On Saturday, January 31st, WWE returned to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for one of its biggest shows of the year, the “Royal Rumble.” This show also marked the beginning of the Road To WrestleMania, which culminates on April 18th & 19th in Las Vegas at the grandest stage of them all, “WrestleMania 42.”
This year’s event was headlined by the 30-man Royal Rumble match, which featured the likes of Roman Reigns, Gunther, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Oba Femi, and more.
We also saw the 30-woman Royal Rumble take place, which saw the likes of Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Asuka, NXT’s Sol Ruca, and other superstars vie for a shot at the biggest show of the year. Also, Gunther went one-on-one with AJ Styles in a match where if Styles lost, his career was over, and Drew McIntyre put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Sami Zayn. With all of that said, what were the top three moments of the event?
3. Roman Reigns Punches His Ticket To WrestleMania 42, Chaotic Men’s Royal Rumble match
The final match of today’s stacked event was the Men’s Royal Rumble. This match was about as star-studded as it came, with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Gunther, Randy Orton, Logan Paul, Penta, Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso, Ilja Dragunov, El Grande Americano, Rey Mysterio, Solo Sikoa, and so many others.
The match started with Oba Femi entering the match at number one and Bron Breakker entering the match at number two. However, before Breakker even reached the ring, he was attacked by a masked man who hit him with a stomp on the outside and threw him into the ring. This made it easy for Femi to very quickly eliminate Breakker after five seconds. This seemingly set up Breakker’s program for WrestleMania 42, which will seemingly be against a returning Seth Rollins.
From there, Oba Femi had a dominant run. He eliminated the next four competitors single-handedly. At number 13, the original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) made his triumphant return and had a fun staredown with El Grande Americano II (Ludwig Kaiser). However, at number 14, we saw a debut of epic proportions. Royce Keys, previously known as Powerhouse Hobbs in AEW, made his way into the ring and actually lasted quite some time before being eliminated by Bronson Reed.
We also saw a couple of AAA wrestlers enter the rumble, in Mr. Iguana and La Parka. We even got a tease for Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, which should happen at WrestleMania 42 with Femi getting the win. Also, Drew McIntyre screwed Cody Rhodes and eliminated him, seemingly hinting at his WrestleMania match. However, in the end, Roman Reigns threw Gunther over the top rope to punch his ticket to Las Vegas. It appears we may be getting Reigns and Punk one-on-one.
2. Gunther Ends The “Phenomenal” Career of AJ Styles
While this was a very small card with two hour-plus long matches on it, one of the biggest matches of the event saw AJ Styles put his career on the line against Gunther. Gunther has been on a tear lately, calling himself the “career killer.” He ended Goldberg and John Cena’s careers in 2025, and he looked to start off 2026 in a huge way by taking away their careers.
Gunther and Styles had an instant classic of a match. Many fans were hoping Styles came away with the win here and we’d get to see him have some fun matches with the likes of Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and of course, Finn Balor. However, Father Time truly remains undefeated. Despite a very valiant fight, Styles was no exception, as Gunther choked him out with the referee hesitantly calling for the bell.
After the match, Styles was emotional with the fans cheering him on after the initial shock wore off. The most interesting part about this moment is when Styles took off the gloves and looked to put them in the ring; he threw them back on, posed, and kept them on. Could this be a sign of things to come, maybe in a different promotion? Only time will tell.
The only thing we know for sure is Styles’ career inside a WWE ring for the past 10 years appears to be done. On the post-show, Triple H told fans that he was told by Styles that this marked the end of his “professional wrestling career.” Styles has expressed interest in a more backstage role. Regardless, we’re all very thankful we got to grow up and see the legend that is the “Phenomenal One,” AJ Styles.
1. Liv Morgan Punches Her Ticket To WrestleMania 42, Star-Making Women’s Royal Rumble Match
The show kicked off hugely, with the 30-woman Royal Rumble match taking place. This match was also very star-studded in its own right. We saw the likes of Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Nikki Bella, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, and even NXT’s Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, and Kelani Jordan in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match.
The match started with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss at numbers one and two. The two teased going at it, but ultimately teamed up for a good portion of the beginning of the rumble. Kiana James was the third one in, and she had an absolute star-making performance. While she didn’t last long, what she did with her time in the ring was super special, including lifting Nia Jax for a Samoan Slam.
Lash Legend entered the fray at number 15, and she had probably one of the best performances for a newcomer in Royal Rumble history. She had five eliminations and made it to the final six of the match, becoming the 25th woman eliminated in this one. This was certainly a performance to build off of. We also saw Brie Bella return to an insane pop from the Saudi Arabia audience, and Tiffany Stratton entered at number 30, marking her return to the promotion, too. One of the most shocking moments of the match saw Liv Morgan eliminate her Judgement Day counterpart, Raquel Rodriguez.
In the end, the final three of this match were RAW’s Liv Morgan, SmackDown’s Tiffany Stratton, and NXT’s Sol Ruca. The three fought on the apron in a very dangerous way, where they were inches away from elimination. Ruca went for a Sol Snatcher on Stratton while on the apron, but Stratton countered and threw her down to the ground. Morgan hit an Oblivion on Stratton all while on the apron to win the match. It appears Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer may be the move for WrestleMania 42 in what is sure to be a very good match.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next time
– Scott Mitchell
You can follow me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @Scott44Mitchell
