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WWE Royal Rumble 2026: ‘Ones to the Sky’ as Roman Reigns Wins Title Shot at WrestleMania in a Night Full of Unsolved Mysteries

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: WWE

The road to WrestleMania 42 began by turning back to the OTC1, Roman Reigns, to lead the WWE into their Super Bowl of the year, when he survived the 30-man Royal Rumble on Saturday night, January 31 at the 2026. This year’s Rumble emanated for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Earlier in the week, Reigns made a guest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show in a bit of foreshadowing where he put the WWE creative and roster on notice, that in his absence, they were not getting things done since none of the young guy’s stepped up, so now he needs to step back in and right this wrong.

Reigns survived the final four of the stacked Men’s Rumble. When the smoke cleared it was down to Gunther, Randy Orton, Logan Paul and the OTC. In the end, Reigns tossed Gunther over the top rope to secure the victory. Now, he has his pick of which WWE champion to face at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas come April.

If the championship picture stays as it is until then, Roman could go back after the belt he held for an historic four years, the Undisputed WWE Championship, now held by Drew McIntyre or the World Heavyweight Championship held by CM Punk. 

CURB STOMPS

Reigns’ victory was only a part of the story coming out of Riyadh as the Royal Rumble left the WWE Universe with much to ponder. Let’s run back these mysteries.

As entrant #2 Bron Breakker headed to the ring to face off with entrant #1 Oba Femi, a black hooded figure came out of nowhere tossing him outside the ring and giving him the ‘Seth Rollins’-like patented Curb Stomp. Next, he was tossed into the ring for Femi to then officially throw Breakker over the top rope and thus eliminated.

The hooded figure to us was slighter in build than potential suspects: Seth Rollins, Adam Pearce or even Austin Theory, who were all suspect. However, what if it is the ‘Vision’s’ own Logan Paul? Remember, earlier in the week, he was part of a backstage vignette saying that the clique will all help Breakker win the rumble.

Brock Lesnar came out accompanied by his former manager, Paul Heyman. Although, the two in Lesnar’s recent appearances seem to have aligned. Femi, who has tossed out the first several participants easily, came up against the “Beast Incarnate” and went to Suplex City and was then eliminated. Eventually, Lesnar was taken out by L.A. Knight and Cody Rhodes.

Speaking of Roman Reigns, he was all for himself, eliminating his own cousins, Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu. Before Fatu was sent home, he was about to toss Rhodes over the top rope, when Drew McIntyre (who is not in the Rumble) came out of nowhere and Claymore’d him and thus he was eliminated too! Now, Cody’s only current way back to WrestleMania is a win at the ‘Elimination Chamber’ later this month

In the arrivals and returns department: AEW’s former Powerhouse Hobbs entered the Rumble with his new WWE in-ring name of Royce Keys, Chad Gable returned as the Original El Grande Americano, La Parka (who had a run in WCW, but with the running gag of someone different in the skeleton leotard attire) showed up which felt very odd. Kudos to former NXT star Je’Von Evans who has now been called up to the main WWE Men’s roster for a solid first Rumble performance.

LIV IT UP

Photo: WWE

The Women’s Rumble kicked-off the card and in an intriguing plot twist, tag-team partners Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were the number #1 and number #2 participants causing some drama. While they never really went “at” each other, things took a turn during the Rumble when Flair accidentally eliminated Bliss.

In the end, it was Judgment Day’s Liv Morgan who took out the returning-from-injury Tiffany Stratton to win the Women’s Rumble. After two previous second-place finishes, Morgan is heading to WrestleMania with a title shot in the very near future. However, on her way to victory, she double-crossed her former tag partner, and stablemate, Raquel Rodriguez by eliminating her from Rumble contention.

The big stars of the Women’s Rumble were Lash Legend, who while getting so boo’d by the crowd, eliminated several key women and put on quite a show. In addition, props have to go to Sol Ruca, who wound up in the final three with Morgan and Stratton, and delivered her patented Sol Snatcher, only for it to fall apart from there when she was eliminated by Stratton.

The huge pop of the match came when Brie Bella entered at #29. She has been out of in-ring action since 2022’s Rumble. Along with her sister, Nikki, they eliminated Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Will the Bellas make another run for tag team gold? Stay tuned.

However, most everyone thought the #30 entrant would turn out to be Bianca Belair. The EST did not appear, raising questions and concerns if she will ever be able to be cleared to wrestle again, or if the WWE is holding her back for a huge pop on an upcoming RAW or SmackDown, or if she will be in Chicago later this month at Elimination Chamber.

