All matches announced for WWE Royal Rumble 2026 so far: AJ Styles, Rhea Ripley & Drew McIntyre in action & more
(Courtesy : WWE.com)
The first PLE of 2026 will take place in Riyadh.
The Road to WrestleMania 42 will begin with the 2026 edition of the Royal Rumble. The first PLE of 2026 will set the stage, with challengers emerging from the ashes to claim a World title shot at the ‘Grandest Stage’ in Las Vegas.
The 39th installment is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026, and will be held at King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season. This edition will be the first traditional Royal Rumble held outside North America and the 14th WWE event hosted in Saudi Arabia as part of the company’s long-term partnership supporting Saudi Vision 2030.
The 2026 edition will also be the second event in the country to include a Rumble match following the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, and the first of WWE’s “Big Five” events to be staged there.
Additionally, it will be WWE’s first trip to the Middle East since Night of Champions 2025, which took place on June 28, 2025, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As usual, the winners of the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches will earn the right to choose which championship they want to challenge for at WrestleMania 42. WWE has started to build the card for the Rumble event, announcing thrilling matchups along with the two marquee matches.
AJ Styles will put his career on the line against Gunther
Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre is set to defend his title for the first time against the winner of a Fatal Four-Way match, where Randy Orton, Trick Williams, Damian Priest, and Sami Zayn competed on the January 24 edition of SNME to determine the number one contender.
Sami Zayn won the fatal four-way match and secured his spot against McIntyre at the PLE. Zayn will battle Drew for the Undisputed title as he looks to register his first win against the Scottish Warrior, as well as capture his first WWE World title.
On the other hand, during the January 19 show of Raw, Gunther kicked off the show and was confronted by AJ Styles, who pushed for a rematch, only for Gunther to ask Styles to put his career on the line if he wanted a rematch.
Styles later in the show agreed to do so, and General Manager Adam Pearce made the match official for Royal Rumble 2026.
Additionally, the PLE will feature both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, with Superstars already beginning to announce their participation in the two matches.
Announced matches for WWE Royal Rumble 2026
- Men’s Royal Rumble match
- Women’s Royal Rumble match
- Drew McIntyre (c) vs Sami Zayn – Undisputed WWE title match
- AJ Styles vs Gunther – Career Threatening match (If Styles loses, he will be forced to retire)
When and where will Royal Rumble 2026 take place?
The 39th edition will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season.
Where can fans tune in to catch all the action live?
Fans in the United States can tune into ESPN, while international fans can watch it live on Netflix (excluding some markets).
For more updates, follow Khel Now Wrestling on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram & Whatsapp.
Abhijit Singh is a budding sports journalist with over three years of experience in the field, and a photographer capturing stories through his lens since 2018. With a background in philosophy and political science, he brings a thoughtful, analytical edge to his reporting where every word is guided by curiosity and intent. Whether he's capturing the emotion of a moment or unpacking the deeper narratives within the game, Abhijit’s work is rooted in insight and passion. When he’s not covering sports, he’s often exploring new ideas through reading, traveling or just procrastinating.