Are you excited?
I’m excited.
Royal Rumble night is one of the biggest and best of the entire pro wrestling calendar year, and it has finally arrived.
There’s a ton of mystery and intrigue surrounding the show, with the usual rumors of returns and debuts all over the place. Let’s not waste another second. Time to rock and roll.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Another year, another perfect choice to open up the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Before anything can get underway, Stephanie McMahon is announced, and she walks out to the entrance area to a really nice pop from the Indianapolis crowd. She thanks the fans for making this the biggest Royal Rumble of all-time, and officially gets the show started with… a video package. Oh. Okay then.
After the video package, introduction for the show, and some talk from our announce team of Michael Cole, Woi Bar-ruh, and Pat McAfee, it’s finally time for the show!
Strike that. We need the rules of the Rumble match to be announced to the crowd first.
Ten minutes into the show, we’re getting the entrance for our first entrant… Iyo Sky.
Joining Iyo at the start of the match is Liv Morgan. This could be a fun start to the match.
LOL @ the announce team STILL making a big deal to point out that the #1 spot is the worst spot to be in, completely downplaying the fact that #2 starts the match, as well. It’s the same thing, year in and year out.
Next up, Roxanne Perez enters the match, and this is quite the trio to start the match with. The youngster looks like a beast in her first few minutes, dominating both Iyo and Liv, earning herself a really nice ovation from the crowd.
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria is up next, and the in-ring quality of the competitors continues to grow. Oh, boy… almost immediately, Lyra is on the verge of a wardrobe malfunction. The straps on her top have come undone, and she is trying to put them back together while also holding her top up. Referee Daphanie LaShaunn runs to the corner and helps Lyra get her top back on properly, which earns Daphanie applause from the crowd, and she reacts to it with a wave and a smile.
Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green is our next entrant. She goes on the warpath right away, throwing every other woman over the top rope in order. Unfortunately, none of them touched the floor, and they all come back in and stomp Chelsea down. Cute spot.
B-Fab is the next woman to enter the match. At the bottom of the screen, we have new infographics, telling us how many women are currently in the match, how many women have been involved, and what number the next entrant will be. That has to be a Lee Fitting deal, with his time at ESPN before jumping to WWE.
Ivy Nile is next, and the ring is really starting to fill up now. There are seven women in the ring, and Ivy begins to throw women around right off the bat.
What’s that? You don’t think seven women in the ring is enough? Okay, how about eight? Zoey Stark is next to enter the match, and there still haven’t been any eliminations.
NXT’s Lash Legend is up next, making her Royal Rumble debut, and business is about to pick up. Lash is the type of monster powerhouse that could very well start dumping people out of the match. As soon as she gets in the ring, she is destroying people.
We have an elimination! Chelsea Green throws B-Fab out after B-Fab was taken down by Lash. Right after the elimination, Bianca Belair makes her way to the ring in the #10 spot. We’re officially one-third of the way through the entrants. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Bianca is a beast, and is physically destroying people left and right.
Shayna Baszler is up next, giving us another physically dominant entrant. In a major surprise, Ivy Nile tosses Lyra Valkyria out of the match. Ivy then motions that she’s coming after Lyra’s title. Wow.
Bayley is up next, looking to win back-to-back Rumbles. That would make her the first woman to accomplish that feat.
Sonya Deville is out next, and the entirety of Pure Fusion Collective is now in the ring together. It doesn’t make the name of the group any better, but they’re still in there at the same time.
Maxxine DuuuuPRI is the next woman to arrive, giving us a total of 12 women in the ring together. Hilariously, Maxxine kips up after some early offense, making her what I believe is the eighth woman to kip up during the match.
Maxxine throws Ivy Nile out of the match, only to be tossed out by Sonya, Zoey, and Shayna next. Awww.
Naomi is up next, and we’re halfway through the entrants. So far, things feel like they’re flying by. I dig it.
Zoey Stark is thrown out, followed by Shayna Baszler, followed by Sonya Neville. Just like that, PFC is gone. Better luck next year, ladies.
Jaida Parker is up next, coming from NXT to make her Royal Rumble debut. The crowd gives her a decent pop, but they certainly aren’t as familiar with her as they are with Roxanne Perez and even Lash Legend.
Chelsea Green is the most over woman in this match. She just got beaten down by four women to big-time boos, but the crowd popped big when she bounced back to eliminate Lash Legend. Immediately after that, Piper Niven makes her entrance, and Chelsea has backup now.
