Genuine excitement surrounds the Royal Rumble every year. The anticipation of the countdowns, the wonder of who will walk through the curtain next and the joy when you see that face you weren’t expecting. It’s a place to suspend disbelief, where surprises test the bandwidth of your expectations and where legends return with the hopes of their generation on their shoulders.
From a functional standpoint this year’s Rumble seems to be razor-focused on four key matches, and almost seems to be following a rule of two. The 2025 edition’s lineup consists of two Rumbles and two championship title matches composing what looks like a very lean card on paper. Four matches may not seem like much, but the lineup is very deceptive.
Although we should expect the Royal Rumbles to push over an hour in length, the WWE and Tag Team championship matches are a little more unpredictable. I think given the volatility of the Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens feud, and we can definitely expect a longer, physical and likely violent ladder match. Aside from the WWE championship, the DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns 2/3 falls match could steal the show given their tag team pedigrees. DIY was of course in that classic NXT Tag Team Championship 2/3 falls match with FTR several years ago at Takeover, so I think given their history and how talented the veteran MCMG are we should expect a lengthy, memorable classic.
The question remains — which champions will continue their reigns and who could dethrone them on the grandest stage in wrestling? Who will outlast the field to claim their main event spot at WrestleMania?
WWE Tag Team Championship: #DIY (C) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
A little under a decade ago DIY and FTR went head to head for the NXT tag team championships in that classic two-out-three falls bout at Takeover: Toronto in 2016. That match went for 22 minutes, and if you believe these duos can’t reach the same level of magic you’d be mistaken. MCMG are among the best tag teams in wrestling, and Gargano and Ciampa have proven they can hang with the best tag teams. Whenever you can get two teams that can go and do so without letting up that’s when great things can happen. Given this show is only four matches deep as of Friday, I would expect this match to exceed the Takeover 2016 timeframe. It will be a different kind of match, perhaps a little more up-tempo whereas the FTR match with DIY was a little more methodical. That is hardly a negative as I’d argue this pairing has a greater opportunity to make a longer 2/3 falls match fly by. As for who comes out on top, I think WWE has pushed the Guns consistently well since their arrival. I’m not sure DIY still needs the straps with their heel turn cemented, making the ending a little more predictable. I think MCMG regain the championships, perhaps have one blowoff match with DIY to complete the trilogy and then move on to feuds with other teams in the tag team division. While DIY could retain, I think there’s more value in the Machine Guns winning. Prediction: Motor City Machine Guns
WWE World Championship: Cody Rhodes (C) vs. Kevin Owens
Rhodes and Owens’ build has steadily setup this culmination at the Royal Rumble. With Cody as “Dusty’s actual kid” and Owens being one of Dusty’s NXT kids, the ingrained dynamics of this relationship are what make the feud work. Their feud boiled over at the exact moment Rhodes teamed with Roman Reigns, the same man who was a thorn in Owens’ side throughout the former’s years-long run with the WWE and Universal championships. Naturally viewed as a betrayal by Owens, his intensity toward Rhodes and Cody’s lack of ethics toward Reigns has fuelled Owen’s prime resurgence. that echoes his no-nonsense Prizefighter character. This evolved version of that iteration of himself has worked well as a foil to Rhodes as the face champion. Despite being in the moral right, Owens’ motivations have made him more vicious and brutal as the situation with Rhodes has escalated over the last few months. This rematch to their Saturday Night’s Main Event title clash should punctuate their feud as we head into WrestleMania season. You can make an argument for Owens going over, but I think if that were the case you would see less character devolution from Rhodes. It’s clear he’s buckling under the pressure, and if you’re familiar with his indie run outside WWE you can start to see his heel self under the cracks of his foundation. Whomever comes out of the men’s Rumble as the winner, should they choose Rhodes likely won’t be a full heel. The promo segment between Rhodes and CM Punk could be a nod toward Rhodes’ future. As for the here and now, while it’s possible Owens leaves the Rumble with the WWE and Winged Eagle titles, the likelier result is a Rhodes win. Prediction: Cody Rhodes
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Until now there has not been a repeat winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble match, and with the announced field only consisting of 10 women it’s difficult to get a read on who could be sole survivor at the end of the match.
