WWE has announced a new mini tournament.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis revealed his plan to find a fresh contender for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2026 during the Friday night show this week.
He announced 4 separate qualifying matches set to take place at the January 16 episode of the Blue Branded show from London, including names such as Randy Orton and Matt Cardona:
- Randy Orton vs. The Miz
- Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams
- Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa
- Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov
The winners of these bouts will then meet in a fatal four-way #1 contender's match at the January 24 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event from Montreal, Canada.
The announced plan is for the winner to go on to challenge for the title at the January 31 event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Things have been made a little more complicated, however, with a surprise return and a title change in the main event of tonight's show. You can check out more about it here.