WWE's Royal Rumble Booking For Roman Reigns Matters More Than the Winner

Roman Reigns recently being added to the upcoming men's Royal Rumble match shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone, nor should his highly likely win on Saturday night.

It's been over a decade since The Tribal Chief last reigned supreme in the Rumble, but the damage done from that win in 2015 took him years to bounce back from. It wouldn't be the same reaction if he pulled off a repeat victory this year, but it isn't the ideal outcome, either.

Despite that, all signs point to Reigns being involved in another high-profile match at WrestleMania 42, possibly with a world championship on the line. That could happen regardless of whether he wins the Rumble seeing as how anything can change on the Road to WrestleMania.

WWE largely followed a formula with Reigns in 2025 that made it easy to predict what he'd be doing next, and all of it came outside of the world title scene. What the company has in mind for him in 2026 remains to be seen, and there are any number of directions it can go in with him at the Rumble.

The unpredictable nature surrounding the men's Rumble match is exciting for fans, but the booking of Reigns arguably matters more than the winner this year.

Not Appearing Prior to the PLE

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It should be both extremely telling and alarming that Reigns won't be making any televised appearances for WWE before he returns at the Royal Rumble.

The OTC was last seen in WarGames at Survivor Series where he and his squad fell short of beating The Vision, Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar. He then teased tension with Cody Rhodes to close the show, with the belief being that their faceoff was designed to plant the seeds for another WrestleMania match between the two.

WWE's longest-reigning world champion of the modern era also appeared in last year's Rumble but did not declare his entry well ahead of time following his decisive Tribal Combat win over Solo Sikoa on Raw's Netflix premiere. This year, his involvement was announced via a video package that aired on SmackDown.

For as popular as he is, a certain segment of fans could easily go back to resenting Reigns if he ends up winning a Rumble without being on television in the weeks prior to the premium live event. Granted, others have done that before and their Rumble wins were well-received, but it's not as if The OTC's absence is due to any sort of injury or storyline setback.

That alone should be a cause of concern for fans ahead of the Rumble.

An Odds-On Favorite to Win

Although Reigns should have made at least one appearance on WWE TV prior to the Royal Rumble to officially declare for it, it does make total sense for him to be involved in the bout.

WWE should be loading it up with as much star power as it did last year, and if The OTC is available, there's no reason for him to sit the event out.

That said, having him win the whole thing is unnecessary. There are so many options far more appealing than him and there's simply nothing interesting about Reigns winning the Rumble again, at least at this point.

He has to be considered an odds-on favorite, nonetheless. He's been out of the world title scene since dropping the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 and WWE may feel two years is long enough.

There's no denying Reigns remains one of the biggest stars WWE has, but the company has to start building up new names and that won't be possible if he is back in contention for a world title at WrestleMania.

There will be suspense surrounding his participation in the Rumble, not only as to whether he wins but also in regards to who he interacts with to set something up for The Show of Shows in April.

Unfinished Business with The Vision

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At WrestleMania 41, Reigns was betrayed by Paul Heyman and pinned by Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match. On the subsequent Raw, Heyman and Rollins recruited Bron Breakker into their ranks and The Vision was born.

Reigns spent the remainder of 2025 feuding with the faction, besting them in a tag team match at SummerSlam and Bronson Reed one-on-one at Clash in Paris but losing to Reed in a rematch at Crown Jewel. As noted, his team lost to The Vision in WarGames at Survivor Series.

In short, the rivalry was never resolved, and more importantly, he never had that elusive singles match with Breakker.

Of course, that's a bout WWE could always circle back to down the road after Breakker has established himself as a main event player, but WrestleMania 42 would be as perfect of a place as any for it to happen. It could even be for a world title if Reigns or The Badass becomes champ before then, specifically at Elimination Chamber.

It was announced on Monday's Raw that all four members of The Vision will be in the men's Rumble match, so Reigns getting revenge on some, if not all, of them isn't entirely out of the question.

Potentially Crossing Paths with Cody Rhodes

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In addition to Reigns, a slew of Superstars have declared for the men's Royal Rumble, including Cody Rhodes.

In fact, the former undisputed WWE champion was the first to throw his name into the hat on the Jan. 16 edition of SmackDown and everyone else started to follow suit.

Rhodes winning the Rumble would be even less intriguing than Reigns given he's already won two of the last three installments and is fresh off losing the title to Drew McIntyre.

It would be a bit of a surprise for The American Nightmare not to be involved in the Undisputed WWE Championship match at 'Mania this year, but as of now, he's either running it back with McIntyre at the event (possibly in a Triple Threat with Jacob Fatu) or facing Reigns again.

Rhodes and Reigns have little to fight over if gold isn't up for grabs, but it would work better as a non-title bout if it does come to fruition.

Either way, Reigns and Rhodes are guaranteed to have a moment together in the Rumble, and if they don't, fans can rest easy knowing their rumored WrestleMania rivalry has been scrapped for this year.

Where Is Reigns Ultimately Headed?

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Even as a part-time performer, Reigns has a lot of value to WWE and there's still so much that can be done with him creatively when he is around. That's why what WWE has planned for him en route to WrestleMania 42 is so important.

Any bad booking he receives will result in him feeling the backlash from fans, not Triple H or the creative team. He's been organically over as a fan favorite for the last two years, and it would be pointless to jeopardize that for another Reigns vs. Rhodes match that should be saved for later down the road.

Reigns can continue working as an attraction right below the world title scene for the foreseeable future, but if he does challenge for a championship at WrestleMania 42, it should be with the idea that he loses.

Whether he helps elevate Bron Breakker, gets his comeuppance courtesy of Drew McIntyre or settles his score with Seth Rollins or CM Punk, Reigns can have a role at WrestleMania 42 that doesn't overexpose him.

The Royal Rumble should provide a clearer picture of where Reigns is ultimately headed, and if he's utilized properly in the bout, whatever he winds up doing could be a bigger story coming out of the event than whoever walks away the winner.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.