The John Report: WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Review

This is WWE Royal Rumble, featuring two huge Royal Rumble matches, plus Drew McIntyre facing Sami Zayn, Gunther battling AJ Styles, and more.

The WWE Royal Rumble PLE is one of the biggest WWE shows of the year and a favorite among WWE fans. This is the 39th year in a row that WWE has run a Royal Rumble event. The first one was a TV special, and for the last 38 years, it’s been a PPV/PLE event. I’ve reviewed them all and can probably recite way too many Rumble stats. I rewatched some of my favorite Rumble matches from the last week (1992, 2001, and 2007, to name a few), and it’s a PLE I enjoy a lot. With that said, I think some fans get their hopes up when it comes to shows like the Royal Rumble because they get mad if the surprises are not what they like, and they get mad if a certain wrestler doesn’t win. The Royal Rumble winner doesn’t always “main event” WrestleMania, and if you still believe that just because WWE says it, then that’s on you. I don’t really get mad about it. Relax, WWE fans, and try to enjoy it.

Like the last WWE PLE, Survivor Series, it’s a four-match card, which is understandable because the Rumble matches usually go over 1 hour with Triple H booking them. Last year’s Royal Rumble PLE went 4.5 hours long, so get ready for a long afternoon (or night) of action. It’s a 2 p.m. ET start time for me, and 10 p.m. locally in Riyadh. I certainly don’t mind the earlier start time.

There was a two-hour Royal Rumble Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Royal Rumble
From Riyadh Season Stadium at King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Saturday, January 31, 2026

There was a video about how they built this stadium in about a month. They showed some Superstar Arrivals featuring Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, The Judgment Day’s Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez, Nia Jax & Lash Legend, Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky, Gunther and AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn (playing some soccer), Triple H, Jey Uso. Jacob Fatu. That took several minutes. It doesn’t need to be that long.

The Royal Rumble video aired with Triple H narrating it. Good video. The people who don’t like Triple H will complain about how he’s too involved already. The stage looks impressive.

The commentary team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett welcomed us to the show. The Arabic announce team was at ringside too. Mark Nash was the ring announcer.

The Women’s Royal Rumble match is up first. Ring announcer Mark Nash went over the rules. The graphic on the screen said that every 2 minutes there will be a new entrant, but Mark said every 90 seconds. As we know as WWE fans, the interval times change all the time.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Charlotte Flair is the #1 entrant. Flair won the Women’s Rumble in 2020 and last year in 2025. As we know from past Saudi Arabia shows, women have to cover their bodies aside from their heads and hands, so a lot of outfits are similar. Alexa Bliss is #2, so the tag team partners who are former Women’s Tag Team Champions are up first. Flair acted surprised to see Bliss as the second entrant.

Analysis: This beginning with tag team partners starting the match has happened many times in the past. It’s not that creative, but it’s a way to tell a story in the early portion of the match.

Bliss and Flair talked in the ring with Bliss wanting to wait until the third wrestler arrives. Flair picked up Bliss and put her on the top turnbuckle, but then Flair stopped herself. Bliss teased giving Flair a Sister Abigail to start. Flair teased a Figure Eight, and then they hugged. They waited for the next entrant. It’s Kiana James at #3 and she didn’t get a big reaction, but I like her. James hit shoulder tackles on Flair and Bliss. James hit a double knee attack on Bliss and a slingshot splash on Bliss. Flair kicked James and Bliss jumped off the turnbuckle for a double team DDT on James. Nia Jax is #4 in the match as Flair and Bliss waited for her in the ring. Jax clotheslined Flair and tossed Bliss across the ring. Jax splashed Bliss and Flair. Jax headbutted James to knock her down. Jax knocked all three women down and did a bit of a crotch chop salute to the crowd. James hit a moonsault onto Bliss and Flair. James sent a charging Jax into the turnbuckle. Ivy Nile was #5 and the fans chanted “You Suck” for her American Made song. Nile hit Flair and James with German Suplexes. Nile hit running kicks on Flair and Bliss. Nile hit a DDT on James. Nile tried to lift Jax, but Jax blocked it and trapped Nile against the turnbuckle.

The #6 entrant is Lola Vice from NXT making her Rumble debut. Vice unloaded with kicks and a German Suplex. Vice hit her running booty attack on Flair and Bliss. Vice hit a spinning back fist on Nile. Jax smashed Vice with a clotheslined and Jax danced like Lola, which Wade liked. Jax hit a double clothesline. Bliss jumped on Jax, so Jax tossed her down and punched her. James picked up Jax and hit an impressive Samoan Drop. The women teamed up on Jax to try to eliminate her. Candice LeRae was #7 even though she doesn’t wrestle on TV much. LeRae hit a DDT on Flair. LeRae helped out Jax by attacking some of the other women in the match. Jax saved LeRae by hitting a clothesline on Nile and Jax hugged LeRae. The fans were singing “Charlotte, Charlotte Flair” to entertain themselves. There’s Jordynne Grace at #8 as a SmackDown wrestler in her third Rumble match. Grace hit a spinebuster on James and Grace suplexed Flair across the ring. Grace slammed Bliss down. Grace dumped Vice and LeRae out at the same time as they fought by the ropes. Grace eliminated Nile with an uppercut too. Jax tried to eliminate Flair and Bliss, but Bliss fought back with kicks. Bliss tried to hit a hurricanrana on Jax, so Flair helped Bliss with that. Flair kicked Jax off the apron and Jax pulled Bliss off the apron too, so Wade tried to make the point that Flair eliminated Bliss. Flair was sad about it. The Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch is #9 as her biggest career rival, Charlotte Flair, waited in the ring for her. Flair and Lynch exchanged strikes and Flair hit some chops. Lynch tried to dump Flair out, but Flair held on. Flair and Lynch punched eachother so that they went out under the bottom rope to continue fighting. Sol Ruca is #10 as a second NXT wrestler in the match. Ruca jumped into the ring with a springboard 360 clothesline on Flair and James. Ruca gave Lynch a spinning slam and a superkick. Ruca kicked Grace and hit a German Suplex. Ruca hit a missile dropkick on Flair and James. Grace battled Ruca by the ropes.

