Raw Recap - Full Royal Rumble 2026 preview: Raw Recap, Jan. 30, 2026

0:28We always recommend Shopify. I honestly can't believe that we are here. It is Royal Rumble time, and that's why we are here on the podcast. Myself, Sam Roberts, and Megan Morant to preview the 2026 Royal Rumble. We are days away from finding out who will the first two superstars be that get WWE championship matches at WrestleMania. Does it feel like it's Royal Rumble? not season weekend not entirely but it certainly will on saturday and i mean gosh there's i feel like this year specifically sam there are so many cases to be made or who could win the rumble and and what that sets in motion as we make our way to wrestlemania yes i think my one of my favorite things about this year and the royal rumble and this season and everything that's happening already is that like the title picture is so up in the air even without the rumble the idea that drew mcintyre beat cody rhodes for the wwe championship before the royal rumble expect the unexpected the idea that already this year cm punk's defended the world heavyweight championship three different times he defended against braun breaker he defended against finn balor and he defended it against aj styles and if he keeps defending it at that level there's no way you can sit there and guarantee that Punk will even be the world heavyweight champion going into WrestleMania.

1:58I mean, and so then you start looking at all the people that are in both the and you look at on the women's side, right? Jade Cargill has been dominating everybody on SmackDown, but over on Raw, Raquel Rodriguez and Stephanie Vaquer have been at each other's throats for weeks. So you look at the feels in both of these Rumble matches, and then you look at the reality of the title picture and you realize that like this is one of the rare rumbles as much as every rumble sure anything could happen where you're looking at this going anything could happen. Yeah, I could see so many different scenarios playing out and also who's to say that the titles don't switch again before WrestleMania.

2:42Exactly right. Right, and how the context of the winner of the Royal Rumble might relate to a champion that we don't even know will be the champion by the time we get to WrestleMania. It's always fun, right? Because there are some years, I talk wrestling with people. I don't know if you know that. You do? I do. I do. From time to time, it comes out. Do you enjoy that? I like to talk about wrestling. I do. Good, good. I do. Microphones, personal life, phones, texting, whatever it is. We talk about wrestling. And there are some years where it's like, who do you think is going to win the Royal Rumble?

3:12This guy. Who do you think? yeah it's this guy yeah it's that guy yeah it's this guy it's always it's it's like we know it's like a unanimous every wrestling fan sees that it's whatever guy's turn to win the rumble or other years it's like two superstars it's either with this one or it's that one i could see both and i think this year in both the men's and the women's royal rumbles every time i have this conversation with somebody you're finding different theories different ideas different well this person could win because then they would do that which would lead to this it's really really fun I mean it's crazy too you bring up Raquel Rodriguez and Stephanie Vaqueran they've been at each other's throats but there's so many different women that in an instant could immediately be in that world title picture Liv Morgan is one of those Rhea Ripley EO Sky Tiffany Stratton yeah Charlotte I mean the list goes on and on and on of a woman that just needs a moment to be back in that world title picture and it's always fun you know at the Royal Rumble there are because so much focus is on the two Royal Rumble matches because there may be the funnest matches of the entire year I think it's the best time to start being a wrestling fan I think it's the best sort of snapshot of what the WWE looks like in that specific era like I just I just love them so much it's crazy because before I got hired with WWE yeah I had a call with Michael Cole and he said okay I want you to start watching wrestling this weekend and uh there's this pay-per-view on called the Royal Rumble.

4:36I think you're really going to like it. Really? So for me, the Royal Rumble marks when I became a wrestling fan. It marks when you marked. That's right. That was the mark of you becoming a mark. And I fell right in. That's amazing. It's the best though. You know what? I got to call my assistant and make sure she's watching the Royal Rumble because we're going to lock her in. I think everybody's going to get locked in. However, you look at these Royal Rumbles and so much attention goes on to this match. But then there are some Royal Rumbles where the matches on the PLE that are not the Rumble match are just as kind of noteworthy, memorable.

