Note On Drew McIntyre’s Potential Opponent At WWE Royal Rumble 2026

Drew McIntyre is the new Undisputed WWE Champion, and the hunt for his first challenger will start on tonight’s SmackDown. The show is set to feature four qualifying matches, with the winners set to face each other in a Fatal Four-Way Match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Montreal on January 24. The winner of that match will earn the right to contest for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 31.

The matches that are set to take place tonight are Randy Orton vs. The Miz, Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams, Solo Sikoa vs. Damian Priest, and Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that the likely participants in the Fatal Four-Way bout at Saturday Night’s Main Event will be Randy Orton, Trick Williams, Damian Priest, and Sami Zayn, with Zayn emerging victorious and challenging Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble in Riyadh.

Melzter stated the idea to have Sami, who was previously banned from entering Saudi Arabia but is now a massive babyface there “due to his acceptance of their culture,” challenge McIntyre, an opponent he has never beaten before, and go after an elusive World Title victory.

Sami Zayn has been quite vocal about his ambition to become a WWE World Champion for a long time now. Interestingly, last Friday, ahead of the Three Stages of Hell Match between Drew and Cody, Zayn hoped for a McIntyre win, as he is desperate to defeat his longtime nemesis for the elusive title.