Full 2026 Royal Rumble Predictions Including Some Harsh Truths About Roman Reigns

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The Royal Rumble is a truly exciting match, and its popularity comes from the feeling of a fresh start it creates. While it officially kicks off the path to WrestleMania, it also unofficially offers every WWE wrestler a chance to reinvent themselves. Whether they’ve been struggling or are already champions, the Royal Rumble represents a clean slate, giving fans their first hint of what to expect in the coming months from the entire roster.

As a wrestling fan, everyone focuses on who’s going to WrestleMania, but the Royal Rumble always tells a much bigger story if you pay attention. Just being in the match can be huge for someone who doesn’t get a lot of TV time – it feels like WWE might actually have plans for them. If a mid-carder surprisingly lasts a long time, that often means they’re about to get a big push. And for the main event players, watch closely: a strong showing, or even a particularly nasty elimination, usually hints at who they’ll be feuding with in the weeks and months leading up to WrestleMania. It’s all about the storylines they’re setting up!

This article isn’t about the smaller storylines within the Royal Rumble; it’s focused on predicting the actual winners. As a fan, I’m really excited because, like last year with Jey Uso’s surprise win, it’s anyone’s guess. Unlike 2023, when most people expected Cody Rhodes to win, or 2024 with the strong fan support for Bayley, this year’s Rumble feels unpredictable. There are several believable contenders for the women’s Rumble, and while Roman Reigns is currently the favorite, I’ll explain why I disagree later on.

Before I share my predictions for what’s coming up, let’s quickly review how accurate my past predictions have been. I’ve predicted the outcomes for every major event since WrestleMania 38, and while I haven’t always been right, I’ve been correct far more often than not. Here’s a look back at last year’s biggest events, along with my overall prediction record…

Event Wins Losses
’25 Rumble 3 1
WrestleMania 41 9 3
’25 SummerSlam 7 5
’25 Survivor Series 2 2
Overall Record 207 80

Drew McIntyre (Champion) Vs Sami Zayn For The WWE Championship

Honestly, I was really hoping this match wouldn’t happen. I even wrote a whole piece begging WWE to avoid this storyline, but here we are. It’s just frustrating because we’ve all been rooting for Sami Zayn, watching him promise he’ll become World Champion, and then seeing him fall just short, time after time, even with the fans completely behind him. Now it feels like we’re just going to watch that same heartbreaking story play out again.

Zayn is incredibly popular in Saudi Arabia and is expected to receive a hero’s welcome from the fans there. He’s sure to deliver a great performance, but it seems unlikely that WWE will take the championship away from Drew McIntyre so soon. McIntyre just won the title from Cody Rhodes, and while WWE sometimes uses short-term champions to switch the belt between popular wrestlers, McIntyre deserves a longer run. Fans have been wanting him to be champion again for a long time.

There are several possibilities for how Zayn’s match could play out – he might lose and then return at the Royal Rumble as a more popular, sympathetic character, or this loss could even lead to him becoming a villain. While many outcomes are possible, the least desirable one would be taking the championship away from Drew.

Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre

Gunther Vs AJ Styles (Styles Must Retire From WWE If He Loses)

When Gunther and Styles began their rivalry, I thought Gunther would end Styles’ career at WrestleMania. He’s already defeated Goldberg and John Cena in what were essentially their retirement matches, and adding Styles to that list seemed like a natural progression for his dominant character. However, this current situation feels like it’s happening much faster than I anticipated.

As a huge wrestling fan, I’ve been hearing for ages that 2026 was supposed to be AJ Styles’ retirement year. But it’s barely February, and the idea of him being done already feels crazy! There’s no way they’d let him finish up before WrestleMania, would they? It just doesn’t seem right.

Honestly, we’re not sure what’s going to happen. There’s talk that Harry Styles’ contract could end in February. It also seems strange that he might have more than one retirement match this year. While he could potentially defeat Gunther and retire on his own terms later, it would be a bit damaging to Gunther’s character if he boasts about retiring legends only to then lose to one in his own retirement match, even if he eventually gets a win back.