5:15And I think looking ahead at the Royal Rumble this year, you've got two massive singles matches with ridiculous implications. So let's start there. Let's start. And this is how you know you have an insane card for a show. let's start with the WWE championship match. Let's start with Drew McIntyre versus a guy who had to win a singles match on SmackDown that got him into a fatal four-way at Saturday night's main event that gets him to this title match at the Royal Rumble. Sami Zayn, who has been hell-bent on getting that one championship that he's never had. And also us, the fans, have been waiting for Sami to have this moment.

6:03Sami Zayn almost had the moment in Montreal a couple years ago when he faced Roman Reigns. I don't think Roman would say he almost had it. Well, we had hope. We had hope. We had hope. We had hope. That this was Sami's chance, and Sami hasn't given up. And Sami made it clear that when the year began, when the calendar turned 2026 set for him, this is the year. So we look at the Royal Rumble, and we're coming up with these scenarios. Are they going to go after Punk? Are they going to go after Drew? What about Sami? And Sami and Riyadh? Well, yeah, that's another big thing. That the Royal Rumble is taking place in Riyadh in a stadium that was built for the Royal Rumble.

6:40I have been really enjoying seeing all the superstars posting on Instagram. I saw Matt Cardona, as soon as his plane touched down, he went right to Six Flags. He had to. I saw Liv Morgan went right to SneakerCon Riyadh. I love that. It's like everybody found the thing that is exactly right for them. Riyadh season, baby. Maybe it's got something for everybody. It really does, doesn't it? It does. So, but you're right about the location being Riyadh being so important because we know how much the fans there love Sami Zayn. And we know how important it is for Sami to wrestle in Riyadh. And the fact that he gets the opportunity, he becomes the number one contender in Montreal, the city where he had the match with Roman Reigns.

7:23The city where he was born and raised. for the title match in Riyadh is absolutely nuts. It's poetic. It's a beautiful story. But you talk about moments, and you're right. Fans have been waiting for the Sami Zayn moment for a long time, and Sami's been waiting for the Sami Zayn moment for a long time, and Sami told that story on SmackDown about sitting ringside for John Cena's final match, and his son asking him, well, why haven't you ever won? Oh, and then Drew McIntyre coming out on SmackDown and just calling, you know, Sammy's son's father, who is Sammy, a loser. But he did lose the title match.

8:04Well. You know, the kid's got to learn sometime. Would you like it if someone looked your son in the eye and said your father is a loser? No, because they'd be lying. So anyway. All right, moving on. so there's another moment though that drew mcintyre has been waiting for since this event six years ago since the 2020 royal rumble drew mcintyre felt like his moment got robbed because he won the 2020 royal rumble and had the whole world at his fingertips and headed into WrestleMania to face Brock Lesnar and the world shut down. And his moment, quote unquote, happened in front of nobody. It was a fan on the ceiling.

8:50It was nothing. I mean, everybody was locked down. After one of the greatest Royal Rumbles of all time. My favorite. My favorite Royal Rumble. So far. We'll see how this weekend goes. But that moment that we saw on SmackDown. And look, it's a different Drew McIntyre now. Oh, yeah. He's a villain. Drew McIntyre. It was as heroic as anyone has ever been in 2020. In 2026, he's a villain. But regardless, Drew McIntyre walking out of that cage in the three stages of hell was a moment that he had been waiting for for all those years. And I think that you can't discount the fact that this whole run that Drew is on, to ignore that and say, well, Sammy deserves his moment at the cost of Drew's moment.

9:39would be the way that Drew looked at it. Like this is, I've been owed this for years now. I understand Sammy wants a moment, but bad timing for Sammy Zane, I think is how Drew McIntyre would look at it. And I mean, I have to imagine, look, there are a lot of people who wonder, you know, how long is Drew actually gonna hold the title for? Kind of want it out of nowhere. Is he gonna lose it out of nowhere too? You know, is this scenario like too perfect? If we're gonna be trading the title around leading up to WrestleMania, wouldn't it be perfect for Sami Zayn to win in Riyadh? Yeah, it's kind of wild because you think about who's held the title before, right?

