Wrestling Ratings- WWE Royal Rumble 2026

 

Location- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Venue- Riyadh Season Stadium, King Abdullah Financial District

Commentary- Michael Cole & Wade Barrett

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner- Liv Morgan

Rating- 7/10

AJ Styles VS Gunther- If AJ Loses, He Must Retire

Winner- Gunther

Rating- 8/10

Sami Zayn VS Drew McIntyre (Champion)- WWE Undisputed Championship

Winner- Drew McIntyre 

Rating-6/10

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner- Roman Reigns 

Rating- 5/10

Overall Thoughts- Sami VS Drew really picked up towards the end. Loved the trash talking from Drew, the hard slaps across the face, and a clearly exhausted Sami fighting back. I never believed Sami had a real shot at winning the belt, because we’re too close to Wrestlemania, so maybe there’s a chance they’re saving Zayn’s big moment for Vegas. Still, a solid match, and I’m glad they’re giving Drew a real sustained run as champion. 

Styles VS Gunther is my pick for the best match at the Rumble. AJ emptied the tank. Styles threw everything he had at Gunther to keep his career alive, but The Ring General was just too much for him. Too relentless, too nasty, and too physical. AJ tried to make that one last push to win, but Gunther shut down all of his comeback attempts.

Gunther is reaching a point, where he doesn’t necessarily need a world title. Goldberg, Cena, and now Styles. Gunther has retired a number of big legends, but sometimes I get the feeling Gunther’s character is becoming a bit too comical and hokey. Staying in the realm of “Legend Killers,” Randy Orton was far more sadistic and mean-spirited, when he bullied and went up against Mick Foley and other veteran wrestlers, who were either retired or still active. A really good match, and AJ strikes me as one of those guys, who’ll be serious about staying retired.

The women had the better Royal Rumble match. The best friends forever stuff between Alexa Bliss and Charlotte was good for a few laughs. The comedy spots were well-placed, and the overall match had a better flow to it. The women’s Rumble did an excellent job of pushing and showcasing the women from NXT and new, or newer faces on the main roster, including Lash Legend, Jacy Jayne, Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, and Giulia. Also, Liv finally winning the big one works as a feel good story.

The Men’s Royal Rumble wasn’t terrible, but it was painfully obvious Reigns was winning this one. Cody winning three years in a row would’ve been overkill. Yes, the Rumble had numerous main event or main event ready guys. But looking at the landscape for WWE’s world title picture across Raw and Smackdown, Reigns was really the only guy, who made sense to win the whole thing.

If I had to pick out a few positives from the Men’s Rumble, I’d have to go with Oba Femi and Je’Von Evans. Femi made a strong impression with a dominant run before his elimination. Evans showed off his endurance. He had a number of impressive high spots, and Evans’ close calls for escaping eliminations really worked.   

Show Highlights-

-Liv Morgan wins Women’s Royal Rumble 

-Brie Bella returns during Women’s Royal Rumble

-Tiffany Stratton returns as the 30th entrant in the Rumble

-Gunther retires AJ Styles, Styles seemingly puts an end to his in-ring career during post-match farewell 

-Drew McIntyre retains WWE Undisputed Championship

-Mysterious hooded man attacks Bron Breakker before entering the Rumble, Breakker is instantly eliminated by Oba Femi

-Royce Keys/Powerhouse Hobbs debuts in Men’s Royal Rumble match

-Roman Reigns wins Men’s Royal Rumble

Overall Rating- 6/10

Wrestling Ratings- WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event- December 13, 2025

 

Location- Washington, D.C.

Venue- Capital One Arena 

Hosts- Stephanie McMahon & Joe Tessitore

Commentary- Michael Cole & Wade Barrett

Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Champion) VS Oba Femi (NXT Champion)- Champion VS Champion

Winner Via Disqualification- Oba Femi

Rating- 7/10

Sol Ruca (With Zaria) VS Bayley (With Lyra Valkyria)

Winner- Sol Ruca

Rating- 7/10

AJ Styles & Dragon Lee VS Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater

Winners- AJ Styles & Dragon Lee

Rating- 6/10

John Cena VS Gunther

Winner- Gunther

Rating- 9/10

Overall Thoughts- Oba Femi VS Cody Rhodes was a solid opener. I never believed Femi had a chance of winning, but Cody did a great job of selling Oba’s offense. In the end, Femi proved he’s more than capable of holding his own against the top guy in the company, and that still counts as another huge notch on his belt. 

