WWE Royal Rumble Riyadh 2026 Review
The Royal Rumble is officially here.
One of the biggest events in the entire wrestling world is here, kicking off the start of WWE’s “WrestleMania Season.”
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has seen a brand new stadium (Riyadh Season Stadium) built for this event, with the entire build taking less than three weeks, which is absolutely insane to think about. It’s being promoted as a sold out show in a 25,000-seat venue, and the crowd in Saudi Arabia is already loud and raucous.
Let’s have some fun.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match – Winner Receives A World Title Match At WrestleMania 42
Either this is a super late arriving crowd, or we’ve been lied to about this show being sold out. Outside of the ringside seats, there isn’t a single section that appears to be full, with a lot of the upper sections having very little fans in them whatsoever, if any at all. That’s something to keep an eye on, I guess.
Charlotte Flair is out as the first entrant, so she has a lot of work to do if she wants to have a World Title shot at WrestleMania. If there’s anyone who can do it, it would be her, though. She’s the only woman to win two Rumble matches, and she has finished in the top three of all five Rumble matches she has participated in.
WHAT A KOWINKYDINK. Alexa Bliss is the second entrant in the match. I hate when WWE gets too cutesy with things like this. It feels like we get something like this every year, where people who are connected in one way or another starting a Rumble or coming out in back-to-back spots.
Alexa starts the match by telling Charlotte that they should just wait it out and take out the other women as they enter the match. The women spend the entire duration of their time together acting like they’re going to attack the other, but it never happens.
Kiana James is out next, and she doesn’t get much of a reaction. That changes a bit as she gets to the ring, as she actually goes after her opponents for our first action of the night.
Nia Jax is the next entrant. She is the leader in both all-time eliminations in women’s Rumble history, and the single year record holder for eliminations.
The crowd chants “you suck” to Nia, who appears to respond by saying “I suck it all, baby” as she sticks her tongue out and points at her mouth. Jesus. That’s one way to combat the chant, I guess.
Ivy Nile is out next, and she gets the “you suck” chants, as well. With her hair down and muscular build, Ivy looks like a miniature Beth Phoenix.
Lola Vice is next out, and she hits the ring with a ton of energy, taking out almost everyone involved before being dropped by Nia. There still aren’t any eliminations as we wait for the 7th woman to enter the match.
Kiana James pops the crowd by lifting Nia Jax up and landing a Samoan Drop. Wow. That was really impressive.
Candice LeRae is out next. Looks like we’re getting a bunch of the “no chance” women out to start the match.
Jordynne Grace is next, and she’s still really new to the main roster, so she gets very little reaction from the crowd as she makes her entrance. Within seconds, Jordynne eliminates Lola and Candice, with Ivy following moments later. We’ve thinned the herd, so to speak, and done so rather quickly.
DRAMA! With Nia and Alexa standing on the ring apron, Charlotte hits a running boot to Nia, who grabs Alexa on the way down, eliminating them both. Charlotte has indirectly been involved in the elimination of Alexa. The Mega Powers Explode!
Becky Lynch is next, and we get the immediate showdown between her and her former best friend, Charlotte, popping the crowd.
Sol Ruca is next, and she got a bigger pop than Jordynne Grace did, ruining my theory about Jordynne not being well known by the crowd because she’s still new to the main roster. Sol goes on a nice run as soon as she enters the ring, flipping and flopping around, throwing people all over the place.
Roxanne Perez is next. With all these women out there, it’s worth pointing out that they’ve done a great job of getting special ring gear created for a show where they aren’t able to showcase any skin. A lot of these attires look incredible.
Maxxine Dupri is next, and naturally, she’s going right after Becky Lynch. Something tells me Nattie Neidhart is coming out soon. Maxxine is throwing women around left and right with a bunch of suplexes.
I’m so shocked. Nattie is out next. WWE, I’m fucking BEGGING YOU to stop doing that as often as you do.
Becky tosses Maxxine out of the match, and then puts her arm around Nattie. She tries to eliminate Nattie, drawing “you fucked up” chants, but Nattie reverses it and eliminates Becky instead. A lot shorter night for Becky than I would’ve expected.
Liv Morgan is out next, and she gets a nice pop from the crowd.
Lash Legend is out next, and there are some smart fans in the crowd, chanting “whoop that trick” when she enters the ring. For those unaware, Lash is engaged to Trick Williams.
Lash and Jordynne battle it out on the ring apron for a bit before Lash eliminates Jordynne. With Zelina Vega now making her way to the ring, we have eight women in the ring, with eight women already eliminated.