10:16And it's Roman Reigns. That specific title. Yes, it's Roman Reigns. It's John Cena. It's Cody Rhodes. And it's Drew. It's Drew McIntyre. And so when we look at these title reigns, especially Roman Reigns' title reign, Cody Rhodes' title reign, those were long title reigns. Yeah. Does every title reign have to be that long? No. I mean, Cody's second clearly wasn't that long. John's wasn't that long. And I think that that's a reality of WWE, that sometimes they're long and sometimes they go quick, especially if you take your eye off the ball at any point in time. And that's definitely something that Sami Zayn's going to be looking at.

10:52What about Sami Zayn slapping Drew McIntyre in the face on the SmackDown, last week's SmackDown before Saturday night's main event? I mean, Sami Zayn just wound up and slapped Drew McIntyre across the face. I would imagine that there's a receipt coming for Sami Zayn, but at the same time, could be that bully thing. Could be that thing of like, sometimes when you hit him back, they're never the same again. You know, I wonder how that affects Drew McIntyre. And the fact that not only did Sami Zayn slap him right across the face, and at the time that we're recording this, we haven't seen SmackDown yet, so we don't know what happens there.

11:26But Sami Zayn slapped Drew McIntyre across the face. The next night on Saturday Night's Main Event, Drew McIntyre tries to attack Sami Zayn. unsuccessful. Is that rage something that's going to fuel Drew McIntyre? Or is that rage something that is going to do exactly what I just said, which is have Drew take his eye off the ball? Yeah. And we saw, as you mentioned, Saturday night's main event, Drew getting involved in a match that he really wasn't supposed to be involved with. He wasn't even on the show. No. He wasn't on the card. So don't you think like as the champion, you finally get this moment.

11:56You finally get this championship. Are you talking about the Cody and Jacob match? Yes. Why all of a sudden is Drew McIntyre? He already beat Cody Rhodes. No, you're right. You're right. And he has to defend the title. I know. But honestly, like, when Drew explained why, you can ask why, but Drew explained why. And when he did that promo that he cut on Saturday Night's Main Event, it was, if I'm being honest, it was the first time I was like, oh, he might be in it for the long haul. This might not be one of those quick things. when he took that microphone and he did not give Kathy Kelly room to breathe.

12:30He took that microphone from her and said, I'm the champion. If you have my name in your mouth, I'm gonna come out here and I'm gonna beat you up. I'm gonna punish you for it. I'm the guy running SmackDown now. There's no sort of, oh, well, you know, Drew's the champion, but Cody's still the guy. No, I'm the guy. And if you have something to say about me, I'm gonna show up and it's gonna cost you. Now with that as his mentality, I think Sami Zayn would beg to differ. I slapped you right across the face. You haven't done anything, Drew. Do you think Drew in a way feels like an underdog champion?

13:05100%, 110%, 150%. Yes. How many times did he step up for the world title and not get it? Yes, of course I do. Why do you think we all, I got the siren out when Drew McIntyre won the title. Why? Because nobody expected it. Even if you expected it, you didn't expect it. Of course you've used him. I believe 100 % he views himself as an underdog champion. And I think character, real life, unreal, real, however you want to call it. I think that Drew McIntyre is in a position right now where regardless of what anybody's plan is, he's the one holding the WWE championship. And you're going to have to peel it from his cold, dead hands.

13:45Do something about it. Do something about it. That's exactly right. If you don't want me to be the champion, do something about it. And that's what I think for Sami Zayn could be a problem in Riyadh, right? You just laid it out. He wins the opportunity in Montreal, in his hometown. Yes. He's going to Riyadh, right? The story writes itself. Sami loves to wrestle in Riyadh. It means so much to Riyadh that he's there. The crowd absolutely loves him. But is Sami running into Drew McIntyre at the wrong time? I think so. I do too. I think, yeah, I think there's a worse time running into Drew McIntyre.

14:22Drew McIntyre is a guy right now that's like all that nonsense that I was spewing about myself being so great. As it turns out, it was true. Because I got this championship. I have the championship. Everybody else. Look at the other guys who have held this championship. John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Drew McIntyre. Dog, it's a Mount Rushmore. I know. And you don't even like Mount Rushmore. No, but I got to say, I would visit that one. You know, I mean, it literally is. And he's like, you know, this doesn't happen by mistake. Yep. And so we'll see, though. This is like his first title, big title defense on a PLA.

