WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Set For RADICAL Change (WWE News)

WWE makes BIG change for Royal Rumble 2026.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Royal Rumble 2024
WWE.com

With the 2026 Royal Rumble taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there are now new details on what start time WWE is going with for this hotly anticipated Premium Live Event.

Per Wrestlevotes on Fightful Select, after some internal back and forth, WWE has decided on a 2pm ET/11am PT start time for next month's Royal Rumble. Locally, that means a 10pm start time for those in Riyadh. And as for those of us in the UK, the Rumble will kick off at 7pm.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer previously reported that the current plan is for the 2026 Royal Rumble to be a four-match card, with two title matches joining the two Rumble matches. Despite the Rumble being just six weeks away, that Meltzer report said that it's not been finalised exactly what those two title matches will be.

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Emanating from Riyadh's Kingdom Arena - which also housed this year's Night of Champions and the episode of SmackDown that took place the night before that PLE - WWE Royal Rumble 2026 takes place on Saturday, 31 January. Of course, as has been the case dating back to 1993, the over-the-top Rumble contests have plenty of WrestleMania ramifications, with the winner of their respective Royal Rumble earning themselves a World Title shot at 'Mania 42. On that front, Bron Breakker has been talked up as one of the frontrunners to win the men's Rumble, while, if she's healthy in time, Bianca Belair seems to be a major favourite for the women's Rumble.

Senior Writer
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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.