Just like the Cookie Monster together with his cookies, I’ll all the time be thrilled about WWE Royal Rumble matches. In 2026, though, my excitement level is not as high because it normally is.
Unlike most years, the sphere for the 2026 Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumbles filled up relatively late, with January 16 marking the primary utterance of any wrestler’s participation (Thanks, Cody Rhodes). Before that, it felt just like the Royal Rumble matches, which guarantee the winners a title match of their selecting on WWE’s grandest stage, were an afterthought to Saturday Night’s Predominant Event, a show that did not even seem crucial.
For a lot of us long-time fans, Royal Rumble declarations mean something. They provide us confirmation and clarity as to who will probably be in Royal Rumbles, and in turn, we will start forming theories as to who may fill the spots which are left vacant heading into the titular premium live event. We may begin making cases for why our favourite stars should or could win the over-the-top-rope spectacle. Unfortunately, all of this was derailed and/or rushed partly by the incontrovertible fact that SNME, which had its own construct and lineup of matches, took place merely one week before the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE.
Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY, two of the WWE’s top women, weren’t even capable of declare themselves for the Royal Rumble without mentioning Saturday Night’s Predominant Event in the identical breath. The identical may be said for the Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez and Liv Morgan, who tried to hype their very own Royal Rumble participation while not overlooking their tag title match at SNME and vice versa.
Had WWE continued the tradition of confirming Royal Rumble entrants in December, or no less than early January, it could have made the construct to the matches feel less rushed, and more importantly, as major accurately. In spite of everything, the Royal Rumble marks the official start line for the road to WWE WrestleMania, the most important event in all of skilled wrestling.
Construct (or lack thereof) aside, it is also hard to not groan on the unlucky reality that may specifically be apparent for the ladies once more. Attributable to cultural constraints, the ladies of WWE have routinely had to switch their in-ring attire into more modest sets when wrestling in Saudi Arabia. And with the 2026 Royal Rumble happening in Riyadh, I already feel sorry for the ladies that can have to endure long performances within the Royal Rumble match while wearing long sleeve bodysuits.
Written by Ella Jay