WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 is right around the corner, and as always, Wrestling Inc. is here to predict the winners of each match — and yes, that means we're here to pick who will be getting world title shots at WrestleMania 42.

Of course, there's more to it than that. Every match at this year's Rumble comes with high stakes. Will Sami Zayn finally win the WWE Championship by defeating the man he's never beaten, Drew McIntyre? Will AJ Styles keep his WWE career alive against the man they're now calling "The Career Killer," GUNTHER? We will, of course, be picking these matches as well. But the namesake of the event is the men's and women's Royal Rumble match, with the winners getting guaranteed world championship matches at WrestleMania, and it's officially time for us to pick those winners.

Will it be Rhea Ripley? Liv Morgan? Brock Lesnar? Roman Reigns? Or perhaps a returning superstar like Chris Jericho, an AEW import like Powerhouse Hobbs, or even a "WWE NXT" star like Sol Ruca? There are plenty of names to choose from — let's get to the picks!

AJ Styles is putting his career on the line against "The Ring General" GUNTHER, and 63% of us here at WINC believe "The Phenomenal One's" time in WWE will come to an end right around the 10-year anniversary of his debut with the company. GUNTHER has been involved in the retirement matches of both John Cena and Goldberg, and though we may not like it, we believe ending Styles' career is his next move.

Styles had been open about the fact he planned to retire this year, 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 Main Event opponent, Shinsuke Nakamura, seemed to 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 ended in disqualification after interference by Finn Balor. Most recently, WWE trademarked a new nickname for GUNTHER ahead of the Royal Rumble: "The Career Killer."

We certainly believe, at least 63% of us, that GUNTHER is going to kill Styles' WWE career in Saudi Arabia this weekend. After he just retired John Cena in a high-profile match, we don't think GUNTHER can lose here and maintain any momentum or credibility. "The Ring General" is going to cement himself as "The Career Killer," but it's still going to be sad to see Styles lose and either go off into retirement, or possibly jump over to finish out his career in TNA — or AEW.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Sorry to take a big 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 nice thought, and the Saudi Arabian crowd would certainly go crazy over his win, but Drew McIntyre has too much 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 seem to trade the "pre-WrestleMania underdog gets close to the world title spot." Remember when everyone was convinced Sami Zayn should beat Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber? It's gonna be a lot 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 prone to WWE Championship embarrassments, it's Drew McIntyre, so there's always a chance, but it feels like the Royal Rumble is going to be a chance for McIntyre to crush the dreams of every Muslim child who sees himself in Zayn and earn some serious heat as he heads towards WrestleMania. Maybe the Royal Rumble winner will challenge McIntyre, maybe Rhodes will find a way back into the fray, maybe Zayn will even end up in some kind of four-way with the other contenders mentioned, but it just doesn't feel like Saturday will be Zayn's day.

Written by Ross Berman

Suffice it to say, of the 17 announced entrants in 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 six of the 16 of us who voted went with she-who-has-already-been-established-as-the-betting-favorite-for-this-match in none other than Liv Morgan. (Side note: Who bets on professional wrestling? Really?) A Rumble win for Morgan would put a nice bow on her return from injury, of course guaranteeing her a title shot at WrestleMania, and further strengthening what has quickly become a burgeoning Hall of Fame pedigree, adding to her two Women's World Championships, four runs as a Tag Team Champion, a Money In the Bank win, some Slammy Awards, and of course, the heart of "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. But there is no such thing as a sure thing in the squared circle—which is why you don't 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 quick glimpse at the current 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 usually see a declaration from the Rumble winners in relatively short order so mustering up a story would need to come quickly. With that in mind, just behind Morgan in our poll is a potentially returning Bianca Belair, who would be a surprise, having not declared or been announced as of yet. A Belair win might be a more natural connection to a WrestleMania main 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 another 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, but 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 of the names we've already mentioned. Morgan makes a lot of sense given her popularity and prowess, as does Belair given the natural storyline to be born/resumed. But this year, for the ladies, it truly seems like anyone's match to win.

Written by Jon Jordan

It's that time of the year 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 will also 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 favorite to win the Rumble according to the poll put to the Wrestling Inc. team, with 44% believing him to point to the sign when the night is done. The second favorite to win would be a first-time Rumble winner if so, with Bron Breakker taking 25% of the vote. Breakker has been dominant on "WWE Raw" as part of The Vision, betraying Seth Rollins and going for the World Heavyweight Championship himself – albeit unsuccessfully – earlier this month.

Rounding out the rest 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 opportunity to retire AJ Styles from WWE as well as win the Rumble, just over a month removed from retiring John Cena via submission.

Written by Max Everett