WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Predicting Literally EVERYTHING!

It's predictions time! There are certain things that need to happen come Saturday's Royal Rumble PLE over in Saudi Arabia, but a good few nightmares could come true for WWE as well. This is the company's launchpad moment as they spring off towards WrestleMania 42 in April, and Triple H will be praying to the wrestling deities that things go well.

'The Game' will know by now how he wants each Rumble match to play out - he'll know the winners he has in mind, who should get the nod to work the longest in each match, who should eliminate the most wrestlers on the male and female sides, who'll come eerily close to causing a shock upset like their name's Santino Marella and more.

A lot of that would've been scribbled down weeks/months ago, but plans change fast and they change often in the world of WWE booking. This list of predictions aims to lay it all down in black and white: Who's coming out on top in Riyadh, who's going to eat humble pie as this year's comedic clown, who's going to be a walking pool of sweat by the end of a monumental shift, and who's going to be on the 'surprise cameo' list?

There's a lot to chew through, and it's all highly important. Massive, money-spinning 'Mania matches await those lucky ones who grab WWE's attention enough to get a massive push, but others who aren't on the winners pile can force their way into top tier plans later in the year by putting on a fab performance here. That's the beauty of the Royal Rumble.

Drum roll, please.

WWE will have a good few surprise entrants in mind for both Rumble matches.

It remains to be seen if he'll be there, obviously, but Chris Jericho has been rumoured for this year's show for months now, and it really does look like it's only a matter of time before he leaps over from Tony Khan's AEW. 'Y2J' is almost upon us all over again, and that'll be a glorious comeback that gives the Royal Rumble show even more headline making power than it already has.

Others who could show up on the men's side? Powerhouse Hobbs, TNA's Leon Slater, perhaps a couple of legends who haven't been knocking around for a while etc. People expect to see at least one legendary cameo, although Jericho would scratch that itch if he showed face on the night.

Paige has been pencilled in on fan wish lists for the women's Rumble too. If she appears, then the ex-Saraya would be working her first WWE match since late-2017. In other words, it's been some wait for the Brit, but it'd make sense if she showed up as a shocker over in Riyadh this weekend.

WWE has already named a string of full-timers for the women's match, so the scope for legendary cameos is fairly small. Oh well, they've done the whole Molly Holly/Michelle McCool/Kelly Kelly thing to death since the division got a Rumble back in 2018, but fans shouldn't rule out seeing Trish Stratus again.

She's done more over the past number of years than show up for a quick Rumble payday, at least.