The Highway to WrestleMania 42 begins on the Royal Rumble. Thirty women and men compete of their respective Royal Rumble matches, with the winners incomes assured world title matches on the greatest present of the yr. All of it goes down on Saturday, Jan. 31, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Royal Rumble is a flagship WWE occasion. Annually, superstars attempt to outlast one another for the suitable to problem the world champion of their selection at WrestleMania. Hold your eyes peeled for essential occasion stars, breakout performances and shock returns or debuts; there are all the time just a few of these. Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio are among the many stars confirmed for the lads’s Rumble. The ladies’s Rumble contains a number of former champions like Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Liv Morgan, Bayley and Asuka.
Two different matches are booked for the cornerstone occasion. Undisputed WWE champion McIntyre makes his first title protection towards the winner of an upcoming event. 4 superstars, together with Randy Orton, certified for a deadly four-way No. 1 contenders match at Saturday Night time’s Major Occasion. Additionally on the cardboard, Gunther makes an attempt to retire AJ Kinds.
Have a look under on the confirmed matches for the Royal Rumble and take a look on the crystal ball of what might come. The occasion streams stay on ESPN Limitless with the principle card beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
2026 WWE Royal Rumble matches
Males’s Royal Rumble match — Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Jey Uso, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Penta, and 24 extra TBA superstars: Three males’s world champions have confirmed their entries into this yr’s match: Rhodes, Mysterio, and Gunther. Rhodes and Mysterio are former Rumble winners; in the meantime, Gunther holds the file for longest Rumble entry, breaking Mysterio’s earlier file. Rhodes plans to affix “Stone Chilly” Steve Austin as the one three-time Rumble winners.
Undisputed WWE Championship — Drew McIntyre (c) vs. TBA: McIntyre will study the id of his first title challenger at Saturday Night time’s Major Occasion. Orton, Trick Williams, Damian Priest and Sami Zayn meet in a No. 1 contenders match after profitable their qualifying matches. Whoever stands tall after their deadly four-way will make a one-week turnaround towards McIntyre.
Girls’s Royal Rumble match — Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Asuka, and 22 extra TBA superstars: The ladies’s Rumble is stacked. 5 former girls’s world champions are among the many eight superstars at the moment introduced for the match. Anticipate extra stars to throw their names into the hat earlier than the Rumble begins.
AJ Kinds vs. Gunther: Gunther is popping into a brand new age Legend Killer. Final yr, “The Ring Normal” retired each John Cena and Goldberg. He needs to do the identical to Kinds. “The Phenomenal” one beforehand introduced he’d retire in 2026, however Gunther hopes to expedite the method. Gunther stole a victory from Kinds on Monday Night time Uncooked, and solely granted him a rematch underneath the situation that Kinds retires if he loses on the Rumble.