AI Predicts Royal Rumble 2026 Winners

The 2026 Royal Rumble event is still six months out, with WWE heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in January next year for the annual spectacle. It is hard to predict this far out, so we’ve asked AI to do it for us. Handing ChatGPT some prompts that include picking the winners based on the current day WWE programming, logic, educated guesswork, and more, both a men’s and women’s winner have been selected for next year’s event. We have also asked for some surprises, key moments, and a final four for each Rumble match. As ever with AI, not everything is entirely logical when asking for predictions.

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AI Selects The Women’s 2026 Royal Rumble Winner: Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Joe Camporeale IMAGN — via IMAGN Image Services

Much like current day WWE booking, AI is on board the Rhea Ripley train, giving her a continued push into the 2026 Royal Rumble match next year. In 2023, Ripley won the Royal Rumble match from the number one position, and AI wasn’t holding back in giving her a second Rumble win – becoming just the second ever female star to win the match twice, after Charlotte Flair. This time around, AI predicts that Ripley will enter at the number 16 position.

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AI has given us some of the reasoning behind the decision, with it being very much due to her being presented as a dominant, unstoppable force in WWE. With Ripley perhaps losing some momentum over the last year, AI believes that a Ripley victory would get her firmly back in the mix as a top star and a headline match at WrestleMania 42. Strangely, however, AI has told us that Ripley is going for a three-peat Royal Rumble win, despite only winning one match before. Like we said, AI sometimes gets absolutely muddled.

“A Royal Rumble victory would reinforce her as the division’s cornerstone heading into WrestleMania 42.” ChatGPT

When looking across the rest of the women’s Royal Rumble match in 2026, AI has given some further details. The final four competitors in the match include Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, and Bayley – four noteworthy names in the women’s division. In what would likely be a big possibility, AI believes Ripley will outlast her old rival, Liv Morgan, to win the whole thing right at the end. Elsewhere in the field, surprises for the match include the long-awaited return of AJ Lee, the main roster call-up for Jordynne Grace, and a return from Hall of Famer Nikki Bella. For some peculiar reason, AI has also listed Tiffany Stratton as a surprise entrant – maybe AI knows something we don’t!

AI Selects The Men’s 2026 Royal Rumble Winner: Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn Royal Rumble 2025 IMAGN — via IMAGN Image Services

Sami Zayn has not won a Royal Rumble, nor has he ever had a title match at WrestleMania. AI believes 2026 will be his year. It is noted that Sami Zayn has been set up for an underdog journey, and it will be similar to that of the “Yes Movement” or “KofiMania” when he steps into next year’s event, continuing his feud with Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker. AI has also chalked up the setting of Saudi Arabia being a big reason as to why Zayn will win the match.

“Winning the Rumble in Riyadh would pay huge dividends: a heartfelt, global climactic moment for Zayn in front of an international crowd.” ChatGPT

The final four competitors will be star-studded, as AI predicts current World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to be in the mix, following on from various strong Rumble performances in the past, serving as the final man that Zayn will have to overcome to stand tall and win the match. Additionally, both Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have been selected as men who will find themselves in the final moments of the match.

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When it comes to the surprises in the men’s Royal Rumble match, AI has taken a very, very odd approach. Among the “surprises” listed include an NXT call-up for Ridge Holland, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, Rob Van Dam, and most bizarrely of all, WALTER. Yes, AI has listed, verbatim, “Flashback version of Gunther, teased in some fantasy-style moments, like Finn’s Demon.” We have no idea how that would work out.

Are Rhea Ripley & Sami Zayn Likely Royal Rumble Winners?

Sami Zayn is someone who has been thrown around by fans as a potential Royal Rumble winner in 2026, especially since a feud with Seth Rollins has been set up. With Rollins likely to have cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to become World Heavyweight Champions prior to WrestleMania, WWE may finally give Zayn his long-overdue world title victory.

In the case of Ripley, we see this as less likely, especially given that she won a Royal Rumble fairly recently. Another name like Stephanie Vaquer, Iyo Sky, or Jade Cargill feels way more likely.