Poor Zelina. She tries to fire up the crowd and receives approximately zero reaction.
Raquel Rodriguez is out next, and all three women in The Judgment Day are in the match together. Time to start seeing some strategy.
Kiana James is thrown out just as Chelsea Green makes her entrance as the next competitor in the match.
Chelsea gets a big pop from the crowd as she enters the ring. She goes to the Judgment Day women and says they should all work together, but she is quickly rejected.
Giulia is out next in the #19 spot.
By the way, there are definitely more people in the crowd now, but it’s still nowhere near being a full crowd. There are empty seats everywhere you look.
Iyo Sky is the next entrant. She gets serenaded with the “Iyooo, Iyo Skyyyy” chants, probably receiving the loudest reaction of any woman we’ve seen so far.
Asuka is out next, and we’re on a run of Japanese women now. Kairi Sane is probably next. As soon as Asuka gets in the ring, we get the Spider-Man meme as she, Iyo, and Giulia stand and point at each other.
Well, Kairi Sane isn’t the next entrant. Instead, it’s Rhea Ripley, who gets the loudest pop of the night so far. Rhea even has pyro for her entrance… in the Royal Rumble. Sheesh.
Zelina is eliminated by Giulia, but the crowd is distracted by a showdown between Rhea and Chelsea in the middle of the ring. It lasts for a few seconds, but Rhea eliminates Chelsea. Rhea then sends Roxanne out of the match with a Razor’s Edge, drawing anger from Liv and Raquel, who go after her.
Bayley is next, just as Charlotte crosses the 41-minute mark in the match.
NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne is the next entrant, coming in at the #24 spot. Jacy gets a decent pop after a flurry of offense, and she shows her appreciation to the crowd by dancing for a moment.
Nattie is eliminated by Liv, and the Judgment Day women continue to look strong, even without Roxanne around.
Nikki Bella is the next entrant, getting a pretty good pop from the crowd.
Lyra Valkyria is next, and she and Bayley combine to eliminate Giulia just as Kelani Jordan makes her entrance in the #27 spot.
Cameras catch Nikki in the corner, trying to eliminate Lash, but clearly not using any force at all. She’s literally just standing there, holding one of Lash’s legs, and they’re both just looking around the ring.
Kairi Sane is out next. Charlotte has now been in the match for 50 minutes and counting.
Oh, no… with Asuka hanging on for dear life, Kairi accidentally hits her and eliminates her from the match. With the rage building on Asuka’s face, Iyo throws Kairi out of the match, too.
Brie Bella makes her return to WWE is the #29 spot, and the “yes” chants absolutely erupt. Wow. That might be the loudest pop Brie has ever received. She does the Yes Kicks, and on commentary, Michael Cole simply says that we all know who she’s paying homage to.
Tiffany Stratton is back, coming out in the #30 spot. She has been on the shelf for a few months, dealing with a knee injury. The crowd is very happy to see her. There are 14 women in the ring right now.
A “holy shit” chant breaks out when Tiffany and Charlotte go face-to-face in the middle of the ring. That’s a bit dramatic, but hey, they’re having fun.
The Bellas team up to eliminate both Lyra and Bayley, drawing another loud round of “yes” chants from the crowd. We’re down to 12 women. “This is awesome” chants are heard now. The crowd is having a blast.
Kelani is eliminated by Jacy, who stands around just long enough to take a Sol Snatcher and then get thrown out herself. Ten women remain in the match.
Make that eight, as Lash powers both Bellas out at the same time, getting the loudest heel heat of the night. That was well done.
A big boot to Charlotte’s face eliminates her at the 59:50 mark. That’s a HUGE moment for Lash Legend in her brief career. Wow.
The huge night for Lash Legend continues! She just eliminated Iyo Sky, and the crowd is pissed. I’m not 100% sure, but it sounds like they’re chanting “overrated” at Lash. Back-to-back eliminations of Charlotte Flair and Iyo Sky for Lash here. That’s incredible. We could be looking back on this match for years to come, no matter the outcome. This could be Lash’s coming out party.
Lash’s night comes to an end, though, being clotheslined over the top by Rhea, but Rhea immediately takes a Tejana Bomb by Raquel to be eliminated herself. Raquel can’t celebrate, though, as she is immediately thrown out by her own partner, Liv Morgan.
We’re down to three… Liv Morgan, Tiffany Stratton, and Sol Ruca. One of them is going to win the Rumble and earn herself a World Title match at WrestleMania 42.
