Rumble match, Liv Morgan winning the women’s Rumble match, Gunther retiring AJ Styles, surprise returns and debuts from Royce Keys, Brie Bella, El Gable Americano and several NXT and AAA wrestlers.
Dave Meltzer addressed the match between Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre at the WWE Royal Rumble in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
McIntyre retained the WWE Championship over Zayn in a match that went just under 16 minutes. Meltzer writes that Zayn had been pushing to win the title on the show.
“I don’t think Zayn should have won and neither did Levesque in the end. Still, this was a subject of discussion as to who would win right until the day of the show since Zayn was pushing for it,” he wrote.
The match drew criticism from those who felt Zayn got little offense in before being beaten cleanly. Meltzer wrote that because Zayn is so popular in the region, and had never lost on a WWE show in Saudi Arabia before, the hope was that fans would believe a title change was possible.
“He’d never lost in Saudi Arabia. The idea in theory was for him to take people on a roller coaster ride, with McIntyre, of the title being in grave jeopardy and getting the crowd believing there would be a title change. Instead, it was one-sided and watching it made you think Zayn just isn’t even on that level.“
According to one source, Zayn vs. McIntyre was originally scheduled to take place after the women’s Royal Rumble and before AJ Styles vs. Gunther.
He leads off with a full recap and ratings from last weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble from Saudi Arabia that put WrestleMania 42 into motion and also raised questions as to whether AJ Styles is actually retiring from the ring.
Dave also looks at how another Nielsen ratings measurement adjustment has benefited wrestling in a big way.
He also writes the obituaries for The Great Mephisto and Bob Lueck, the latter of which got Superstar Billy Graham into the business.
All that plus the usual news roundup and scoops from WWE, AEW, CMLL, AAA, TNA, NJPW and the UFC/MMA world.
Three young stars, Oba Femi, Je’Evons, and Sol Ruca, reportedly received major praise from WWE following their outing at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to a latest report by PWInsider, WWE held an all-hands-on-deck town hall at the WWE headquarters for its employees, with WWE President Nick Khan, Marc Shapiro, and Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque hosting.
As per the report, during the meeting, Femi, Evans, and Ruca received immense praise from the company executives for their performance in their first-ever Royal Rumble.
Femi finished the match with five eliminations, while Evans lasted around 48-minutes. In the women’s Rumble, Ruca lasted nearly 51-minutes and eliminated one wrestler.
The CM Punk-Roman Reigns face-off also became a talking point and was put over based on how strong it was on RAW to build up their WrestleMania 42 match. The majority of the meeting was reportedly on how well the company was doing at this moment.
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.”
The WWE Royal Rumble post-show included appearances by Liv Morgan, Gunther, Drew McIntyre and Triple H.
The post-show panel was Jackie Redmond, Big E, and Peter Rosenberg. All appearances were in-character, including Triple H. Notes from each appearance is below.
Liv Morgan
Women’s Royal Rumble Liv Morgan was the first to meet with the panel.
She was asked about her eliminating Raquel Rodriguez in the match. Liv downplayed any tension in the group saying she believes Rodriguez is likely happy for her, though she hasn’t had the chance to speak with her yet.
She was asked about Dominik Mysterio, and Dominik got booed from the live crowd.
“I dedicate my victory tonight to Daddy Dom,” Morgan said to a loud negative reaction.
Asked about which championship she’ll go after, Morgan said she’s going to take her time and speak with the other members of Judgment Day. She’ll make the decision when the time is right.
Gunther
Gunther was next to visit with the panel.
He was given “f— you, Gunther” chants and did not stay long.
Gunther said he intended to make Styles tap out and he intended to win the Rumble, and he didn’t achieve those goals but he did make AJ Styles “pass out like a little b—.” Then he left.
Drew McIntyre
Crowd chanted CM Punk at McIntyre.
Asked why he interfered with Rhodes in the Rumble, Drew said, “Why not? I’m a good guy. I never lie. If you don’t wrong me, if you don’t screw me time and time again, I’ll be your best friend. But if you wrong me, if you constantly cost me the championship, get on my bad side, I’ll be the worst enemy you’ve ever had.”
