Stephen Amell did not enjoy Royal Rumble this year.
The TV star has been a lifelong fan of wrestling. Apart from playing the part of a wrestler in Heels, Amell has entered the ring himself and competed at events such as the 2015 SummerSlam and the original All In.
So it was no surprise when the topic of wrestling was brought up during his recent interview with iHeartRadio. He was asked about Roman Reigns winning the 2026 Royal Rumble, and Stephen Amell admitted that he was not a fan of this booking decision:
\”I thought the Rumble was bad. Listen not every show can be great. I thought that like Night 2 of WrestleMania last year, and I was there, I thought that was an A++ night of wrestling. I thought top to bottom, tip to tail, it was great. I thought that this Rumble was…I just didn\’t think it was great.\”
Stephen Amell also commented on the lighting of the venue in Riyadh that received a lot of criticism online. The Arrow star noted how the whole thing made the arena look empty and mentioned that it made the presentation weird compared to previous years:
\”And I just thought that the atmosphere, it seemed weird, like the arena was kind of empty. Or was it? It was just optically, the way that it looks and presents is important. And I thought that it looked and presented poorly, relative to previous rumbles. I\’ve been to I think the last three prior to this in San Antonio, Tampa, and Indianapolis. Those shows were awesome. The atmosphere was great and this one just wasn\’t.\”
Seth Rollins is not confirming nor denying being the Royal Rumble mystery man.
The latest WWE PPV featured yet another sighting of a masked man. The person dressed completely in black attacked Bron Breakker right before his Royal Rumble entrance, taking him out with a stomp. Breakker was then eliminated in mere seconds by Oba Femi, completely foiling the Vision\’s plan for the event.
During a recent chat with Casey Buscher, The Architect addressed the possibility of being behind this attack. Seth Rollins said that his shoulder has not healed completely, while emphasizing that he is not reliant on his upper body as much for his signature move at the same time:
“I’m telling you right now my shoulder is not fine. It is not fine. I cannot pick you up over my head and throw you…it’s not fine. But I don’t need my shoulders to do my signature move. So, again, I’ll just leave it up to you. You can figure it out.”
Austin Theory was revealed as the last mystery man who was involved with The Vision, and he ended up officially joining the faction after his unmasking. Of course, he had been helping the group pick up victories at the time, as opposed to the events of Royal Rumble.
If the previous events are any indication, we will have to wait some time before the latest mystery is solved. Though it will not stop fans from theorizing the outcome of this story.
Brie Bella was worried fans will not know her in Saudi Arabia.
The WWE Hall of Famer\’s return at Royal Rumble this year was possibly the biggest surprise of the show. She had not been among the names rumored for the PPV. Fans were genuinely shocked when her music hit and she received one of the biggest pops of the night.
If you told me one of the biggest Royal Rumble pops was for Brie Bella and her offence, I’d have never taken that back. So happy for her though. Great moment on an otherwise pretty standard show outside of AJ retirement pic.twitter.com/d4MnVYCZ0j
During the most recent episode of the Bellas podcast, the former Divas Champion went into detail of the whole experience. Brie Bella revealed that her first reaction upon getting the call was wondering whether fans in the Middle Easte would even react to her surprise return, as she had never wrestled in the country before:
\”I feel like it\’s just it was meant to be this way and it\’s crazy because doing it in Saudi Arabia, the first thing I thought when I got the call, I was like, \’I don\’t think they know who I am. Could I just wait to debut in Philadelphia?\’ and they\’re like, \’The Saudi people know who you are,” and I\’m like, “Do they?\’\”
Brie Bella later noted that she did not get a lot of time to prepare for the match. While she did not reveal exactly when she got the call, the Total Divas star mentioned that she jumped right into training as soon as she found out, and did everything from weight lifting to boxing in preparation.
