Reviews

The John Report: WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Review

By John Canton • Published 1st February 2025
WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Review

It’s the WWE Royal Rumble featuring two huge Rumble matches featuring the men and women, Cody Rhodes against Kevin Owens in a Ladder Match, and more.

The Royal Rumble is here. It’s the first WWE PLE of the year and it’s the first time the Rumble is taking place in February since WWE went with the February 1st date this year instead of doing it one week earlier. I have reviewed all the Royal Rumbles as you probably know and it’s my second favorite event of the year other than WrestleMania. They are expected to have over 65,000+ fans in Indianapolis for this show and it’s the biggest crowd for a non-WrestleMania event ever. Amazing.

It’s also the first WWE PLE on Netflix for me in Canada and many of you outside the US. The Netflix is going well for me since I’ve been watching Raw, NXT, and Smackdown on it every week and there have been no issues. I like the earlier 6 p.m. start time for the Royal Rumble for this show. It’s certainly better for my friends in Europe too, so that’s great.

There was a two-hour Royal Rumble Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Royal Rumble
From Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, February 1, 2025

It was a packed house as Michael Cole welcomed us to the 38th annual WWE Royal Rumble event.

They showed some backstage walking earlier in the day of Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens on a golf cart, the World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER, CM Punk was walking around with some coffee, Seth Rollins was there with a ridiculous outfit as usual, last year’s Women’s Royal Rumble winner Bayley, the Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Naomi and Roman Reigns with the “Wise Man” Paul Heyman.

Stephanie McMahon appeared by the entrance to welcome us to the show. Stephanie talked about how the show was on Peacock in the US and Netflix around the world. Stephanie thanked the fans for making this the biggest Royal Rumble in history. Stephanie welcomed us to the 2025 Royal Rumble and some fireworks went off.

Analysis: It’s good to see Steph. We know she has that ESPN show featuring WWE stars coming soon and I would imagine she does more with WWE moving forward.

A video package aired featuring Pat McAfee talking about how great Indianapolis is. Pat did the cold open talking about the Royal Rumble matches. Great stuff as usual.

The commentary team was Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and Wade Barrett at ringside. The ring announcer Alicia Taylor went over the rules. She said 2-minute intervals in the match. Sometimes there are 90-second intervals. I’m fine with it either way.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

The former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY was #1 in the match. She was the Women’s Champion going into WrestleMania last year and now she’s first in the Rumble. The former Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan was #2 in the match. Liv is one of two women to be in every Women’s Royal Rumble match – the other one is Natalya. Liv was the runner up the last two years.

Sky was on a flurry by jumping over Liv and hitting a running dropkick. Liv sent Sky over the top to the apron and kicked Sky, but Sky fought back to get back into the ring. Sky sent Liv over the top to the apron. Liv managed to hang on. The #3 entrant is Roxanne Perez of NXT for her third Royal Rumble appearance. Perez ran into the ring and hit a Thesz Press on Sky along with punches. Perez gave Sky a hurricanrana and a running uppercut to Liv. Perez hit a legsweep/DDT combo on both women at the same time. Perez sent Liv over the top to the apron, but Liv held on. Perez did a headscissors on Sky. Liv hit a Codebreaker on Perez. It’s Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria at #4 wearing her title on her way to the ring. Lyra went into the ring with jumping kicks on Liv and Perez. Lyra hit a spinning kick on Liv. Lyra hit a DDT on Sky. Lyra had a wardrobe malfunction and a referee had to help her at ringside. Here’s another champion at #5 because it’s Chelsea Green as the Women’s US Champion. Green took a long time strutting down to the ring while other women ran down there. Green tried to eliminate the four women in the ring, but the four women all held onto the apron. Green celebrated even though nobody got eliminated. The four women all beat up Green with punches and kicks.