Double Sol Snatcher! Sol goes to eliminate both Tiffany and Liv, and all three women end up on the ring apron. Sol goes for a Sol Snatcher on Tiffany, but gets thrown out. Seconds later, Liv eliminates Tiffany. Liv Morgan is your 2026 women’s Royal Rumble winner.
I don’t give ratings to Battle Royals, but that was a fun match. There were some slow moments in the first half, but things really picked up in the second half. The crowd really got into things, the right woman won, there’s some storyline drama coming for the Judgment Day women, and we even got some new stars born with the performances from Lash Legend and Sol Ruca. Hell, Kiana James had herself a really good showing, too. Lots of building for the future. It certainly wasn’t a perfect Rumble, but there wasn’t a ton to complain about, either.
AJ Styles vs Gunther – AJ Will Be Forced To Retire If He Loses
The build for this match has seen some of the language used state that AJ must retire from WWE if he loses, leading a lot of people to speculate that AJ could lose and go to TNA or AEW. Obviously, that could happen, but they’ve been very clear in the ring announcements here that his in-ring career is over if he loses, not just his WWE career.
This crowd is HYPED for AJ. The venue still isn’t anywhere near full, but it’s starting to sound like it is.
Gunther slams AJ on the announce table, and it looks like AJ’s forearm struck something on the table (monitor, perhaps), as he comes up with a cut right beneath his elbow.
They’re telling the easy and obvious story so far. Not only is AJ four months away from being 49 years old, but he is coming off of grueling matches with Shinsuke Nakamura and CM Punk over the last week, while Gunther is fresh and ready to go. Gunther is punishing AJ here.
AJ gets a mini flurry of offense here and there, but Gunther is always quick to shut it down and get the pace back to where he wants it to be. He’s working a really well done match so far.
Styles Clash from AJ, but he doesn’t add anything to the cover, simply raising his fist in the air in celebration. Gunther kicks out.
Whenever AJ kicks out of a pin attempt, the crowd explodes. Even when it follows a move that clearly wasn’t going to finish the match, they’re going nuts. They’re trying to will AJ to victory.
It’s all over, folks. After multiple Sleeper attempts, Gunther finally gets AJ to pass out. The career of AJ Styles has come to an end. Props to Referee Dan Engler for the way he sold the end. He was screaming AJ’s name at the end, with a look of anguish on his face. Even as AJ’s arm hit the mat, Engler took a couple seconds to count it, not wanting to believe it was real. Then, extra credit to AJ, who woke up after passing out, hearing Gunther’s music being played and being confused as to what happened. That was a beautifully done ending.
After the match, AJ is fighting back tears as she takes his gloves off in the center of the ring. He teases leaving them on the mat, then puts them back on to a huge pop. He poses for the crowd, then leaves the ring before returning to pose some more. AJ is clearly selling a retirement, but him putting his gloves back on is certainly going to get people speculating that his career isn’t truly over, whether it continues with WWE or somewhere else.
Really, really good match. No surprise there. Like I said, though, that ending was phenomenal, pun fully intended. Engler has been friends with AJ going back to the very beginning of TNA in 2002, and he didn’t want to see his friend’s career come to an end. AJ passing out and not even realizing that he lost was a great touch. 4.5 Stars.
Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn – Undisputed WWE Title Match
After a 67-minute Rumble and an emotional roller coaster that went nearly 25 minutes, this is the part of the show where I would normally expect the live crowd to quiet down and recover for a while. That would be especially so with another 60-plus minute Rumble match still to come. However, with Sami Zayn, a devout Muslim, being involved in this match, I’m not so sure. For all intents and purposes, this is a “home game” for him, and the crowd in Saudi Arabia seems ready for him to potentially become the new WWE Champion.
Even with all that I just typed, the crowd is definitely quieter for this match than they were for AJ vs Gunther. We’ll see if they pick things up as the match goes on.
My stream is having issues, and from searching around on Twitter, I see that I’m not the only one. The feed went choppy, almost going slow-mo, and then the audio started getting wonky. I backed out to the Disney+ homepage, and the feed seems normal again now that I’m back.
Yeah, it definitely seems like the crowd worked themselves tired after the first half of the show. They’re quiet when Drew is on offense, and they’re lukewarm at times when Sami is on offense.
Sami goes for a Helluva Kick, but Drew intercepts him with a Claymore. He follows it up with another Claymore, and he gets the pin and the win to retain his title.
