WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Where Do We Go From Here?

The WWE roster is back from Saudi Arabia for tonight's "Raw" in Philadelphia, which means that the 2026 Royal Rumble is officially behind us. Wrestling Inc. has given you our loves and hates from the show, in addition to our winners and losers, and that means it's time to stop looking back at what happened on Saturday and start looking forward to what might happen on Monday and beyond!

Of course, the Royal Rumble gives us more ammo for predictions than most shows, considering we now know at least two people (Liv Morgan and Roman Reigns) who will challenge for world titles at WrestleMania. Which champions will find themselves in the sights of the respective Rumble winners? And what comes next after the non-Rumble parts of the show, from GUNTHER seemingly retiring AJ Styles to Drew McIntyre defending his Undisputed WWE title against Sami Zayn? In other words, with the 2026 Royal Rumble over, where do we go from here?

Liv Morgan is finally the bride, no longer the bridesmaid, after winning the 2026 Women's Royal Rumble from the #14 spot. Morgan, who has appeared in every women's Rumble match since its inception in 2018, is headed to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, but which championship she'll challenge for is still unknown. What we do know, for sure, however, is that Morgan kickstarted yet another Judgment Day breakup angle, and this time, WWE very well could see it through.

On her way to victory, Morgan eliminated Raquel Rodriguez toward the very end of the match, and "Big Mami Cool" looked absolutely stunned. WWE doesn't appear to be playing this up on its social media account, however, with Rodriguez and Morgan being seen together, and happy, after the match.

One of the most interesting angles to this all is the fact that Rodriguez has a shot at Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer on "WWE Raw" on Monday. It seems like her time, and if Rodriguez wins the championship, Morgan could very well be challenging her stablemate on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." During the Rumble post-show, Morgan mentioned that she would be taking her time with her decision. Rodriguez could win the title from Vaquer on "Raw," and Morgan could decide she doesn't want to challenge her for the gold.

Then, when the Elimination Chamber rolls around, which isn't far off, on February 28, the Women's Chamber match would still be contested under the stipulation where the winner chooses who she wants to face, since Morgan, in this scenario, has yet to decide. If a woman from "WWE SmackDown" wins the match, like Jordynne Grace who already wants to challenge WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill, Morgan would have no choice but to face Rodriguez, if she's holding the title.

Morgan could also just outright say she's going to challenge whoever is holding the Women's World Championship, as she wants to stay on "Raw." It's highly likely that WWE keeps the title on Vaquer, as she's a huge fan favorite, going into WrestleMania. Morgan could make her decision as quickly as Monday night, if Rodriguez fails to capture the title, and Morgan just steps in. Assuming that would irritate Rodriguez, the feud between the women in the Judgment Day, with Roxanne Perez caught in the middle, would roll on that way, as well.

It also feels like a very WWE move to have either Rodriguez or Perez win the Chamber match, and rules go out the door, and we somehow end up with a Judgment Day triple threat for the gold at WrestleMania, as that's a much stronger story than whatever is going on with the women on the blue brand.

Written by Daisy Ruth

GUNTHER has now put to rest the WWE careers of Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, and it seems WWE is leaning into his "Career Killer" moniker. So with Styles off the roster (and potentially no longer under contract) and with GUNTHER having subsequently failed to win the Royal Rumble, it stands to reason that sooner or later, he'll set his sights on another older star potentially working their last WWE run. But who will that star be?