The #6 entrant is B-Fab in her second Royal Rumble match. She didn’t get a big reaction, but she has improved a lot since she started in WWE. B-Fab ran over Green with a shoulder tackle and hit a kick. B-Fab slammed Liv onto Lyra. B-Fab lifted up Sky leading to a twisting suplex. The six women were all battling by turnbuckles with not much going. Ivy Nile was #7 from the American Made group and it’s her second Rumble match. Nile went into the ring and hit a spinebuster on Lyra. Nile almost eliminated Lyra and then Nile hit German Suplexes on Sky and Liv back to back. They did a double German Suplex spot with Nile doing it to Green, who slammed Perez at the same time. That drew a good pop. There wasn’t much going on after that. Zoey Stark was #8 from the Pure Fusion Collective group and she had face paint to show she was ready to fight. Stark hit a German Suplex on Sky who did a moonsault bump. Stark hit a knee, a dropkick and an overhead suplex. Green tried to eliminate Stark, but Stark held on and Stark hit a neckbreaker off the top. Lash Legend was #9 from NXT and she sprinted to the ring. Lash has been a standout in NXT in recent months. Lash hit some forearms, a kick and a backbreaker. Lash hit a delayed vertical suplex on Lyra. Lash slammed Stark onto Lyra. Lash pointed at the WrestleMania sign. Lash swung Ivy around to knock down other women and Lash spiked Lyra with a Powerbomb. B-Fab and Lash exchanged forearms Lash and B-Fab kicked eachother at the same time. Green tossed B-Fab over the top for the first elimination of the night. Lash held on to avoid an elimination. Bianca Belair was #10 as a former Rumble winner in 2021 and a current Women’s Tag Team Champion. Belair won from the #3 spot in 2021. Belair hit a cross body block off the top. Belair hit a vertical suplex on Sky. Belair did a backflip off the top rope leading to shoulder tackles on three women against the turnbuckle. Belair punched Lash a few times while three women were under Lash. Belair hit a backbreaker on Liv. Belair suplexed Lash as well. Belair did a press slam to Sky, but Sky held on to avoid elimination.

The #11 spot went to Shayna Baszler, who hit a suplex on Sky and stomped on the arm. Baszler hit Liv with a knee. Lyra hit a running kick on Baszler. Stark slipped off the top and was able to hit a clothesline on Lyra. Stark and Baszler worked together as PFC teammates, but Lyra fought back with a missile dropkick. Nile managed to toss Lyra over the top to the floor. Nile signaled that she was coming after Lyra’s title. Bayley was the #12 entrant and she was last year’s winner. Bayley hit her rival Perez with a knee smash. Bayley hit a spinning sidewalk slam on Perez. Bayley faced off with her former ally Sky, but Baszler and Sky stopped that with punches. Bayley tried to fight off the PFC women. Sonya Deville was #13 as the third member of the PFC group. Deville ran down to the ring with running knees on multiple women. Deville tackled Liv as well. Green shook hands with Green, so Deville hit a neckbreaker. Baszler hit a German Suplex on Belair. Stark hit a rolling senton on Perez. Maxxine Dupri was #14 while the three PFC women were waiting for her. Nile shoved her former friend Dupri and Dupri knocked down Nile with punches along with a spin kick that didn’t touch Nile. Dupri hit a suplex. The trio of Bayley, Sky and Belair fought with the PFC women. Dupri hit a German Suplex on Nile. Dupri hit her own Caterpillar elbow drop on Nile. Dupri put Nile on the apron and Dupri did a spin kick to eliminate Nile. The PFC women dumped Dupri over the top so it was a short run for Dupri. Naomi was #15 as the other half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Naomi hit double knees onto Stark on the apron. Naomi hit a cross body block on Green and a kick to Perez’s back. Belair and Naomi hit a double team KOD on Stark. Sky hit Over the Moonsault on Deville. Belair and Naomi eliminated Stark, Bayley eliminated Baszler and Sky eliminated Deville. All of PFC were eliminated.

