WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Pre Show Global Start Times: US, UK, Australia and more

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 30-Woman Match

If you want to catch all the analysis, hype packages, and last-minute updates before the opening bell, the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre show start time is Saturday, January 31 at 1 p.m. ET, which is one hour before the main card begins at 2 p.m. ET.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre show start time in the United States (ET, CT, MT, PT)

For fans in the US, the easiest way to remember the kickoff is simple: 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. That puts the pre show at lunchtime for most of the country, with the main show following an hour later.

US pre show start times (Saturday, Jan. 31):

  • 1:00 p.m. ET
  • 12:00 p.m. CT
  • 11:00 a.m. MT
  • 10:00 a.m. PT

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre show start time in the UK (GMT)

UK viewers get a rare treat this year thanks to the earlier start time. With the main card set for 7 p.m. GMT, the Royal Rumble 2026 pre show in the UK starts at 6 p.m. GMT on Saturday, January 31.

That means you can watch live without staying up into the early hours, and still roll straight into the main card at 7 p.m.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre show start time in Australia (AEDT) and New Zealand (NZDT)

Because of the time difference, the kickoff lands on Sunday morning in Australia and New Zealand.

Australia and NZ pre show start times:

  • Australia (Sydney, AEDT): 5:00 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 1
  • New Zealand (Auckland, NZDT): 7:00 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 1

Netflix has also promoted the event for Australian viewers on the morning of Feb. 1.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 pre show global start times table

Here are the most searched time zones for the Royal Rumble 2026 kickoff show (all based on 1 p.m. ET).

Region / Time ZonePre Show Start Time
US (ET)1:00 p.m. Sat, Jan. 31
US (PT)10:00 a.m. Sat, Jan. 31
UK (GMT)6:00 p.m. Sat, Jan. 31
Europe (CET)7:00 p.m. Sat, Jan. 31
Saudi Arabia (AST, UTC+3)9:00 p.m. Sat, Jan. 31
India (IST)11:30 p.m. Sat, Jan. 31
Australia (AEDT)5:00 a.m. Sun, Feb. 1
New Zealand (NZDT)7:00 a.m. Sun, Feb. 1

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Jake Skudder
Jake Skudder

Jake is an SEO-minded Football, Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief, Sports SEO Coordinator for NationalWorld and SEO Writer for F4Wonline.com. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012 under the name Jake Jeremy. His work has also been featured on Wrestling Headlines, Wrestlingnewsco, HotNewHipHop, The Hard Times and Sportskeeda.

Previously, he worked as the Editor in Chief of 24Wrestling, building the site profile with a view to selling the domain, which was accomplished in 2019. Jake was previously the Editor in Chief for FightFans, a combat sports and pro wrestling site that was launched in January 2021 and broke into millions of pageviews within the first two years. He previously worked for Snack Media and their GiveMeSport site, creating Evergreen and Trending content that would deliver pageviews via Google as the UFC and MMA SEO Lead. Jake managed to take an area of GiveMeSport that had zero traction on Organic and push it to audiences across the globe. Jake also has a record of long-term video and written interview content with the likes of the Professional Fighters League, ONE and Cage Warriors, working directly with the brands to promote bouts, fighters and special events.

He previously worked for the (then) biggest independent wrestling company in the UK, PROGRESS Wrestling, as PR Head and Head of Media across the social channels of the company.