Bella Twins made an appearance on this week\’s Raw from Philadelphia and made their intention of going after the Women\’s Tag titles clear. Brie also teased her sister Nikki about her relationship with Cooper DeJean during her promo, and the NFL star has since addressed this interaction. You can check out more about it here.
AJ Styles doesn\’t know if he will ever wrestle again.
A lot of people were sceptical when The Phenomenal One put his career on the line against Gunther at Royal Rumble. Many have remained in denial even after the wrestling veteran lost the bout to the Ring General, speculating that he could go to AEW or NJPW for one final chapter of his career before calling it quits for good.
The fact that AJ Styles decided against putting his gloves in the ring after taking them off following his match, has given fans hope that we might not have seen the last of the legend in the ring. When asked about it during his appearance on Stephanie McMahon\’s podcast, however, the 48-year-old claimed that even he is not sure about the meaning behind the gesture. He seemed to deny any immediate plan to wrestle again, but mentioned that you never know what the future holds:
\”I don\’t know. I don\’t know. Never say never, right? That\’s the saying. And you know there\’s…I know there\’s, I think everybody\’s allowed at least once \’come out of retirement,\’ kind of match. I\’m not saying I\’ll do it anytime soon. I\’m just saying that…\”
Stephanie McMahon mentioned that almost everyone who has called it a career has been lured back to the ring by the thrill of the live crowd. AJ Styles then explained that he might not be able to resist a scenario like getting the chance to share the ring with his son once:
\”What if my son wrestles? The opportunity to tag with him once? You never know. There\’ll be a time when the gloves will never go back on, and it may be now, but we\’ll see.\”
Apart from this, AJ Styles discussed his retirement match and the feeling afterward in length. He talked about the backstage environment after his final bout and sharing the moment with his longtime friends.
This week\’s episode of SmackDown, coming live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featured Axiom taking on Johnny Gargano in a singles match.
The graphics that showed up during the masked star\’s entrance, however, featured the name of Bron Breakker as the #1 entrant for Royal Rumble before it was quickly taken down:
WWE accidentally spoils Bron Breakker being the #1 entrant in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/toXvgXtICR
The #1 spot is usually reserved for talents set for a strong showing in the battle royal, with WWE touting them for the total time spent in the gruelling match, even if they don\’t win.
So it makes sense that someone like Breakker, who is a rising star positioned as a serious world title contender by the company in recent months, would be considered for the spot.
Whether he actually ends up being the #1 entrance or the spot goes to someone else will be revealed on the show this Saturday. In the meantime, it does give people one more thing to discuss alongside all speculation about potential returns and debuts.
Powerhouse Hobbs has been in news in recent weeks with his decision to leave AEW despite a huge offer from Tony Khan. While nothing has been made official yet, he\’s believed to be set for his WWE debut soon with heavy speculations on how the company will choose to introduce him.
Now Fightful Select has provided a big update on the matter. According to them, Hobbs is actually scheduled to be in Saudi Arabia during the Royal Rumble weekend. Though he has not travelled with the rest of the crew as the officials most likely want to keep him hidden till the right moment.
This doesn\’t confirm that he will be entering the battle royal itself, but it\’s the booking choice that makes most sense. The Rumble this year will feature some heavy hitters such as Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Oba Femi.
The former TNT Champion getting to share the ring with such names on his first official night would make his debut more meaningful and establish him as a big star upon his arrival.
Rey Mysterio is in Saudi Arabia despite his injury.
The WWE Hall of Famer suffered an injury during his latest Raw match against Austin Theory. He appeared to have hurt his knee during a hurricanrana attempt outside the ring, and the injury was confirmed when the referee threw the X sign.
PWInsider provided an update on the status of the Luchador ahead of the Royal Rumble. They confirmed that Rey Mysterio has travelled to Saudi Arabia with the rest of the WWE crew. The site also revealed that it\’s actually a rib issue that the veteran is dealing with, instead of the knee injury as originally believed.