The #16 entrant was Jaida Parker from NXT. Parker ran over Bayley with a shoulder tackle. Parker hit a front suplex on Morgan and a running hip check. Parker hit a hip drop on Green by the turnbuckle. Green got in the middle of Belair, Naomi, Lash and Parker bonding, so they beat up Green. Lash hit Parker by accident, so Green eliminated Lash. Piper Niven was #17 as an ally for Green, who was shouting for Niven to hurry so she can help her. Niven went under the rope to hide while Niven hit Naomi with a body slam. Niven hit a running cross body block and a sidewalk slam. Piper hit a uranage slam on Sky. Green was sent over the top to the apron, Niven charged, the other women moved and Niven knocked Green off the apron to the floor. The fans booed because they liked Chelsea. Natalya was #18 as the second woman who has been in every Rumble along with Liv Morgan. Natalya nailed Bayley with a clothesline, a German Suplex for Liv and Natalya hit suplexes on Naomi and Belair. Natalya tried to dump Sky, but Sky held on. Perez jumped on Natalya and Natalya was able to slam her down. Natalya sent Perez to the apron. Parker hit a running hip attack on Natalya. Jordynne Grace was #19 as an official WWE superstar and it’s her second straight year in the Rumble. Grace hit a German Suplex and a spinebuster. Grace hit multiple clotheslines along with a backpack slam. Parker charged, Grace sent her over the top to the apron and Grace used her hip to eliminate Parker from the match. Niven knocked down Grace, so Grace picked up Niven and hit a Death Valley Driver and that got a huge pop. Pat shouted “Holy Shit” and the fans popped for that. Naomi hugged Grace in the middle of the ring since they were TNA buddies. Belair was like “what are you doing” and Belair nearly eliminated Grace, but Grace held on. It is Michin at #20 from Smackdown and she hit a dropkick on Niven. Michin hit a running kick on Natalya. Michin hit a jumping kick followed by a cannonball splash against the turnbuckle. Natalya sent Belair over the top to the apron, but Belair held on. Naomi hit a leg drop.

There was a huge pop for the return of #21 Alexa Bliss. Cole said that the internet said she wasn’t coming back and Barrett told Cole to stop reading the dirt sheets. That’s funny. Alexa was away for two years after giving birth to her daughter. The fans were loud for her. Bliss locked down Bayley and hit knee drops. The fans cheered as Bliss posed for the fans. Natalya tried to eliminate Bliss, but Alexa held on to avoid elimination. Zelina Vega was #22 and she had a unique outfit as usual. It is her sixth Rumble match. Vega hit a jumping kick on Liv and Vega hit a knee on Sky. Vega hit a Tornado DDT on Niven. Vega battled Grace by the turnbuckle and Vega hit a Code Red off the turnbuckle on Grace. Naomi and Belair hit a double team hiptoss on Michin followed by a moonsault/leg drop combo on Michin. Candice LeRae was #23 for her fifth Royal Rumble. LeRae went into the ring with a neckbreaker. The ring was full with 13 women (nice stats on the screen) and there wasn’t a lot going on. There was another NXT entrant as Stephanie Vaquer made her first Rumble appearance as the #24 entrant. Vaquer ran down to the ring and hit a springboard cross body block on Bayley and a belly-to-back suplex. Vaquer hit a suplex on Natalya. Vaquer did her knee slam repeatedly on Natalya. Vaquer did a dragon screw leg whip on Bayley out of the corner. Naomi and Belair hit a double suplex on Bliss. It’s my favorite, the WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus as #25 and she debuted in WWE 25 years ago. It’s great to see her back in the ring. Trish worked over Natalya with punches. Grace blocked a Stratusfaction attempt, but Trish came back with a double bulldog. Trish gave Natalya a Stratusfaction as my two Canadian favorites must have loved doing that spot. Niven ran over Trish. There are five women left.

