This Saturday’s Royal Rumble marks the first of the “Big Four” PLEs in WWE’s 2026 schedule as well as the initial course-setting event that launches the ‘Road to WrestleMania.’ Still, there are many firsts associated with this event—a first that the Rumble will be held outside North America, and, in fact, the first Rumble not held in the U.S. since the inaugural show in Ontario (1988).
However, the most significant first for the over-the-top battle royal this weekend will be seeing the winner(s) pointing up at the WrestleMania sign as it streams on the ESPN app. The 30-superstar contest, and one meant to produce a Mania-worthy challenger for a major WWE championship, has always been an event with a high PPV-buys ceiling before the streaming era and remains one of the most significant events in all of wrestling.
It was expected that the ESPN deal could signify a real sports-centric shift in both booking and presentation as the mere exposure on ESPN’s vast networks reaching millions of fans–the kind willing to take in some cornhole or D-II college softball on a slow sports Saturday–waiting to be converted into full-on members of the WWE Universe©.
What was not expected, maybe, was ESPN’s massive media arm ‘playing spoiler’ to major WWE surprises on fight week, but that is potentially what happened on ESPN’s daily morning show, First Take.
On First Take, hosts Ryan Clark and Stephen A. Smith interviewed Seth Rollins on Monday’s edition of the show to kick off Royal Rumble fight week. The ESPN exposure is meant to hook the casual audience, both first-time eyeballs and lapsed fans. Unfortunately, the “leader in sports” might have accidentally leaked one of the best aspects of this Saturday’s Rumble, and another potential injury return angle for the ages.
ROYAL RUMBLE TRADITIONS
One facet that both new and old fans appreciate about the Rumble is the ‘surprise entrant’ element of a match that introduces a new competitor every 2 minutes (ish). In past years, former WWE superstars made returns like Diesel in 2011, or when the Royal Rumble was held in Philadelphia, ECW territory, and Bubba Ray Dudley returned to the company after building a singles career outside of it.
@doublexranch Bubba Ray Dudley makes his shocking return at the 2015 Royal Rumble. #RoyalRumble #BubbaRayDudley #BullyRay
This year’s Rumble is no different with names like Chis Jericho and Jeff Hardy being rumored participants, but ESPN may have inadvertently let one freakin’ cat out of the bag when Clark asked a question concerning Seth’s return from injury as a participant in the Rumble—a narrative that has not come up on WWE TV in promoting the PLE and one that directly conflicts with injury reports assessing the earliest timeline for Seth getting cleared for action.
“Seth, you know right now, wrestling, you guys are taking over the world,” Clark said as an opener to his question. “The Royal Rumble will be in Saudi Arabia, talk a little bit about the excitement of this sport expanding the way that it has, and you coming back off of injury to participate in the Royal Rumble.”
It is worth noting that Seth quickly cleared the air by stating he would not be returning this weekend, backing reports that a Mania return is still on the table. However, it is also worth noting that Seth’s facial reaction to Clark’s question was as telling as Tom Holland’s in an interview for an Avengers film.
To gain further context, Rollins ran a similar play last year when he ‘worked’ a knee injury only to reveal his kayfabe crutches were never necessary as he would go on to successfully cash in his ‘Money in the Bank’ briefcase by defeating CM Punk for the heavyweight title. This was not the first time a wrestler revealed a faux injury to gain the upper hand on his opponent, but it was the first time WWE actively participated in a work carefully orchestrated through the media.
Of course, it is always possible that WWE planned the “leak” with the intention of adding Seth to the list of potential Rumble surprises —knowing he would not be ready — while never directly teasing him for the card. This is a tactic that caught WWE some flak earlier this month on the one-year anniversary show of RAW on NETFLIX when GM Pearce made a Chris Jericho reference on social media the day of the event—though it was claimed to be a “Stranger Things” reference.
I guess this could all be highly conspiratorial, and Clark simply misspoke. In that case, the optics are that ESPN’s flagship hosts on their flagship shows are unlikely to make a real effort concerning WWE content—the kind of effort they make for NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA, MLB, and NCAA sports, among others. After all, would Clark ever find himself in a position to be unaware of Bronco’s QB Bo Nix injury ahead of last week’s season-ending loss to the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots?
Too far? Well, how much more trouble would that researcher be in if he were working for Paramount Plus on fight week for UFC’s first show on the streaming service, allowing a Pat McAfee type to interview Amanda Nunes for ‘her big return fight’ from retirement (Nunes return was initially scheduled for the card, but her fight fell through well before fight week)?
It was never really considered that ESPN could fall short of WWE’s expectations, but no matter how you slice this faux pas, the “worldwide leader in sports” needs to tighten up on the crossover content.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
