Here’s how to watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026: Start time, full match card

The road to WrestleMania 42 begins today.

The 39th annual WWE Royal Rumble is this afternoon, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. ET. This year, it’s all going down in Saudi Arabia.

As usual, the event is based around the Royal Rumble, a 30-person match where the winner receives the opportunity to wrestle for a world championship at WrestleMania 42 (April 18-19). The men’s winner can choose to challenge for either Raw’s World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown’s Undisputed WWE Championship, while the women have the choice between Raw’s Women’s World Championship and SmackDown’s WWE Women’s Championship.

Both of last year’s champions, Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair, will be back this year.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in to the 2026 Royal Rumble event.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 start time:

Royal Rumble 2026 will begin at 2 p.m. ET, with pre-show coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET.

How to watch WWE Royal Rumble 2026

Royal Rumble is airing exclusively on the ESPN Unlimited streaming service. If you don’t already have access to ESPN via one of the providers listed above, you can subscribe for $29.99/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a lot while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, four of which include ESPN. For $29.99/month, you can get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN with ads; all three without ads costs $38.99/ month.

DIRECTV is another option if you want to tune into WWE Royal Rumble. Many of its streaming plans includes access to ESPN Unlimited and it offers a five-day free trial.

WWE Crown Jewel 2025 card:

• Men’s Royal Rumble match: 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 42
• Women’s Royal Rumble match: 30-woman Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 42
• Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
• Career Threatening match: AJ Styles vs. Gunther (if Styles loses, he will be forced to retire from in-ring competition)

Who is in the 2026 Royal Rumble matches?

Here’s who is confirmed for the Royal Rumble matches so far.

Men

• Cody Rhodes
• Gunther
• Jey Uso
• Rey Mysterio
• Dragon Lee
• Penta
• Roman Reigns
• Solo Sikoa
• Jacob Fatu
• Bron Breakker
• Logan Paul
• Bronson reed
• Austin Theory
• Je’Von Evans
• Oba Femi
• Randy Orton
• Brock Lesnar
• Damian Priest
• Trick Williams
• The Miz
• Ilja Dragunov

Women

• Iyo Sky
• Rhea Ripley
• Roxanne Perez
• Liv Morgan
• Raquel Rodriguez
• Bayley
• Lyra Valkyria
• Asuka
• Chelsea Green
• Jordynne Grace
• Charlotte Flair
• Alexa Bliss
• Nia Jax
• Lash Legend
• Giulia
• Maxxine Dupri
• Becky Lynch

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.