The #26 entrant was Raquel Rodriguez with a boot to knock Natalya down. Raquel gave her buddy Liv a Powerbomb onto Natalya. Raquel sent Natalya over the top and Liv hit a Codebreaker on Natalya to eliminate Natalya from the match. Bliss hit a shoulder tackle on Live on the apron, but Liv held on. Liv hit a Codebreaker on Bliss on the apron and the fans booed Bliss being eliminated. It’s return of “The Queen” Charlotte Flair at #27 and she got a pyro display for her entrance. It’s her first match since suffering a torn ACL in December 2023 that required surgery and a long rehab process. Flair did a very slow walk on her way down to the ring. The fans popped for Flair making her return. Flair had a big knee brace on her left knee. Flair was on fire with strikes and chops for a bunch of different women. Flair knocked Grace down with a chop. Flair kicked Michin while she was on the apron so that eliminated Michin. Flair hit a cross body block onto Grace and Vaquer in the ring. Grace and Vaquer hit a double team suplex attempt on Flair, but then Flair hit a double DDT. Flair was able to eliminate the powerhouse Niven. It was a lot longer than two minutes for Flair’s entrance. The NXT Women’s Champion Giulia was next at #28 for her first Royal Rumble match. Sky faced off with Giulia as they exchanged some moves, but there wasn’t going on otherwise. It was one hour in the ring for Sky and Bliss. Giulia battled with Grace on the apron and Giulia hit a knee to eliminate Grace. Giulia, Vaquer and Perez fought with Flair, Bayley and Belair and then all the women went to turnbuckles. Nia Jax was #29 as the biggest woman in the match and a former WWE Women’s Champion. Jax did a slow walk into the ring with 14 women in the ring. Vega was on the apron and Jax pulled her off the apron to eliminate Vega. Jax faced off with Trish, LeRae tried to throw out Trish and then Trish eliminated LeRae. Trish chopped Jax a few times. Trish hit a hurricanrana on Jax, but then Jax picked up Trish and put her onto the apron. LeRae held Trish’s leg and Jax hit Trish with a forearm. The fans booed that and I am booing that too. You can look but you can’t touch because it’s WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella at #30, which was expected since she talked about coming back. Nikki is back after three years away. The fans popped big for Nikki. Multiple women attacked Jax at the same time, but that didn’t work and Jax knocked them all down. It said there were 12 women in the ring left.

Nikki slapped Perez in the face after Perez tried to smack talk her. Vaquer went for a headscissors to eliminate Sky, but Sky held on. Liv There were five women on the apron trying to hang on. Nia Jax eliminated a bunch of people at once including Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Stephanie Vaquer, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan and maybe somebody else. There were six women left in the match. The six women all hit moves so that they were all knocked down. Nikki tried to eliminate Giulia, but Perez nailed Nikki with an uppercut. Flair went for a running kick, but Giulia avoided it. Flair got knocked down and Flair went back into the ring. Perez shoved Giulia into the ring post to eliminate her. Bayley was fighting on the apron, but Jax eliminated her and Jax eliminated Nikki as well.

The final three were Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Roxanne Perez. Jax eliminated a lot of women. Perez was in the ring for 67 minutes as she hit a chop block to Flair’s left knee which was surgically repaired. Jax went for a running attack, but Flair avoided it. Jax lifted up Perez to the apron and Flair dumped Jax over the top to the floor. Perez was on the apron, she hit Flair with a shoulder tackle and Flair hit Perez with a big boot to eliminate Perez from the match. The match went 70:20 or 1:10:20.

Winner: Charlotte Flair

Analysis: ***3/4 I enjoyed that Royal Rumble match. The result didn’t surprise me because I thought Flair would win and I wasn’t shocked when she did. Nia Jax had a dominant performance with a lot of eliminations at the end of the match. Jax’s nine eliminations are a record in a Women’s Rumble match. There were impressive performances by Roxanne Perez, Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky lasting a long time. It was one of those Rumbles when there were a lot of people in there most of the way. I was so happy to see Alexa Bliss get a huge pop in the match. It was cool to see Trish Stratus back in there as well. I know people wanted to see others in there like AJ Lee or Becky Lynch or whoever else, but we can’t get everybody in there. I don’t think it’s right to hate on people who are in the match. Charlotte Flair winning was the result that I expected and I think it should set her up against Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania.

Charlotte Flair pointed to the WrestleMania 41 sign to celebrate the win. The pyro went off as well. The fans were cheering for Flair. Flair said “I’m back” while on the apron.

Here is a graphic posted by WWE on their website with some stats from the Women’s Royal Rumble match.

There was some Slim Jim WrestleMania sweepstakes commercial with Big E hanging out with some fans.

There was some shilling for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas and the WWE World that will be there during the week.

They showed WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather, the legendary future Hall of Famer Mickie James (one of my favorites) and the WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle with his daughter Nicoletta. Kurt’s wife was there too.

Drew McIntyre was shown backstage getting ready. Sami Zayn was also shown getting ready as well.

The Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman and his family were at ringside. Actor Stephen Amell was also there in the crowd.

There was a video package for the #DIY/Motor City Machine Guns match up next.

