WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Predicting All 30 Entrants
We could see some WWE, AEW and TNA representation at the 2026 Royal Rumble. Sort of!
"You think it's that easy"?! Only joking. There shall be no WWE reprise or Mark Henry-esque retirement fake out for John Cena in 2026. He called time on his wrestling career by smiling as he tapped out to Gunther in late-2025, and that's that. Anyone pitching a Bill Goldberg comeback for this year's Royal Rumble gets an automatic spear then Jackhammer combo too.
That's not to say the Rumble over in Saudi Arabia will flash past without any legendary cameos though. The best from the men's bout are contained within, and you might be rubbing your eyes in disbelief at some of the suggestions. Don't worry, Shane McMahon isn't in there - no torn quads or rabbit punches here!
There's also no spot for last year's winner Jey Uso either, and that'll come as a surprise to many. He's back in the tag-team hunt alongside his brother Jimmy, which means Triple H has either put Jey's main event dreams on ice or has given up on them completely. Come Riyadh, someone else is getting Uso's spotlight instead.
Various NXT stars will grace the Rumble, a TNA incomer will pop the house (hopefully), and then there's the not so small matter of a possible AEW > WWE jump that everyone is talking about. Oh yes, it could be time to (ahem) break the walls down come WrestleMania 42 season's launch pad on 31 January.
Here's every predicted entrant from #1-30, along with word on who should be the 'Iron Man', who should win in the end and more.
30. Brock Lesnar (#1)
Dow-na-now-na-now! That familiar refrain from Brock Lesnar's entrance track may well kick off the 2026 Royal Rumble with some serious star power. Big Brocky boy has made headlines for all of the wrong reasons over the past few years, but he's still considered a box office powerhouse by Triple H and TKO.
Seeing a name this big kick off the 30-man Rumble would be special. It'd conjure up images of Shawn Michaels in 1995, The Undertaker in 2008 or Edge in 2021. Immediately, the atmosphere in Saudi would be thick with danger, and people at home with their pals would wonder aloud: 'Can Lesnar go all the way?!'.
In short, no. He wouldn't be this year's 'Iron Man', because that spot would be going to the second entrant instead...