How To Watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026 - Start Time, Card, Preview
How to watch WWE Royal Rumble from wherever you are.
Always one of the most hotly-anticipated shows of the pro wrestling calendar, the 2026 Royal Rumble sees WWE taking the over-the-top-rope action to Saudi Arabia for the first time in the Rumble's history.
While the Royal Rumble matches are always known for surprises, we do know several entrants for the men's and women's Rumbles already, with heavy hitters such as Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley amongst the biggest names to already declare themselves for their respective Rumbles. On top of that, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will be defending his title against Sami Zayn, and the legendary AJ Styles boldly puts his career on the line for one more shot at Gunther.
So, with that in mind, here's how to watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026 from wherever you are in the world.
WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Start Time & Date
Date: Saturday, 31 January November
Start Time: 2pm ET / 11am PT / 7pm GMT / 5am AEDT (Sunday)
US: ESPN
RoW: Netflix
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How To Watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026 In The US?
If you're in the United States, all WWE Premium Live Events, such as Royal Rumble 2026, can be found on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service. That service also features NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football, soccer, and soon UFC events, with prices ranging from $11.99 per month for the ESPN Select Plan to $29.99 per month for the ESPN Unlimited Plan. Some Hulu+ Live TV, DIRECTV, Fubo TV, and Spectrum TV customers may have the ESPN Unlimited Plan included as part of their standard TV package.
If you're travelling abroad, you may need to use a VPN to watch your usual streaming services from wherever you are in the world. Again, we recommend NordVPN for this, with Nord being the best all-rounder on the market right now.
How To Watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026 In The UK, Canada, And The Rest Of The World?
For the majority of those living outside of the United States, Netflix is the home to WWE Premium Live Events such as Royal Rumble, in addition to housing WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, NXT, and various other content previously seen on the WWE Network/Peacock.
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Which Countries Have WWE On Netflix?
While US audiences will find WWE Royal Rumble 2026 on ESPN, the following countries will find this PLE and all other WWE content on Netflix:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Netflix is looking to add more countries to this list in the future, while the streaming service will also continue to add more content. As for that content, the previous WWE Network/Peacock library is being drip-fed across to Netflix in addition to fresh new programming.
WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Card
- Singles Match: Gunther vs. AJ Styles
- WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
- Women's Royal Rumble Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka vs. Kairi Sane vs. Chelsea Green vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Lash Legend vs. Nia Jax vs. Giulia vs. Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri vs. TBC
- Men's Royal Rumble Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther vs. Jey Uso vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Penta vs. Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Bron Breakker vs. Bronson Reed vs. Logan Paul vs. Austin Theory vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Oba Femi vs. TBC
Taking place from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Financial District on Saturday, WWE Royal Rumble 2026 has the potential to be a monumental show, with its current four-match line-up offering plenty of mouthwatering action.
Of course, as is so often the case, the main attractions of the Royal Rumble PLE are the two eponymous Rumble matches. 30 men and 30 women will compete in their respective Rumbles, with a shot at a World Title on the line for the winners at WrestleMania 42.
For the men's Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes - fresh off losing the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre - was the first person to declare themselves for the match. Since then, the American Nightmare has been joined by Gunther, Jey Uso, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Penta, Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Je'Von Evans, Oba Femi, all four members of the Vision, and the ominous prospect of a certain Roman Reigns. And while more competitors may be announced before the Rumble gets here, there's still likely to be a fair few surprises in that match, be that appearances from NXT stars, returns from injury, or even the possible return to the company of the legendary Chris Jericho.
In the women's Royal Rumble, WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky were the first to formally announce their participation, and they were soon joined by the Judgment Day trio of Liv Morgan, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez, as well as Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, the Kabuki Warriors, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, Lash Legend, Nia Jax, Giulia, Maxxine Dupri, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. While there's plenty of star power amongst those names, again, this is another match with the chance of a nice surprise or two, with Lola Vice and Tatum Paxley just two NXT names tipped for a Rumble appearance, while some have speculated that Paige could well find herself back in WWE at the Royal Rumble, or that Bianca Belair will make her long-awaited return from the hand injury that's kept her on the sidelines since WrestleMania 41.
Away from the Royal Rumble matches, we now know that Drew McIntyre will put his WWE Title on the line against Sami Zayn in Riyadh, with Sami overcoming Randy Orton, Damian Priest, and Trick Williams in a fatal four-way match at Saturday Night's Main Event last weekend. Guaranteed to receive a huge reaction from the fans in Saudi Arabia, Zayn is on a quest to finally win his first World Championship. However, McIntyre will have vastly different ideas, with the Scottish Warrior eager to walk into WrestleMania 42 with the WWE Title around his waist.
Rounding out the Royal Rumble 2026 card, it's a match with arguably more at stake than any of the other three contests, as AJ Styles puts his career on the line against Gunther. With the Ring General getting a smart, sly win over Styles on Raw earlier this month, the Austrian behemoth saw no reason to wrestle AJ again, with Gunther having already proved himself to be the better man. That is, until the man who sent both Bill Goldberg and John Cena into retirement saw the chance to goad the Phenomenal One into putting his own illustrious career at risk. Should AJ Styles lose to Gunther - who'll be pulling double-duty that night - at the Royal Rumble, that's it for P1, and he himself will be riding off into the sunset and bringing an end to a truly revolutionary career that dates all the way back to 1998. A week or two ago, it would seem unfathomable to think that AJ was calling time on his career so early into 2026, but fast-tracked matches against long-time rival Shinsuke Nakamura and WWE World Champion CM Punk only further indicate that this really could be it for AJ Styles - at least in a WWE setting, as fans start to speculate whether Styles may see out the rest of 2026 revisiting some of his old stomping grounds, such as TNA and NJPW, or possibly even dropping by AEW to tick off a few more dream matches.
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