Date: February 1, 2025
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN
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Show Recap —
COUNTDOWN SHOW —
Michael Cole, Big E, Wade Barrett, and Pat McAfee hosted the first part of the 2-hour pre-show. Cole called Big E a movie star, referring to his upcoming role in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a TV show.
Triple H was shown backstage, and they acknowledged his upcoming 2025 Hall of Fame induction.
The first 32 minutes of the pre-show were spent showing clips of the panellists participating in past Rumbles, showing a numbers video, and opening collectible WWE cards. Ironically, the first card Big E pulled was of Ridge Holland.
Joe Tessitore joined the panel, and they really put over McAfee strong. They spoke about tonight’s tag title match, and Cole mentioned the success of Motor City Machine Guns in TNA.
CM Punk sit-down interview with Jackie Redmond
Punk admitted he thought about the 2014 Royal Rumble a lot. He spoke about getting injured in last year’s Rumble. He cried when the match was over and was consoled by AJ Lee over the phone.
Redmond asked about the favour, but he wouldn’t give any clues. He couldn’t tell her when he would cash it in because even he didn’t know.
Punk spoke very little to Paul Heyman during his time away from WWE but their relationship picked right back up when he returned.
Punk has come up short in every Rumble he’s been in. It feels empty to lose. Redmond asked if he thought about the potential moment after winning the Rumble and pointing at the WrestleMania sign. Punk hadn’t thought about that yet, and the thought scared him more than losing. That was always his dream, and if he accomplished it, maybe what he had in his heart for this business would fade. Maybe the hunger was what made him great. But when his music hit, he would be ready.
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They aired a separate numbers video from the one that aired earlier.
Redmond and Peter Rosenberg replaced Cole and McAfee on the panel. They spoke about the return of Charlotte Flair, and Big E flat-out mentioned the possibility of a Becky Lynch return.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Gunther. He wasn’t worried about the Rumble match because he knew the winner would want to face Rhodes because he was the easier opponent. He looked forward to watching it anyway.
There was some bad news as Miz confirmed he will be in the Rumble.
Bubba Dudley joined the panel and put over the tag teams. They also plugged the new LFG show on A&E.
There was an actual video package about the WrestleMania sign.
Lanie Gardner sang the American national anthem.
ROYAL RUMBLE 2025 —
Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Gunther, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Bayley, Bianca Belair & Naomi, and Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman were shown arriving.
Stephanie McMahon entered. She announced this was the biggest Royal Rumble in history and fireworks went off.
Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers.
(The ring mat is white with a few ads, but not as many as on Raw.)
I’ll update the Rumble matches periodically throughout, so follow along.
Charlotte Flair won the Women’s Royal Rumble Match (1:10:22)
During each entrance, everyone’s chyron had the wrestler’s national flag. A graphic remained on the screen that provided updates on how many people were left and eliminated.
Iyo Sky entered 1st. Liv Morgan entered 2nd. They went back and forth until Roxanne Perez entered 3rd. Perez hit them with a combo Russian leg sweep and DDT. Lyra Valkyria entered 4th, Chelsea Green entered 5th. Unlike Valkyria, Green took her time to enter.
Green chucked everyone over the top, but nobody actually went out. She celebrated anyway, so everyone beat her up. B-Fab entered 6th, Ivy Nile entered 7th. Nile handed out German suplexes and hit a double German to Perez and Green. The crowd popped but followed with “You suck” chants.
Zoey Stark entered 8th. Morgan almost eliminated Green and the crowd did not want that to happen. Lash Legend entered 9th. Legend ran wild until B-Fab and Legend knocked each other down with boots. Green had the first elimination by tossing out B-Fab, and she got a big pop.
Bianca Belair entered 10th. There was a goofy spot that got over where she did the ten punches in the corner. Someone would try to interrupt, but she would flip over them and do it to them, too. This happened about six times. Shayna Baszler entered 11th.
The first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion was the second to be eliminated—by Nile. This will certainly set up a title match.
Bayley entered 12th. She had a faceoff with Sky, but they were cut off by PFC. Sonya Deville entered 13th, Maxxine Dupri entered 14th. Dupri was confronted by Nile, but Dupri got the better of her. PFC cut her off before she could try the caterpillar. The other wrestlers took out PFC, so Dupri hit the caterpillar. Dupri eliminated Nile, but PFC immediately eliminated Dupri.
Naomi entered 15th. Naomi and Belair eliminated Stark, while Bayley and Sky eliminated Deville and Baszler. Jaida Parker entered 16th. Parker, Legend, Belair and Naomi teamed up on Green, and the crowd booed. Legend booted Parker by mistake, and Green eliminated Legend to a big pop.
Piper Niven entered 17th. Niven eliminated Green by accident, and the crowd booed. Natalya entered 18th.