It’s Roxanne Perez of The Judgment Day as #11 after setting the record for longest time in the Rumble last year at 1:07:45. Perez went after a few women right away and did some of her windmill punches. Ruca hit kicked Grace against the turnbuckle. Perez hit a double knee attack on Ruca. Perez and Lynch exchanged slaps to the face. Maxxine Dupri was #12 as the former Women’s IC Champion and she went right after Lynch right away. Dupri hit a Thesz Press and punches on Lynch. Dupri kicked Lynch from the apron and Dupri jumped off the top with a cross body block on Lynch. Lynch did a necksnap on Dupri against the top rope. Dupri hit a spin kick on Perez and a kick to Flair. Dupri hit a leg drop on James. Dupri hit a German Suplex on Lynch. There’s Nattie (or Natalya) in her badass new look at #13. The graphic on screen says “Nattie” and she has a new theme song after the opening guitar riff. Nattie tripped up Dupri and threw some punches. Dupri came back with punches, but Nattie hit a body slam. Dupri applied an Ankle Lock, but Nattie countered it by sending Dupri into the ropes. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on Dupri and Lynch eliminated Dupri over the top to the floor. Lynch tried to toss Nattie out, but Nattie stopped that, Nattie picked up Lynch and Nattie dumped Lynch over the top to the floor.

Analysis: I was hoping for more of Becky Lynch in the match, but her interactions did further the story of her past with Dupri and Nattie tossing out Lynch is big for Nattie too.

It’s Liv Morgan at #14 from The Judgment Day and she’s my pick to win. Liv hit an Oblivion right away and the Three Amigos suplexes on Ruca. Perez held Grace so that Liv could hit a Codebreaker/Legsweep combo. Lash Legend is #15 in her second Rumble match, and it’s her first time as a member of the main roster. Lash hit a double Chokeslam. Ruca went for a springboard attack, but Lash was ready with a pump kick. Perez jumped on Lash, who slammed Perez down. Liv and Nattie were fighting against the turnbuckle. Grace and Lash battled by the ropes. Lash put Grace on her shoulders and dumped Grace to the floor.

Analysis: It is halfway through the Women’s Royal Rumble match. It’s been okay so far, but not that eventful overall. With that said, the roster is deep right now, so that’s a good thing.

The #16 entrant is Zelina no longer Vega. Zelina tried to use her athleticism early, but Lash caught her and Lash hit a Powerbomb on Zelina. It felt like it was maybe 30 seconds after Zelina’s entrance and there’s Raquel Rodriguez at #17, so the three J-Day women were in the match. Raquel dominated with clotheslines on multiple women. Liv and Perez attacked Lash from behind. James put Liv over the top to the apron, but Perez saved Liv. Raquel saved her J-Day allies by kicking James off the apron to eliminate her. Flair was targeted by a few women, but she held on. Chelsea Green is #18, joined by her Secret Hervice ally Alba Fyre, joining her on the way to the ring. The fans reacted to Green in a big way, which is nice to see because some women got no reactions. The J-Day trio confronted Green, so Green slapped Liv. After Green tried to leave the ring, the J-Day trio brought Green back in and even pulled Fyre into the ring. Raquel clotheslined Fyre over the top to the floor, even though she wasn’t in the match officially. The Women’s US Champion, Giulia, is #19 in her second Rumble match. Giulia dropkicked Raquel and suplexed Zelina. Green nearly got eliminated, but Fyre was on the floor, crawling on her hands and knees to save Green. That was clever. It’s Women’s Tag Team Champion Iyo Sky is #20, with Cole calling her the best wrestler on the planet. There are 11 women in the ring and 9 have been eliminated – thanks to the graphics on screen. Sky nearly tossed out Green, but Green held on. Sky hit a dropkick on two J-Day women and a jawbreaker on Raquel. Sky went up top and hit a missile dropkick on Raquel. Ten more women left.

The legendary Asuka is #21 as the winner of the first Women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, and she’s the 12th woman in the ring. Flair managed to hang on to avoid an elimination. The trio of Asuka, Sky and Giulia faced off. Giulia pulled Sky down by the air, and Asuka stomped on Sky. Asuka hit a running kick on Giulia, who was holding Sky, so Asuka didn’t trust Giulia. Asuka hit a clothesline/bulldog combo. Rhea Ripley is #22, and she got the biggest ovation of the night so far. Ripley won the 2023 Women’s Rumble match and even got a pyro entrance. Ripley hit a clothesline and a roundhouse kick on Raquel. Green pleaded with Ripley. Giulia sent Zelina into the ring post, and Giulia hit a knee to the jaw. Green saluted Ripley, who saluted in return, followed by Ripley hitting Green with a forearm. Ripley dumped Green over the top to the floor. Ripley picked up Perez and gave her a Razor’s Edge over the top onto Green and Fyre on the floor. There’s Bayley at #23 as the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble winner. Bayley tripped up Ruca on the ring apron. Ruca had her feet against the ropes and pulled herself back in. Liv punched Bayley to avoid an elimination. Bayley hit a knee smash on Lash and a clothesline on Asuka. Bayley chopped Flair several times. The NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne is #24 in her Royal Rumble debut. Jayne hit a hurricanrana on Lash and a neckbreaker. Jayne sent Raquel face first into the turnbuckles. Jayne kicked Liv. Jayne hit a cannonball on Bayley and Raquel. There were some near eliminations, but wrestlers held on. Ripley hit a knee on Nattie, and Nattie came back with a lariat. Nattie shoved Liv on her back. Raquel saved Liv and tried to dump Nattie, but Nattie held on. Liv gave Nattie an Oblivion from the apron and Nattie bumped to the floor, so she’s out. Nikki Bella is #25 as she exchanged strikes with Liv. Nikki hit a clothesline on Jayne and a spinebuster on Bayley. Nikki hit a Tornado DDT on Raquel. Liv hit a knee attack on Nikki. Five women are left.

