The Royal Rumble is always one of the most exciting events of the year, showcasing iconic moments, setting up potential storylines, and giving two wrestlers a chance at glory at WrestleMania.
This year was no different. One Rumble offered an expected outcome that was well-executed while the other offered a pleasant surprise.
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In the middle of those matches were two well-done title matches that were much more brutal than expected.
In the end, Royal Rumble 2025 was an excellent PLE, meaning the Road to WrestleMania is well underway.
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Women’s Royal Rumble
WWE continues to have one of the best women’s rosters in the world, and it was definitely proven here.
There were plenty of exciting moments, with special props given to surprise entrant Jordynne Grace, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, and Nia Jax.
Additionally, multiple beloved Superstars made their return, including Alexa Bliss, WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella, and, of course, Charlotte Flair.
The final four came down to Charlotte Flair, Roxanne Perez, Nia Jax, and Nikki Bella (briefly).
The end was rather anticlimactic, but the overall match was enjoyable with a few good surprises. Flair is now the first woman in WWE history to win the Royal Rumble twice.
Perez set the record for longest time in the Women’s Royal Rumble (1:07:47) and Nia Jax set the record for most eliminations (9).
WWE Tag Team Championship: #DIY (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns
#DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) and Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) are unbelievably talented wrestlers who have even better chemistry which was on display in this match up.
This match turned out to be a surprisingly bloody affair, mostly on #DIY’s side, with both teams doing what they do best. While the match was shorter than most would have wanted, both teams used the ring in new and interesting ways while showing what makes tag team wrestling awesome.
As always, this Two Out of Three Falls match came to the final fall. In the end, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford of The Street Profits interfered to give #DIY the match.
While it’s exciting to see Dawkins and Ford being featured, it still stinks to see what was an exciting match end in this fashion. Still, the four participants proved why they are some of the best technical wrestlers in the business.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens
This match up already felt like a given. With someone as popular as Cody Rhodes, you’ll want him for the main event of WrestleMania.
That being said, Rhodes and Kevin Owens are incredible at what they do. The build up to the match was fantastic, and both Superstars more than proved themselves in the ring.
Rhodes and Owens put everything on the line, with countless memorable spots and plenty of moments that made me wince out loud.
This was all further elevated by Sami Zayn standing by and just reacting to everything. Not only did this raise the stakes, but it made the ending that much more shocking.
Rhodes didn’t just celebrate his victory; he gloated. He rubbed it in Owens’ face. It genuinely feels like we may be witnessing a Cody Rhodes heel turn in the near future.
Men’s Royal Rumble
There are very few times that an ending shocks and delights me in pro wrestling. I was completely expecting CM Punk to finally get his moment. However, that was not the case.
The Men’s Royal Rumble started off at a fast pace, with Rey Mysterio and Penta kicking things off. It was even more fun when they worked together to battle Chad Gable.
Things eventually slowed down when the likes of Jacob Fatu, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and more entered the ring.
A massive highlight was when Reigns and Seth Rollins were eliminated at the same time with CM Punk following soon afterward. Needless to say, things got out of hand very quickly.
The final three were Logan Paul, Jey Uso, and John Cena. After Paul eliminated Punk, I got to say that I was scared. If there was one person I didn’t want to win, it was him.
However, I was pleasantly surprised when it came down to just Cena and Jey Uso. It seemed like a given conclusion that Cena would win his record-tying third Royal Rumble.
Surprisingly, Jey Uso finally proved that he deserved the Main Event moniker. Now, he just needs to win that world title…
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