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Previewing the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble
By Nick Piccone
Published:
The Road to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas begins this weekend when the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble emanates from Saudi Arabia. While the WWE product cooled off considerably in 2025, the last few weeks of WWE TV have seemed to get things in order as we head towards Vegas in April.
One of the big stories in the industry is the possibility of the Rumble featuring AJ Styles’ last WWE match. He said last year that 2026 would be his last as an active wrestler, and recent reports suggest he could be finishing up with WWE before WrestleMania if there is no contract extension (as of this writing, there currently hasn’t been a reported extension).
Styles is taking on Gunther, and should Styles lose, it would mark the third career that has ended by the hands of Gunther within the last calendar year – Goldberg in July and John Cena in December being the first two.
There’s been a lot of smoke about Styles’ contract expiring soon, a bit too much for my liking. Of course, they can change their minds at any point and give us some “unpredictability,” but if they don’t have him re-signed by the time he makes his entrance, all bets are off.
Prediction: Gunther
Sami Zayn will vie for the Undisputed WWE Championship as he takes on champion Drew McIntyre, who won the title from Cody Rhodes a few weeks ago on SmackDown. Zayn’s storyline centering on the World Title will hopefully be an essential part of his character arc this year, possibly culminating with a title win at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 43, that is.
This is McIntyre’s first real run with the championship post-Covid. I doubt he’s losing it any time soon.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre
The Men’s Royal Rumble match will feature top names like Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Rhodes, Gunther, Jey Uso, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul, just to name a few. But the key for me is Bron Breakker (the son of Rick Steiner), who seems to be poised for a breakout as a main event star. That begins with him winning the Rumble.
There will certainly be a lot of storylines to focus on during the match, and this year’s Rumble doesn’t have a high bar to clear last year’s event. There are rumors floating around that Seth Rollins could return from his shoulder injury, despite his numerous interviews suggesting otherwise. The issue is, he did the same thing back in July, so nobody’s really going to take his words to heart anymore.
Prediction: Bron Breakker
The Women’s Royal Rumble match also features a lot of star power. Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Liv Morgan, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Becky Lynch have already been announced. As of this writing, there are still 13 open slots, and my winner will be among them.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Bianca Belair, and it seems like this could be the perfect time for her to return to in-ring action. There’s a tailor-made storyline for her going after Jade Cargill’s title, also. It feels like the Women’s Rumble winner has more of an open field, but a returning Belair standing last would be a great move.
Prediction: Bianca Belair
Also, will the Judgment Day survive the Rumble together? They’ve been planting the seeds for a while now for an eventual breakup, and there’s no better time to accelerate that than during a Rumble match.
There’s so much talent in both Rumble matches that I’m looking forward to seeing what seeds are planted for the future. Some fans think the in-match stories are even better than finding out who wins the match. I can’t say I disagree, but it all has to make sense for it to be worthwhile. Sometimes the winner doesn’t even come out looking like the biggest star depending on how certain talent is booked for the duration of the match.
The Wrestling Roundtable – formerly of Fox Sports Radio The Gambler – convened this week to discuss the Royal Rumble. Myself, Vaughn Johnson, Jon Jansen, and Jason Fanelli held a discussion about the event. You can listen to it below, or at this link.
Nick Piccone has covered Philly sports and events for over 14 years with various outlets, including PhillyVoice and Philly Influencer. In 2015, he co-launched the Straight Shooters Wrestling Podcast. He's also a producer for Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia and the Villanova Sports Radio Network. He grew up in South Philadelphia and South Jersey, and is a graduate of Neumann University. Contact: picconenick@gmail.com