14:59He's got to come across as champion. He's got to make people believe he's champion. And he's got to beat a guy like Sami Zayn in Riyadh to stay champion. My pick, I think Drew's breaking hearts. I don't think Sami Zayn's getting that title at the Royal Rumble. You know, it's funny because walking down the stairs into this basement, I'm like, you know, I think Sami might do it. new champion, switch things up in WWE. Now we've had this conversation and I'm right. And you're right. I'm going, oh my gosh, who's going to beat Drew right now? That's what happens in this basement. Yeah, I know. Everybody just like, whatever Sam says.

15:37No, but seriously, I was thinking of a world if Sammy won the championship. I think Sammy Zayn winning is more possible than people think. Of course. And like, I think we're in a space. I mean you look at the Royal Rumble like the men's Royal Rumble for example they've barely announced anybody in this thing but it's full well Adam Pearce said it was full Adam Pearce said it's full which leads me to believe they got a lot of plans I saw Triple H on first take talking about all the surprises going on at the Royal Rumble which is crazy because it's hard to surprise people when you're flying into Riyadh but guess what I can't fill this 30 minute but I say all that to say if that's the vibe that we're going for and that maybe this first quarter of 2026 is going to be all about maybe expecting the unexpected, Sami Zayn winning the title would be unexpected.

16:31For me, I don't think it's going to happen. I think Drew retains. You agree with me? I do. That's what I'm talking about. Okay, now, we got another singles match before we get into these rumbles. And before we do that, everybody getting together celebrating the Royal Rumble? This is a very celebratory thing. Royal Rumble parties are the best. They're literally the best. Yeah. You get out your numbers. Are you in any pools? All the pools. I know. I'm in every single pool. All of them. I'm soaking wet from all the pools that I'm in. It's incredible. But you also got to come correct when you go to these Royal Rumble parties.

17:05And that means getting decked out in Royal Rumble gear. You can get your Royal Rumble gear right now at Fanatics and at WWE Shop. Celebrate WWE's most unpredictable event. This one, maybe more so than any, with official Royal Rumble merchandise and superstar gear from WWE Shop and Fanatics. Shop now and be ready for the chaos. And I wonder what kind of chaos we get in the Gunther versus AJ Styles match. I don't even want to talk about this match. Where AJ Styles' career is on the line. Do you think this is it for AJ Styles? That's a hard question to ask me. I'll be honest with you, I do. I think it's for AJ Styles.

17:51And that's why I don't want to talk about this match. Because it feels more real as the rumble gets closer. When we saw AJ Styles agree to put his career on the line against Gunter, after he talked to his wife, we recorded a podcast, and I said, why is AJ doing this? He can't do this. He can't do this. But then I woke up in the morning. I was like, no, something's going to happen. someone's gonna get involved with the match and and aj's still gonna have a career it's okay we're gonna get to celebrate aj throughout 2026 you're actually on a rare occasion hoping for some kind of schmozzy non-finish because i don't want aj styles to be done wrestling i'm not ready for it i'm not ready for that reality and then i turn on smackdown yeah and i see aj styles backstage with Nick Aldis and they make a match with Shinsuke Nakamura official for the next night at Saturday night's main event and I go uh oh and then I turn on Saturday night's main event and I watch Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance old school with the mask I see AJ Styles entrance and I go uh oh this is getting real and then I watch Monday Night Raw and I learn that the world heavyweight title is on the line and who is CM Punk defending the title against?

19:13AJ Styles. And I go, oh, Sam. We're doing a three-day retirement tour. I feel like this could be it for AJ Styles. And how can you argue any other way when it's Gunter that he's getting in the ring with? You've been consistent about that too, more so than a lot of people. And you're a pragmatic person, I guess. Yeah. Where you're just like, we have to deal with the reality that's in front of us. And you, I feel like, I don't know, maybe since Goldberg, I don't know, maybe since he came back from injury. I don't remember exactly when it clicked for you, but you started bringing this up all the time in a frustrated way.