The Motor City Machine Guns duo of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin made their entrance. The #DIY duo of Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa entered as the heel WWE Tag Team Champions.

WWE Tag Team Championships: #DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. Motor City Machine Guns – Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin

It’s a 2/3 Falls Match. This is the Guns first WWE PLE match.

Sabin and Shelley were in control with double clotheslines. They dumped the champions out of the ring. Shelley and Sabin hit sliding dropkicks on their opponents. Sabin hit a suicide dive onto the champions. The champions took over with Ciampa hitting a clothesline while Gargano was holding Sabin’s arm. Ciampa blocked Sabin from tagging out. Ciampa charged at Sabin, who hit a jumping kick to the head. Gargano didn’t actually make a tag while faking it and Shelley went after Gargano, so Ciampa hit a running knee on Shelley for the pinfall win. Cole pointed it out when Gargano did the fake out spot.

#DIY lead 1-0

Ciampa was in control of Shelley with a chinlock and Shelley broke free. Gargano tagged in as the champs continued to work over Shelley. Gargano chopped Shelley. Ciampa made a tag, so Shelley fought off both opponents with a DDT/flatliner combo. Ciampa left the ring, crawled under the other side of the ring and Ciampa grabbed Sabin, who kicked Ciampa away. Shelley made the tag to Sabin, but the referee didn’t see it so there was no tag. Ciampa and Gargano worked over Shelley with punches. DIY hit a Shatter Machine on Shelley for a two count. Barrett trashed the officiating saying it was like the Kansas City Chiefs game and McAfee added to that. Well played. Gargano kicked Sabin on the apron. Shelley hit a Spear to block a Gargano Spear attempt. Sabin got the tag leading to punches and a leaping clothesline. Sabin hit a running kick on Ciampa and a running kick for Gargano too. Sabin hit a springboard cross body block onto both guys on the floor. Shelley hit a DDT on Ciampa on the apron and Sabin hit a DDT on Gargano. Shelley got the tag, the Guns each kicked Gargano and Shelley jumped off the top for the Skull & Bones double team neckbreaker/top rope splash. Shelley covered Gargano for the pinfall.

The match is tied 1-1.

The next fall wins the match. Sabin hit Gargano with a superkick and Gargano came back with a clothesline. Ciampa was back in as Gargano hit a superkick and Ciampa hit a Fairytale Ending for a two count because Shelley made the save. Gargano hit a dive onto Shelley on the floor. Ciampa hit the Project Ciampa double knee to the back for a two count. Ciampa worked over Sabin with chops on the turnbuckle. Sabin slipped underneath Ciampa and Sabin shoved Ciampa into the ring post. Shelley suplexed Gargano into Ciampa, who was upside down against the turnbuckle. Sabin hit a running dropkick while the fans came alive for the fast-paced action. The Guns hit a double team Powerbomb/Blockbuster neckbreaker on Ciampa and Gargano broke up the pin attempt to save his partner. Gargano tagged in against Sabin and Gargano accidentally kicked Ciampa after Sabin moved. Shelley held Gargano for a dropkick by Sabin. Sabin and Shelley kicked Gargano against the turnbuckle. Montez Ford appeared with a hoodie on the apron, the referee was distracted by that and Angelo Dawkins used a crutch to hit Shelley on the turnbuckle. Gargano eye gouged Sabin in the ring. #DIY hit the Meet in the Middle knee/superkick combo and covered Shelley for the win. It went 14:03.

Winners 2-1: #DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano

Analysis: ***1/4 I liked the match for the most part, but the ending was cheap with the Profits getting involved. The fans weren’t really into the match the whole way and I understand that because it’s tough to do a regular match after a Royal Rumble match. I thought this would be a better match, but it just never got into that next gear where I would call it a great tag team match. I’m not surprised that #DIY retained although I was surprised to see The Street Profits getting involved.

After the match, The Street Profits hit Ciampa and Gargano with the crutch. The Profits held up the WWE Tag Team Titles.

Analysis: I thought it might be a heel turn by The Street Profits, but attacking #DIY showed they are just angry about the recent events in the tag team division.

