Liv Morgan and Roman Reigns victorious at 2026 WWE Royal Rumble
Roman Reigns won his second Royal Rumble match and will main event WrestleMania 42 in April — WWE
Reigns and Morgan will main event WrestleMania 42, while AJ Styles’ phenomenal career might have come to an end following defeat to Gunther in retirement match.
Liv Morgan wins Women’s Royal Rumble
Following back to back second placed finishes in 2024 and 2025, Liv Morgan finally won her first Royal Rumble match and booked her ticket to Vegas.
Lash Legend and Sol Ruca were two of the stand out performers. Legend eliminated five women including Charlotte Flair and Iyo Sky while Ruca made it to the final three after an impressive and acrobatic display.
Brie Bella was the biggest surprise return as she entered at №29 to a chorus of YES! chants and joined her sister Nikki in the ring. The Bellas eliminated Lyra Valkyria and Bayley before being eliminated themselves by Lash Legend.
The Judgement Day dominated throughout the match but things fell apart after Roxanne Perez’s elimination and it was Liv Morgan who ultimately eliminated her own teammate Raquel Rodriguez setting up a final three of Morgan, Ruca and Tiffany Stratton.
Following a back and forth on the apron, Ruca tried an ambitious move that backfired with Stratton pushing her to the ground. Morgan then immediately hit Stratton with Oblivion, sending her to the ground to win the match.
Liv Morgan was victorious in the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble match — WWE
The big question now is who will Liv choose to face in the main event at WrestleMania 42. Will she choose WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill or the Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer? Both would be good matches, however we have to remember that Raquel Rodriguez — who Liv eliminated from the Rumble — faces Vaquer for the title this coming Monday Night Raw in a Philadelphia Street Fight. So could it be Liv Morgan versus Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s World Championship in the main event at WrestleMania 42?
Gunther retires AJ Styles
Possibly the biggest shock of the night was AJ Styles’ retirement from wrestling after his defeat to the unforgiving Gunther.
In a great fight, Styles showed why he is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation. He might not be as young or physical as Gunther but he put on a magnificent display, proving that he still has what it takes to excite a crowd.
The match reached a point though, where Gunther decided enough was enough and he took over. ‘The Ring General’ just physically destroyed Styles and much like in his match against Cena, he beat and battered Styles until his body gave up. Catching Styles as he attempted his signature Phenomenal Forearm, Gunther put him in a sleeper hold and did not relent until Styles and his WWE days faded out.
While this might be the end of his WWE career, there is some speculation and hope that it might not be the last that professional wrestling has seen of The Phenomenal One.
Drew McIntyre retains Undisputed WWE Championship vs Sami Zayn
Despite the support of the whole stadium, Sami Zayn lost in a fiercely entertaining match as his search for a WWE Championship continues.
Drew McIntyre proved once again that he is too much for Sami. It is now 12–0 for McIntyre in singles competition vs Sami Zayn. The Undisputed WWE Champ will be looking to continue his new reign and keep this momentum going into WrestleMania.
Roman Reigns wins Men’s Royal Rumble for second time
The main event kicked off with a bang as №1 entrant Oba Femi was handed his first ever elimination when Bron Breakker was tossed into the ring following an attack by a masked figure. One of the favourites to win the whole thing, Breakker was out before even entering the match. With much noise and animosity between Paul Heyman, his ‘Vision’ and Adam Pearce before the Rumble, this surely won’t be the end of it.
On his Royal Rumble debut, Oba Femi dominated early on racking up five eliminations in total — the most of any entrant. High flying Je’Von Evans also impressed while former AEW star Powerhouse Hobbs made his WWE debut under his new ring name ‘Royce Keys’.
Brock Lesnar entered at №22 with Paul Heyman by his side — seemingly over the Breakker situation. What followed was the usual flurry of German Suplexes and F5s. Lesnar looking more ripped and dangerous, the older he gets. Following a couple of face offs, Lesnar and Femi finally went at it with Lesnar coming out on top and eliminating the 6'6" Nigerian.
It was a surprise when little was made of Lesnar’s elimination which took place during Jey Uso’s entrance. With the crowd yeeting, the camera quickly cut to Cody Rhodes and LA Knight tossing the ‘Beast’ over the top rope. Many would have expected some sort of retaliation from Lesnar but the reaction was generally muted and focus quickly went back to YEET.
Roman Reigns entered at №26 and quickly got to work, hitting his cousin and eliminating The Miz. Cody Rhodes had his eyes on winning a third Rumble but was eliminated thanks to a Claymore by Drew McIntyre — not in the match but always wanting to be involved. Reigns would then eliminate both of his cousins, Jacob Fatu and Jey, leaving a final four of himself, Randy Orton, Logan Paul and Gunther — who was the surprise №30 entrant.
Ultimately it came down to Gunther and Reigns after Reigns took out Paul with a Superman Punch and Gunther eliminated Orton. Gunther managed to put Reigns in a sleeper but the Tribal Chief fought his way out, hit a Spear and tossed Gunther over the ropes to become only the tenth wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches.
Roman Reigns will now go on to main event WrestleMania for a record extending eleventh time. His opponent will be either the Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre or the WWE Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.
Overall it was a good Royal Rumble with four solid matches. Surprise returns were scarce with just a handful of unexpected entrants but new faces often stole the show. We said goodbye to a phenomenal wrestler but got a glimpse of the future. Liv Morgan and Roman Reigns pointed to the sign and booked their ticket to the Showcase of the Immortals. Rivalries have been set up and breadcrumbs have been laid. The road to WrestleMania is well and truly underway.