Welcome to Slam Wrestling’s live coverage of the 2026 Royal Rumble, WWE’s first Premium Live event of the year. As one of the “Big Four” this is one of the most important shows of the year since it marks the start of the Road to WrestleMania. This year the Royal Rumble emanates from the Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For Canadians, you can watch this show on Netflix and it has a 2pm EST/11am PST start time.
Four matches have been announced: the two eponymous Rumble matches (Men’s and Women’s) plus two singles matches. The first of these will see Drew McIntyre defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn. The second, though non-title, is still high stakes all the same with AJ Styles taking on GUNTHER in a Career Threatening Match. In other words, if Styles loses he will retire from in-ring competition. Many have expressed doubts over Styles actually retiring before WrestleMania, but given all that has happened over the past few years, it’s fair to say that anything really can happen in WWE.
Back to the Rumble matches, both of them have more than half of their entrants confirmed. On the women’s side, seventeen participants have been confirmed, including Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Bayley, Asuka, and Charlotte Flair. On the men’s side twenty-two have been confirmed, including Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul. Additionally, Brock Lesnar confirmed his participation on The Pat McAfee Show and Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder) confirmed his participation yesterday on Instagram. Furthermore, GUNTHER will also participate, meaning that he’ll be pulling double duty on this event.
The Rumble begins…
We begin with the typical showcase of wrestlers arriving to the arena. The ones shown include former men’s and women’s Rumble winners plus McIntyre, Cody, and both Styles and Gunther. Interestingly, Jey Uso doesn’t get as much of a pop as expected and Triple H actually gets a spattering of boos.
Match #1: The 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble
#1 is Charlotte Flair while #2 is Alexa Bliss. Because they’re friends Bliss initially chooses not to do anything. They playfully tease finishers on each other without actually landing anything. #3 is Kiana James who shines for a bit until Flair & Bliss hit her with something resembling The New Days’ Midnight Hour finisher. #4 is Nia Jax who overpowers everyone in the ring and taunts the crowd as they chant “you suck” and “you can’t wrestle at her”. #5 is Ivy Nile who gets a sort of Kurt Angle treatment with friendly “you suck” chants unlike Jax. #6 is Lola Vice who spams kicks at everything that moves until she’s taken down by Jax. Kiana James shows off some incredible strength with a Samoan Drop on Jax as we get entry #7 Candice LeRae. LeRae and Jax briefly work together and then we get entrant #8 Jordynne Grace. These entrants are clearly not coming out at 90-second intervals as initially claimed. Then out of nowhere Grace eliminates both Lola Vice and Ivy Nile, followed shortly by Kiana James. For these transgressions Jax punishes Grace with a stinkface. Jax blocks a powerbomb counter and ends up on the apron with Bliss. This leads to Charlotte booting Jax off, eliminating her…and Alexa Bliss as well.
#9 is Becky Lynch who power marches to the ring and gets into a heated exchange with Flair. Lynch and Flair brawl under the rope and to the floor as #10 Sol Ruca comes out. She showcases some Lita-style athleticism and then we get #11 Roxanne Perez. Lynch and Flair are back in the ring as a light “this is awesome chant” takes place while #12 Maxxine Dupri comes out. Then #13 comes out and it’s Natalya Neidhart Nattie who matches down to attack her former protégé Dupri. Dupri shines for a moment against Nattie but then Lynch hits her with a Manhandle Slam and eliminates her. Then in a major shock Nattie eliminates Becky Lynch seconds later. #14 is Liv Morgan who lands a combination move alongside Perez.
#15 is Lash Legend who hits a double chokeslam and punts Sol Ruca out of the air. We get our first “point at the WrestleMania sign” as the crowd pull out their cellphones seemingly in an homage to Bray Wyatt’s fireflies. Legend eliminates Jordynne Grace and then we get #16 Zelina (Vega). She’s followed by #17 Raquel Rodriguez, thus completing the Judgment Day trio. In response some fans sound like they’re chanting “Thank you Cena”. Rodriguez eliminates Kiana as #18 is Chelsea Green, accompanied by Alba Fyre who is not a participant yet briefly enters the ring as she does a small tug-of-war spot with the Judgment Day. #19 is Giulia who nearly eliminates Green but Fyre crawls ringside so that Green can safely stand on her back. #20 is Iyo Sky who gets a great reaction from the crowd, but then out comes #21 Asuka. Asuka works with Giulia to attack Sky and then out comes #22 Rhea Ripley, who gets the biggest pop of the match thus far.