19:56You weren't happy about it, but every time Gunther stepped in there with somebody, I go, what do you think is going to happen? You go, Gunther, he's inevitable. Yeah. I have been on the radio all week. And I tell you, there is no topic people want to talk about more than this. And everybody has figured out a different way this match can go that does not involve AJ Styles retiring. You know why I think that is? Because they don't want to face the reality that this could be it. They don't want him to retire. Like, he told us. Remember, he was on the podcast with us, I think, building to the John Cena match.

20:33I think it was the Saturday Night's Main Event either the Raw or the Pre we did a podcast with AJ Styles before the Saturday Night's Main Event show and he said my last year is going to be 2026 and he said that in multiple interviews nobody on the planet has ever been like my last year is 2026 it's like oh what are you doing in February no I'll be done before then one month when I tell you when I ask you what happened in 2025 you don't even think about January No. You're barely getting the wheels moving. No. We're not in 2026 yet. It's still runoff. We're just warming up. The 90s didn't start January 1st, 1990.

21:11We had to get the wheels moving a little bit. Mid-March is really when the year starts. That's right. You know? That's right. The Royal Rumble kind of starts the emotion of like, okay, let's get ready. We're moving forward with the year. Not like this happened. That's the end of that for this year. I mean, can you imagine? if AJ Styles retires at the Royal Rumble because of Gunther we sit there and we go let's go to the year in review in December of this year the year in review oh yeah I guess that was AJ Styles last year he wrestled like three matches in the year and was gone before Valentine's Day well and especially because he had the match with Cena in 2025 yeah I mean you kind of link those two together because that's I mean the Cena match will be closer than December of 26 for sure for sure I mean look I'm with you I've said more than anybody that like Gunther is unstoppable unbeatable and like this whole romantic idea that I'm spewing about AJ Styles and having this year and all this stuff like Gunther is the whole everything about Gunther is no you're not getting it cause me like in my mind I go like Like, Vegas is an arm's length.

22:28Let's just get to WrestleMania. We don't have to go any further than that. Just get to WrestleMania. Can we just have one more WrestleMania with AJ Styles? Just one WrestleMania. Probably not because of Gunter. And then Gunter's like, well, we just end it here. And then I'm going to end Michael Cole. And I go, relax, Gunter. Relax, dude. I mean. And this is going to be a classic Gunter match. We're halfway through. You're enjoying the match. Wow. Styles clash. You know, AJ's getting in some offense You think AJ's going to be able to styles clash Gunther? Gunther's a big fella Maybe, we've got to see at least one more styles clash If this is really it, right?

23:03Oh my god, if he lost without doing a styles clash That we've seen in the last one, that's crazy Stop, like this is getting emotional What? I mean, AJ Styles is going to get some offense in And then about three quarters of the way through the match Me and everybody else Is going to realize Who he's in the ring with and how this ends, and I'm going to have to walk out of the room. What if AJ squeaks one by? What if he squeaks one by, and then, you know, Gunther's rebuilds after that? AJ squeaks one by. What if Gunther—okay, what about this? Remember when Gunther tricked the official by tapping on AJ's leg that the referee wasn't looking at?

23:39Yeah, but what does it go down in the record book as? Oh, it's a big dub for Gunther. That's right, and what does it mean if Gunther gets another big dub? That's the end of AJ Styles, but I'm trying to get past that. What if? Bad news. What if Gunther tries a trick like that again, but Rob Zapata or whoever it is, is looking? What if Gunther thinks he's out of the referee's eye shot, but the referee sees it and he sees the tap this time and it's just Gunther just screwed up. So now we've got to continue on, but then AJ Styles gets to continue on. Look, you can present every single case that you want and the argument that I will have back is, but is Gunther.

24:18I hate that argument. But it's legitimate. So you've resigned yourself. Yeah, I'm just preparing for the worst. You do do that sometimes. Getting emotionally ready to be upset. You're still going to be upset, but at least you won't have high expectations that won't be met. I'm prepared for it. I learned from Saturday Night's main event. John Cena, like in December. Yeah, I learned from that. Wow. It made you cold. It made you cold and broken. Look what Gunter did to all of us. I mean, you heard those fans in the post show. You know what Gunther did in December of 2025? What did he do? He took away my childhood.