The #26 entrant is Lyra Valkyria, as the 13th woman in the match. Lyra hit a cross body block on two women and she kicked Lash. Giulia applied an octopus hold on Lyra, and Giulia tried to dump Lyra, but Lyra sent Giulia to the apron. Bayley helped Lyra, so Lyra hit a forearm on Giulia to eliminate her. Kelani Jordan from NXT is #27 with a twisting Phoenix Splash off the top. Jordan hit a double back elbow. Jordan hit a double DDT on Raquel and Liv. Those choreographed spots were good. It’s Kairi Sane at #28 and she hit a flying headscissors on Bayley. The match was at around 50 minutes at this point, with 14 women in the match. Sane nearly eliminated Asuka, but then Sane had to save Asuka from an elimination. Sky tried a move on Sky, then Sane avoided it and Sane went for a forearm, but Sky moved and Sane hit Asuka with a forearm to eliminate Asuka. Poor Sane. Sky dumped a shocked Sane over the top to the floor. Brie Mode! Oh shit, the worst song is back. Brie Bella is #29 as a surprise entrant as a WWE Hall of Famer. The fans chanted “Yes” for her as Brie hit some Yes kicks on Raquel as soon as she got in there. The fans did pop for Brie. Brie helped Nikki to her feet, and the sisters hugged. Tiffany Stratton is #30 for her first appearance since she lost the Women’s Title on November 1st. Stratton went up top and hit a somersault attack on a bunch of women who were nice enough to stand there and wait for her. Stratton hit a spinebuster and a dropkick.

Analysis: That’s all 30 competitors. The only “surprise” is really Brie Bella, but I guess you can make the case for some others, like the NXT girls and Stratton, making her return. I’m surprised by no Bianca Belair. I guess she’s just not ready to come back yet.

There are 14 women left in the match. Fans in the crowd were chanting “Ole” and waving their phone lights in the air. The Bellas faced off with Bayley and Lyra. Brie and Nikki each did headscissors eliminations on Lyra and Bayley to eliminate them from the match. The fans chanted “Yes” for the Bellas. Jayne eliminated Jordan after Jordan was by the ropes. Ruca hit the Sol Snatcher on Jayne and dumped Jayne over the top to the floor. Lash sent Sol into the ring post. The Bellas went after Lash, but Lash held onto both Bellas and Lash dumped both Bellas over the top to the floor. The fans booed that even though Nikki is a heel. Flair sent Lash over the top to the apron. Ruca put Flair onto the apron, so Flair chopped Lash a few times, but Lash hit a pump kick on Flair to eliminate her. It’s down to 7 women and it’s 60 minutes into the match.

Ripley hit a Riptide on Raquel and Lash hit Ripley with a forearm to the back. Sky jumped onto Lash off the turnbuckle, but Lash caught her. Sky tried to flip Lash over the top, but Lash held on. Lash kicked Sky to eliminate Sky from the match. Lash has 5 eliminations and there are 6 women left. Ripley faced off with Sky, with Ripley hitting a forearm, but Lash hit a pump kick to knock Ripley down. Raquel knocked Ripley down with a kick. Lash and Raquel exchanged forearms. Lash hit a fallaway slam and the fans booed. Raquel caught Lash going for a kick, Lash punched Raquel and Ripley clotheslined Raquel over the top to the floor. Raquel picked up Ripley with a Texana Bomb over the top to the floor. Raquel celebrated that, so Liv dumped out Raquel over the top! Raquel was not happy about it, while Liv smiled.

The final 3 are Liv Morgan, Sol Ruca and Tiffany Stratton. Liv kicked Stratton and Ruca hit a facebuster to send Stratton into the mat. Stratton hit a dropkick on Liv against the turnbuckle. Stratton hit a cartwheel back elbow on Ruca and Liv hit a running knee on Ruca. Liv hit a dropkick on Ruca. Stratton hit a rolling senton, and Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever I think on one woman even though she was going for two. Stratton and Liv were by the turnbuckle, so Ruca hit a Sol Snatcher on Stratton and Liv at the same time. Ruca tried to lift both opponents, but then Ruca flipped over as well. All three women battled on the apron. Stratton sent Ruca into the turnbuckle. Ruca went for a move, but Stratton eliminated her. Liv hit Stratton with Oblivion to send Stratton off the apron to the floor. It went 1:06:55.

Winner: Liv Morgan

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a good match with a lot of action, and I enjoyed it in terms of the work in the ring. Liv Morgan was my pick to win, and I’m sure a lot of other people picked her since it just felt like her time to win. I liked the spot where Liv eliminated Raquel Rodriguez because that can lead to a major storyline involving The Judgment Day women having issues. Lash Legend had a standout performance with a lot of eliminations, and she proved she belongs in there with the top WWE women. In terms of surprises, there really was only Brie Bella, as long as you don’t count the NXT women. Tiffany Stratton coming back was not a major surprise since it was expected. I was hoping for Bianca Belair to return and there was no sign of her, so maybe she’s not ready yet. I don’t know. I am happy for Liv as the winner because she’s an entertaining character who knows how to be the kind of heel she is and she’s improved a lot in the ring. I just think this Rumble match was lacking a bit in terms of exciting moments, and the fans who want surprises were probably disappointed by it.

