This year's Royal Rumble will be held in Saudi Arabia. WWE

Big Names Reportedly Returning For The WWE Royal Rumble

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI
By Ethan Schlabaugh | Last updated Jan 2, 2026 4:36 PM ET

The 2026 Royal Rumble event is less than a month away, taking place on January 31st, and the WWE roster will be heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the country hosting one of the company's big five PLEs for the first time.

While no matches besides the titular Royal Rumble bouts have been confirmed, there are some updates on several WWE superstars who might be returning around the week of the show, including a few injured names who have healed up, which could mean major returns during the Rumble itself.

Superstars scheduled to return

Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that multiple stars, including Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, LA Knight, Tiffany Stratton, and others, are set to return in Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble. There isn't confirmation on whether these names will be on the show as of yet, but they will be around in some capacity.

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Brock Lesnar, of course, works a very limited schedule, only wrestling twice last year and showing up for bigger events such as the Royal Rumble. Randy Orton has been gone since October, last working a tag match against The Vision on SmackDown alongside Cody Rhodes.

Tiffany Stratton hasn't been seen since dropping the WWE Women's Championship to Jade Cargill, taking some time off after her reign with the belt. While Dominik Mysterio is also scheduled for that week, following the report that his shoulder injury would not require surgery and could see him return in mere weeks.

Chad Gable seems to be recovering from his injury and is another name scheduled for Royal Rumble week in Saudi Arabia. Wrestlevotes Radio reports that, despite a possible Gable return, there isn't a plan to move Kaiser away from the El Grande Americano character. Ideas for an angle between Los Americanos, Gable, and the Creeds are being tossed around.

Lastly, Sean Ross Sapp reported that Jacob Fatu is set to return that week as well, and seems in good shape after his dental injury that has kept him off television since October.

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WWE returns from last year

2026 is already on track to be a major year for returning names, but last year had quite a few incredible roster returns as well.

The Royal Rumble is always a great spot for names to re-emerge. AJ Styles would return from a Lisfranc injury, while the women's match saw the returns of Nikki Bella, Charlotte Flair, Trish Stratus, and Alexa Bliss.

Other big moments saw the returns of Jade Cargill at Elimination Chamber, Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 41, Rusev and Aleister Black on Raw and SmackDown respectively, and more.

The viral sensation from TNA, Joe Hendry, also had his own surprise moment after making multiple appearances in NXT and even the Royal Rumble, when he answered Randy Orton's open challenge at WrestleMania.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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