They could not provide an update on the severity of the injury, so Mysterio\’s status for the annual battle royal remains uncertain. The officials not pulling him off the long trip to Saudi Arabia, however, suggests that the injury is not very serious.
While the status of Rey Mysterio remains a mystery, there are a couple of other names that seem to be on the road to a Royal Rumble return. You can check out more about it here.
Triple H has promised surprises for the Royal Rumble, and at least a couple of them seem to have been revealed ahead of the show.
Tiffany Stratton is one name that has been highly speculated to make her return to the company, and now Fightful Select has confirmed that the former Women\’s Champion is indeed in Saudi Arabia ahead of the upcoming PLE.
The young star has not been seen on WWE TV since November, with the belief that she has been dealing with an injury. Her last match was against Jade Cargill at Saturday Night\’s Main Event, where she dropped the title to the former AEW star.
Not only that, but Mr. Iguana is also in the Middle Eastern country per the report. The AAA star had a breakthrough year in 2025 after WWE\’s acquisition of the promotion, and has been featured on WWE programming multiple times since then.
On the NXT side, both Sol Ruca and Lola Vice have been discussed for the Women\’s Royal Rumble. Though there is no confirmation on if either of them have travelled with the WWE crew.
There are also some names that have been confirmed to be missing out on the upcoming show, including a former world champion. You can check out more about it here.
Joe Tessitore missed Saturday Night\’s Main Event.
Stephanie McMahon hosted tonight\’s WWE event from Montreal, Canada, alone. In her opening statement, the former WWE Executive revealed that Tessitore could not attend the show because he was stuck in Detroit due to bad weather:
\”Ladies and gentlemen, I\’m Stephanie McMahon, and I\’m incredibly proud to be your host here tonight. My partner Joe Tessitore is unfortunately stuck in an airport in Detroit, MI, where the United States is facing some of the worst weather it has in decades.\”
The company is set to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble PPV after this Monday\’s Raw. With the weather causing delays and cancellations of flights across the East Coast, there had been some speculation that it could also affect the lineup for the upcoming PLE.
Though Fightful Select is reporting that the officials are not expecting the weather to affect the upcoming show. According to them, WWE reps have claimed that they have backup options for backup options, in order to make sure the Saudi Arabia tour goes as planned.
WWE receives significant money from the Kingdom for the shows, and an event like the Royal Rumble is bound to include a bonus on top of the regular event fee.
So it\’s not a surprise that the promotion would have planned for every possibility that can be a cause for concern. You can check out the latest match added to Royal Rumble after tonight\’s Saturday Night\’s Main Event here.
In a whirlwind series of events, Cody Rhodes lost his WWE Championship at the turn of the year, then became the first man to declare himself for the 2026 Royal Rumble. Across the WWE roster, there are few performers more credible to win a Rumble than The American Nightmare, who has done it twice before, main-evented WrestleMania across the last three consecutive years, and certainly remains among the company\’s top stars.
Rhodes winning the Royal Rumble in 2026 is not the way to go, however. In consideration of the long-term prospects for Rhodes and the more immediate future for other talents on the Road to WrestleMania, WWE has to consider other choices.
Now Is Not The Time To Court Fan Backlash Against Cody Rhodes
Image credit: WWE
An uncomfortable reality about Cody Rhodes is that while he may well be WWE\’s purest babyface and top draw, his time as WWE Champion was lukewarm—the first reign not nearly as exciting as the journey he took to get there, the second reign mostly outright flat. As such, having Rhodes positioned back in \”finish the story\” mode all but invites his detractors to get more vocal and for fans on the fence about him to climb on the bandwagon of deriding The American Nightmare.
In addition to fan fatigue with seeing Rhodes on top, right now it looks as though all that position would do would be to place him back into a program with Drew McIntyre. Both men are talented and they do have chemistry. The feud already felt long and largely stalled out, though, by their blow-off match in Berlin. Returning to it for WrestleMania of all shows, just a few months later, doesn\’t serve anyone\’s interests.