Jordynne Grace entered 19th, and she got a good reaction. Her graphic labelled her as a former TNA Knockouts champion. She handed out clotheslines while Perez was on her back. Grace eliminated Parker. Grace got Niven easily on her shoulders and hit a Finlay roll.
Grace hugged Naomi, but Belair took offence and tried to eliminate Grace but Grace held on. Michin entered 20th.
Alexa Bliss entered 21st to a monster reaction. She came out with her doll. (Cole just had to remark, “The internet said she wasn’t coming back!”) She wore black and red and had pink highlights in her hair. She laid out Bayley with the crowd on their feet, and she posed for them.
Zelina Vega entered 22nd, and she gave Grace a Code Red off the ropes. Candice LeRae entered 23rd. Stephanie Vaquer entered 24th to a pretty good reaction.
Trish Stratus entered 25th to a big reaction. She beat up Natalya and gave a double bulldog to LeRae and Grace. Niven ran Stratus over with a tackle. (There are 15 people currently in the ring with just a few entrants left.)
Raquel Rodriguez entered 26th. Morgan eliminated Natalya with a Codebreaker off the apron. Rodriguez knocked Bliss to the apron, and Morgan eliminated Bliss with a Codebreaker. The crowd booed heavily.
Charlotte Flair entered 27th. She got fireworks. She wore a sparkly red outfit… and a sparkly silver knee brace. Charlotte ran wild and eliminated Michin. Vaquer and Grace tried to give her a delayed vertical suplex, but she countered into a double DDT. Charlotte eliminated Niven.
Giulia entered 28th. She eliminated Grace with a headbutt and knee strike to knock her off the apron. The crowd lightly booed Grace going out. Giulia and Vaquer faced off, but they wound up teaming up. A brawl broke out as Nia Jax entered 29th.
Vega was on the apron, so Jax yanked her out for the elimination, before Jax even entered the match. Stratus eliminated LeRae. Jax tried to powerbomb Stratus, but Stratus hit a huricanrana. LeRae, already eliminated, assisted Jax in eliminating Stratus. The crowd booed.
Nikki Bella entered 30th. She got an interesting reaction. She got a big reaction because she’s a star. I think everyone (me) was expecting Becky Lynch. Everyone chose this moment to gang up on Jax, but she knocked everyone down.
There was a wild spot where a bunch of people wound up on the apron, and thanks mostly to Jax — Vaquer, Sky, Naomi, Belair, and Rodriguez all got eliminated. Jax eliminated Morgan soon after. Perez eliminated Giulia.
Jax was trying to eliminate Bayley. Nikki went to attack but Jax moved, and Nikki eliminated Bayley. Jax then eliminated Nikki.
Perez got the surprise elimination over Jax which got a big reaction. She had a quick battle with Charlotte, but Charlotte booted her out for the win. The crowd cheered for Charlotte, who was clearly emotional.
(The first part of this match was very ordinary, but it picked up in the latter half. I feel like they could’ve done more with some of the newer acts/women from NXT, but everything built to the ending.)
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Godfather, Mickie James, and Kurt Angle (and his daughter) were shown ringside. Marcus Freeman and Stephen Amell were shown too.
Two out of three falls match: DIY defeated Motor City Machine Guns to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships (14:01)
Tommaso Ciampa pinned Alex Shelley with a knee strike just three minutes into the match to pick up the first fall. Johnny Gargano tried a slingshot spear later on, but Shelley superkicked him mid-air. Chris Sabin tagged in and wiped out DIY with a dive. Sabin and Shelley hit Gargano with Skull and Bones to win the second fall.
DIY hit Sabin with a combo superkick/Fairy Tale Ending, but Shelly broke up the cover. Ciampa hit Sabin with Project Ciampa for a nearfall.
With Ciampa hanging upside down in the corner, Shelley suplexed Gargano into him, and Sabin followed with a dropkick. They hit a combo powerbomb/blockbuster, but Gargano broke up the cover. Gargano hit Ciampa by accident, which led to MCMG hitting a fury of double-team offence on Gargano.
They went for their finisher again but Montez Ford (in a hoodie) distracted the referee while Angelo Dawkins attacked Sabin from behind with a crutch. DIY hit Meet in the Middle to retain the titles.
— The Street Profits also attacked DIY after the match.
The crowd didn’t seem to care about this.
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Among the things they did to waste time before the next match was show highlights from McAfee’s football career (he was a kicker).
Ron Simmons, Rick Steiner, Rob Van Dam, Belal Muhammad, and John Mellencamp were shown ringside.
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Owens and Rhodes each entered with their belts. Owens took his belt back on Smackdown. Not sure when Rhodes got his back.
