In less than a few hours after Friday-Night SmackDown, WWE is all set to host the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE. Set to take place outside North America for the first time in the PLE's history, fans are already excited to see what Triple H and WWE have kept in plan for them.
Royal Rumble 2026 is set to take place from the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. The event will be available for fans to stream on ESPN in the US and on Netflix in several major International markets. The pre-show for the PLE is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT, while the main show will start from 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT.
Despite a short match card, WWE has stacked it up with several star-studded matches. While Drew McIntyre will defend his newly won Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn, AJ Styles looks forward to continuing his career against Gunther. The PLE will also host two namesake Royal Rumble matches, one each for the men and women.
Here are ClutchPoints' predictions for Saturday Night's Main Event.
1. AJ Styles vs. Gunther
While the WWE creative department has done a tremendous job of making fans believe AJ Styles will retire at the Royal Rumble against Gunther, it does not seem like it at this moment. With an illustrious career to his name, an ideal place for Styles to retire would be at WrestleMania.
Gunther, currently sporting the moniker of “Career Killer” looks forward to finishing Styles' WWE run, just weeks after retiring John Cena. Recently, Shinsuke Nakamura had also possibly spoiled Styles' retirement in a now-deleted post. Although it could have been a setup for the fans. Despite all the signs, Styles' retirement at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia seems like an odd place.
However, having Styles win over Gunther after “The Ring General's” big win over Cena last month can heavily hurt his momentum. With new trademark filings, “The Phenomenal One” might have already planned his future ahead.
Our prediction: Gunther def. AJ Styles.
2. Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Fresh off his title victory against Cody Rhodes earlier this month, Drew McIntyre crowned himself the brand new Undisputed WWE Champion. Also looking forward to earning his first WWE World Championship is McIntyre's opponent, Sami Zayn.
The ultimate underdog, Zayn, has often been featured in storylines where he has been depicted as the least favorite to win the match. However, while he has earned several of his shocking victories, it might not make sense to have McIntyre lose in his first televised title defense.
The chances of McIntyre losing are very low, which might mean Zayn coming up short once again in his quest to win the big one. Despite McIntyre posing as a heavy favorite to retain the title on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, Zayn needs to find another way to secure his first World title.
Our prediction: Drew McIntyre (c) def. Sami Zayn.
3. WWE Women's Royal Rumble
With 17 confirmed Superstars right now in the women's Royal Rumble, WWE has currently 13 more stars as planned secrets for the PLE. Last year, Jordynne Grace, Naomi, and several other women made their shocking Royal Rumble appearances.
However, with this year's edition in Saudi Arabia, will a similar approach be possible? With an extremely star-studded women's Rumble match, the least likely winners could be Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, and Becky Lynch, based on their current status as champions on the roster. While several names remain, such as Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Raquel Rodriguez, and Charlotte Flair, their chances to win the Rumble also remain slim, based on their current main-roster feuds.
With Liv Morgan coming up short every time in the Royal Rumble, she is a heavy favorite to win this year's edition. However, she is also joined by Bianca Belair as one of the favorites to win this year. Belair has been sidelined from in-ring action since WrestleMania 41 due to a finger injury. Heavily rumored to come back, fans could see Belair win this year and possibly secure a WrestleMania match against Jade Cargill.
Our prediction: Liv Morgan/Bianca Belair win the women's Royal Rumble match.
4. WWE Men's Royal Rumble
Despite just 17 confirmed participants for the men's Royal Rumble this year, Finn Bálor failed to secure a spot in this year's Rumble, sending him into a frenzy. With thirteen more unnamed spots, Bálor might find himself being a number in the match by replacing any lower/lower mid-card Superstar.
Despite Bálor's popularity and my personal bias, he is unfortunately not among the favorites to win. With Brock Lesnar as a dominant force set to appear in the match, he is already one of the favorites to take home the victory. However, upcoming Superstar Bron Breakker is expected to have a face-off with Brock Lesnar, and even possibly eliminate him to build momentum before eventually winning the match.
Sami Zayn could also pull off an unexpected move and enter late into the match, like Becky Lynch did in 2019, and possibly outlast every other wrestler in the match, to finally have his moment in Saudi Arabia and book himself a WrestleMania World title match.
Our prediction: Sami Zayn/Bron Breakker to win the men's Royal Rumble match.