Oh, no! Chelsea is eliminated, accidentally being sent out by Piper Niven herself. The crowd is not happy, and neither is Chelsea. Damn, I was hoping for a crazy underdog run for Chelsea, taking her all the way to the end of the match before being eliminated.
Natalya is up next, continuing her streak of appearing in every single women’s Rumble match. She and Liv Morgan are the only two women who can say they’ve never missed a Rumble.
Jordynne Grace is up next, and the crowd goes crazy. This is her first Rumble appearance as an officially contracted WWE performer. As soon as she gets in the ring, she begins throwing people all over the place. Jordynne throws Jaida Parker out of the match, and then easily lifts Piper Niven onto her shoulders for a Death Valley Driver to a huge pop and “holy shit” chant from the crowd. Wow.
Michin is up next at #20, and we’re now two-thirds of the way through the entrants.
“Wade Barrett Eats Well Done Steak With Ketchup” sign in the crowd. Gross, man.
Alexa Bliss is back! The crowd is losing their minds! This marks Alexa’s first time back in two whole years, and she looks incredible. LOL @ Michael Cole saying “I thought the internet said she wasn’t coming back?!?” and Barrett responding by saying Cole should stop reading the dirtsheets. Ouch.
Zelina Vega is in at #22, but she comes out to almost zero crowd reaction. Sheesh. Are they already exhausted after that Alexa return?
Candice LeRae is out next to little crowd noise. More than what Zelina got, but little nonetheless. We’re back to having 13 women in the ring at the same time. Might be time for Piper Niven to start throwing people out, or to have someone like Nia Jax or Jade Cargill come out soon to do it. There just isn’t a lot of room in the ring to move around.
Stephanie Vaquer is here to make her Royal Rumble debut, and the crowd gives her a good pop. Okay, they’re back.
Trish Stratus! The WWE Hall Of Famer is out in the #25 spot, and there are now 15 women in the ring. Trish simply being in the ring draws a “this is awesome” chant from the crowd.
Raquel Rodriguez is out next, and Liv Morgan has herself some backup. Liv eliminates Natalya, bringing us back down to 15 women in the match at the moment. Alexa Bliss is then eliminated by Liv, and the crowd is not happy at all. Alexa didn’t last long, but it’s really good to see her back.
Charlotte Flair makes her return at #27, and the crowd gives her a warm welcome. As always, Charlotte looks like a million bucks. This is Charlotte’s first appearance in over 13 months, and her entrance is moving so slowly that the next entrant might come up behind her.
Michin is eliminated by Charlotte, who then delivers a double DDT and… kips up. Of course she does. Piper Niven is the next to be thrown over the top rope by Charlotte.
Giulia is here! The NXT Women’s Champion is in the #28 spot, and she gets into an immediate showdown with Iyo Sky in the center of the ring. Dear Lord, that could be a ton of fun.
Jordynne Grace has been eliminated at the hands… well, the feet… of Giulia. This leads to a stare down between Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer, but it leads to them teaming up to face off against Bayley and Charlotte. Roxanne Perez aligns herself with the NXT women, while Bianca sides with Bayley and Charlotte. That would be an amazing six-woman tag.
Nia Jax is out in the next-to-last spot, and I’m hoping that things are going to clear out. Before Nia even enters the ring, she pulls Zelina Vega off the apron, eliminating Zelina. Keep going, Nia. Candice LeRae is thrown out by Trish Stratus. Revenge is sweet for Candice, though, as she prevents Trish from pulling Nia out of the ring, only for Nia to eliminate Trish.
Nikki Bella is back! We have ourselves another WWE Hall Of Famer in the match, and she enters in the #30 spot. Nia Jax awaits her in the middle of the ring, but right away, every other woman surrounds Nia, beating her up. That numbers advantage lasted for a few seconds, as Nia powered her way out of their attack.
Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan have both broken Bayley’s record from last year for longest time spent in a single women’s Rumble. Bayley went 1:03:03 last year.
Nia just turned into a wrecking ball and eliminated six or seven women within seconds of each other. Raquel, Naomi, Bianca, Liv and… others. The cameras pretty much cut away immediately, so I didn’t even see everyone that was on the outside.
We’re down to six women here. Nia’s eliminations bring her to eight this year, which ties her for the all-time single-year record for the women.
Roxanne eliminates Giulia, and we’re down to five. Nikki accidentally eliminates Bayley, and is then eliminated by Nia. Nia breaks the single year record, and we’re down to three. Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, and Roxanne Perez. Roxanne is at 67 minutes and counting, giving her the single year record.