Ladder match: Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship (25:05)
Early in the match, Owens slammed Rhodes through the metal hinges of the ladder. Rhodes fought back, and they fought through the crowd. Owens slammed Rhodes on a ladder and set up a ladder bridge (to be used later). Owens found a mini ladder and used it as a weapon, but Rhodes fought back and used it, too.
Rhodes tried climbing the (regular) ladder, but Owens yanked him off and hit a powerbomb. Later on, Rhodes suplexed Owens onto a ladder. Rhodes yanked a rung of the ladder and used it as a weapon. Owens responded by doing the Dusty jabs. Instead of hitting an elbow, he used the ladder rung.
Owens took a brutal bump up next. Rhodes countered a piledriver by giving Owens a back body drop until the absolute edge of the ladder. Owens got his receipt by powerbombing Rhodes onto a ladder that was draped over the bottom rope.
Owens set up a low ladder bridge in the ring and put Rhodes through it with a fisherman’s buster off the ropes. Officials ran out to check on both guys. Sami Zayn did, too, to check on Owens.
Owens set up for a stunner, but Rhodes countered into a Cross Rhodes. Owens rolled out of the ring, so Rhodes (instead of climbing the ladder) rammed Owens’ head repeatedly against the announce table. Owens came up bleeding. (Rhodes distracted the cameraperson while Owens was down. Although Owens did have a cut above his eye later.)
Rhodes set up something on the announce table, but Owens gave him a low blow. Owens went for a package powerbomb on the previously set-up ladder bridge, but Rhodes countered and put Owens through it with an Alabama Slam. The ladder snapped in half.
Zayn checked on Owens while Rhodes grabbed the title belts for the win.
(They really beat the hell out of each other, so this was worth checking out. Owens was killed so much that he almost felt like a babyface by the end.)
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Tyrese Haliburton, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Kai Cenat were shown in the crowd.
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Jey Uso won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match (1:20:12)
Rey Mysterio entered 1st. Penta entered 2nd. The crowd was into their face-off, and Rey offered a handshake. Penta shook his hand and pulled him in close to do his catchphrase. Rey brought the fight to Penta and may have eliminated him, but Penta just barely stayed in. (It’s possible both feet hit the floor, but they didn’t show a replay.)
Chad Gable entered 3rd. Gable worked over both men until Rey dove off Penta’s shoulders to dive on Gable (unfortunately landing right on Gable’s knees). Carmelo Hayes entered 4th. He worked together with Gable to beat up Rey and Penta. Hayes tried to eliminate Gable, so Gable gave him a German suplex.
Santos Escobar entered 5th. He dropped Rey onto the middle rope and hit a 619, to which Cole said, “That’s Rey’s move!” Penta confronted Escobar, but Escobar gave him a Canadian Destroyer. Rey gave Escobar a 619 but was unable to eliminate him.
Otis entered 6th and easily chokeslammed Escobar. He went for a caterpillar, but Gable caught him in an ankle lock. Otis slipped out, so Gable slapped him, and Otis slapped him back. Gable gave Otis a German suplex, but Otis popped right up and applied a torture rack.
Bron Breakker entered 7th and sprinted down the long aisleway. He killed Hayes with a spear and eliminated him. He gave Gable a Frankensteiner and suplexed Otis. Bron speared and eliminated Escobar.
Akira Tozawa entered 8th, but he was immediately attacked from behind Hayes (as Hayes was leaving). This clothesline from behind was enough to kill Tozawa, so officials helped him to the back.
IShowSpeed happened to be nearby, so future Hall of Famer Triple H told him to take Tozawa’s spot. Speed acted like he didn’t want to enter, but he sprinted down to the ring and helped Bron eliminate Otis.
Bron absolutely killed Speed to death with a spear and press-slammed him out of the ring. (Speed’s head hit hard against the mat on the spear.) If that wasn’t enough, Speed was tossed into Otis, who gave him a fallaway slam onto the announce table. They killed this poor guy.
Sheamus entered 9th. Sheamus laid out everyone. He was almost eliminated by Penta, but Sheamus hit a slingshot tackle. Jimmy Uso entered 10th. Jimmy shined until Sheamus cut him off. Andrade entered 11th and shined for a bit until Penta gave him a superplex.
Jacob Fatu entered 12th. Fatu got Rey and Penta on his shoulders simultaneously and hit them both with a Samoan drop. That was awesome. Fatu eliminated Gable, Rey and Andrade. Bron went face-to-face with Fatu, but the confrontation was interrupted.
Ludwig Kaiser entered 13th. He did a funny little run to the ring but then stopped short of entering because he knows better. His strategy didn’t work because as soon as he entered, he was eliminated by Penta.
The Miz entered 14th. They kept teasing eliminations of Bron, but he remained in. Miz “shined” for a moment until Fatu flattened him with a Samoan drop. The crowd chanted for Fatu.