Drew McIntyre’s interference to end the match was the right call. We’re talking about a match, where both guys couldn’t afford to lose clean. Cody is the top babyface, so you might as well go ahead and put Oba in one of the Wrestlemania main events, if the plan was for Cody to lose. Drew interferes, pours more gasoline on his feud with Cody, and Oba is upset, because there’s a chance he could’ve won.

Sol Ruca and Bayley had a strong competitive match. Lots of good back and forth action in this one. Sol squeaked out a win over a big name in the women’s division, and Bayley walks away without any real damage. She almost had Sol, but SOMEONE from NXT had to pick up a clean win. No champions or titles were involved, so this match was the perfect scenario for Sol to defeat Bayley. 

I really wish the tag team match could’ve gone longer. The fast paced action from AJ, Dragon Lee, Leon Slater, and Evans was fantastic, but I still believe this match needed more time to breathe and develop. Although, I understand why they felt the need to rush things. The match before John Cena’s retirement match is a tricky spot to be in. I’m guessing the powers that be didn’t want to take any chances on a deflated or burnt out crowd. 

John Cena rides off into the sunset! The match started out at a slow and methodical pace, favoring Gunther’s style, until Cena could find an opening to start his comeback. Considering the fact that this was Cena’s big farewell, I was expecting the match to have a more epic feel to it, but Cena’s swan song was still a strong send-off. 

John truly emptied his tank, throwing everything he had left at Gunther, but it still wasn’t enough. Gunther, the persistent and brutal villain, was just too much for him to overcome in the end. The Ring General squashed all of Cena’s spirited offensive bursts. But what’s important for me is, Cena was genuinely having fun in the ring, soaking it all in, and you can really see it with the setup for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. 

Cena tapping out to end his career? I’m fine with it. The look of relief on Cena’s face, complete with the slow and soft tap out, when Gunther had him in the sleeper hold, works for a memorable moment. Yeah, I know “NEVER GIVE UP!” is one of Cena’s bigger taglines, but John didn’t have anything left to give. Gunther relentlessly beat the crap out of him. John left it all in the ring, one last time before he walks away. 

Gunther was the perfect opponent for Cena. He’s a dastardly heel and a strong character. Gunther always comes off as someone, who’s genuinely unlikable. He’s a bully and a condescending dick, with a pompous superiority complex. Also, Gunther really needed a strong win after tapping out to Jey Uso at Wrestlemania, and the world title loss to CM Punk at Summerslam.

The post match celebration and the video package was a nice touch. It’s a fitting end for Cena to quietly walk off into the sunset. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy, who would want a lot of hoopla with lots of pyro during a long and drawn out ceremony.

Punk and Cody giving Cena their world titles was a cool moment, but it’s hard to ignore the boos and the heckling for Triple H. I couldn’t get into Cena’s heel run. It was too forced, and they didn’t have enough time to get it right. Sure, Cena selling his soul to The Rock at Elimination Chamber was a shocking moment. But Rock completely disappearing just killed whatever they might’ve had planned in the long run. 

John Cena of all people turning heel is a monumental occurrence. It’s the kind of storyline that needs to be fleshed out, because one year with limited dates is not enough time to stuff, or compress a run that lasted twenty plus years. Too many fine details, and the idea of John Cena possibly ending his career as a bad guy just doesn’t work. 

Show Highlights-

Oba Femi holds his own against Cody Rhodes

Sol Ruca defeats Bayley

R-Truth and Joe Hendry beat up and embarrass The Miz

John Cena delivers one final salute and thanks the fans for years of support 

Overall Show Rating- 8/10