WWE Royal Rumble 2026: BIG Surprises Planned... How WWE Intends To Keep Them Secret (WWE News)
WWE has plans to keep Royal Rumble surprises as, well, surprises.
With the 2026 Royal Rumble taking place this Saturday, there's now word on how WWE is aiming to handle any potential Rumble surprises.
For the past few months, fans have suggested it would be difficult for WWE to keep any Royal Rumble surprises as, well, surprises, given that those wrestlers would have to fly halfway around the world without being spotted on a flight, at an airport, at a hotel, and the like.
Per Fightful Select, WWE took a private jet to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - the location of the Royal Rumble - in "the wee hours" after Raw went off the air last night. Talent will be in Riyadh all week to prepare for SmackDown and the Rumble PLE itself.
This report adds that there are plans to bring in talent on their own later in the week, with such talent including "surprise names." WWE sources told Fightful that it should actually be easier this year to keep surprises as secrets this year in comparison to previous years, as the private chartered plane and the more privacy offered at the air strip and hotels in Riyadh is a different situation to how things usually go for WWE talent at other PLEs, where they're seen at airports, at hotels, and just in general transit, especially with those icky autograph hounds spending hours waiting at such places so that they can throw 100 8 x 10s and Funkos at a wrestler.
So, in theory, it should be easier for WWE to keep any surprises close to the chest for this year's Royal Rumble.
Where the two Royal Rumble matches are concerned, we've got you covered with an up-to-date list of all announced entrances for those bouts, predictions for the full field of the 30-man match, likewise predicting the full line-up for the women's Rumble, and have even taken a look at some serious Royal Rumble nightmares that could come true this weekend. And if that's not enough, we've also gone and ranked all 34 WWE Championship matches that have taken place at the Royal Rumble event over the decades.
Royal Rumble 2026 takes place this Saturday from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Financial District, where, in addition to the two Rumble matches, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends his gold against Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles puts his career on the line against Gunther.