Charlotte tosses Nia out. We’re down to two! Just like that, we’re down to one, as Charlotte boots Roxanne out. Charlotte Flair is your 2025 women’s Royal Rumble winner. That makes her the first woman in history to win two Rumble matches.
I don’t give star ratings to battle royals, but this was a lot of fun. A good mix of returns, debuts, excitement, and record-breaking performances. If you’re looking for a “complaint” to make, it’s probably that the winner wasn’t exactly a big surprise, but it’s not like that’s a requirement. There weren’t any real slow spots here, so there was a lot to enjoy. Even if you’re not a big Charlotte fan, there’s a good story told with her winning. I’m not mad at it, even if I’m on record saying that I would’ve given Bianca Belair the win. There’s still an open door to Rhea Ripley vs Bianca at WrestleMania, though, so I’m not too down about it.
DIY vs Motor City Machine Guns – Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles
If given a good amount of time… and the match stipulation certainly allows for it… this could easily end up being one of WWE’s best tag matches this year.
Off-topic, but what looks like the original “If Cena Wins, We Riot” sign from ECW One Night Stand is in the crowd, only the word “Loses” has been placed over “Wins” this time around. It’s still crazy to see WWE crowds responding to Cena like this again.
LOL @ DIY scoring the first fall after a few minutes to ZERO crowd reaction. Jesus Herbert Christ, that was ugly. I’m not sure it would be physically possible to have a quieter crowd response. Even if nobody was in the building, the sound of mice fucking would probably still be heard.
DIY are doing a really good job with their in-ring work as heels. It feels like Gargano has been a face since 1973, but he transitioned very well since the turn.
Holy shit, this crowd does not care about the match at all. MCMG just picked up the second fall, and once again, the sound of 70,000 fans added up to a collective yawn.
I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but Ciampa’s face is bloody. I can’t tell if it’s from his nostrils or the bridge of his nose, but his nose seems to be the base of the blood.
Montez Ford distracts the Ref at ringside, allowing for Angelo Dawkins to run down and hit Alex Shelley with a crutch. The distraction allows for DIY to pick up the win, letting them keep their titles. After the match, the Profits attack DIY with the crutch. On commentary, Michael Cole clears it up by saying that DIY attacked the Profits in the first place, so Ford and Dawkins were simply making sure that DIY retained the titles because they want to be the team who takes the titles from Ciampa and Gargano. Makes sense.
The match was fine for what it was. Nothing like I was hoping for it to be, and the lack of crowd noise didn’t help anything. I’m not exactly a fan of three falls happening in less than 15 minutes, either. 3 Stars
Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens – Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Title
Does Kevin Owens lose ANOTHER World Title match? Do we see the end game of Cody’s “story” not quite make it for an entire calendar year?
Oh, hey, the crowd is back in a big way for this one. Cody and KO haven’t even gotten physical yet, but the crowd is treating this like a big-time pay-per-view main event.
LOL @ KO setting a Hornswoggle-sized stepladder up, climbing it, teasing a big spot onto Cody’s prone body, only to climb back down and just stomping on Cody instead. That man is someone who just gets it. One of the most effortlessly entertaining people to ever step foot inside of a wrestling ring.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody, but these two are having themselves an amazingly physical bout so far. They’re beating the piss out of each other, and it has been a lot of fun to watch. Easy for me to say, I guess.
Owens takes a back body drop onto a ladder, and mere minutes ladder, Cody is powerbombed onto another ladder. Pain. Pure, unadulterated pain.
Fisherman Buster from the middle rope sends Cody slamming down onto a ladder. Jesus.
Referees, Officials, and Nick Aldis are at ringside and tending to both men. Sami Zayn makes his way to ringside, first checking on KO and then checking on Cody. After some “drama,” the match is back on.
Owens is busted open after having his head slammed into the ring post. Cody attacks the wound like a rabid animal, punching away at it repeatedly.
Owens is put through yet another ladder at ringside. He folded up like an accordion on impact. My goodness. With everyone tending to Owens at ringside, Cody gets back in the ring and climbs the ladder to pull both titles down and win the match. Kevin Owens loses yet another World Title shot. He keeps getting them, losing every single time.
This was everything you could ask for in a Ladder Match. It was violent, chaotic, and featured two competitors willing to put each other, and themselves, through absolute hell to pick up the win. It was really fun from start-to-finish. 4.25 Stars
LOL @ troll ass Cody climbing the announce table and celebrating with his titles as KO’s body is on the verge of death below him. What a jerk. Owens really does look like he’s about to head to the hospital. Will it lead to him faking retirement or something so that he can destroy Sami Zayn, who didn’t actually help him during the match? Zayn vs Owens at WrestleMania is going to be fucking incredible.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Rey Mysterio is out as the first entrant, and holy shit, he will be joined in the beginning of the match by Penta. Let’s. Fucking. GO.