I did miss a small portion of the match, but nowhere near big enough to prevent me from giving this a rating. The match was decent enough, but it never really seemed like it hit “World Title match on pay-per-view” gear. With a less-than-expected crowd reaction, that seemed like the final straw. This came across like Drew defending the title against someone like Matt Cardona on a random episode of Smackdown, where the crowd was behind the challenger, but nobody truly seemed like they bought in to the idea of the title changing hands. That’s a real disappointment. This had the makings of being something special, but it never got close to that. 3 Stars
Men’s Royal Rumble Match – Winner Receives A World Title Match At WrestleMania 42
Main event time.
Oh my. Oba Femi is here as the first entrant in the match. This should give him plenty of time to challenge the single-year record for most eliminations by a single competitor.
Bron Breakker is out next. We learned this during the pre-show, when Paul Heyman confronted Adam Pearce and accused him of fixing things. Seems like a minor pivot on WWE’s part, though, after airing a graphic during last night’s episode of Smackdown that seemed to spoil that Bron would enter the match in the first spot.
During Bron’s entrance, he is attacked by a hooded figure, who ends up hitting Bron with a Stomp. Bron is thrown into the ring and eliminated within seconds. Well… nobody saw that coming. Holy hell. We never got to see who the hooded figure was, even though it was heavily implied that it was Seth Rollins. It was a bit of a lanky person, but it didn’t come across as a slam dunk that Rollins was in the hoodie.
Solo Sikoa is next, and my stream is starting to act up again.
Rey Mysterio is out next, and I’m already looking forward to seeing him interact with Oba Femi. Hell, I’m looking forward to seeing anyone interact with Oba Femi.
Speaking of people I want to see fight Oba Femi, Rusev is out next.
Well… Rusev takes a 619 from Rey, and is then thrown out by Oba. There goes that, I guess. As I type that, Oba eliminates Solo, too.
Elimination number four for Oba in the early stages here, as he throws Rey over the top rope and to the floor just before Matt Cardona makes his entrance in the next spot.
To the surprise of nobody, Cardona doesn’t last long before he, too, is thrown out by Oba Femi. We’re up to five eliminations for Oba.
Next up is Damian Priest, who runs to the ring and immediately takes it to Oba. An “Oba’s gonna kill you” chant breaks out. Yeah, Oba is going to be a STAR.
Je’Von Evans is out next, and he is defying gravity at every possible turn, popping the crowd.
Mr. Iguana is out next, and the Saudi crowd seems to have no idea who he is.
Trick Williams is next, and the “whoop that trick” chants are LOUD. Hearing Michael Cole say “Lemon Pepper Steppers” was great. Trick gets in the ring and eliminates Mr. Iguana right away. Okay then.
Cody Rhodes pops the crowd by entering the match in the #11 spot. He’s looking to join “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as the only three-time Rumble winner in history. The crowd sings Cody’s entrance theme, long after he gets in the ring and brawls with those in the match.
El Grande Americano is the next entrant. LOL @ Woi Bar-ruh saying that EGA has over 100 years of experience as a pro wrestler. That’s great.
“The Original El Grande Americano” is next, and this guy has a build that is awfully similar to that of Chad Gable. Weird.
EGA is thrown out by OG EGA, who is then tossed by Trick Williams… who is then tossed by Cody Rhodes.
Royce Keys is the next entrant! His tron initially said Powerhouse Hobbs before changing to his new name, and Michael Cole mentions that Keys used to go by the Hobbs moniker. Keys wastes no time making a mark, eliminating Damian Priest.
Cody and Keys go face-to-face, and Cole mentions that these two have squared off before. It sounded like a small “AEW” chant was breaking out, but it either died or was muted quickly.
Austin Theory is next, and the crowd goes mild.
Hey, they did it again. Theory came out, representing The Vision, and Bronson Reed is the next entrant. Bronson hits a Tsunami on Je’Von as soon as he gets to the ring.
Ilja Dragunov is next up in the #17 spot. There are some heavy hitters in the ring right now. This could be fun.
AAA’s La Parka is out next, and the crowd could not possibly make any less noise for his entrance. Yikes. I get the desire to include AAA talent in the match, but there seems to be zero connection between AAA names and the Saudi Arabia crowd.
Dragon Lee is the next to enter the match, and he picks the pace up as soon as he gets in the ring.
Logan Paul is out next, making The Vision even stronger in the match. Paul, Bronson Reed, and Austin Theory are all out there now. After they triple-team Royce Keys for a moment, they eliminate the newcomer. Crazy that WWE flew him all the way to Saudi Arabia for that. La Parka is the next elimination, followed closely by Dragon Lee. The Vision are looking very strong right now.
