The 39th annual Royal Rumble event will be held Saturday, January 31, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season and with that, we preview the likely favourites in the Men’s Royal Rumble.
The Road to WrestleMania well and truly gets underway at Royal Rumble, with the 39th edition of the event set to occur.
In this event, 30 of the biggest names in wrestling will try to outlast 29 other wrestlers for the chance to main event WrestleMania and a shot at the WWE Championship.
Last year had a shock winner with Jey Uso eliminating John Cena, which booked his ticket to The Showcase of Immortals, where he defeated Gunther by submission for the World Heavyweight Championship
JEY USO just won the 2025 Men's #RoyalRumble Match! pic.twitter.com/xAy0S6ArHn
— WWE (@WWE) February 2, 2025
How To Watch Royal Rumble 2025
When is Royal Rumble 2025
The Royal Rumble will take place on Saturday the 1st of February at 11 pm
TV Channel
The Royal Rumble will be live-streamed on Netflix for the first time.
Where is Royal Rumble 2025?
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana
Men's Royal Rumble Odds 2026
Player | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Roman Reigns | 10/11 | 52.4% |
Bron Breakker | 5/4 | 44.4% |
Sami Zayn | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Cody Rhodes | 7/1 | 12.5% |
Gunther | 7/1 | 12.5% |
Jacob Fatu | 9/1 | 10% |
Oba Femi | 9/1 | 10% |
Bar | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Men’s Royal Rumble Favourites
Men’s Royal Rumble Favourites
Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns - 10/11
The favourite for the 2026 Royal Rumble is Roman Reigns, with odds of 10/11 suggesting a 52.4% chance of him winning his second Royal Rumble event.
The rise of “The Tribal Chief” from almost universal rejection within the WWE fanbase to the very top of the industry, dominating the card as a central figure in the famous “Bloodline” storyline lasting the span of over 4 years, is a testament to the man’s ability.
Roman Reigns has been absent from programming since Survivor Series last November, where he, alongside CM Punk, The USOs and Cody Rhodes, were defeated by the Vision. Following the match, after a moment of respect between himself and CM Punk, he informed Cody Rhodes he would not be teaming with him again before walking away.
His return at Riyadh was confirmed last week on SmackDown via video package, and the OTC looks perfectly positioned to return with a victory on Saturday Night, given that, along with the never-ending beef between himself and Cody Rhodes, means we could be well on course for their trilogy fight at WrestleMania.
Bron Breakker
Bron Breakker - 5/4
Second favourite to win the 2026 Royal Rumble is “The Oracle” Bron Breakker with odds of 5/4, suggesting a 44.4% chance he wins the event for the first time.
The Royal Rumble has often been used as a launching point to create the next WWE star, and that certainly aligns with the Bron Breakker story. Since joining the Main Roster in 2024, he’s quickly become a force in the company, winning the Intercontinental Championship twice, debuting at WrestleMania, winning at War Games side and having a standout performance in defeat, losing to CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship earlier this year.
Despite his loss earlier this year to CM Punk, it seems a matter of “when” and not “if” Bron Breakker lands the big one this year, and following the removal of his suspension on the recent episode of RAW, he looks well placed to be in the mix this weekend!
"Things got way out of hand." 👀@ScrapDaddyAP has lifted @bronbreakkerwwe's suspension and put him in the Royal Rumble! pic.twitter.com/ShzBJrOUVf
— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2026
Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn – 5/1
The third favourite for the 2026 Royal Rumble is Sami Zayn, with odds of 5/1 suggesting an 16.7% chance he wins his first ever Rumble.
“The Underdog” has been one of the most organically over and universally beloved WWE Superstars dating back to his days in NXT in 2013, but it has arguably gone to another level since his Main Roster promotion in 2025, where he had his US Title Match with a certain John Cena. He’s since been pushed to the moon, but it’s always felt like WWE has held back on the trigger despite him headlining WrestleMania 39 alongside his best friend Kevin Owens.
Though Sami is an undeniable star and one of the biggest names in the company, at 41 years old and having been in and out of booking throughout 2025, I wouldn’t bet on him winning this event, though it being held in Riyadh adds an interesting dynamic if he were to win/
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes – 7/1
The fourth favourite for the Royal Rumble next Saturday is Cody Rhodes, with odds of 7/1 suggesting a 12.5% chance he becomes only the second person after Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the event three times.
Following the return of “The American Nightmare” to WWE in April 2022, where he faced Seth "Freakin" Rollins, he’s firmly established himself as the company's “franchise player”. Cody Rhodes has since gone on to win the Royal Rumble twice in two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) and Main Event WrestleMania three years in a row.
As alluded to above, when we mentioned Roman Reigns, to talk among the general commonteriat and the in-the-know “dirtsheets”. The Rhodes vs Reigns trilogy looks on the cards for one of the WrestleMania 42 “Main Events”, but I do think there’s others ways to get there than making him a three-time winner in this instance.
Gunther
Gunther -7/1
The man who “retired” John Cena is another priced at 7/1, which would be his success in the event.
Gunther has been on the Main Roster since April 2022, but has quickly put together a “Hall of Fame” worthy run even before his success over Cena. The current World Heavyweight champion was the longest reigning International Champion in history with his 590+ day run, a former King of the Ring winner and in 2023 was the Royal Rumble ”ironman” lasting 1:11:40.
At the time of writing, Gunther is pencilled in for this weekend to face AJ Styles with the latter's career on the line if he were to lose, which could continue his streak of the newfound “legend killer” sound familiar? However, if there were a late twist and the title was set to be contested, it’s not impossible to see Styles sneak a win in the opener before an angry Gunther seeks vengeance, enters and wins the Royal Rumble.
"Now I have a lot of things to gain" 😨@Gunther_AUT is looking to end another career on Saturday at the Royal Rumble. pic.twitter.com/jefFKlocJt
— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2026
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