WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Start Time, Match Card, How to Watch & Live Stream

Two superstars will punch their ticket to WWE WrestleMania 42 at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has teased surprises for both the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches, which makes for quite the setup entering the annual over-the-top-rope battle royal.

In the men’s match, top superstars such as Cody Rhodes, the returning Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Austin Theory, Penta, Jacob Fatu, Oba Femi, and others figure to play a pivotal role in deciding who will challenge for a world title at WrestleMania.

ACKNOWLEDGE HIM ☝️

The OTC @WWERomanReigns RETURNS at the Royal Rumble! pic.twitter.com/3d0JfwPmSz
— WWE (@WWE) January 24, 2026

Meanwhile, the women’s match features former champions like Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Liv Morgan, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Becky Lynch, and maybe even a surprise or two with AJ Lee or Bianca Belair joining the mix.

Who will outlast the competition to be the last person standing to score a championship opportunity on the grandest stage of them all?

Elsewhere, Drew McIntyre defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn, who defeated Randy Orton, Damian Priest, and Trick Williams in a Fatal 4-Way Match at Saturday Night’s Main Event to earn his shot.

McIntyre is a remarkable 11-0 in his televised matches against Zayn in WWE, so the latter has to do something he’s never done before to finally be crowned champion, and that’s defeat his arch nemesis.

We’re almost there pic.twitter.com/y2t3xGA9w6
— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) January 26, 2026

Also announced is a highly anticipated rematch between AJ Styles and Gunther.

It was ‘The Ring General’ who technically won the first match back on January 12, but Styles will aim for revenge after the replay showed that Gunther tapped out while the referee had his attention on something else.

If Styles can’t notch the victory, he’ll retire from WWE. That would also give Gunther a lot of confidence entering the Men's Royal Rumble Match.

Here is everything we know about tonight's WWE Royal Rumble in Riyadh:

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Thirty men enter, but only one will have his hand raised as the winner. Jey Uso shocked the world by winning the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble Match, and it’s possible that someone else could step into that role this time around.

LA Knight? Oba Femi? Chris Jericho? Or perhaps Rhodes or Reigns add another Royal Rumble victory to their credit.

This year’s match has the type of suspense and drama needed to produce one of the best editions of the Rumble yet.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Speaking of drama, there should be plenty of it in the Women’s Royal Rumble. It’s a star-studded list of entrants, which creates an interesting scenario as to who walks out with the win.

There’s intrigue with the Judgment Day dynamic with Morgan and Roxanne Perez, but don’t discount the experience of Belair, Ripley, Flair, Lynch, Asuka, and Bayley, who are all former winners.

It should be quite a spectacle with so much on the line.

Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre (c) for the Undisputed WWE Championship

Can Zayn finally be a world champion? This would seem to be his best opportunity yet, but McIntyre has been a step ahead of Zayn at every turn during their long-running rivalry.

McIntyre has proven that he’ll do anything to stay at the top after such a long wait to return there, and that isn’t ideal for Zayn. Will that be the difference in McIntyre retaining the championship?

AJ Styles vs. Gunther with Styles’ WWE career on the line

Styles has had quite a run in the past week. He defeated an old rival in Shinsuke Nakamura at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and then followed it up with a memorable clash against World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk on Raw that was interrupted by Finn Balor.

Styles won’t be getting a rematch if he loses to Gunther, who has already retired Goldberg and John Cena in the past six months. Is Styles next on Gunther's list of WWE legends to retire?