There was a commercial for Intuit Turbotax featuring Sheamus…fella. A commercial aired for the WWE 2K25 video game. There was also a commercial for Riyadh Season since WWE has their deals with the Saudi Arabia folks.

A commercial aired for WWE Clash In Paris on August 31st. That will be one of the best crowds of the year.

They showed some stats about Lucas Oil Stadium and some of Pat McAfee’s punting stats during his career with the Indianapolis Colts. They also showed some Pat McAfee highlights from his NFL career.

There was a clip shown of Bianca Belair and Chelsea Green meeting a family of fans who were given tickets to the show by Xfinity. They showed The Hill Family in the crowd.

There were more legends shown in the crowd including WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons (Damn!), WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner and WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam with his wife. RVD got the biggest pop out of that trio.

The UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad was at ringside and legendary singer John Mellencamp was shown as well.

It was time for the Cody Rhodes-Kevin Owens match, so there was a video package to set that up. It’s been a long term story and a good one.

Kevin Owens made his entrance with the Winged Eagle version of the WWE Championship. Owens was wearing his great shirt about how he was “The Canadian Dream Son of a Security Systems Technician” which was a way to mock a classic Dusty Rhodes shirt. I’m sure security system technicians love the KO shirt.

Cody Rhodes got a big ovation for his entrance as the Undisputed WWE Champion. Cody had the WWE Championship around his waist as he made his entrance and the fans did the “WHOA-OH” shout when it reached that part of the song. Cody has been WWE Champion for 330 days and this is his 8th title defense according to a graphic on the screen. Cody went underneath the giant ladder that was in the aisle so he didn’t care about the superstition about how walking under a ladder is bad luck. Ring announcer Alicia Taylor did the in-ring introductions with the two men in the ring. The referees put the WWE Title and Winged Eagle WWE Title on the apparatus that would hang above the ring.

Undisputed WWE Championship Ladder Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens

The only way to win the match is to climb a ladder and retrieve the two WWE Titles hanging above the ring. No pinfalls, submissions, countouts or disqualifications.

The crowd was loud before Cody and Owens even touched. After they exchanged punches, Owens hit an elbow smash to knock Cody down. They left the ring where a ladder was and the ladder got knocked over. Cody teased a suplex, Owens blocked that and Owens gave Cody a body slam through the metal piece in the middle of the ladder. Owens put the metal piece of the ladder over Cody’s mouth. Owens sent Cody into the barricade. Cody and Owens went fighting over the barricade and they were fighting into the crowd. Owens slammed Cody into the camera. Owens sent Cody ribs first into the top of a barricade. Owens put a ladder against the ring apron and Owens slammed Cody onto the ladder. Owens put the ladder into the ring. Owens climbed the ladder, but Cody was back in to stop that. Cody sent Owens into the ladder to knock it over. Cole said that it was the third-largest gate in WWE history. Owens threw the hood of the commentary table at Cody. Owens set up a ladder bridge from the apron to the commentary table. Cody sent Owens into the steel steps. Owens hit a step ladder that he used to hit Cody in the back and Owens threw it at Cody. Cody got a hold of the smaller ladder and threw it at Owens to knock Owens down. Cody climbed the ladder, but Owens was back up with a ladder shot to the knee and the smaller ladder to the ribs. Owens slammed Cody onto the small metal ladder. Cody sent Owens into the ladder to knock Owens down. Cody climbed the ladder, Owens got a hold of his feet and Cody was hanging on the apparatus that had the two titles on it. Owens pulled Cody down leading to Owens countering a move into a Powerbomb. Owens trapped Cody under the ladder leading to Owens trying a climb, but Cody pushed the ladder to break free. Owens sent Cody into the barricade right by green shirt guy in the front row as usual. Owens brought another ladder into the ring. Cody suplexed Owens onto a ladder that was in the ring.

