LA Knight <\/strong><\/h2>\nKnight has been one of WWE\u2019s most steady hands over the past few years. His babyface pops rival any on the roster, and while he has had some mid-card success, it hasn\u2019t amounted to much else. He has been consistently great, both in and out of the ring, and the time to give him that push could be now.<\/p>\n
An injury angle has written him off television, and keeping him off until the Royal Rumble could lead to a big win. It\u2019s a natural angle to have a returning wrestler do well in the Rumble, maybe even win it. L.A. Knight could be the success story of 2026.<\/p>\n
Bron Breakker <\/strong><\/h2>\nThe prevailing opinion is that Bron Breakker is earmarked for a huge main event run. Judging from WWE\u2019s booking over this past year, one can see that he will break through at some point. He has taken control of Raw\u2019s heel stable, cutting a path of destruction through whoever is brave enough to stand across from him.<\/p>\n
Breakker has a World Championship shot on January 5th<\/sup>, and a loss there could lead to a bigger program in the future. He is a dominant force, and winning the Royal Rumble would signal his rise to prominence.<\/p>\nRoman Reigns <\/strong><\/h2>\nIf Roman Reigns is participating, he has a better-than-average shot of winning the Royal Rumble. He is one of the biggest names on the roster and has that big-match experience to ensure a great performance. He has won the Royal Rumble once before and been in the final four too many times to count.<\/p>\n
If rumours are to be believed, Roman Reigns is facing Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42. It\u2019s a big-money match and one that would complete the rare WrestleMania trilogy, creating the type of history that WWE loves. There isn\u2019t a chance that Cody Rhodes drops the WWE Championship before WrestleMania. The easiest path for Reigns to get to Rhodes is winning his second Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n
Sami Zayn<\/strong><\/h2>\nEveryone loves an underdog story. So why wouldn\u2019t WWE consider having their greatest underdog win the 2026 Royal Rumble? Sami Zayn plays every character well, but excels in his underdog role. The fans identify with him, and his in-ring psychology makes it hard not to root for the man.<\/p>\n
Great Royal Rumble victors have been told from the angle of overcoming all the odds. Coming in early and outlasting the field is a great story, and only the best characters can pull it off. Sami Zayn fits that mold perfectly, and with his beliefs, a win in Saudi Arabia would be a logical move.<\/p>\n
Gunther<\/strong><\/h2>\nThere isn\u2019t a bigger heel in the world than Gunther right now. The heat that has been thrown upon him since tapping out John Cena is nuclear. If WWE wanted to capitalize on this heat, having him win the Royal Rumble would make sense. They are short on monster heels, and Gunther has proven his ability to be that dominant heel.<\/p>\n
Having him win the Royal Rumble, win a World Championship, and go on a long run of destruction could be the best way to book the Ring General.<\/p>\n
Gunther is also a man who has tremendous Royal Rumble history. He has been in the final two and set records for time spent in the Rumble match. He is the one to get another notch on the belt with a Royal Rumble victory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Potential 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner<\/h2>\nAJ Lee <\/strong><\/h2>\nA<\/b>fter a 10-year hiatus, AJ Lee made a huge surprise return to WWE. It was a great moment for WWE and was luckily not a one-off. Lee has remained with the company and has gotten involved in a few matches. She has proven that she still has the talent to succeed, and getting her back into the World Championship picture should be a priority for WWE.<\/p>\n
AJ Lee was never with WWE when it started running the Women\u2019s Royal Rumble. Fans have always wanted her as a surprise entrant, and this year, we should get it. She can still go and is getting great reactions from the crowd. Striking while the iron is hot would be advantageous for WWE and provide a great WrestleMania moment.<\/p>\n
Lash Legend <\/strong><\/h2>\nSeeing new faces triumph at the Royal Rumble has been the M.O. of WWE. The Rumble match is a great way to introduce a new face as the next big thing. Heading into the Royal Rumble, Lash Legend can be the woman to take up that mantle.<\/p>\n
On the main roster, Legend has been pushed heavily, and her aura is fantastic. She has been booked like a champion and was a beast inside of WarGames. The Royal Rumble is a match custom-made for a woman of her talents, and winning it could be a huge boost for the young star.<\/p>\n
Rhea Ripley <\/strong><\/h2>\nLike Roman Reigns, in the men\u2019s match, Rhea Ripley is a contender whenever she steps foot into the Royal Rumble. She is one of the most popular women on the roster and has been featured heavily in every main event program for the past few years. Ripley has experienced considerable success in the Royal Rumble, winning it once and setting records for eliminations. It\u2019s an easy journey for WWE to book in January.<\/p>\n