Liv Morgan celebrated as the winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble. It is Liv’s first time winning the Women’s Royal Rumble. Liv kept pointing at the sign and a referee was there telling her to point at the sign even more, which is funny. More sign pointing! Anyway, Liv celebrated around the ring as the winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble.

A video package aired about the AJ Styles-Gunther match that is coming up next. I believe there were commercials for some viewers, but I got the video package on Netflix. After the video, we got about 90 seconds of “We’ll be right back” graphics as more ads aired.

I like the Royal Rumble official theme song, “Heavy is the Crown” by Linkin Park. Good choice for a theme song for a WWE PLE, I think.

There was a plug for the WWE Royal Rumble post show on WWE’s YouTube channel after the show. Triple H will be on there and will likely say it’s a “new era” like he does after most WWE PLE shows.

I should point out that there are also many visible empty seats in this stadium, so I doubt there are 25,000+ people like WWE is claiming. I don’t know what the actual attendance is, but there are clearly some empty seats there, and you can tell when they do wide shots of the arena.

The former 2-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion “The Ring General” Gunther made his entrance to boos as usual. The former 2-time WWE Champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles made his entrance to a huge ovation. Styles took a noticeable deep breath on the stage after making his entrance. The fans loved Styles as he got into the ring to begin the match.

AJ Styles vs. Gunther

The stipulation is that if AJ Styles loses, then he must retire.

Styles was aggressive to start and he attacked Gunther by kicking him in the left leg to soften up the legs. Gunther grabbed a headlock, Styles broke free, Gunther ran the ropes and Styles hit a dropkick. Gunther kicked Styles off the apron to the floor. Gunther slammed Styles back first on the commentary table in a move that Randy Orton loves. Gunther sent Syles face first into the ring post. Gunther worked over Styles with strikes and a huge back body drop. Styles was bleeding on the left forearm as the referee put on the gloves for it. Styles likely cut the arm when he was taking the slam on the commentary table. Gunther applied a Boston Crab, Styles broke free, and Gunther kicked Styles in the back. Gunther chopped Styles, and Styles came back with forearms. Styles connected with a Pele Kick, although I don’t think he touched Gunther much. Styles hit a clothesline, a kick to the leg and a forearm smash. Styles hit a jumping clothesline and the slam onto the knee, aka the Ushigoroshi, for a two count. Styles wanted a Styles Clash, but Gunther hit a kick to the head and a clothesline for two. Styles countered a move and went for a Calf Crusher submission, but Gunther was able to get to the ropes to break the hold.

Gunther connected with a running dropkick across the ring and Gunther hit a Powerbomb for a two count. Styles got some offense going with a dropkick to the left leg. Styles applied a Calf Crusher submission on the left leg and the fans were screaming for Gunther to tap out. Gunther managed to get out of the Calf Crusher by applying the dreaded Sleeper hold. Styles was able to flip out of that and he got a two count. Gunther went for the Sleeper again, so Styles dumped Gunther out of the ring. Styles jumped over the top with a Phenomenal Forearm on Gunther on the floor. They went back to the ring with each guy going for moves, but there were counters and Styles hit a gutwrench Powerbomb for a two count. Styles hit a springboard 450 Splash from the apron onto Gunther in the ring. Styles went for the Styles Clash and he hit it for one…two…no! Gunther kicked out at the last moment. The fans thought that was it. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them. Styles jumped off the top with a forearm, but Gunther caught him with a Sleeper. Gunther grabbed the referee and delivered a low blow kick on Styles the referee never saw. Gunther hit a Powerbomb for a two count. Good nearfall there. Gunther complained to the referee, saying it should have been a three count. Gunther worked over Styles with chops and kicks to the head. After the referee checked on Styles, Gunther chopped Styles several more times. Gunther decked Styles with a clothesline. Styles slowly pulled himself back up to his feet and fought back with punches and chops. Styles kicked Gunther a few times against the turnbuckle. Gunther sent Styles to the apron, so Styles hit a forearm. Styles went up top, Gunther caught him and Gunther applied the dreaded Sleeper Hold. Gunther took Styles down to the mat and put his legs around Styles’ waist, but Styles fought back with elbows. The fans were fired up. Gunther elbowed Styles a few times and Gunther applied another Sleeper on the mat. Styles elbowed his way free, but Gunther was on AJ’s back. Styles was near the ropes, but Gunther pulled his arms back. Gunther elbowed Styles in the head and Gunther took Styles down again with the Sleeper near the ropes. Styles’ left arm faded to the mat, the referee lifted the arm once, and the referee called for the bell. Gunther wins by submission. The match went 24:15.

Winner by submission: Gunther

Analysis: ****1/4 It was an awesome match, like their match on Raw was. I was hoping for a Styles win to keep his career going, but obviously, he’s ready to call it a career, or perhaps move on somewhere else. I don’t know what his plans are, but I know he is one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever seen, and I’ll miss watching/writing about him. This was one of those classic, main event level matches between two veterans who know what they are doing out there and have a lot of time to tell their story. I thought they should have had Styles get some more nearfalls and near submissions in the match. The Gunther kickout of the Styles Clash was very good, though, so that worked well. I picked Styles to win because I was hoping his career would continue, but for now it’s over, at least in a WWE ring…we think. I think there will be more to this story.

After the match, there were replays of the finish. AJ Styles took his time getting back to his feet, and the fans in Riyadh gave him a huge ovation while chanting his name. After taking some time to soak it all in, Styles took off his blue gloves, there were fans chanting “No” at him and Styles looked at the fans, but then he thought about it again. Styles put the gloves back on. Styles posed in the ring with his hand gesture and saluted the fans in the crowd. The fans chanted “AJ Styles” for him. Styles rolled out of the ring looking sad and dejected. Styles went back into the ring. Styles posed on the turnbuckle for the fans.

