WWE crowns men’s Royal Rumble 2026 winner

At WrestleMania, Roman Reigns has the chance to ascend back to the summit of WWE.

Reigns will challenge for either the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April. He earned the title shot by winning the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, entering at number 22 and outlasting the rest of the field to win the Rumble for the second time in his career.

The final four left at the end were Reigns, Gunther, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul. It came down to Reigns and Gunther after their respective eliminations of Paul and Orton. Reigns hit a spear on Gunther — who was pulling double duty after having already defeated AJ Styles earlier in the night — and then threw him over the top rope for the victory.

WWE has not yet confirmed which champion Reigns will be challenging at WrestleMania. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre are the current title holders.

The last time Reigns held WWE gold was his record-breaking World Championship run that was ended by Cody Rhodes in 2024. In today’s Rumble, Reigns and Rhodes were positioned among the biggest threats to win. But Rhodes ended up being eliminated in an angle where McIntyre interfered and blindsided him with a Claymore.

On commentary during the Rumble, WWE briefly mentioned the “controversial” comments Reigns made on The Pat McAfee Show this week. Reigns cut a promo during that appearance where he challenged the rest of the roster to get over — and he said WWE needs to be able to keep up creatively during the times that he’s not around. Though he’s shifted more toward a part-time schedule in recent years, the 40-year-old Reigns said he still feels like he is 25 and is physically good to go.

Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. Liv Morgan will also be challenging for gold at Mania after winning the women’s Royal Rumble.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.