The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 moved to its next location, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
PW Insider reported that WWE had made it official to conduct the Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia. This is the fifth such event in WWE’s current agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which started with the company in 2018.
WWE and Saudi Arabia have had a love-hate relationship mainly down to political and human rights issues. However WWE has remained persistent with this partnership due its financial returns and global visibility that such tournaments present to WWE.
In 2024, WWE signed a new beefed up deal with the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority to potentially host big name events like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. Now that Royal Rumble 2026 is set to be held in Saudi Arabia, it seems they’ve finally got what they wanted.
Saudi Arabia Relations of WWE
The Kingdom and WWE in a strategic partnership started in 2018 signing an agreement whereby the latter would begin to stage several premium live events each year in the Kingdom. As we have witnessed through Royal Rumble in KSA, events such as Crown Jewel, Super ShowDown among others has happened whereby astounding fans from across the globes and featuring high-profile matches.
However, the decision to conduct events has been criticized because of the vague policies of the Saudi Arabia government. Some people believe that WWE ignores all human rights problems in order to make money through a partnership. WWE, however, justifies it under the vigorous stand taken aiming at global outreach.
They wanted to know why Saudi Arabia should host Royal Rumble 2026?
Royal Rumble is one of the trademarks of WWE’s and, at the same time, one of the anticipated match types. Conducting this major show in Saudi Arabia goes a long way in clearing WWE’s intention of venturing more into the Middle East. It will have probably all the favorite stars, occasional newcomers, and some a-features that make any event of the Royal Rumble a spectacle worth waiting for.
This is because Saudi Arabia holds such a massive event key in its Vision 2030 plan to try and woo entertainments and sports worldwide to the region.
Predicting the Match Card for Royal Rumble 2026
The Royal Rumble 2026 should offer what the event is most known for – the 30 persons in elimination over the ropes battle royal for males and females. There could also be a championship match as well as appearances by legends, and of course, there could well be plenty of twists. WWE events have always been popular in Saudi Arabia, and people can expect the event to be crowned with great showiness as the country remains highly appreciated for its shocking and large-scale arrangements.
This year’s Royal Rumble event heading to Saudi Arabia is quite a brazen move on the part of WWE in its diversification efforts. Still, it would remain for debate if the decision is great, but, undoubtedly, the cooperation with Saudi Arabia remains an important facet of the WWE’s management strategy. People all over the expected fans will be eager to see how this unique occurrence transpire.