STYLE

Photo: WWE

AJ Styles, just like the Taylor Swift song lyric from her hit song, Style, says “Will Never Go Out of Style,” and that holds true for the Phenomenal One. Sadly, AJ lost with his WWE career on the line via a sleeper hold to “career killer” Gunther in their singles match up.

In the follow-up to last month’s shocking end of John Cena’s legendary career, where the 17-time champ tapped out to the “Ring General,” Styles just passed out. In a shocker, Style came too and was told by the ref, he lost. AJ received a standing ovation from the crowd.

However, this did not feel like the “official” end to Styles career. When it was time for him to remove his wrestling gloves or boots, as is customary when a wrestler says farewell and is retiring from in-ring performance, Styles stopped himself short of doing that. Time will tell if he moves on for another run at TNA or comes to AEW, or if some other thing is at play here.

It should be noted that multiple WWE superstars past and present took to social media including Cena himself, acknowledging Styles incredible work or how emotional it was backstage at the Rumble after he lost to Gunther.

THE WAITING GAME

Photo: WWE

In the weakest match of the night, Syrian-born Sami Zayn, for all intent and purposes the hometown favorite, lost another bid for the world championship to Drew McIntrye, who threw everything at the kitchen sink at Zayn to make him give up or stay down. It was hard to watch Zayn take the beat down, but it also was so monotonous.

With WrestleMania 43 coming to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027, that may be the time that Zayn captures the big prize if the WWE can figure out an engrossing long-term storyline for him, that would give us all the feels around the world and not just in Saudi Arabia a year or so from now.

OVERALL 2026 ROYAL RUMBLE GRADE – B

Now below, check out the highlights from the Royal Rumble 2026, followed by the Michael Fairman Channel’s “What’s Up? Wrestling” post-show.

Then let us know, what did you think of Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan as this year’s Royal Rumble winners? AJ Styles being retired by Gunther? What was your high and low point of this year’s card? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Chase and Brook Lynn Sign Divorce Papers; Are You Glad They Ended Their Marriage or Hoped for a Reconciliation?

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Chase and Willow

Any hopes for a last minute reprieve were dashed when filled with sorrow, Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers in front of a judge in the Dominican Republic on the Monday, October 26 episode of General Hospital.

The judge asked if they really wanted to go through with this, as a teary-eyed Brook Lynn and Chase both hesitated to sign the court documents. They admit that neither of them wants to get divorced, but they both came to the conclusion that too much mistrust has permeated their relationship, and too much has happened between them to stay married.

With that, Brook Lynn decided to put her pen to paper first. She signs the divorce papers. Next, Chase follows suit. They look at each other with tears in their eyes that their marriage is officially over. When the judge went to filing their divorce papers, Chase and Brook Lynn agreed to split custody of baby Phoebe straight down the line 50/50.

Josh Swickard

Courtesy/ABC

THE END OF THE ROAD

Next, the judge returned and gave each a copy of their paperwork. Chase says to Brook Lynn that he thinks that they should each fly back to Port Charles separately, and that he would take another flight home. Chase says goodbye to Brook Lynn and exits. Now alone looking at the empty room, Brook Lynn utters,“Goodbye, Chase.”

Later in the episode, as Brook Lynn flies back home to Port Charles alone, she listens to the message from Tracy (Jane Elliot) telling her she is doing the right thing by divorcing Chase.

Cut to: an emotional Chase who went to the beach. He looked at his wedding ring. Mourning the loss of his marriage, Chase buried his ring in the sand, at the same time Brook Lynn was removing her wedding ring on the airplane.

The drama won’t stop from here for Brook Lynn, because as teased in the GH video spoilers preview for the week, Jude (Wil Traval) will come calling wanting to see his “daughter,” and potentially staking claim to baby Phoebe!  As for Chase, now that he is a free man, will he begin a relationship with his ex-wife, Willow Tait (Katelyn McMullen), with whom he has been completely duped? Stay tuned.

So, were you happy that Brook Lynn and Chase actually ended their marriage? Were you hoping that the two would reconcile at the last minute and realize love can conquer all, or do you think they were being adult about the situation that they couldn’t get out of their own way and feelings to make their union work? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, check out the scenes from Chase and Brook Lynn’s divorce and its aftermath below.

 

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Brook Lynn and Chase Hesitate to Sign Divorce Papers, Elizabeth Reveals Aiden’s Leaving For Paris, Willow Flashes Back to Her Crimes

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Brook Lynn and Chase

As the week came to a conclusion on the Friday, October 23 episode of General Hospital, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) wrestled with becoming an empty-nester, while Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Monet (Blythe Howard) conspired to keep Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Ric (Rick Hearst) at legal bay, and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase’s (Josh Swickard) frozen relationship thawed, but how much?