Rhea Ripley has also been out of the title picture for some months now. She is a big match machine, and WWE putting her back into the championship picture for WrestleMania season makes a lot of sense. She would make a great opponent for either of the Women\u2019s Champions.<\/p>\n
Liv Morgan <\/strong><\/h2>\nLiv Morgan could be the hottest talent on the roster right now. Since returning from injury, she has given us great moments, and the audience is beginning to turn in her favour. It\u2019s assured that she will be competing in the Royal Rumble, a match that is custom-made for a heel to win. By hook or crook, she could weasel her way to a victory and challenge the awaiting Stephanie Vaquer.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/11\/Big_E_Liv_Morgan__Tyler_Breeze_1-1024x819.jpg\")
Photo Credit: By Diego Serrano<\/a> – WWE, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=159777498<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMorgan has been great in the Royal Rumble. She has gone coast to coast before, and with her star power, will make every moment matter. Her heel is the type that WWE would love to see cut through the field en route to a victory.<\/p>\n
Bianca Belair <\/strong><\/h2>\nMaking a surprise return to win the Royal Rumble is always a great story. We have seen this success when Edge won in 2010, and we could see it again with Bianca Belair. The EST has been out since WrestleMania with a severe finger injury, but her timetable suggests her return is imminent. What a pop she would get, surprising the world and making her return.<\/p>\n
An even bigger pop would be Bianca Belair claiming her second Royal Rumble victory, setting up a match with her former running mate, Jade Cargill. That\u2019s the match that WWE needs to book for WrestleMania.<\/p>\n
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\nHeader photo \u2013 WikiMedia Creative Commons<\/a> \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> for more on WWE Royal Rumble 2026 and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the significant news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\nYou can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WWE year is coming to a close. Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event was the final major show on WWE\u2019s calendar, and now we head into the Christmas season. It\u2019s a time of year when not much of importance happens, but also one that signifies the road to WWE\u2019s most anticipated PLE, the Royal Rumble. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4518,"featured_media":149028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2192,4,3],"tags":[9119],"class_list":["post-149014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-2026-royal-rumble"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149014"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149029,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014\/revisions\/149029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The prevailing opinion is that Bron Breakker is earmarked for a huge main event run. Judging from WWE\u2019s booking over this past year, one can see that he will break through at some point. He has taken control of Raw\u2019s heel stable, cutting a path of destruction through whoever is brave enough to stand across from him.<\/p>\n
Breakker has a World Championship shot on January 5th<\/sup>, and a loss there could lead to a bigger program in the future. He is a dominant force, and winning the Royal Rumble would signal his rise to prominence.<\/p>\n If Roman Reigns is participating, he has a better-than-average shot of winning the Royal Rumble. He is one of the biggest names on the roster and has that big-match experience to ensure a great performance. He has won the Royal Rumble once before and been in the final four too many times to count.<\/p>\n If rumours are to be believed, Roman Reigns is facing Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42. It\u2019s a big-money match and one that would complete the rare WrestleMania trilogy, creating the type of history that WWE loves. There isn\u2019t a chance that Cody Rhodes drops the WWE Championship before WrestleMania. The easiest path for Reigns to get to Rhodes is winning his second Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n Everyone loves an underdog story. So why wouldn\u2019t WWE consider having their greatest underdog win the 2026 Royal Rumble? Sami Zayn plays every character well, but excels in his underdog role. The fans identify with him, and his in-ring psychology makes it hard not to root for the man.<\/p>\n Great Royal Rumble victors have been told from the angle of overcoming all the odds. Coming in early and outlasting the field is a great story, and only the best characters can pull it off. Sami Zayn fits that mold perfectly, and with his beliefs, a win in Saudi Arabia would be a logical move.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t a bigger heel in the world than Gunther right now. The heat that has been thrown upon him since tapping out John Cena is nuclear. If WWE wanted to capitalize on this heat, having him win the Royal Rumble would make sense. They are short on monster heels, and Gunther has proven his ability to be that dominant heel.