Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 is true across the corner, and as at all times, Wrestling Inc. is here to predict the winners of every match — and yes, which means we’re here to choose who can be getting world title shots at WrestleMania 42.

In fact, there’s more to it than that. Every match at this yr’s Rumble comes with high stakes. Will Sami Zayn finally win the WWE Championship by defeating the person he’s never beaten, Drew McIntyre? Will AJ Styles keep his WWE profession alive against the person they’re now calling “The Profession Killer,” GUNTHER? We’ll, in fact, be picking these matches as well. However the namesake of the event is the boys’s and girls’s Royal Rumble match, with the winners getting guaranteed world championship matches at WrestleMania, and it’s officially time for us to choose those winners.

Will or not it’s Rhea Ripley? Liv Morgan? Brock Lesnar? Roman Reigns? Or perhaps a returning superstar like Chris Jericho, an AEW import like Powerhouse Hobbs, or perhaps a “WWE NXT” star like Sol Ruca? There are many names to select from — let’s get to the picks!

AJ Styles is putting his profession on the road against “The Ring General” GUNTHER, and 63% of us here at WINC imagine “The Phenomenal One’s” time in WWE will come to an end right across the 10-year anniversary of his debut with the corporate. GUNTHER has been involved within the retirement matches of each John Cena and Goldberg, and though we may not prefer it, we imagine ending Styles’ profession is his next move.

Styles had been open in regards to the fact he planned to retire this yr, and made it official ahead of Crown Jewel back in October. Just when exactly Styles will retire has been up for debate, with many reports indicating his contract is up ahead of WrestleMania 42. Styles’ Saturday Night’s Principal Event opponent, Shinsuke Nakamura, looked as if it would confirm the date of his rival’s retirement in a since-deleted Instagram post.

WWE has been quietly fueling the rumors itself, but seemingly speed-running must-see matches, including Styles vs. CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship on “WWE Raw,” though the bout led to disqualification after interference by Finn Balor. Most recently, WWE trademarked a brand new nickname for GUNTHER ahead of the Royal Rumble: “The Profession Killer.”

We actually imagine, no less than 63% of us, that GUNTHER goes to kill Styles’ WWE profession in Saudi Arabia this weekend. After he just retired John Cena in a high-profile match, we do not think GUNTHER can lose here and maintain any momentum or credibility. “The Ring General” goes to cement himself as “The Profession Killer,” however it’s still going to be sad to see Styles lose and either go off into retirement, or possibly hop over to complete out his profession in TNA — or AEW.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Sorry to take a giant dump on everyone’s party, but 81% of the Wrestling Inc. staff just doesn’t buy the pipe dream of WWE Champion Sami Zayn. It’s a pleasant thought, and the Saudi Arabian crowd would definitely go crazy over his win, but Drew McIntyre has an excessive amount of unfinished business with the likes of Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu to drop the title to everyone’s favorite underdog so soon.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens appear to trade the “pre-WrestleMania underdog gets near the world title spot.” Remember when everyone was convinced Sami Zayn should beat Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber? It’s gonna be lots like that, except swap out Riyadh for Montreal. There are simply more narrative options for McIntyre than there are for Zayn, whose story essentially ends with any victory.

Granted, if anyone is liable to WWE Championship embarrassments, it’s Drew McIntyre, so there’s at all times a likelihood, however it looks like the Royal Rumble goes to be a likelihood for McIntyre to crush the dreams of each Muslim child who sees himself in Zayn and earn some serious heat as he heads towards WrestleMania. Possibly the Royal Rumble winner will challenge McIntyre, perhaps Rhodes will discover a way back into the fray, perhaps Zayn will even find yourself in some sort of four-way with the opposite contenders mentioned, however it just doesn’t feel like Saturday can be Zayn’s day.

Written by Ross Berman

Suffice it to say, of the 17 announced entrants within the 2026 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble, only seven of those names impressed your pals here at WINC enough to proclaim them the eventual victor, and 6 of the 16 of us who voted went with she-who-has-already-been-established-as-the-betting-favorite-for-this-match in none aside from Liv Morgan. (Side note: Who bets on skilled wrestling? Really?) A Rumble win for Morgan would put a pleasant bow on her return from injury, in fact guaranteeing her a title shot at WrestleMania, and further strengthening what has quickly grow to be a burgeoning Hall of Fame pedigree, adding to her two Women’s World Championships, 4 runs as a Tag Team Champion, a Money Within the Bank win, some Slammy Awards, and naturally, the guts of “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio. But there isn’t any such thing as a sure thing within the squared circle—which is why you do not bet on wrestling!—even when it makes as much sense as Morgan winning the Rumble does.

One argument to be made against Morgan winning comes from a fast glimpse at the present champions, WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill and WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer, with little connective tissue between her and either champ at present. Naturally, much can change between now and WrestleMania, but we normally see a declaration from the Rumble winners in relatively short order so mustering up a story would want to come back quickly. With that in mind, just behind Morgan in our poll is a potentially returning Bianca Belair, who could be a surprise, having not declared or been announced as of yet. A Belair win is perhaps a more natural connection to a WrestleMania fundamental event, given her history with Cargill.

From there, our predictions go full shot-in-the-dark mode, with a single vote each for Jordynne Grace, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, and Tiffany Stratton (and one other from some dodo, whose name may or may not rhyme with Shmon Shmordan, who has all his eggs in a Chelsea Green basket). Are surprises afoot? Likely, however it’s rare that those entrants are anything but a nostalgia act or a “wow” debut, so it stands to reason that the eventual winner comes from one in all the names we have already mentioned. Morgan makes numerous sense given her popularity and prowess, as does Belair given the natural storyline to be born/resumed. But this yr, for the women, it truly looks as if anyone’s match to win.

Written by Jon Jordan

It’s that point of the yr again where 30 men vie for a World title opportunity at WrestleMania, with winners of the past three years’ matches, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso, confirmed in a field that can even see the return of 2015 winner and “Original Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns.

Reigns will finally look to reclaim the throne after losing his Undisputed WWE Championship after over a thousand days at WrestleMania 40, and is the favourite to win the Rumble in keeping with the poll put to the Wrestling Inc. team, with 44% believing him to point to the sign when the night is completed. The second favorite to win could be a first-time Rumble winner if that’s the case, with Bron Breakker taking 25% of the vote. Breakker has been dominant on “WWE Raw” as a part of The Vision, betraying Seth Rollins and going for the World Heavyweight Championship himself – albeit unsuccessfully – earlier this month.

Rounding out the remaining of the favorites are Rhodes, two-time winner Brock Lesnar, Gunther, Jacob Fatu, and Logan Paul, all sharing 6% of the vote respectively. Lesnar won the Rumble in 2003 and 2022. Gunther has the chance to retire AJ Styles from WWE in addition to win the Rumble, just over a month faraway from retiring John Cena via submission.

Written by Max Everett