Seth Rollins says he won’t be at WWE Royal Rumble
Seth Rollins isn’t going to be in Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble this weekend — if he can be believed about his own injury status.
While promoting the event on ESPN First Take, Rollins said he won’t be ready to return in time for the Rumble. He injured his shoulder in October 2025 and has been doing well in the rehab process, but WrestleMania is a more realistic timeline for when he’ll be able to return. Whether he’ll be able to compete at Mania depends on whether WWE doctors will clear him in time.
“Lets pump the brakes on me participating in the Royal Rumble. I’m not ready there yet. I just had my rotator cuff done in October. I’ve got a couple months left to go. I wish I could get myself in there, but that’s not going to be the case,” Rollins said on First Take.
“I’ll give it away: I’m not going to be at the Rumble. I just can’t. I would love to be in there and dump all those dudes over the top rope, punch my card to WrestleMania. But the doctors are just not going to let it happen this time around unfortunately.”
Rollins has admitted that he blew his credibility when it comes to injuries when he participated in the fake knee injury angle prior to SummerSlam last year. This is a legitimate injury, though, with Rollins having hurt his shoulder against Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel: Perth. Rollins was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship after that, and WWE ran an angle where he was betrayed by Bron Breakker and the rest of The Vision.
Riyadh is hosting the Royal Rumble this Saturday (January 31). The PLE has a 2 p.m. Eastern start time airing on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.
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.