<\/p>\n Having him win the Royal Rumble, win a World Championship, and go on a long run of destruction could be the best way to book the Ring General.<\/p>\n Gunther is also a man who has tremendous Royal Rumble history. He has been in the final two and set records for time spent in the Rumble match. He is the one to get another notch on the belt with a Royal Rumble victory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A<\/b>fter a 10-year hiatus, AJ Lee made a huge surprise return to WWE. It was a great moment for WWE and was luckily not a one-off. Lee has remained with the company and has gotten involved in a few matches. She has proven that she still has the talent to succeed, and getting her back into the World Championship picture should be a priority for WWE.<\/p>\n AJ Lee was never with WWE when it started running the Women\u2019s Royal Rumble. Fans have always wanted her as a surprise entrant, and this year, we should get it. She can still go and is getting great reactions from the crowd. Striking while the iron is hot would be advantageous for WWE and provide a great WrestleMania moment.<\/p>\n Seeing new faces triumph at the Royal Rumble has been the M.O. of WWE. The Rumble match is a great way to introduce a new face as the next big thing. Heading into the Royal Rumble, Lash Legend can be the woman to take up that mantle.<\/p>\n On the main roster, Legend has been pushed heavily, and her aura is fantastic. She has been booked like a champion and was a beast inside of WarGames. The Royal Rumble is a match custom-made for a woman of her talents, and winning it could be a huge boost for the young star.<\/p>\n Like Roman Reigns, in the men\u2019s match, Rhea Ripley is a contender whenever she steps foot into the Royal Rumble. She is one of the most popular women on the roster and has been featured heavily in every main event program for the past few years. Ripley has experienced considerable success in the Royal Rumble, winning it once and setting records for eliminations. It\u2019s an easy journey for WWE to book in January.<\/p>\n Rhea Ripley has also been out of the title picture for some months now. She is a big match machine, and WWE putting her back into the championship picture for WrestleMania season makes a lot of sense. She would make a great opponent for either of the Women\u2019s Champions.<\/p>\n Liv Morgan could be the hottest talent on the roster right now. Since returning from injury, she has given us great moments, and the audience is beginning to turn in her favour. It\u2019s assured that she will be competing in the Royal Rumble, a match that is custom-made for a heel to win. By hook or crook, she could weasel her way to a victory and challenge the awaiting Stephanie Vaquer.<\/p>\n Morgan has been great in the Royal Rumble. She has gone coast to coast before, and with her star power, will make every moment matter. Her heel is the type that WWE would love to see cut through the field en route to a victory.<\/p>\n Making a surprise return to win the Royal Rumble is always a great story. We have seen this success when Edge won in 2010, and we could see it again with Bianca Belair. The EST has been out since WrestleMania with a severe finger injury, but her timetable suggests her return is imminent. What a pop she would get, surprising the world and making her return.<\/p>\n An even bigger pop would be Bianca Belair claiming her second Royal Rumble victory, setting up a match with her former running mate, Jade Cargill. That\u2019s the match that WWE needs to book for WrestleMania.<\/p>\n More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n Header photo \u2013 WikiMedia Creative Commons<\/a> \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> for more on WWE Royal Rumble 2026 and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the significant news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The WWE year is coming to a close. Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event was the final major show on WWE\u2019s calendar, and now we head into the Christmas season. It\u2019s a time of year when not much of importance happens, but also one that signifies the road to WWE\u2019s most anticipated PLE, the Royal Rumble. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4518,"featured_media":149028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2192,4,3],"tags":[9119],"class_list":["post-149014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-2026-royal-rumble"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149014"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149029,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149014\/revisions\/149029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Roman Reigns <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Sami Zayn<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Gunther<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Potential 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner<\/h2>\n
AJ Lee <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lash Legend <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Rhea Ripley <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Liv Morgan <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Bianca Belair <\/strong><\/h2>\n