Analysis: That wasn’t the traditional wrestling retirement where a wrestler leaves their boots and other gear in the ring, so it makes me think that Styles may keep wrestling after all. Perhaps he’ll go wrestle in TNA a few more times before calling it a career, but this might be his last WWE match. I don’t know where the story is going, to be honest, but we’ll follow it along in the months ahead, and I hope it’s a good one. For now, thank you, AJ Styles, for another great match and an amazing career.

A video package aired for the Drew McIntyre-Sami Zayn WWE Championship match. After the video, the graphic on the screen said we’ll be right back, and that was up for a few minutes.

Sami Zayn made his entrance for the only championship match on the show. A graphic on the screen noted that Zayn was 4-0 in matches in Saudi Arabia, which was a big selling point in the build to this match. Zayn has held every other major title in his WWE career, but he hasn’t been a WWE Champion or World Champion yet. The fans sang along with Zayn’s song and were strongly behind him since he’s a Muslim, and Cole said Zayn considers this a home game.

The Undisputed WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, made his entrance looking serious as usual. Cole said Drew told them he would do anything to keep his championship. The two wrestlers stood in the ring as ring announcer Mark Nash did the championship introductions. Once again, this crowd was strongly behind Zayn going into this match.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

The bigger man Drew hit a shoulder tackle early on, along with a chop that knocked Zayn down. Drew hit a suplex. Zayn hit an elbow smash, a boot to the head and Zayn hit a double axhandle. Zayn jumped over Drew, along with a clothesline that sent Drew out of the ring. Zayn jumped over the top with a somersault dive over the top onto Drew on the floor. Zayn was selling a lower back injury. Drew was back up as he rammed Zayn’s back into the ring apron. Drew slammed Zayn’s back into the ring apron. Drew hit a backbreaker. Drew sent Zayn into the turnbuckle as Zayn continued to sell the back injury. Drew hit Zayn with a backbreaker onto the knee for a two count. They battled by the turnbuckle, where Zayn hit his sunset flip Powerbomb for a two count. That’s a move that Zayn does regularly. Drew broke free from a move and hit a neckbreaker. Drew charged, Zayn hit a boot to the face and Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb as usual for that move. Zayn has gotten the win with that move sometimes in the past, but most of the time it’s a two count spot. Drew knocked down Zayn with a headbutt. Drew tried a Claymore Kick, Zayn avoided it and Zayn got a cradle for two. Zayn slowly went up top, so Drew met him there with chops and punches. Drew hit a White Noise off the middle turnbuckle like his buddy Sheamus for a two count. Drew hit a Future Shock DDT and he hit two more of them. Drew covered for a two count as Zayn barely got his shoulder up. Drew hit a couple of clotheslines, Zayn tried a Helluva Kick, Drew avoided it and Drew hit a Claymore Kick for just two because Zayn got his left foot on the bottom rope. Drew covered without hooking the far leg, so Zayn was able to get his foot on the ropes.

Drew intimidated the referee, Charles Robinson, against the turnbuckle. When Drew turned around, Zayn hit a Helluva Kick for two because Drew got his right shoulder up. They left the ring where Zayn tried a move on Drew, but Drew picked him up and gave Zayn a Powerbomb through the Arabic commentary table at ringside. Referee Charles Robinson called for some help. Drew brought Zayn back into the ring, slapped him in the face several times and told Zayn he didn’t have what it takes. Zayn picked up Drew and hit an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn went to the other turnbuckle and charged, but Drew was back up with a Claymore Kick. Zayn was on his knees, Drew got back up and hit a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win at 16:15.

Winner by pinfall: Drew McIntyre

Analysis: ***3/4 It was a terrific match as you’d expect from two awesome wrestlers like Drew and Zayn. The story was about Zayn hurting his back early on the match, then he did a great job of selling the back injury throughout the match, and McIntyre worked him over throughout the match. I don’t think the table spot was necessary, really, but it’s a way to show how relentless McIntyre was and that Zayn wasn’t willing to stop. Zayn showed a lot of heart in fighting back. I don’t think many people watching this assumed Zayn would win since Drew won the WWE Title three weeks ago. Drew wore him out and picked up the decisive win that was relatively clean. Fine with me.

Drew McIntyre celebrated with the WWE Title while insisting that referee Charles Robinson raise his hand multiple times. Sami Zayn was sad in the ring.

Analysis: That’s three matches so far and three heel wins so far. One more match left? Another heel win? It might happen.

The WWE Backlash PLE is taking place on Saturday, May 9th, in Tampa, Florida. It was announced earlier in the day.

A clip was shown of Paul Heyman arguing with Raw GM Adam Pearce on the Countdown Show. Heyman complained about Bron Breakker at #2 in the Men’s Royal Rumble and Pearce said it was a random draw. Heyman kept on ranting at Pearce about it.

They had commercials for about four minutes. I needed a writing break, so good for me.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

The former 2-time NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance as the #1 entrant in the match. They had some pyro go off for him too. Big spot for the main roster debut of Femi. Bron Breakker is the #2 entrant, as we learned earlier in the night. Paul Heyman was with Bron on his way to the ring. Bron is my pick to win the Men’s Royal Rumble. I’ll probably pick Femi to win in a future year, most likely. Interesting choices to start the match.

Before Bron got into the ring, somebody in a mask and a hooded outfit attacked Bron in the aisle. The dude tossed Bron into the steel steps and hit The Stomp on Bron on the floor. Bron was tossed into the ring and Femi clotheslined Bron over the top to the floor. So much for my Breakker pick! The guy in the hooded outfit jumped over the barricade and ran away.

