The Royal Rumble is synonymous with surprise entrants. In 2025, nobody expected Alexa Bliss to return at the Royal Rumble. In the 38 years history of the event there have been some truly great Royal Rumble surprises. The 2026 Royal Rumble will be in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and the WWE is getting in excess of $100 million dollars to host this event. The show will happen on 31st January 2026. Take a look here at WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Match Card Predictions
Let’s look at the Potential Surprise Entrants in the 2026 Royal Rumble Matches
Women’s Royal Rumble 2026 - Potential Surprise Entrants
AJ Lee
AJ Lee has not been seen in WWE ever since Survivor Series Wargames. It will be 2 months and she suffered a huge personal loss during this time. The WWE would love to have her appear at the Royal Rumble. It would be an incredible surprise and the fans in Riyadh would cheer for her throughout. AJ Lee would be a serious contender to win the Royal Rumble.
Mickie James
Mickie James is a free agent and she would want to appear in WWE again. Nick Aldis has been in WWE for over 2 years. The Royal Rumble would be a perfect opportunity to make her return to WWE. Nobody would be expecting this and it would be one hell of a surprise. It could be like the Alexa Bliss moment of 2026. She is an all time great and would love one last proper run with WWE.
Paige
The third woman that could make an appearance at the Royal Rumble as a surprise is Paige. Paige has expressed her desire to return to WWE as a wrestler. She has shown that she would want to have Banger matches. The fans in Riyadh would welcome her with open arms and hearing that music again would be a welcome surprise. She and AJ Lee could have another moment at the show.
Men’s Royal Rumble 2026 - Potential Surprise Entrants
Chris Jericho
The biggest surprise at the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble could be Chris Jericho. He has left AEW and he will return to WWE in the near future. To make his return at the Royal Rumble and have over 35,000 fans go crazy will be a great moment. The fans are waiting for Y2J to come back to WWE and Royal Rumble would be a perfect occasion.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Royal Rumble 2026 is in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and that is the only reason that this name is in the list. Stone Cold Steve Austin could make a shocking appearance at this Royal Rumble. The WWE is getting so much money that they could give Stone Cold some of it and have him appear. It would be a legendary moment and he could interact with the likes of Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes.
Dolph Ziggler
There will be some TNA involvement at the Royal Rumble as it has been the case over the past few years. One of the biggest TNA stars is Nic Nemeth but he is known to WWE fans as Dolph Ziggler. The pop that he would get if his music plays at the Royal Rumble would be deafening. It will be one of the biggest moments of his career.