At #21, LA Knight is out, making his return after being on the shelf for a month or so thanks to a Tsunami from Bronson Reed on the top of a car. As I finish typing that, Knight eliminates Theory. After a BFT to Reed, Big Bronson is thrown out by Knight, as well.
Brock Lesnar is out next, and the entire mood in the stadium has changed. Standing next to Brock is none other than Paul Heyman, who has had quite the night. Brock is destroying everyone in the ring, but the crowd ERUPTS as Brock comes face-to-face with Oba Femi.
Because we can’t give too much away right now, The Miz is out next. As soon as he slides into the ring, Brock takes a step in his direction, causing him to slide back out of the ring. Cute.
Brock eats SEVERAL stiff strikes from Dragunov, screams in his face, then violently throws him over the top rope. My goodness.
Oba and Brock go face-to-face again, only to be interrupted by the entrance of Rey Fenix, making his way in. He doesn’t last long, being eliminated by Brock within seconds.
Just before Jey Uso makes his entrance, Brock dumps Oba over the top rope. If that doesn’t set up a WrestleMania or SummerSlam match between them, Paul Levesque should be fired. Into the sun.
During Jey’s entrance, Brock is eliminated by Cody Rhodes and LA Knight. Well, I didn’t see that coming. Brock got the “jobber elimination,” taking place while everyone is distracted by something else going on.
As soon as Jey gets in the ring, he runs his music back and yeets some more. That allows us to get to our next entrant, which is Roman Reigns in the #26 spot. Roman gets in the ring and wants Jey to run his music back again. As soon as Jey does so, Roman punches him in the face. Roman then throws Miz out to eliminate him.
Jacob Fatu makes his entrance just as Roman and Cody were about to go face-to-face.
Holy shit! I’m pretty sure Fatu just threw Je’Von 126 feet in the air before catching him with a Samoan Drop. I could be off by a foot or two, but either way, that was an insane looking spot.
Penta is next, and he hits the ring with a ton of momentum.
LA Knight is eliminated after being hit with a Disaster Kick from Cody. Seconds later, Randy Orton arrives as the next-to-last entrant in the match.
Orton lines Jey Uso up for an RKO, but Logan Paul decides to be a silly goose and interrupt him. Of course, that means Logan eats the RKO instead.
Gunther is out in the #30 spot. No Chris Jericho tonight. Logan decides his silly goose meter wasn’t full enough, and he tries to chop Gunther, who eats it and then drops Logan with a chop of his own.
OG Cutter from Je’Von Evans, but he is intercepted in mid-air by an RKO. Orton then throws Je’Von out, ending his night after over 40 minutes in the match.
Penta is eliminated by Gunther, and we’re down to seven people… Gunther, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatu, Roman Reigns, Logan Paul, and Jey Uso.
Fatu sends Cody over the top rope, but Cody is trying to skin the cat. Out of nowhere, Drew McIntyre shows up and hits a drive-by Claymore to eliminate Cody. Seconds later, Roman sneaks up behind Jacob Fatu and eliminates him. Soon thereafter, Roman reverses an elimination attempt by Jey Uso, sending Jey out of the match.
Roman. Logan. Orton. Gunther. One of those four men is going to have a World Title match at WrestleMania this year.
It won’t be Logan, who is tossed out by Roman, but it also won’t be Orton, who is thrown out by Gunther. We’re down to Roman Reigns and Gunther.
A Spear by Roman is followed by an elimination, and the Original Tribal Chief is the winner of the 2026 Royal Rumble. It’s his second Rumble win, tying him with Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, Edge, Randy Orton, Triple H, Batista, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan for the second-most Rumble wins of all-time.
With Oba Femi coming out in the first spot, the match felt bigger from the very start. There was a lot of star power here, helping to carry the match. I liked that there wasn’t a lot of slow spots in the match, although there were some questionable decisions. The match could’ve done without the inclusion of the AAA names, and it certainly could’ve done without the elimination of Brock Lesnar taking place during a ring entrance while nobody was looking.
As I said earlier, I don’t give ratings to Battle Royals, but I did enjoy this match. While the betting favorite ultimately won the match, a compelling argument could be made for several other people, making things exciting as we waited to see how things would play out. It’s not going to be in the running for the best Rumble match ever, but it more than succeeded in doing its job and doing it well.
What did you think of the 2026 Royal Rumble? Did WWE get the winners right? Should we have seen the WWE Title change hands? I turn the floor over to you for your thoughts and opinions now.