Giulia eliminates Zelina as Green toys with Ripley…or is it the other way around. Rhea eliminates Green and punts Fyre off the apron for good measure. Then Rhea Razor’s Edges Perez onto Green and Fyre, eliminating Perez. #23 is Bayley who goes after Sol Ruca for a moment. #24 is Jacy Jayne. Nattie gets physical with Rhea and then Rodriguez, but then Morgan lands a top-rope Ob-Liv-ion to eliminate Nattie. #25 is Nikki Bella who gets another big pop almost on par with Rhea’s. #26 is Lyra Valkyria who works with Bayley to eliminate Giulia. #27 is Kelani Jordan who enters the ring with a top-rope corkscrew moonsault press and hands a two-person satellite DDT. #28 is Kairi Sane who, despite getting involved with Iyo Sky, ends up accidentally eliminating Asuka. Then Sky eliminates Sane. #29 is Brie Bella who gets a big surprise pop and leads to a big “YES!” chant from the crowd. Brie with kicks Rodriguez. Michael Cole can’t say who she’s referencing but it’s pretty obvious. And the final entrant at #30 is Tiffany Stratton.
Stratton takes out several women with a swanton bomb and then gets into a staredown with Flair and some “Olé” chants out of nowhere. The Bellas get involved with Bayley and Valkyria and the twins use simultaneous headscissor counters to eliminate them both. Kelani Jordan tries to skin the cat but Jaci Jayne eliminates her. Then Sol Ruca hits her Soul Snatcher finisher to eliminate Jaci Jayne. The Bellas try taking out Lash Legend but Legend uses her power to eliminate both Bellas at the same time. Flair ends up in a two-on-one situation with Legend and Ruca but Legend overpowers her and pump kicks her off. Charlotte Flair is eliminated after lasting just under one hour.
Rhea lands Riptide on Rodriguez. Legend and Iyo end up on the apron. Iyo tries to counter with a leglock of sorts but Legend kicks her off. Lash Legend eliminates Iyo Sky. There are six women left as Rhea and Legend have a power exchange. Rodriguez gets involved with Legend for a bit but this allows Rhea to eliminate Lash Legend. Then Raquel Rodriguez eliminates Rhea Ripley…and then Liv Morgan eliminates Raquel Rodriguez.
Three women left: Tiffany Stratton, Liv Morgan, and Sol Ruca. Ruca hits a double Soul Snatcher on both women and tries to eliminate them both at the same time. All three end up on the apron. Ruca takes a big gamble with another Soul Snatcher attempt but she gets knocked to the floor by Tiffany Stratton and is eliminated. Then Liv Morgan lands one more Ob-Liv-ion to eliminate Stratton.
Winner of the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: after 1:07:00 Liv Morgan
Rating: 4.5/10 A slow, plodding and robotic affair of a Rumble match. The crowd was mostly silent save for during a few big exchanges, the Bellas’ participation, and the finish. Most of the bout followed a copy-paste format: someone enters, brief shine, and then disappear into the background. There weren’t that many unique or engaging stories throughout the match. The times between entrants were highly inconsistent and nowhere near 90 seconds as announced at the start. Many of the encounters felt generic and sloppy. Expectedly picked up a bit at the very end but most of the body was slow-paced and uninteresting. At one point fourteen women were in the ring doing precious little. All in all a disappointing Rumble match.
Match #2: GUNTHER vs. AJ Styles (If Styles loses he must retire)
GUNTHER comes out to his traditional Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 IV as opposed to the modern rock edition he has used for several years now. Styles gets his normal entrance but gets a big pop anyway.
Basic grappling to start. GUNTHER tries slowing things down Styles takes control with a dropkick which brings the crowd to their feet. A big boot sends Styles to the floor. GUNTHER suplexes Styles onto an announce table. A “f**k you GUNTHER” chant can be heard as GUNTHER chops Styles. Styles is bleeding from the forearm following that crash landing onto the announce table, which causes a doctor to check on him for a moment. Styles blocks a Rainmaker lariat and lands a Pélé Kick. GUNTHER escapes a Styles Clash and hits a big lariat. Styles applies the Calf Crusher but GUNTHER gets a ropebreak almost immediately and follows with a shotgun dropkick and a powerbomb for two. Styles escapes a corner and locks in the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. GUNTHER reaches out to the ropes so Styles re-rolls him back to the middle. In response GUNTHER locks in a sleeper hold. Styles counters into his own but GUNTHER counters the counter until Styles sends him to the floor. A reversal sequence ends with Styles hitting GUNTHER with his own powerbomb finisher for two. Springboard 450/Styles Clash combo also gets two. both guys trade sleepers. GUNTHER blocks the referee’s field of view to land a back low blow. Another powerbomb gets another close two-count which gets a huge pop. GUNTHER starts firing stiff live rounds in the corner which teases a possible referee stoppage. GUNTHER continues with chops and lariats but Styles still fights to his feet and retaliates in kind. GUNTHER catches Styles on his shoulders and switches back to the sleeper once again. Styles tries fighting out but GUNTHER keeps it on. This goes on for a good 2-3 minutes…and then Styles’ arm goes limp. The referee calls for the bell. The crowd is stunned silent! You can hear a pin drop from the shock.