Cody broke a piece of the ladder and he hit Owens with the piece of the ladder. Owens managed to knock Cody down to stop that. Cole mentioned Wade did that in a match before and Wade said he did it to Cody. Owens hit Cody with the ladder rung to the head. Owens hit Cody in the head with the ladder rung along with Owens pulling the ladder rung into Cody’s face. Owens brought another ladder into the ring. There were three ladders in the ring along with a ladder bridge on the apron. Owens put a ladder across the bottom turnbuckle. Owens shouted: “I’m the champ!” Cody blocked Owens going for a move and Cody gave Owens a back body drop onto the edge of the ladder that was on the mat. The fans chanted “holy shit” for that because it looked very painful. Cody tried to climb the ladder, but Owens got back up and Owens gave Cody a Powerbomb onto the ladder that was against the bottom turnbuckle. That was also a painful bump for Cody’s upper back hitting the ladder. Owens sent Cody into the turnbuckle. Owens sent Cody into a ladder that was in the ring Owens put Cody onto a ladder that was bridged from the vertical ladder and the bottom ropes. Cody teased a move off the turnbuckle, but you can’t superplex Owens, so Owens gave Cody the Fisherman’s Buster onto the ladder that was bridged from the ropes to the ladder in the ring. That drew a huge pop while the announcers were freaking out. There were WWE Officials like Jason Jordan and Ken Doane along with referees and Smackdown GM Nick Aldis at ringside checking on both guys. Sami Zayn showed up at ringside to check on his buddy Owens and Zayn is friends with Cody as well. Owens was back up, he picked up Cody and Owens wanted a Stunner, but Cody hit a spinning neckbreaker. Cody rammed KO’s head against the commentary table repeatedly. Cody sent Owens into the ring post. Owens was bleeding from the head as Cody punched Owens repeatedly. They were on the commentary table when Owens hit a low blow uppercut. Sami Zayn was still at ringside. Owens tased a Package Piledriver, but Cody countered and Cody gave Owens an Alabama Slam through the ladder bridge from the table to the ring. Owens went through the ladder that was broken in half in the ring. Cody went up the ladder and Cody pulled down both versions of the WWE Title to win the match. That was the end of the match at 25:04.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: ****1/2 I thought it was an excellent and brutal WWE Title match that was one of the best title matches that Cody has had during his title reign. They used the ladders as weapons throughout the match and there were some crazy bumps throughout the match. That final bump by Owens through the ladder was absolutely brutal and I hope Owens is okay from it. I assume both guys are going to have a few weeks off to recover from that kind of match. I thought Cody was going to win, he did and I’m fine with that because I expected Cody to take the WWE Title all the way to WrestleMania. I’d like to see Kevin Owens as a World Champion again and I hope it happens, but I didn’t expect it here. It was an impressive performance from both guys. (My original rating was ****1/4 and I bumped it up to ****1/2 after a rewatch on Sunday morning.)

After the match, Cody Rhodes celebrated with the two versions of the WWE Title. Kevin Owens was a bloody mess on the broken ladder while WWE’s doctors checked on Owens. Cody had an intense look on his face as he slowly made his way to the back. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers was at ringside after he played a game earlier in the day. Cody walked over to the commentary table and held up the two WWE Titles over his head while Sami Zayn was there to check on his best friend Owens. Zayn looked back at Cody on the table.

Analysis: It will be interesting to see if Sami Zayn turns heel to join Kevin Owens since Zayn can’t seem to win the big one and that would make the best friends be allies again. I wouldn’t mind seeing that out of Sami even though he’s a great face.

There was a video promoting WWE Evolve coming to Tubi streaming service on March 5th at 8 p.m. ET with new episodes on Wednesdays.

A commercial aired promoting Elimination Chamber on March 1st in Toronto.

They showed Tyrese Haliburton of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers at ringside. He just finished an NBA game and made his way to the Rumble after that. Actor Oshea Jackson Jr. was at ringside. The popular streamer Kai Cenat was at ringside as well.

Joe Tessitore and Big E were upstairs in the stadium talking about the show so far and hyping up the post-show later. The audio wasn’t working well.

The classic Royal Rumble By The Numbers video aired.

It was announced by Michael Cole that the attendance was 70,347 people in the building.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

The show was at the 3-hour mark as Rey Mysterio made his entrance as the first entrant in the match. Rey is 50 years old and he may the oldest guy in the match depending on who else is in it. Penta was the #2 entrant making his Royal Rumble debut and just his third WWE match. Great reaction for him.

