WWE May Have ALREADY Ruined Royal Rumble 2026... (WWE News)

Don't be expecting too many surprises at WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Women's Royal Rumble
WWE

With the Royal Rumble being one of WWE's most hotly anticipated Premium Live Events of the year, fans may need to temper expectations when it comes to the 2026 Rumble.

Of course, part of the reason why so many fans get excited for the Royal Rumble is down to the sheer surprise factor that so often comes with the over-the-top spectacular. Be that shock returns to the company, returns from injury, appearances from NXT talent, a Hall of Famer cameo, a celebrity or two, or even, in the case of Mickie James, Jordynne Grace, and Joe Hendry in recent years, a wrestler from an entirely different company.

However, it sounds as if we won't be getting any surprises at next year's Royal Rumble.

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Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez noted how he's been given the impression that WWE is working under the tentative plan that there "probably" aren't going to be any surprises for Royal Rumble 2026. The reason for this is due to the PLE taking place in Saudi Arabia, with Alvarez explaining how it'd be "extremely difficult" to hide any surprise Rumble entrants on flights.

Instead, Alvarez pointed out that Saturday Night's Main Event and SmackDown are both taking place from Montreal, Canada the week before the Royal Rumble. As such, he suggested that any Rumble surprises could appear on one of those shows, meaning we'd know ahead of time that those wrestlers would be entering the Royal Rumble.

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In terms of potential Royal Rumble surprises, the one big one that's been speculated about in the past few months is a WWE return for Chris Jericho. The inaugural AEW World Champion's deal with Tony Khan's promotion is up at the end of this year, with WWE believed to have interest in bringing the veteran back into the fold, whereas Khan has likewise talked about his eagerness to keep Jericho #AllElite.

As for WWE Royal Rumble 2026, that takes place in Riyadh on Saturday, 31 January.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.