WWE Has To Think About Cody Rhodes\’s Future
Image credit: WWE
While Cody Rhodes isn\’t exactly a youngster anymore, there\’s every reason to expect he has another five years or so to go in his prime and another five on top of that before he turns fifty, which, by modern standards and barring significant injuries, seems to be the point when top guys seriously eye retirement nowadays.
Could Rhodes tie Stone Cold Steve Austin as the only three-time Royal Rumble winners? It\’s possible, but hardly a certainty. It\’s all the less likely The American Nightmare will break through as the only four-time Rumble winner, though. As such, WWE should keep an eye on the future, leaving the possibility of Rhodes winning another Rumble for further down the road so they haven\’t booked themselves into a corner.
Indeed, just about every top star cycles in and out of world title contention. In the interest of returning to Rhodes as QB1 again at some point, it\’s best for WWE to show some restraint in the here and now.
Cody Rhodes Has Compelling Stories To Tell Away From Either World Title Picture
Image credit: WWE
As the emergent issue between Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu has illustrated, there are interesting things for him to do away from either world title picture. Indeed, a serious feud with Fatu has demonstrated value in-ring and on the mic. Moreover, it offers a blueprint for The American Nightmare working with other less-established talents to get over fresh upper-card and main event-level acts.
Indeed, after Rhodes is done with The Samoan Werewolf, he has some unfinished business with Oba Femi from the final Saturday Night\’s Main Event of 2025, not to mention The Vision offering a fresh slate of opponents were Rhodes or the faction to flip brands or were WWE to erode the boundaries between Raw and SmackDown as they often do, especially around WrestleMania season.
Rhodes spending a year focused on heated personal issues and getting others over could be just the ticket for him to feel fresh in a world title picture again coming out of that experience.
There Are Better Choices For This Year\’s Royal Rumble
Image credit: WWE
Winning a Royal Rumble is a unique accomplishment, itself just shy of—or arguably even on par with—winning a world title. It means going into the history books for winning what\’s usually one of the most memorable and entertaining matches of the year, besides booking a world title shot for WrestleMania.
The story of Cody Rhodes winning back-to-back Rumbles in 2023 and 2024 was largely excellent, paying off with an all-time great WWE moment when he finally pinned Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. That story\’s been told now, though. While Jey Uso winning the Rumble in 2025 was deeply polarizing, there\’s no denying it was a surprise and was instrumental in elevating a career tag team and mid-card act to bona fide main event status (at least for a few months).
There are other talents who could use their first Rumble win much more than Rhodes could use his third. Guys like Bron Breakker, Sami Zayn, and LA Knight immediately come to mind as acts that only need a small nudge to break through to a new level of stardom that this kind of victory can offer.
Finn Balor has newfound momentum and there is a story to be told of him scraping his way to another world title shot at WrestleMania this year. While he\’s already a main eventer, winning a Royal Rumble is among the few things Gunther hasn\’t accomplished yet and could help bridge the gap from being in the cast of top guys to being \”the man\” in WWE. Oba Femi could also make a truly iconic splash officially launching his main roster run with this kind of win.
On top of all the aforementioned options, Roman Reigns has to be considered a favorite, with only one Royal Rumble victory to his name, dating back over a decade at this point. The OTC has stayed away from the title picture for nearly two years now and is one of the more attractive options to challenge CM Punk or Drew McIntyre (assuming they carry their titles into WrestleMania).
With the possible exceptions of CM Punk and Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes is the top guy in WWE today. All indications are that he has years ahead of him in that role. That said, The American Nightmare doesn\’t need another Royal Rumble win, at least for now, and it\’s in WWE\’s best interest to look elsewhere for who wins the big match this year, kicking off the Road to WrestleMania 42.
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![https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2026/01/\"Cody](https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2026/01/\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2026/01/cody-rhodes-smackdown-after.jpghttps://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2026/01/\")
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