WWE Announces Roman Reigns’ Return For Royal Rumble: Riyadh

“The Original Tribal Chief” is on his way back to WWE.

And soon.

During the Friday, January 23, 2026 episode of WWE SmackDown from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a video aired announcing Roman Reigns will be competing in this year’s Men’s Royal Rumble match.

The match is scheduled to take part during the first-ever international Royal Rumble premium live event later this month.

As noted last week, Roman Reigns is not currently factored into WWE’s short-term plans involving the WWE Title.

“We were told that Reigns will be the odd man out of the WWE title picture,” Dave Meltzer wrote in a recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at F4WOnline.com. “He is scheduled to return at the Rumble and one would expect his direction to be clearer there.”

The report comes as speculation continues to swirl around WWE’s main event direction for WrestleMania 42. With Reigns reportedly on the outside looking in when it comes to the championship landscape, questions are mounting about where WWE may slot one of its biggest stars heading into the company’s biggest show of the year.

At one point, internal plans reportedly had Reigns penciled in for a WWE Championship program with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Those plans have since shifted, leaving Reigns’ eventual WrestleMania opponent unclear as the Rumble draws closer.

For those interested, you can check out our complete WWE SmackDown Results 1/23/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.

Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 1/31 for live WWE Royal Rumble: Riyadh results coverage from Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.