Chad Gable is out next, and we’re going to get us some good shit now.
Want some more good shit? Carmelo Hayes is out next. This could be a blast. It has already broken down into a tag match, of sorts, with Melo and Gable teaming up to fight Rey and Penta. Of course, their team doesn’t last long, and now, Melo and Gable are fighting each other.
Santos Escobar is out next, and I’m pretty sure I just heard an infant sneeze in the cheap seats. That’s rough.
Otis makes his way to the ring in the #6 spot, and naturally, he squares up with Chad Gable almost immediately.
Bron Breakker is up next, and things are about to get crazy. The Intercontinental Champion hits the ring, nails Melo with a Spear, and then throws Melo out of the ring. Bron is tearing people to shreds, now throwing Santos over the top rope and to the floor.
Akira Tozawa is the next entrant, but before he can get in the ring, he’s attacked by Carmelo Hayes, who was making his way to the backstage area. Instantly, Adam Pearce is out to remove Tozawa from the match. Tozawa is taken to the back, where Paul Levesque calls for someone to replace Tozawa. Suddenly, Mr. H sees Internet personality IShowSpeed and tells him to enter the ring. Speed actually eliminates Otis from the match, but then eats one of the most disgusting Spears you’ll ever see from Bron Breakker. Bron tosses Speed out, and I have no idea how Speed is even conscious at this point. Seriously… that Spear was NASTY.
Sheamus is the next entrant, and it’s FIGHT NIGHT. He nearly gets eliminated by Penta within seconds, but he makes it back into the ring and starts Sheamus’ing people left and right.
Jimmy Uso is next, and we’re one-third of the way through the entrants for the match.
Andrade is out at #11, and not a lot is happening.
Welp. Jacob Fatu is in at #12, and you can FEEL the vibe in the arena changing. Fatu and Penta have a showdown right off the bat, and I feel a tingling in my toes. DOUBLE SAMOAN DROP to Penta and Rey Mysterio. Fatu then eliminates Gable and Mysterio back-to-back, then he turns and eliminates Andrade. As Jacob celebrates, the camera catches Bron Breakker appearing behind him, and my tingling returns.
Ludwig Kaiser is next up, but he avoids getting in the ring. Good strategy. He finally gets in the ring, but he’s eliminated by Penta in mere seconds. Thanks for playing, I suppose.
The next spot is the cursed #14 spot, and the unfortunate man who gets the number this year is The Miz. When you’re married to Maryse, you’re basically telling the Rumble Curse that you’re immune to that type of thing.
A loud “FA-TU” chant breaks out after Jacob catches Miz in mid-air and delivers a Samoan Drop. Wow.
SAY HIS NAME AND HE APPEARS! Joe Hendry is in the Royal Rumble to a huge ovation. He gets in the ring and starts laying people out. LOL @ Sheamus standing in the corner, looking confused about the whole thing.
Fatu and Sheamus have a stare down, and that damn tingling has returned.
Roman Motherfucking Reigns is out next in the #16 spot, and once again, you can FEEL the mood changing in the stadium. He hits a Spear on Miz and eliminates him, then does the same thing to Sheamus. Joe Hendry is next to eat a Spear, and he gets eliminated. To show how popular Roman is, though, there isn’t a lot of heel reaction to Hendry’s elimination. Roman and Bron square off, and it’s Bron who lands a Spear! However, Bron got too cocky, and he finds himself eliminated by The Tribal Chief. Roman is on fire out there.
Jacob Fatu eliminates Big Jim Uso, and now we get the showdown between Roman and Jacob. The crowd is READY for it.
The #17 spot is filled by Drew McIntyre. Drew and Roman have a showdown to a “this is awesome” chant from the crowd. Jacob Fatu ends their fight by attacking Roman, and now we have a Samoan/Scottish connection to stomp on Roman.
Finn Balor is the next entrant, and he, too, goes right after Roman Reigns.
Shinsuke Nakamura is out next, and we currently have six men in the match.
Well, five men. Penta was just eliminated by Finn Balor. It was a 40+ minute Rumble debut for Penta, according to Michael Cole.
Jey Uso is up next, and this crowd is losing their minds. He eliminates Nakamura, and things continue to move at a much quicker pace here than it did in the women’s match.