“I was fine with anybody winning the Rumble, just not you,” McIntyre said, directing his comments at Rhodes.
McIntyre also mentioned the possibility of Roman Reigns picking him to challenge at WrestleMania. McIntyre said he liked that idea because Reigns doesn’t have his family around him anymore like before when they met for the title.
Asked about having beaten Sami Zayn twelve straight times, “I’m an honest man, this was not the same Sami Zayn I’ve beat 11 times. He didn’t just bring heart, he brought heart x 10.”
He said Sami shouldn’t feel bad about “having a ceiling.”
Triple H
Triple H was met with boos from the crowd initially, followed by Y2J chants, which he ignored.
He mentioned Je’Von Evans, Oba Femi, Lash Legend and Sol Ruca as having great performances. He said Legend stood out in a way almost “Kane-ish” in the Rumble.
Asked about AJ Styles, Triple H said there aren’t many people in the business who are universally loved but nobody ever has a bad word to stay about Styles.
“His influence on this business will be Shawn Michaels-esque,” Triple H said about Styles.
Asked about future roles in WWE for Styles, Triple H said they’ve had discussions, but it wasn’t the time to talk about it now.
Triple H was asked about when the WWE audience will see Roman Reigns next.
“One thing about the Tribal Chief is he does things on his terms,” Triple said.
Asked about the hooded figure that attacked Bron Breakker before the start of the men’s Rumble, Triple H said he didn’t want to make any accusations, but it looked like a pretty “clean Curb Stomp” the guy gave Breakker.
He put over the stadium they built in Riyadh for the show. When asked about Brie Bella’s return, Triple H spoke about how at first women weren’t allowed to perform on the shows, and now they had a full 30-woman Royal Rumble.
He concluded by saying that WWE is now on the road to WrestleMania. The full post show is available below:
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.
Weeks after departing AEW and signing with WWE, the former Powerhouse Hobbs made his debut at Saturday’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
The newly-named Royce Keys appeared during the men’s Rumble match at number 14, immediately squaring off with Damian Priest and eliminating him. He also tangled with former AEW roster mate Cody Rhodes which was alluded to on commentary. He was eventually eliminated by members of The Vision.
When Hobbs/Keys came out, his entrance video flashed the name ‘Powerhouse Hobbs’ before transitioning to his new name to signal the transition. It was later reported that Royce is the name of his youngest son while Keys was the maiden name of his late mother.
After five years, Hobbs/Keys finished up with AEW in mid-January, dropping the Trios titles on the January 17 AEW Collision episode that was taped the night news broke that his deal was expiring and he was expected to be heading to WWE.
Our Dave Meltzer reported that AEW made a push to re-sign the 35-year-old Hobbs to a substantial new contract, but Hobbs/Keys wanted to go to WWE instead — a place that had wanted him for quite some time according to reports.
The career of Hobbs/Keys began in 2009 on the California indie scene with his big break coming in the summer of July 2020 during the pandemic era of AEW at Daily’s Place.
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.
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.
Aleister Black reportedly won’t be taking part in the Royal Rumble.
According to a report from PWInsider, Black is in Saudi Arabia but will not be in the men’s Rumble match. Mike Johnson is reporting that the decision was made to hold off on Black’s return to WWE programming and bring him back in a different way on WWE SmackDown.
In 2019, Black did not travel to Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown in Jeddah that year, with Dave Meltzer reporting his not participating was due to tattoos he has that were “religious in nature.” Black has never wrestled on a show in the country.
“We were told it had to do with tattoos he had that were religious in nature. It wasn’t made clear where the Saudis told WWE he couldn’t appear due to those tattoos, or WWE made the decision thinking the tattoos would offend the hosts.”
Black hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since dropping an Ambulance Match to Damian Priest on the January 2, 2026 episode of SmackDown.
While he made the trip to Saudi Arabia, Aleister Black will not be appearing in the Royal Rumble Match.
The decision was made to hold off and bring him back in a different way to SmackDown programming.