If AJ Styles is truly retiring, I hope his last match is a classic, befitting his incredible career. He’ll be remembered as one of the greatest performers ever, like Kurt Angle and Bret Hart, because he could adapt to any opponent and wrestling style while always connecting with the audience. He’ll be greatly missed.

Predicted Winner: Gunther

Women’s Royal Rumble

The women’s Royal Rumble doesn’t have a clear frontrunner, but Liv Morgan is generating the most buzz. After returning from injury, a major WrestleMania match feels like a natural progression for her career. She’s excellent on the microphone and comfortable in the spotlight, and her potential involvement could create interesting conflict within her group, Judgment Day, especially considering the ongoing rivalry between her friend and teammate Raquel and the current world title situation. Raquel could even win the title herself, adding another layer to the story.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are both incredibly popular, and fans are excited about the possibility of a match between them at WrestleMania. They’ve had fantastic matches before, and even without a championship on the line, a program between them would be a major draw. However, if one of them won the Royal Rumble and the other won a championship at Elimination Chamber, it would significantly raise the stakes and potentially lead to a main event-level match at WrestleMania.

Beyond the frontrunners, several other wrestlers could realistically win the Royal Rumble. Becky Lynch is performing at the peak of her abilities, and fans would readily accept a storyline where she wins the Rumble and challenges for both the Intercontinental and World Championships. Tiffany Stratton was a champion before her injury and is incredibly popular with the audience; her return and feud with Jade Cargill, who previously injured her, would be a natural progression of a long-term story. Asuka, Nia Jax, AJ Lee, and even Chelsea Green are also possibilities, as Chelsea consistently gains opportunities to move into higher-profile matches due to her popularity.

I’m predicting Bianca Belair will win. She’s been recovering from an injury for nine months, and WWE really needs her return to boost ratings. They’ve been building up a rivalry with Jade Cargill for years, and it’s time to deliver on that storyline – it has the most potential of any match in the women’s division that doesn’t involve Rhea Ripley or Iyo Sky. While she’s won the Royal Rumble before, her situation was different then. We don’t know if she’ll be healthy enough to compete, but if she is, she’s my pick.

Predicted Winner: Bianca Belair

Men’s Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns is the clear frontrunner to win the Royal Rumble, and for good reason. Now that John Cena has retired, Reigns is WWE’s biggest star, with the largest and most dedicated fanbase. If The Rock isn’t available, having Roman as the main event at WrestleMania 42 is the best way to draw in new and returning viewers – a key goal for the event. Plus, he’s very popular with fans in Saudi Arabia, and giving him another Rumble win would be a satisfying moment, considering his controversial win in 2015 was widely criticized as a mistake by the company.

Roman Reigns is a great performer, but he shouldn’t win the Royal Rumble unless he commits to appearing consistently. WWE needs compelling stories and regular television appearances from its stars to keep fans engaged. If he only appears sporadically leading up to WrestleMania, it’s impossible to build a meaningful storyline.

As a lifelong wrestling fan, I truly believe WWE’s biggest opportunity right now is building a new top star, and I think Oba Femi is the guy. It’s clear the company sees his potential – they didn’t want him to lose the NXT title before moving up, and they’ve been teasing his arrival for weeks. His match with Cody Rhodes felt like a deliberate setup, not a clean win or loss. Everyone expects him to be featured prominently at the Royal Rumble, but I’d love to see WWE take a real risk and have him win the whole thing. It would be a massive statement and instantly establish him as someone special.

Honestly, I think Roman Reigns and Femi are the frontrunners, but there are a few other guys who could really make a run for it. I’m keeping a close eye on Bron Breakker – it feels like they’re building towards a match between him and CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. Sami Zayn could lose to Drew McIntyre and then jump right into the Rumble, and the crowd would absolutely love that. Plus, Finn Bálor seems like he’s about to get a big push as a fan favorite, and people are already behind him. LA Knight is definitely still waiting for his chance to shine, and they’ve been featuring him a lot lately. But you can never count out Cody Rhodes – he’s always a serious contender in any Royal Rumble!

I’m choosing to follow my instincts rather than logic in this situation. I’m making the decision I believe will be most beneficial for WWE.

Predicted Winner: Oba Femi

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2026-01-26 20:17