Let’s take a look! First, in a moment that was written to bring Liz and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) closer, the GH head nurse is wistful over the fact that she just learned that her talented bakery chef son, Aiden, secretly earned his GED and got into a prestigious pastry school in France and to top it off received a scholarship to attend the school.

Liz is concerned that allowing him to go wasn’t the smartest move because of his young age. Dante suggested that maybe it’s her fear of being alone that is causing her to feel hesitant for Aiden to go abroad. He shared a story about the support her received from Olivia when he moved away from home for the first time; that he understood mothers and sons are close, but she needed to let him go build his own life.

Elizabeth

Courtesy/ABC

After coming to terms with it, she revealed that Aiden is leaving in four days and had to make cupcakes for the Halloween party, Dante offered to help her do the baking. They smile. So, what this means to GH fans? All of Liz sons: Cameron, Jake, Aiden are all now officially off the canvas!

WILLOW VS. LULU

At Miller & Davis, Willow strolls in to meet Monet to go over their strategy in their meeting with Ric and Lulu. While discussing their next move, Willow flashes back to the night she shot Drew (Cameron Mathison) twice in the back, and then later, how she first stuck a needle in his neck to use the paralytic drug that kept him in a locked-in state for months.

Willow

Courtesy/ABC

When Ric and Lulu arrive, the four end up in a stalemate. Willow refused to drop the lawsuit, and Lulu refused to retract the story on her. Willow’s stance is that Lulu had been manipulated by the Quartermaines, who wanted to take her children away, so Michael can have sole custody of them. Lulu fired back that she was doing her job as an investigative reporter to expose crimes perpetrated by a congresswoman.

Now at an impasse, Ric and Lulu tell Monet and Willow they will see them in court as now a judge will hear the case. Not what Ric wanted that to happen, but now he tells Lulu, they will figure out a way to bring Willow down.

DIVORCE BLUES?

Finally, Chase and Brook Lynn head to the Dominican Republic to get a quickie divorce after how their lawyers dredged up awful things about both of them in Port Charles. While on the plane, the two discuss that they still want each other to be happy.

Once in front of the judge in the Dominican Republic, he asked if the two were mutually consenting to this divorce, but instead, the two sang each others praises.

This left the judge to ask if the two wanted to go through with ending their marriage and he left the room. Later, when he returned with the divorce documents to sign, Chase and Brook Lynn stared at each other hesitating to sign on the dotted line.

So, what do you think will happen next? Will Brook Lynn and Chase end their marriage, or decide to try to make it a go? Is it upsetting to you that all of Elizabeth’s sons are off the canvas? Should the soap recast them all, like they did with Alexis’ daughters and restart the story of these young men? Do you think now will be the time that Willow’s crimes will be publicly exposed, and she will lose her kids and her seat in a congress? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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General Hospital

Could Kristen Vaganos and Josh Kelly Be Exiting ‘General Hospital?’

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Josh and Kristen

General Hospital fans took to social media following the airing of the Wednesday, October 21 episode of the ABC daytime drama series. In story, Molly (Kristen Vaganos) reveals to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) that she has received an offer to join the top law firm in Chicago that practices civil law. She says it’s her dream job.

The problem Molly says is relocating from Port Charles and uprooting her life and being away from her mother, Scout and boyfriend Cody Bell (Josh Kelly). Wistful that she may lose another daughter to a long-distance situation (Kristina left a few months back to go to medical school in California), Alexis urged Molly to get Cody to go with her.

Molly still seemed concerned and has trouble committing to the idea. Alexis tells her to talk it over with Cody. Meanwhile, Cody asked Tracy (Jane Elliot) is he can have Thanksgiving off because he and Molly planned to spend Thanksgiving together with their families. After initially balking, Tracy agrees.

Courtesy/ABC

WILL MOLLY AND CODY HEAD TO CHI-TOWN?

Later, Cody shows up at Miller & Davis and the conversation turned to Thanksgiving dinner that Alexis is hosting. Molly and Cody asked her not to cook anything. Cody hugged Molly reassuring Alexis that he and Molly would take care of whatever was needed on Turkey Day.

So, this raises the question, why out of nowhere are we learning that Molly received an amazing law offer in Chicago, if the character was not being written out? If Molly leaves the canvas, would the character of Cody make his exit too?

Kristen Vaganos joined GH as a recast Molly Lansing-Davis back in September of 2023 and went on contract in August of 2024. Josh Kelly began playing Cody Bell back in June of 2022. Initial reports were that Kelly joined the show on contract and then as of June 2025 went on recurring status with the show per his choice.

Do you see a world where GH is writing out Molly and Cody? Would you be sad to see Kristen and Josh exit the soap opera? If this is not what is going on, is this just a plot point for some other story that is upcoming? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.

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