Joe Hendry entered 15th. He got a very good reaction and entered with his TNA world title. Hendry beat up Miz until Fatu knocked him down with a tackle.
Roman Reigns entered 16th. Reigns speared Miz and eliminated him. Reigns speared Sheamus and eliminated him. Hendry kicked Reigns low, but Reigns speared him and eliminated the TNA champion.
Reigns and Bron faced off. Bron speared him to hell. The crowd barked. Bron went to eliminate Reigns, but Reigns countered and eliminated Bron instead. Bron looked back at Reigns before leaving. Jimmy helped Reigns to his feet but Fatu superkicked Jimmy and eliminated him.
Fatu faced off with Reigns, and the crowd cheered. They went back and forth until Reigns hit a spear.
Drew McIntyre entered 17th. He and Reigns exchanged blows until Fatu jumped in and knocked down Reigns. McIntyre and Fatu double-teamed Reigns. Penta tried to get involved, but Fatu dealt with him.
Finn Bálor entered 18th, Shinsuke Nakamura entered 19th. Penta leaped off Bálor’s back and gave Fatu a Canadian Destroyer. However, Bálor chucked Penta out of the ring for the elimination about 42 minutes in.
Jey Uso entered 20th and eliminated Nakamura. AJ Styles entered 21st. Styles beat up a few guys, and the crowd was into him. Styles gave Fatu a Pelé kick but Fatu hit a back body drop.
Braun Strowman entered 22nd and immediately eliminated Fatu. Fatu threw a Bret Hart-level tantrum and chucked chairs around ringside.
John Cena entered 23rd. Cena eliminated Strowman. He was almost eliminated by Bálor, but he eliminated Bálor instead. (Strowman was supposed to catch Bálor, but they mistimed it, and Bálor landed straight against the mats.)
Cena faced off with Reigns, but before anything could happen, CM Punk (wearing pink) entered 24th. Punk, Reigns and Cena stood tall for the crowd, who were on their feet. (The ref checked on Styles in the corner.)
They did literally nothing until Seth Rollins entered 25th. Rollins tackled Punk while Reigns and Cena went at it. Styles was back on his feet, and he went after Jey. (I’m watching with friends, and one of them, who isn’t a fan, can’t get over how good Styles’ hair looks.)
Dominik Mysterio entered 26th and gave Cena a frog splash. He went for a vertical suplex on Reigns, but Reigns gave him a Samoan drop.
Sami Zayn entered 27th. He immediately hit McIntyre and Rollins with Helluva Kicks as the crowd sang his song. Zayn went after Punk next. Damian Priest entered 28th. He gave Dom a chokeslam and chucked him out.
LA Knight entered 29th. He exchanged blows with Jey, which, of course, led to chants of “Yeah” and “Yeet.” McIntyre placed Zayn on the apron, and Jey accidentally eliminated Zayn with a superkick.
Logan Paul entered 30th. Paul hit Styles and Rollins with a double Buckshot lariat. Priest eliminated McIntyre. Knight shoved Paul off the apron, but Paul landed on the announce table to avoid the elimination. Knight eliminated Priest, and Styles eliminated Knight.
Paul leaped from the barricade to the steps and yanked Styles out for the elimination. Punk gave Paul a GTS, Rollins superkicked Punk, Rollins gave Jey a Pedigree, and Reigns Superman punched Cena. Rollins stomped Cena and Punk.
Rollins and Reigns had a big face-off. They had an exchange which led to Rollins hitting consecutive superkicks. Reigns almost eliminated Rollins, but Punk wound up eliminating them both. Punk admired his work so Paul eliminated Punk.
As Punk and Reigns stared at each other outside the ring, Rollins stomped Reigns. Punk and Rollins brawled, and officials got between them. Rollins flipped off Heyman and stomped Reigns onto the steel steps. Punk stepped over Reigns and said something to Heyman before leaving.
The final three were Cena, Paul and Jey Uso. Paul and Jey exchanged strikes. Cena got them both on their shoulders, but before he could hit a double AA, Jey slipped out and superkicked Cena. Cena managed to eliminate Paul.
The final two were Cena and Jey Uso. They soaked in the crowd for a while before going at it. Cena got the better of it and did his usual comeback, hitting the five-knuckle shuffle. Cena set up for AA, but Jey slipped out and hit a superkick. Cena avoided elimination, but Jey hit another superkick. Cena avoided elimination again, but Jey hit a spear.
After more elimination attempts, they both wound up on the apron. They exchanged strikes until Cena set up for an AA. Jey slipped off his shoulders and shoved Cena out for the elimination. Jey won.
The crowd reaction was a mix of shock and excitement. Fireworks went off, and the crowd all Yeeted along with Jey.