24:58I'll never, now when I grow up to be a grownup, I'll always remember that as a kid, watching Gunther make John Cena tap out. You've really grown up so fast. I can't believe it. In front of all of our eyes. I can't believe it. I don't even want to pick that. Okay, you have your prediction. I'm not doing a prediction because I'm not going to do it. I don't want to talk about it. Okay. Okay. I'm good with that. Well, listen. Regardless, I'm hoping we get AJ Styles involved with Topps Universe WWE because it's making its hobby debut. It's a bold, comic-inspired take on WWE. Collecting it features a massive 300 base card set, Hall of Famers, current champions, and rising prospects.

25:40Even if it has to be a legend in the set. Put AJ Styles in there. Stunning galactic patterns, vibrant color parallels, bring every superstar to life. Every box guarantees two autographs and one relic. They're going to be big hits in every single rip chase short printed inserts, highlighting iconic storylines, rivalries and unforgettable WWE moments, whether you're hunting grails or building a rainbow tops universe is your ringside seat to the hobbies. Next heavyweight release, find tops universe, WWE on tops.com and in stores. Well, January 30th, which I believe at the time that you're watching, this might be right now or yesterday.

26:18So check that out and get involved in the hobby now. Let's talk turkey here, okay? All right, let's switch the vibe up. We're going to switch the vibe up. Let's get into the Women's Royal Rumble match. So many women in this match. Of course, the winner of the Women's Royal Rumble goes on to WrestleMania to either face the WWE Women's Champion or the Women's World Champion. Up to them right now, Stephanie Vaquer or Jade Cargill. Which, if we learned anything from last year, the championship could change on the way to WrestleMania. It did last year when Io Sky beat Rhea Ripley and won the championship.

26:55It's a great call. We've got, I mean, just to name a few, right? Rhea Ripley is in the Royal Rumble. Io Sky is in the Royal Rumble. Liv Morgan is in the Royal Rumble. Bayley's in the Royal Rumble. Roxanne Perez is in the Royal Rumble. Raquel Rodriguez is in the Royal Rumble. Lyra Valkyria, Asuka, Kairi, Charlotte, Alexa Bliss. Flash legend. Nia Jax. I mean, it's absolutely loaded, as well as you have to believe, because we don't have anywhere near 30 women announced for this match yet. You've got to believe that the surprises that Triple H is talking about are not limited to one Rumble match. You know it's the best part of the Rumble.

27:35You really never know who's coming out when that buzzer hits because of the surprises. Because, I mean, we've had TNA champions in the Royal Rumble. We've had NXT superstars in the Royal Rumble. We've had legends, lots of legends in the Royal Rumble. I mean, I saw Trish Stratus was just on Stephanie McMahon's podcast. Yeah. And she posted a little social video. And it was like, she was walking through WWE HQ and going through the wall of champions. And she looked at Stephanie Vaquer and said, maybe I need to get back into this. Something like Trish Stratus has the itch. I can't imagine. That she doesn't have Triple H on speed dial.

28:16Of course she does. And go, look, I need to scratch this itch. Who knows? Who knows? But when it's Royal Rumble season, you're looking at everything, and it's all a possibility. So, okay. Do you think we have a powerhouse in this thing? Meaning one person in this match that is just going to stand out from the rest of somebody who, whether it's because they get a ton of eliminations, whether it's because they beat down a lot of women, whatever it is. Do you think there's one person that people are going to go and be like, man, that woman put on this, this, this unbelievably powerful performance?

28:54Well, you say powerful. You say power. And I look at who's in the rumble and you can't not talk about Nia Jax and Lash Legend. That's where you're going. And I'm so excited to see this because I think the, at the, I think it was at Evolution, right? We had a women's battle royal. Yeah, I think so. And Lash Legend was so impressive in that. And she's been, she's leveled up ever since she got to the main roster. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what she's capable of. And just her size alone gives her such an advantage in this match. And then combine that with, you know, being friends with Nia Jax.