Winner after 24:15: GUNTHER
Post-match GUNTHER celebrates for a brief moment and then quickly exits the ring. Styles regains consciousness and is given a standing ovation from the crowd along with a “Thank you Styles” chant. Then Styles removes his gloves, puts them back on, and does his signature pose. He does a few more taunts and poses for the crowd and then walks to the back.
Rating: 9/10 An excellent match. It, too, was slow at parts, not unlike the GUNTHER/John Cena match in December. But the action was still compelling. There was an instant sense of David vs. Goliath with GUNTHER overpowering Styles more often than not. Styles looked almost timeless as he still hit most of his biggest spots without showing many signs of age or wear-and-tear. Styles fought valiantly but GUNTHER’s more practical approach was too much. He hit too hard and almost forced the referee – who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Styles’ – to break his professional boundary and end the match out of concern for Styles’ safety. Styles tried again and again to cut the mammoth down but GUNTHER was too much, especially with his long application of the sleeper hold. There was just no way Styles could fight back with GUNTHER locking the sleeper in for about three minutes. There might be some out there who dispute the idea that this was Styles’ last match ever, but if so, it was a solid way to go out.
Match #3: Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn has never beaten McIntyre yet he has also never lost in Saudi Arabia. Chop exchange to start along with some brawling. Zayn fights back and hits a big dive to the floor but hurts his back in the process. This gives McIntyre something to target. McIntyre with some stiff forearm clubs and backbreakers. Zayn escapes a big corner move with a diving sunset bomb. He can’t land the Blue Thunder Bomb due to his back so McIntyre drops him once again. Zayn dodges a Claymore and covers for two. McIntyre regains control and hits a second-rope White Noise for two. A trio of Future Shock DDTs get another near-fall. A Claymore connects but Zayn gets his foot on the ropes. McIntyre gets in the referee’s face long enough for Zayn to land a Helluva Kick for two. The action spills to ringside leading to McIntyre powerbombing Zayn through one of the announce tables. McIntyre talks trash but Zayn answers with a corner Exploder out of nowhere. He goes for another Helluva Kick but runs into another Claymore. But rather than cover, McIntyre lands one more for good measure to retain.
Winner and STILL Undisputed WWE Champion after 16:15: Drew McIntyre
Rating: 7/10 A completely serviceable title match with a built-in story as Zayn found himself fighting from underneath from almost start to finish. He took a big risk early on with his dive and it cost him dearly as McIntyre took away his ability to land most of his lifting moves. Zayn proved himself naturally suited to playing babyface-in-peril as he took a beating from McIntyre but kept pushing as much as he could. That said, McIntyre stood little chance of losing in his first defense and once he found his winning formula it became less a question of whether Zayn could win and more about how long could he survive against McIntyre’s growing fury. A good match with the right story, setting, and conclusion, but nothing all that special.
Match #4: The 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble
#1 is Oba Femi while #2 is Bron Breakker. But before the match begins someone in a hood attacks Breakker from behind, hitting a superkick and a stomp. Then the bell rings and Oba Femi eliminates Bron Breakker. The hooded figure disappears through the crowd before Breakker realizes what’s going on. #3 is Solo Sikoa and the two guys do power moves. #4 is WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio, who does some quick lucha and evasive movement early but is quickly overpowered by Sikoa. #5 is Rusev who tries attacking Femi but instead eats a 619. Then Oba Femi eliminates Rusev and seconds later Solo Sikoa, Mysterio tries to use his speed against Femi but Femi hits a big elbow to send Mysterio flying out of the ring. Femi eliminates Rey Mysterio.
#6 is Matt Cardona who hits a big moves but gets caught in a big powerbomb and is then eliminated. #7 is Damian Priest who sprints into the ring and hits Femi with a big elbow. “Oba’s gonna kill you” chants the crowd. #8 is Je’Von Evans who leaps and hops around like the ring is a bouncy castle. #9 is AAA’s Mr. Iguana carrying his iguana Yesca. Iguana brings some slapstick and comedy to the match which the crowd does seem to recognize. Priest with a “double chokeslam” on Mt. Iguana and Yesca. #10 is Trick Williams who quickly eliminates Mr. Iguana without taking off his white fur coat.
