Oba Femi, Ripley, Cargill Tabbed As Early Rumble Favorites

With WWE having locked in Royal Rumble 2027 for State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, next February, early speculation is already swirling around who might win the men’s and women’s 30-man and 30-woman matches — even though not a single entrant has been announced. Based purely on how the current storylines are being built, Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill have emerged as the names drawing the most attention as potential winners.

The case for Femi is built on a full year of booking that looks like a long-term main-event plan rather than a one-off rub. He entered last year’s Royal Rumble at number one and lasted over 39 minutes before Brock Lesnar eliminated him, then went on to beat Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, capture King of the Ring, and defeat him again inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam — a win Lesnar himself praised afterward, calling Femi the future of the company. That kind of sustained elevation over multiple marquee matches is exactly the pattern WWE tends to follow before handing someone a Rumble victory and a WrestleMania title shot. Bron Breakker remains in the conversation given his own push, but Femi’s résumé over the past twelve months is hard to match.

The women’s side is murkier, but two names stand out. Ripley represents the clean comeback story: she won the WWE Women’s Championship from Cargill at WrestleMania 42 before an injury led to WWE creating an interim title at SummerSlam. If she’s fully healthy and not already holding a belt by the time February rolls around, a Rumble win would be a straightforward way to reposition her for a WrestleMania opportunity without needing a title change on weekly television first. She also already has Rumble pedigree, having racked up three eliminations in this year’s match.

Cargill offers the higher-ceiling alternative. She’s already held the Women’s Championship, won Queen of the Ring in 2025, and has stayed firmly in the SmackDown title picture even after dropping the belt to Ripley. Her power-based offense also translates well to a Rumble-style finish.

The rest of the women’s landscape adds context to why neither Liv Morgan nor Tiffany Stratton is viewed as the frontrunner. Morgan already won this year’s Rumble and has since reclaimed the Women’s World Championship at Money in the Bank, making back-to-back Rumble wins unlikely. Stratton, meanwhile, is sitting on the Money in the Bank contract, which gives her a built-in path to a title match that doesn’t require winning the Rumble itself.

WWE’s European tour in January — with Raw in Glasgow, SmackDown in Manchester and Raw in Dublin — should offer clearer hints before the Rumble field is set. Until then, this is all projection based on how 2026’s stories have unfolded, but it’s a useful early snapshot of who WWE has been quietly building toward Glendale.