GUNTHER has officially confirmed that he will be pulling double duty at the WWE Royal Rumble this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In addition to defending the World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles, “The Ring General” revealed that he will also be an entrant in the 30-man Royal Rumble match later that same night.
The clarification was necessary following mixed messaging earlier in the week. While GUNTHER declared for the Rumble on the January 19 episode of Monday Night Raw, that announcement came before his title match with Styles was finalized. Further confusion arose during the kickoff show when CM Punk stated that GUNTHER was not in the match, only for Michael Cole to later confirm that he was officially entered.
Speaking to Gulf News, GUNTHER shared his excitement about returning to Saudi Arabia, a location tied to one of the most significant matches of his career.
“My favorite match I’ve had in Saudi is definitely the King of the Ring final with Randy (Orton). It was a very big match for my career. Now we’re back here and it’s another great chance for myself to retire another legend and I’m also participating in the Royal Rumble, so I look forward to it.”
That legend, of course, is AJ Styles—who has agreed to put his career on the line for one more shot at GUNTHER’s World Heavyweight Championship. Should GUNTHER succeed in retiring “The Phenomenal One,” he will then immediately turn his attention to surviving the grueling Rumble match.
GUNTHER is no stranger to the chaos of the Rumble, as he currently holds the record for the longest time spent in a traditional Royal Rumble match in WWE history.
“As someone who has spent the longest time in the Royal Rumble in WWE history, I’m looking forward to the challenge of fighting twice in one night,” GUNTHER said. “It’s another very special challenge for myself and I feel like I thrive in these situations so I’m very excited.”
The men’s Royal Rumble match is stacked with elite competition, including former world champions Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar.
If GUNTHER manages to survive both AJ Styles and 29 other superstars in one night, it would stand as one of the most dominant achievements of his already historic reign.
Gunther joined Michael Cole to speak about his only goal at Royal Rumble…
Ending AJ Styles’ career 😳 pic.twitter.com/UkUMisSAUx
— ESPN (@espn) January 30, 2026
Michael Cole announces that Gunther will be in the Royal Rumble, proving CM Punk wrong. Gunther tells the crowd they’re dumb if they think he won’t make Styles tap out and retire tomorrow.
The conference ends on that note.#RoyalRumble kick off. pic.twitter.com/f39qSFbaXe
— 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑶𝑶𝑺 (@therealalii_) January 30, 2026
