Final Predictions for Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Entire WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Match Card
This weekend, WWE will officially enter the Road to WrestleMania with the 2026 Royal Rumble.
For the first time in WWE history, the event is taking place overseas in Saudi Arabia, so fans in North America will get an afternoon PLE this year.
In addition to the men's and women's Royal Rumbles, we have two big singles matches set for the show.
AJ Styles will put his career on the line against Gunther, and Drew McIntyre will defend the WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
This is one of the more popular shows on the calendar because WWE always plans a few surprises for the Rumble bouts. Let's go through each match and make some predictions.
AJ Styles Beats Gunther
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AJ Styles has already decided that 2026 would be his last year as an active performer, so having him put his career on the line in the first month of the year feels a bit strange.
Having The Ring General end another legend's run would certainly be a feather in his cap, but having Styles go out this way would be a travesty.
For nearly a decade, The Phenomenal One has been a fixture in WWE, but before that, he was one of the most prominent non-WWE stars in the entire world thanks to his time in TNA and NJPW.
The way WWE has built this match makes it feel like Styles' time is coming to an end, which is why it will be a bit of a swerve when he actually squeaks out a victory in the end.
Prediction: Styles beats Gunther
Drew McIntyre Will Beat Sami Zayn for the 12th Time
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Last week when McIntyre and Zayn crossed paths, the WWE champion reminded Zayn that he has a perfect 11-0 record against him.
Unfortunately for Zayn, that record will continue to be perfect after this weekend because there is simply no way WWE would be foolish enough to give McIntyre a much-deserved WWE title win only to rip the title away from him a few weeks later.
Zayn's quest to win the world title is a big deal because he has been made into such an underdog in this situation, so having him win it deserves a huge moment.
Having him eventually win in the main event of WrestleMania or SummerSlam would be a far more satisfying conclusion.
Prediction: McIntyre retains
Women's Royal Rumble Winner
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As if Friday morning, 17 participants have been revealed for the women's Rumble match.
The list includes several former world champions such as Becky Lynch, Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley as well as those looking for their first world title like Lyra Valkyria and Chelsea Green.
Weirdly, it doesn't feel like any individual Superstar has been built up in a way that makes them an obvious winner, so the outcome to this one is a little more unpredictable.
Jordynne Grace is already in a storyline with Jade Cargill, so having her win would cement her as the next challenger for the title. Right now, it's the most logical route to take for WWE.
Prediction: Jordynne Grace wins
Men's Royal Rumble
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The men's Rumble has fewer announced participants so far with just half the field already revealed, so there are a lot of potential surprises that can be booked.
Cody Rhodes has been talking a lot about winning three Rumbles in a row, but a far more interesting outcome would be Jacob Fatu claiming the win.
The Samoan Werewolf has already made it clear that he has McIntyre in his sights, so winning the Rumble and earning a title shot at WrestleMania would be a perfect way to catapult him up to the main event scene.
Even if he doesn't end up winning the WWE title, being in that spot at the biggest show of the year would be monumental for his career.
Rhodes might be the safer pick, but we are going with Fatu in the hopes that WWE has the guts to book that finish.
Prediction: Fatu wins
Random Predictions for the Women's Rumble
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We already picked Grace as our winner, but here are a handful of other predictions for the women's Rumble match:
Random Predictions for the Men's Rumble Match
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Here's some predictions related to the men's Rumble:
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