The 2026 Royal Rumble, also promoted as Royal Rumble: Riyadh, is an upcoming

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV) and

livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by the American

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It will be the 39th annual

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

and will take place in January 2026 in

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, as part of

Riyadh Season Riyadh Season () is a series of entertainment, cultural, and sporting events held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. The event was introduced in 2019 by the General Entertainment Authority as part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative in s ...

, and will be held for wrestlers from the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry data ...

and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

brand divisions. This will be the first traditional Royal Rumble to take place outside of North America, the 14th event WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia as part of its 10-year partnership in support of

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

, the second to feature a Royal Rumble match after

Greatest Royal Rumble WWE Greatest Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event too ...

in April 2018, and the first of WWE's "Big Five" events to take place in the country. The event is based around the

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

, and the winner traditionally receives a

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2026 event, the men's and women's winners receive a choice of which championship to challenge for at

WrestleMania 42 WrestleMania 42, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, is an upcoming 2026 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the 42nd annual WrestleMania and will take place as a two-night event on S ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

. The men's winner can choose to challenge for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown's

Undisputed WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...

, while the women have the choice between Raw's

Women's World Championship The Women's World Championship was the first Women's professional wrestling world championship in the world. History Cora Livingston defeated Hazel Parker in 1906. Though the contest was for the Featherweight Championship, from that point she ...

and SmackDown's

WWE Women's Championship The WWE Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defe ...

Production

Background

The

is an annual

event that is traditionally held in January by the American company

since 1988. It is one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania,

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five". The

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

of the event is based around the

, a modified

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. From 1988 up through the 2025 event, the Royal Rumble was held annually in North America, with the inaugural 1988 event in Canada and the rest in the United States. In early 2018, WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the

Ministry of Sport A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...

(formerly General Sports Authority) in support of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

's social and economic reform program. The first event in this partnership was the one-off

, which featured a 50-man Royal Rumble match. In May 2024, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's

General Entertainment Authority The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) (), formerly the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE), is a government department in Saudi Arabia that regulates the entertainment industry of the country. Established in May 2016 through a royal de ...

Turki Alalshikh Turki bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Sheikh (; born August 4, 1981) is a Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. As chairman of the GEA, Alalshikh is credited with ...

, announced that the country was in talks with WWE to bring either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania to the country in 2026 or 2027. On January 3, 2025, ''

PWInsider Dave Scherer is an American sports writer and journalist, best known for writing about professional wrestling for the '' ECW Magazine'', ''New York Daily News'', '' World of Wrestling Magazine'', 1Wrestling.com and founding the newsletter ''The ...

'' reported that WWE would be holding the 2026 Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, with ''Fightful'' later confirming an official announcement would come during the ''Raw'' premiere on Netflix. Ahead of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

debut, WWE officially confirmed that the 39th Royal Rumble, and 14th event in the Saudi Arabian partnership, would be happening in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

in January 2026 as part of

, which previously hosted Crown Jewel; the 2025 Crown Jewel was moved to

Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

as a result. With the 2026 Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, the 2026 calendar year will host three events in the country instead of two, as 2025 only had one. This also returns the Royal Rumble to its traditional January slot as the 2025 event was held in February. The event will feature wrestlers from the

and

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

and will air on

worldwide and via

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

in the United States and Netflix in international markets. The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a

match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2026, the men and women can choose which world championship to challenge for at

; the men can choose Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown's

, while the women have the choice between Raw's

and SmackDown's

Storylines

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...

'' and ''

Friday Night SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Rumble (2026) Royal Rumble 2026 WWE Network events 2026 WWE pay-per-view events Professional wrestling shows in Saudi Arabia January 2026 in Saudi Arabia Scheduled professional wrestling shows WWE in Saudi Arabia