Analysis: There goes my pick to win the match! Oops. Sorry, Bron Breakker. It was obviously a tease that maybe Seth Rollins attacked Bron, but we don’t know if it was really Seth at this point and if Seth will be ready to come back soon. I didn’t expect Bron to be out so early, that’s for sure!

It’s Solo Sikoa as the #3 entrant in the match. Femi ran over Solo with a shoulder tackle after avoiding a clothesline. Femi hit a running uppercut on Solo against the turnbuckle. The WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio was #4 and he got a big ovation as the Rumble winner from 20 years ago in 2006. Rey hit a jumping kick and a seated senton splash off the top onto Solo. Rey got a flurry of offense, but that stopped when Femi kicked Solo and Rey to knock them down. Rusev is #5 as he hit Femi with two dropkicks. Rey tripped Rusev into the ropes and Rey hit a 619 kick on Rusev. Femi got a hold of Rusev and clotheslined Rusev out of the ring. Femi countered a move by Solo and Femi eliminated Solo right after that. Rey hit two 619 kicks in a row on Femi, who was not fazed by it. Femi grabbed Rey and tried to toss him out, but Rey held on. Femi hit Rey with a forearm to knock Rey out. Femi was alone with four eliminations.

The #6 entrant is Matt Cardona, who was able to get some offense on Femi with a dropkick and a boot to the face. Matt tried a move, but Femi caught him and hit the Fall From Grace that he uses as a finisher. It’s a high Powerbomb by Oba that looks devastating. Femi dumped Matt out for his 5th elimination. Damian Priest is the #7 entrant and he went after Femi with punches. Priest tried a shoulder tackle, but Femi came back with a clothesline. Priest broke free from a move and hit a superkick. Priest charged, Femi caught him and Priest broke free with a couple of kicks to the body. Priest hit a clothesline. Your boy is bouncy with Je’Von Evans at #8 and he’s somebody who has faced Oba Femi several times in their NXT days. Evans kicked Priest and Femi knocked Priest down. Femi nearly was eliminated after missing a clothesline. Evans held onto the ropes after going after Femi. Evans did a springboard clothesline on Priest. Evans got bouncy with a flipping kick on Femi. It’s Mr. Iguana from AAA at #9 and he got a mild reaction with his pet iguana called La Yesca. Iguana hit a DDT on Evans. Iguana hit a roundhouse kick on Femi, who didn’t sell it much. Evans superkicked Femi. Priest gave Iguana a Chokeslam and slammed La Yesca too for a comedy spot. Whoop that Trick for Trick Williams at #10 and he’s very familiar with Femi and Evans. As soon as Trick got in there with his fur coat, he tossed Iguana from the match. Thank you. Trick hit a flapjack on Priest. Trick, Femi and Evans stood together in the ring as the fans chanted “NXT” for them. Trick and Evans kicked Femi together. Trick tried to dump Evans, but Evans held on.

It’s time for a big name as Cody Rhodes made his entrance as the #11 man in the match. The fans sang along with his song, but I think some fans were booing him too. Cody knocked down Evans and hit a Cutter on Priest. Cody and Femi exchanged punches since they have a history going back to their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December. El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) was #12 and he hit a clothesline when he got in there. Grande tried to dump Evans, but Evans held on. Grande hit Evans with a neckbreaker across the top rope. Grande put a metal plate under his mask and hit a headbutt on Evans and Trick. A graphic was shown on the screen saying it was the “Original El Grande Americano.” Welcome back Chad Gable looking jacked as the Original El Grande Americano at #13. Original and Grande pointed at eachother and Original hit some punches. Grande hit a Death Valley Driver on Original. The Original Grande hit a German Suplex. Grande dumped original to the apron and Original used his legs to flip Grande out of the ring. Trick hit Original in the back to eliminate him too. That was fun for a minutes or so. Cody hit a Cross Rhodes on Trick and dumped Trick out of the ring. Priest hit a South of Heaven on Cody. A graphic was shown on the screen saying “Powerhouse Hobbs” and then it said Royce Keys as the former Hobbs is #14 in the Rumble match. Keys is a big dude!

Keys confronted Priest in the ring and Keys hit a running powerslam on Priest. Keys clotheslined Priest over the top to the floor. Evans kicked Keys and Keys hit a massive spinebuster on Evans. Cody confronted Keys and they have a bit of a history in AEW, but the announcers can’t mention where their past is from. Austin Theory is #15 as the second man from The Vision and there wasn’t much of a reaction for him. Theory didn’t do that much as he tried to eliminate Evans, but it wasn’t close to an elimination.

Analysis: We are halfway through the match now. The debut of Royce Keys felt like a big thing, so I like that. The El Grande Americano stuff was fun. Welcome back, Chad Gable.

The Vision’s Bronson Reed is #16 to help his buddy Austin Theory, who held Evans down. Reed jumped off the top and hit a Tsunami on Evans. Reed and Theory hit a high/low combo on Femi to take the big man down. Ilja Dragunov is #17 as the 7th man in the match. Ilja went after everybody with chops and kicks. Ilja hit a jumping kick on Keys. Ilja hit a clothesline on Cody. Ilja tried to dump Cody, but that wasn’t happening. It was La Parka from AAA at #18 and he got no reaction. The previous version of La Parka was in WCW, but that was many years ago and it’s a different guy in the outfit this time. Parka hit a flapjack on Theory. Parka hit a spinning powerslam on Ilja. Dragon Lee is #19 in the match and he hit a double foot stomp on Evans against the turnbuckle. Lee hit a reverse DDT on Theory and Lee did the same move to Ilja. Lee hit a knee on Cody. Reed got a hold of Lee, but Lee hit a DDT on the big man Reed. The Vision’s fourth wrestler Logan Paul is #20 in the match and the fans don’t like him, as we know. Logan hit a clothesline on Lee and a gutwrench suplex on Parka. Keys confronted Logan, so Keys grabbed his arms and headbutted Logan. Keys hit a World’s Strongest Slam on Logan. Reed confronted Keys, so Theory hit a cheap shot on Keys’ back. Paul hit Keys and Reed hit a clothesline on Keys to eliminate Keys from the Rumble. Reed had Parker on his shoulders and Theory hit a dropkick to send Parka over the top to the floor. Cody tried to dump Evans, but Evans held on. The Vision tossed Lee over the top to eliminate him. There are 10 guys left.