Of the women confirmed for the match only Bayley, Charlotte and Bianca Belair have survived to win the Rumble, with presumably Becky Lynch primed for a return. The rest of the confirmed field includes:
- Nia Jax
- Naomi
- Liv Morgan
- Raquel Rodriguez
- Lyra Valkyria
- Ivy Nile
- Iyo Sky
Ten isn’t much to go on, but we can round that out a little more with the NXT roster if we correctly presume women like Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Cora Jade, Roxanne Perez, Sol Ruca, Kelani Jordan or Zaria will emerge from the curtain as the counter hits zero. I think we should also expect to see ex-TNA Knockout Jordynne Grace or Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich. Or perhaps given WWE’s fledgling ties to NOAH to Marigold, perhaps we see world champions Kouki Amarei or Utami Hayashishita (there does some to be a convenient gap in the Marigold schedule between now and Feb. 7). And we know it would be foolish to assume we won’t see some legends. I think any one of those women can and will have a strong showing, not to mention obvious entrants like Natalya who has yet to be confirmed. However I wouldn’t go out on a limb say any of them will win it all. While the latter is possible it’s far more likely the winner is coming from that core list of 10. When coming to that decision, I think you need to consider which of the champions you can realistically envision on the marquee and that’s not Tiffany Stratton yet. That leaves Rhea Ripley. Once we accept that I think the winner becomes clearer. Ripley is almost inarguably the most prominent woman on the roster, and I think while scenarios involving someone like Lynch would have real value, I would argue the best option is making Charlotte the first two time winner and sending her to WrestleMania to challenge Ripley for her world title in a WrestleMania rubber match. Prediction: Charlotte
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Unlike the women’s match, the men’s match is a lot harder to guess because where the women’s division stories have too few plot threads you can build on toward WrestleMania that you could consider a legit headliner. When you look at what could happen and you judge all of the interactions at the top of the card. For example (with story ties in brackets):
- John Cena (The Bloodline, Punk, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul)
- CM Punk (Cena, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Drew McIntyre)
- Roman Reigns (Cena, Punk, Rollins, Zayn,, McIntyre)
- Seth Rollins (The Bloodline, Punk, McIntyre, Zayn)
- Drew McIntyre (Punk, The Bloodline, Rollins , Zayn)
As for the rest of the confirmed list, that list expands:
- LA Knight
- Jey Uso
- Rey Mysterio
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Logan Paul
- Penta
- Chad Gable
- Bron Breakker
- Carmelo Hayes
- Sami Zayn
I think we can probably round that list out with names from NXT like Oba Femi, Ethan Page or a Trick Williams type. I assume we’ll see people like Karrion Kross, or the Wyatts. That being said, the more I think about who else could appear, and then look at the secondary list I just can’t imagine anyone there being propelled to the biggest spotlight in the spring.
Actually, I’m pretty certain if Logan Paul won I’d outright just stop watching WWE again. But as that won’t happen… probably?… I think we’re more realistically looking at one of the five from the primary list above. I think straight away Roman Reigns is a fair consideration, but I’m not sure the company would want to book Cody vs. Reigns at three straight WrestleManias. For that reason I think we can exclude Reigns.
When figuring out who would be the best bet opposite either Rhodes or Gunther, we have to consider who would fit those roles. When we look at both those names, straight away Rollins comes to mind since he has history with both and more specifically Gunther has the belt Rollins more recently held. Either scenario is plausible. Moreover I can’t imagine what Rollins does for WrestleMania. That is unless CM Punk also loses at the Rumble, but then does that matchup have the same value following their Netflix clash? I’d say no. So then are we looking at a scenario where any one of three contests for a world title and the other two, say Reigns and Punk fight it out at WrestleMania.
As I said, trying to figure out the men’s Rumble is a little tricky because there are so many balls in the air.
So let’s look at Drew McIntyre. He’s as connected to the main players as any, but I both have trouble envisioning him against either champion as well as where his WrestleMania destiny lies. I don’t see him winning, and I don’t see much outside of the title picture for him. Perhaps him vs. Gunther with a proper build is something to consider as that would be a great, physical matchup; but that’s not the objective here.
That leaves Johnathan Cena.
Now I know what you’re thinking–I’ve built this out to result in a pro Cena prediction, but I think there’s a much bigger story to play surrounding Cena in 2025 and it’s defined by failure after failure, compounded by attempt after attempt to rise up and stand stall. To keep fighting. I’ve long maintained that Cena’s last hurrah should be defined as a tribute to his legacy and character. It should exude hustle, loyalty and respect. And for him , that means busting his ass and working hard. The Rumble by definition a shortcut, just like the Chamber and Money in the Bank are. We will see him fight for all three and probably fail. We will see him try to fight his way in, and probably knocked down only to get back up again. That’s the kind of story you can tell here. Now does that mean he absolutely won’t win and pick a fight with either Gunther or Rhodes? Of course not. In fact I think Cena picking a fight with Gunther is the kind of thing he would do character wise. But because I feel like his 2025 should be defined by the chase for 17 and fighting back from setback after setback, I don’t think Cena wins.
Soooooo… where does that leaves us? Frankly, I thought I was going to work out the answer on the way here, but all I see are scenarios that could play out. Heck, we haven’t discussed the potential wildcard of Rock showing up. With that in mind I think we need to look at what’s most likely for everyone.
McIntyre: I think we rule out Rollins and Punk right away. I think Reigns makes no sense. Cena could be possible
Rollins: Makes sense, but a win just to go after Rhodes or Gunther feels hollow. Rollins vs. Reigns would need to be heated up, and even then I think Reigns is either set for a Bloodline-related match or Punk.
Reigns: Other options don’t make much sense. I think he’s either heading toward Cody for a third outing or we’ll finally get that Rock match, or the match with Punk they seem to enjoy teasing. Rock, Punk and Cody make sense in that order. I don’t see a ton of value in another Cena match, but I can see it happening all the same.
Punk: I don’t see value in another match with Rollins or Drew, and the more I think about a match with Reigns it could easily be a long term plan, but I don’t think it happens at WrestleMania. I also think the Cody-Punk promo could be a red herring.
I think when it comes down to it, Reigns and Punk are the smart bets to win, but I think there’s so much more you can do with Reigns as a whole that Punk is the more obvious option. Prediction: Chick Magnet Punk
The thing is, this entire Rumble is convoluted and any one scenario could play out. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. One positive of the Rumble every year is that they’re hard to predict, that’s why I think they’re so fun, engaging and captivating. So many Rumbles over the years have had shock moments, memorable endings, marathon runs and things you never expect. I think that’s the value of the Royal Rumble from a viewer perspective–it embraces the random, and is just a good, fun wrestling event no matter the year.