While it's difficult to say with certainty, if I had to guess, I would say GUNTHER's next target is Randy Orton, regardless of the fact that they're currently on different brands. Brock Lesnar is always a possibility (though it's hard to imagine his career ending anywhere but SummerSlam) and GUNTHER could always take on an aging "Raw" veteran like Rey Mysterio, but there are two reasons Orton feels like the choice. First, he's very much of the Cena/Styles generation of wrestler, and while he hasn't made any noise about retiring, it's hard to imagine him going much longer. Second, even without the retirement element, there's a natural storyline there if GUNTHER starts to throw the "Career Killer" nickname around with gusto, as he will very likely do. After all, Orton was known for years as the "Legend Killer," so GUNTHER bragging about his accomplishments could easily put the two into conflict and build toward a marquee match at WrestleMania. Orton's career may or may not be on the line, but he also doesn't have to lose — GUNTHER's WrestleMania record is far from meticulous, especially in recent years. And none of that is even mentioning the fact that GUNTHER eliminated Orton from the Rumble match Saturday night.

Again, it's hard to predict where WWE goes with GUNTHER after the Styles feud, but "Career Killer" vs. "Legend Killer" seems like an obvious direction.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's "Road to WrestleMania" became more clear at the Royal Rumble, following his victory over Sami Zayn. Now, it seems highly likely that McIntyre will hold the gold until his match at WrestleMania 42, where he will reportedly face Cody Rhodes, according to Dave Meltzer in his post-Rumble edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. That match could also, according to Meltzer's reporting, include Jacob Fatu.

The Elimination Chamber is right around the corner, on February 28, and if WWE was going to take the championship off McIntyre, the premium live event in Chicago would be the place to do it. Zayn could somehow get a rematch, though, McIntyre is much more invested in making Rhodes' life hell, despite winning the title from him in their Three Stages of Hell match weeks ago.

McIntyre's path appears set, despite the looming Chamber, so where does that leave Zayn? As of this writing, there are no reports from the likes of Meltzer, or Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, or anyone else credible in the space of where he goes from here, so, it's pretty open to speculation. If he doesn't get a rematch outright that could be fought at the upcoming PLE, Zayn could take one of the six spots in the Chamber match, but that feels like a bout made for someone like Fatu or maybe Bron Breakker.

It just doesn't feel like Zayn is destined for a WWE Championship reign, at least not before WrestleMania, as Rhodes vs. McIntyre vs. Fatu seems like the path WWE will want to go in. It's sad for Zayn fans, but McIntyre is at least getting a solid run with the title in front of crowds. Zayn has recently held the United States Championship, so it doesn't seem likely he'd go back to that title. He could answer one of Carmelo Hayes' open challenges for the United States Championship, the challenge that Zayn brought back with John Cena's blessing, but it doesn't feel like he'd win and take the title off 'Melo for no reason.

While Zayn's path is wildly unclear at the moment, there are still 75 days between Monday's episode of "Raw" and WrestleMania. It might be time for fans of Zayn to be a little more vocal online and in arenas to perhaps spark some kind of change, but, as seen with the likes of LA Knight, that's not always possible.

Written by Daisy Ruth

While we don't know for sure what will happen at WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble traditionally gives us a few clues. For example, if I had to guess, I'd say that Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi have a 'Mania match coming their way, as do Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins the masked man who attacked him before the Rumble match could even begin, and of course, Cody Rhodes is seemingly destined to fight Drew McIntyre at every major PLE for the rest of his life. And since McIntyre is the WWE Champion, that leaves only one option for Rumble winner Roman Reigns, and that option is super into being from Chicago.

Look, WWE could be swerving all of us here, it's definitely possible. Maybe Cody will win back the WWE title from Drew before 'Mania and we end up getting Rhodes vs. Reigns III after all. But right now, it really doesn't look that way — especially with BodySlam reporting Monday afternoon that Reigns' Rumble celebration will close the show on tonight's "Raw." That suggests that Reigns' WrestleMania opponent is none other than CM Punk, and if that turns out to be the case, I don't like Punk's odds in that match. Remember, there's only one reason WWE has two world titles right now in the first place, and that's because Reigns insisted on hogging one of them. A lengthy reign as World Heavyweight Champion probably seems to Roman like exactly what WWE needs to evolve creatively, and I can't think of any good reason we shouldn't expect just that in our immediate future.

Written by Miles Schneiderman