The returning LA Knight was #21 after getting taken out by The Vision in December, so he’s back after a bit of a break. Knight went after the three Vision guys, but he was overwhelmed and Reed splashed Knight. Knight gave Theory a back body drop over the top to the floor. Knight knocked down Paul by the turnbuckle. Knight hit Reed with a BFT and Knight clotheslined Reed over the top to the floor. The fans came alive cheering for Knight, who worked over Logan with kicks. Brock Lesnar is #22 with Paul Heyman walking down to the ring with Lesnar. Heyman was laughing as he walked with Lesnar to ringside. Lesnar got a huge reaction from the crowd and he’s a 2-time Rumble winner. Lesnar hit Cody with a German Suplex, Lesnar hit Knight with a German Suplex, and Lesnar hit Evans with a German Suplex. Lesnar kicked Ilja and hit Ilja with a clothesline. Lesnar hit an F5 on Evans. Femi and Lesnar faced off with the fans going crazy. The Miz came to play at #23 as Lesnar and Femi continued their long staredown. Miz was about to go into the ring, but then he backed out of the ring. The other wrestlers attacked Femi and Lesnar, so Miz went into the ring. Ilja chopped Lesnar a few times, Lesnar no sold that and tossed Ilja over the top to the floor. Lesnar gave Cody a German Suplex and Lesnar gave Knight a German Suplex. Lesnar faced off with Femi again as the fans were going crazy for this. Rey Fenix is #24 as he ran down to the ring while Lesnar and Femi were the only two guys standing in the ring. Fenix jumped off the top, Lesnar caught him and tossed Fenix. Lesnar avoided Femi and Lesnar hit a German Suplex on Femi! Lesnar hit an F5 on Fenix and Lesnar tossed Fenix over the top to the floor. Logan tried to do something on Femi and Femi tried to dump him, but Lesnar was there to eliminate Femi from the match. Lesnar hit Logan with a German Suplex. Jey Uso made his entrance as #25 and he was in the back part of the stadium as he entered through the crowd, so it took a while for him to get there. Cole said that Femi lasted 39 minutes. Cody and Knight eliminated Lesnar with a double clothesline over the top to the floor. Jey took a long time to get into the ring. Jey superkicked Miz. Jey put his glasses on and his song played again.

Analysis: Based on that Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi spot in the Rumble, I feel like that’s going to be a WrestleMania match, and I certainly don’t mind that if that’s the case.

The “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns was #26 as he appeared in the ring with cousin Jey Uso. Reigns signalled for Jey to run it back with his song, so then Reigns punched cousin Jey to knock him down. The song stopped. Reigns hit a uranage on Evans. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Evans and Logan. Reigns hit Miz with a Spear and Reigns tossed Miz over the top to the floor. Cody faced off with Reigns in the ring. Jacob Fatu is #27 and he ran down to the ring, so Cody went through the middle ropes, and Fatu punched him. Fatu sent Cody into the steel steps. Fatu headbutted Cody and they went back into the ring. Fatu kicked Knight with a superkick. Fatu launched Evans into the air for a popup Samoan Drop. Reigns faced off with his cousin Fatu. Cody knocked Fatu down with a forearm to the head. Reigns launched Cody into the air and Jey hit a 1D with Reigns on Cody. It’s Penta at #28 with Cole noting he was the Ironman in last year’s Rumble match. Penta had both feet hit the floor last year, but he kept on going because he wasn’t supposed to be eliminated at that point. Penta did a handstand kick on Logan. Penta hit a backstabber on Fatu. Knight hit a powerslam on Penna. Knight avoided Reigns and hit a BFT. Knight hit a reverse DDT on Cody. Cody sent Knight over the top to the apron and Cody hit a Disaster Kick to knock Knight out. The fans booed that. It is time for “Voices” as Randy Orton made his entrance as #29 and he’s a former 2-time Royal Rumble winner. Orton got a huge ovation and was on fire with a powerslam and a double draping DDT. Logan spun Orton around, so Orton dropped him with an RKO. Penta tried a springboard attack and Orton dropped Penta with an RKO. The last man in the match at #30 is Gunther, so if you were hoping for a Chris Jericho return in this match, it didn’t happen here.

There were 9 men left in the match. Gunther was selling the left knee injury. Gunther tried a suplex on Evans, but Evans avoided it and Evans hit a running kick on Gunther to knock him down. Evans bounced off the ropes and hit a jumping kick to the head on Orton. Evans went for the OG Cutter off the top, but Orton countered with a RKO. Orton eliminated Evans from the match. Penta tried his handstand move on Gunther, but Gunther blocked that and tossed Penta from the match. Cody and Gunther took turns striking Gunther. Cody jumped off the ropes and Gunther moved, so Cody hit a Cody Cutter on Orton by accident because Cody was going for Gunther instead. Cody was hanging on by the ropes, so Drew McIntyre showed up with a Claymore Kick on Cody. Fatu was watching Drew on the floor and Reigns tossed cousin Jacob over the top to the floor. Jey tried to dump Reigns, but Reigns held on. Jey was able to hit a Spear on Reigns. Reigns got back up and was able to toss Jey over the top.