AJ Styles is back! Not only that, but he is back to his original WWE entrance music, which is a welcome return in its own right. AJ and Fatu have a stare down, and I think I need to see a Doctor about this tingling. Maybe it’s gout.
Braun Strowman is out next, and I have a feeling the entire ring is about to shift a few inches. Sure enough, Braun and Fatu are fighting right away. Braun eliminates Fatu, and Fatu is going apeshit at ringside, tearing the announce table apart. I’m fine with that. We need the Braun vs Fatu feud to continue, and I think that’s what we’ll be getting now.
At #23, John Cena makes his entrance, and the roof of Lucas Oil Stadium is no more. Good Joe Pesci Almighty, that was a pop. Cena pulls the top rope down, aiding Strowman in his own elimination, and then Cena throws Balor out of the ring.
Just as Cena and Roman Reigns are about to square off, CM Punk enters the match at #24. The crowd is LOUDLY singing along to “Cult Of Personality,” which is a beautiful thing to listen to.
Cena, Roman, and Punk spent the entire time staring at each other, and now, Seth Rollins makes his way to the ring as the next entrant. Rollins hits the ring and goes after Punk right away. As they brawl, Roman and Cena are fighting each other. Drew McIntyre joins in to beat Punk down a bit more, while AJ Styles and Jey Uso fight in a corner of their own. This is great.
This is the PERFECT time for Dominik Mysterio to enter the match. Just a gloriously great job putting him in this spot.
Sami Zayn is here in the #27 spot. The star power in the ring right now is crazy. There’s Dominik Mysterio, and then there’s a bunch of other dudes.
Damian Priest is next, and he sends Dom flying over the top rope. America’s long nightmare is over. Or just beginning. Either way.
LA Knight has the #29 spot, and the crowd is loving it again. Knight and Jey have a “YEET/YEAH” punch battle in the center of the ring. Cute.
Sami Zayn is sent over the top rope and to the floor, just as Logan Paul makes his entrance in the #30 spot. I think this is the first time we’ve had ten men in the ring at the same time, and just as I type that, Damian Priest eliminates Drew McIntyre. We’re down to nine.
Eight, as Knight eliminates Priest. Logan Paul saved his own ass moments earlier. As he was about to be thrown out, he jumped from the ring apron to the announce table. Before Logan makes it back to the ring, AJ Styles eliminates LA Knight, but then Styles is eliminated by Paul, who has made his way back to the ring apron. We’re down to six competitors.
A showdown between Roman and Seth! This is wonderful.
As Roman and Seth tried to eliminate each other, CM Punk sneaks up on them and throws them both out, but before he can celebrate, Logan Paul throws him out! John Cena, Logan Paul, and Jey Uso are the final three remaining in the match!
Rollins, Punk, and Reigns brawl at ringside. Rollins hits a Stomp on Roman on the floor, and then another one on the ring steps. By the way, the Stomp on the floor was with both feet, seemingly having Rollins legitimately stomp on Roman’s skull. Complete chaos at ringside. Rollins leaves the ringside area, and then Punk steps over Roman’s fallen carcass to stare at Paul Heyman for a moment before he also leaves the ringside area.
Cena goes to deliver a double Attitude Adjustment to Jey and Logan, but Jey wiggles out and delivers a super kick to Logan, allowing Cena to send Logan packing. We’re down to John Cena and Jey Uso. THIS is an interesting final pairing. Damn.
Michael Cole’s voice is almost completely shot, and Barrett’s voice is getting there.
HOLY SHIT.
No, seriously… holy shit.
Jey and Cena fight it out on the ring apron for a bit, but eventually, JEY USO wins the 2025 Royal Rumble by sending Cena to the floor. Ho. Ly. Shit.
“You earned this, Jey!” – Pat McAfee
“You’re goddamn right he did!” – Michael Cole, in response to McAfee
In my “Booking 2025” column, I said that I wouldn’t have Cena win the Rumble, just to build drama for the rest of his year. However, when it came down to Cena, Logan, and Jey as the final three, I figured it was an inevitability that Cena was winning. I’m absolutely stunned, but in a great way.
Again, I don’t give star ratings to these matches, but that was fucking great. It was put together incredibly well, with drama from beginning to end, and with several Elimination Chamber and/or WrestleMania matches put together in a single night. It’s difficult to find anything to truly complain about.
All in all, this was a show well worth checking out, if you didn’t do so already. A great night of wrestling and sports entertainment.