#11 is Cody Rhodes who gets a monster pop and manages to get the entire arena to sing his song. #12 is El Grande Americano and #13 is “The Original” El Grande Americano (a.k.a. Chad Gable). Both of the “luchadores” get eliminated with Gable eliminating the other one and then Gable eliminated by Trick Williams. Then Cody eliminates Trick Williams as out comes #14: Royce Keys, a.k.a. Powerhouse Hobbs. Keys catches Priest and hits a running powerslam. Roce Keys/Powerhouse Hobbs eliminates Damian Priest.
#15 is Austin Theory and #16 is Bronson Reed, two men from the same stable. Theory sets Evans up for Reed to hit a Tsunami and then they hit a high/low combo on Oba Femi. #17 is Ilja Dragunov and #18 is AAA’s La Parka. #19 is Dragon Lee who drop everyone in sight with a technique resembling Tetsuya Naito’s Destino. #20 is Logan Paul who quickly gets manhandled by Royce Keys, but the Vision get revenge and eliminate Keys moments later and then La Parka gets eliminated by the Vision seconds after that. But wait, there’s more: Bronson Reed press slams Dragon Lee overhead and to the floor, eliminating him as well.
#21 is LA Knight who gets a big pop and goes after The Vision despite being outnumbered three-to-one. Knight ducks a charge allowing him to eliminate Austin Theory. Then he goes at it with and then eliminates Bronson Reed singlehandedly. And then the biggest pop of the night thus far occurs as #22 is Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman in tow. Lesnar drops everyone around him except Oba Femi. They get into a stare-down when out comes #23 The Miz. Seeing the two monsters staring each other down, Miz briefly slides back out of the ring but then re-enters. Dragunov tries chopping Lesnar but Lesnar roars and eliminates Dragunov effortlessly.
#24 is Rey Fenix who is quickly caught and used by Lesnar as a weapon. Then Lesnar Germans Femi and F-5s and eliminates Fenix. Femi goes after Paul but by ignoring Lesnar he allows himself to be eliminated by him. #25 is Jey Uso but before he can complete his entrance through the crowd Cody and LA Knight eliminate Brock Lesnar. Apparently Jey gets a bit more time to do some more dancing and then at #26 is Roman Reigns. Reigns toys with Jey, goes on a quick rampage, and eliminates The Miz.
Reigns and Cody tease a stare-down when out comes #27 Jacob Fatu. Fatu pulls Cody out of the ring between the second and third ropes and then throws him back in. Jacob hits a massive pop-up Samoan drop on Evans. Reigns and Jey hit the 3D on Cody and then it’s #28 Penta. Cody lands a Disaster Kick to eliminate LA Knight. Then it’s #29 Randy Orton and like Cody he gets the crowd to sing his entrance theme. Orton hits Paul with an RKO and then RKO’s Penta out of the air. Lastly, #30 is GUNTHER who comes out limping, still feeling the effects of his match from earlier.
There are nine men left in the match. Evans goes for a triple-jump Cutter but Orton RKOs him out of the air and eliminates him. Penta does a corner headstand but GUNTHER eliminates him. Cody & Orton double-team GUNTHER but then Cody accidentally lands a Cody Cutter on Orton when he was aiming for GUNTHER. Cody skins the cat when suddenly Drew McIntyre appears out of nowhere and eliminates Cody. Seconds later Reigns eliminates Jacob Fatu. Jey Uso spears Reigns but Reigns counters and eliminates Jey Uso.
Four men are left: Reigns, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, and GUNTHER. Then in quick succession Reigns eliminates Paul, Orton RKO’s Reigns, and GUNTHER eliminates Orton. This leaves two: Reigns and GUNTHER. GUNTHER uses the sleeper to wear Reigns down. but then Reigns makes a comeback, hits a spear, and eliminates GUNTHER.
Winner of the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble after 56:10: Roman Reigns
Rating: 6/10 Better-paced than the women’s Rumble earlier with more stories, teases, and genuine surprises. There were far more credible and believable winners with Reigns winning being a truly last-minute shock. The match did die a bit in the middle, particularly with Lesnar’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it elimination and Jey Uso deciding to dance during the Rumble. Reigns winning seems quite out of left field, and yet there were no surefire favorites this time around.
Overall Show Rating: 6/10
Far from the most exciting Rumble events this show was effectively hamstrung by its location. The crowd was very much dead silent for most of the show, chanting randomly throughout and showing significantly less energy than American and European crowds. Even with all the fireworks, surprises, and storyline importance, the event failed to carry the same significance as previous editions of the Rumble. This might be a worrying sign of things to come: future events in Saudi Arabia have a high likelihood of suffering from the same problem. The result is an event that comes across as less exciting for audiences watching from home. That said, if there’s one thing worth watching it’s the GUNTHER/Styles match. Take away the problem of a largely mid crowd and this is a solid performance and the best match in WWE so far this year.