The final 4 wrestlers are Roman Reigns, Gunther, Randy Orton and Logan Paul. The four wrestlers all took their time getting back up to their feet in the four corners of the ring. Logan and Reigns battled while Orton faced off with Gunther. Reigns sent Logan to the apron, and Logan tried to comeback wit ha clothesline, but Reigns hit a Superman Punch. Reigns tossed Logan over the top to the floor. Orton gave Reigns an RKO. Gunther capitalized to send Orton over the top to the floor. Gunther went for a Sleeper on Reigns, but Reigns broke free and Gunther tried a Powerbomb. Reigns dumped Gunther over the top to the apron. Reigns charged, Gunther stopped that and Gunther went for a Sleeper again. Reigns elbowed Gunther down to the mat. Gunther applied a Sleeper again, Reigns managed to get out of it by sending Gunther into the turnbuckle. Reigns hit a Spear. Reigns tossed Gunther over the top to the floor to win the Royal Rumble. It went 56:10.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Analysis: ****1/4 I liked that Royal Rumble match a lot, and I don’t mind seeing Roman Reigns as the winner. If Reigns is going to be around more often this year then I certainly don’t mind it, but he barely wrestled last year, so we’ll see what kind of schedule he has in 2026 as the Royal Rumble winner. I enjoyed things like how Oba Femi was booked, the debut of Royce Keys was treated as a big deal and Brock Lesnar had some fun moments in the match without dominating the action too much. They did a nice job of building up the eliminations and I liked the final four that were in there. There were some things I didn’t like such as why wrestlers like La Parker and Mr. Iguana are in the match, yet guys like Carmelo Hayes and Finn Balor aren’t in it. I don’t get the logic behind putting AAA guys in. I get that WWE wants to grow the AAA brand, but there were some notable main roster guys missing from this Rumble and I don’t like that too much. This show needed a babyface win to end it. This is a different Roman Reigns as a Rumble winner compared to when he won it 11 years ago, and it’s different from when he was a heel WWE Champion. The Bron Breakker thing at the start of the Rumble surprised me a bit, but that makes me think that Seth Rollins is going to be ready for WrestleMania, which is fine with me. It was a unique way to take out a huge threat in this match. As I said, I’m certainly fine with Reigns winning.

Roman Reigns celebrated the win. They showed some replays of the key spots in the match. Cole said it’s 2 AM in Riyadh and the fans were standing as they celebrated the win by Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns put the 1’s to the sky. Reigns went on the turnbuckle and pointed at the WrestleMania Vegas sign as the pyro went off in the stadium. Reigns looked at the WrestleMania sign and pointed at it again. Cole talked about how Reigns was on top of the world again. There was a big pyro display in the stadium and it was shown from a distance. The pyro show was impressive as the WWE slogan, “Then, Now Forever, Together” were shown above the stadium.

Analysis: I assume it’s Roman Reigns against CM Punk for the World Title at WrestleMania 42 while the WWE Title picture will probably be Drew McIntyre-Cody Rhodes-Jacob Fatu in a triple threat match. That’s my guess at this point.

WWE Royal Rumble had a runtime of 4 hours, and 3 minutes.

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Five Stars of the Show

1. Roman Reigns
2. Liv Morgan
3. AJ Styles
4. Gunther
5. Lash Legend, Oba Femi, Sol Ruca

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Final Thoughts on WWE Royal Rumble

I’m going 7.75 out of 10 for this show.

I think it was a very good Royal Rumble show, but I’m not going to call it great and give it 8 or above. It’s a notch below that. The match quality was strong since it’s just a four-match show, so you know the in-ring action is going to deliver for the most part.

The Rumble matches are hard to book and it’s not easy to make every fan happy. There are going to be some fans bitching about this show, about how there weren’t a lot of surprises. In the Women’s Rumble, Brie Bella was the big surprise while Tiffany Stratton came back from three months off, but there was no Bianca Belair, and there were barely any other surprises. For the men, fans wanted Chris Jericho, but obviously, he’s not back in WWE yet. I’m happy that Royce Keys (former Powerhouse Hobbs) is in WWE, and I thought he had some nice moments in the Rumble, but also could have been booked even better. I also think if Keys debuted on Raw or SmackDown in a US city, then he might get a bigger reaction too. As I mentioned in the match review, I don’t get why guys like La Parka and Mr. Iguana are given Rumble match spots while other deserving wrestlers like Finn Balor, Carmelo Hayes, and others are not. I’m happy that Oba Femi had a dominant performance and I think his showdown with Brock Lesnar could set them up for WrestleMania, which is fine with me.

As for the Royal Rumble winners, you can make the claim that Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan didn’t “need” to win Royal Rumble matches. Reigns main evented WrestleMania last year without winning a Rumble, so why does he need a Rumble win? I think it’s a case of WWE telling us that Reigns might be more active this year compared to last year and we might see him wrestle more often, so now Reigns is back in the title hunt. As for Liv, she was my pick to win the Women’s Rumble because it felt obvious unless Bianca Belair was in it. Since there was no Belair, Morgan felt like the right choice.

The Drew McIntyre-Sami Zayn match went how I thought it would go, with Zayn getting some good nearfalls throughout the match, and then selling a beating before McIntyre put him away. There was no way Drew was losing the title, considering he just won it three weeks ago. It didn’t seem like the right time to do a title change.

I am sad that AJ Styles has retired because he lost to Gunther, but if that’s what he wants to do, then I can respect that. If that really is the end then Styles went out with another great match just like his recent matches with Shinsuke Nakamura and CM Punk. I enjoyed the match that also puts over Gunther as a career killer yet again, since he beat Styles in what is AJ’s last WWE match.

I enjoyed the show overall. The venue in Riyadh looked good, but there were many empty seats in the crowd, and that was noticeable. I’m sure there will be more news about that in the coming days.

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