WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Predicting All 30 Entrants

24. Rusev (#7)

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Roman Reigns Chris Jericho Santino Marella
WWE.com

Let's be honest about one thing straight off the bat: Rusev hasn't returned to WWE with World Titles, Royal Rumble wins and WrestleMania main events in the pipeline. He's an upper-midcard stalwart Triple H can rely on to deliver good matches whilst retaining some of his aura even when he isn't actually being pushed all that hard ahead of others.

Fair - not everybody can be the headline attraction, after all, and Rusev plays his role like it's a fine art. Come 31 January, he'll do his bit as part of a glut of workers who don't really have a hope in hell of winning the thing but can still mash some skulls anyway.

Seeing him mix it with Dragunov, Lesnar, Femi and the like would be a fun ride regardless of how long Ru-Ru lasts out there.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.