Rey and Penta shook hands to start the match. The fans were going crazy at this showdown to start the match. Penta did his “Cero Miedo” taunt with the fans chanting along. Rey tried a headscissors over the top to the apron, but Penta held on. Rey went up top going for a hurricanrana, Penta caught him and Rey nearly flipped Penta out, but Penta was able to stay in the match. It looked like just one of Rey’s feet hit the floor. Rey was on the top when Penta knocked him down. American Made’s Chad Gable was #3 in the match and he nearly eliminated Penta, but Penta held onto the ropes to avoid that. Gable held Rey and hit a back body drop to Penta. Gable sent Rey over the top, but Rey held on to avoid elimination. Penta hit a bulldog on Gable. Rey went onto Penta’s shoulders and Rey hit a splash on Gable with Rey landing on Gable’s knees. Ouch. I hope Chad is okay after that. Carmelo Hayes was #4 in his second Rumble match and he sprinted into the ring. Melo hit a spinning bulldog on Penta. Rey did a headscissors, but Melo hit a springboard DDT on Rey. Gable held Penta as Melo hit a clothesline into a suplex by Gable. Melo and Gable hit a double elbow drop on Rey. Gable teased tossing Gable out, but Gable avoided it. Gable hit Melo with a German Suplex. Santos Escobar was #5 for his third Rumble match as a third luchador entered the match. Escobar hit Rey with a knee smash and Escobar sent Rey into the middle turnbuckle. Escobar hit a 619 kick on Rey, which drew boos from the crowd. Penta ran the ropes leading to Escobar hitting a Mexican Destroyer. Rey sent Escobar into the ropes and Rey hit a 619 kick. Rey tried to dump Escobar. There were four guys that held on after near eliminations. The four guys all superkicked Gable. Penta and Melo kicked eachother while Rey and Escobar did a double cross body block. All five guys were down.

The big man Otis was in at #6 and the fans came alive for him. Otis hit a huge Chokeslam on Escobar. Otis tried the Caterpillar on Escobar, but Gable grabbed Otis’ foot going for an Ankle Lock. Otis broke free, Gable slapped Otis and Otis slapped Gable in response. Gable hit Otis with a German Suplex that looked impressive. Otis gave Gable a Torture Rack. Melo tried to help Gable get rid of Otis, but Otis stopped that. Penta hit a DDT on two guys at the same time. The Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker was #7 for his second Rumble appearance. Bron sprinted into the ring and hit a Spear on his former NXT rival Melo. Bron dumped Melo to eliminate him. Bron hit a Frankensteiner on Gable. Bron hit a back body drop on Otis. Bron ran the ropes leading to a clothesline on Rey. Escobar picked up Penta, so Bron hit a Spear on Escobar to knock him down. Bron tossed Escobar over the top to send Escobar out. The #8 entrant was going to be Akira Tozawa and Carmelo Hayes was leaving at that time, so Hayes hit Tozawa in the back to knock him down. Tozawa was backstage and Triple H was there to talk to Pearce, who said no Tozawa in the match. Triple H told IShowSpeed to go into the match so Speed went out there even though he acted like he wasn’t ready for it. That meant that #8 was IShowSpeed, who is a popular streamer. Speed went into the ring and helped Bron eliminate Otis. Speed did a backflip, Bron ran the ropes and Bron hit a running Spear. Bron tossed Speed onto Otis on the floor. Otis tossed Speed over the commentary table so that was it for Speed. Good effort by Speed. Sheamus was the #9 entrant as the fifth man in the match. Sheamus hit some forearm smashes. Penta nearly eliminated him, but Sheamus held on. Sheamus hit a backbreaker on Rey. Bron hit a suplex on Sheamus. Bron charged and Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick. Gable and Sheamus exchanged chops. Jimmy Uso was #10 for his third Rumble match. Jimmy hit a cross body block off the top onto Chad. Jimmy hit superkicks on Sheamus and Rey. Penta hit a superkick on Jimmy, but Jimmy came back with a corkscrew attack off the top. Jimmy kicked Sheamus to knock him down. Jimmy hit a running hip attack on Rey and a running hip attack on Gable. Jimmy hit a running hip attack on Penta. Sheamus decked Jimmy with a chop.

The #11 entrant was Andrade. His wife Charlotte Flair won earlier and it would be a big surprise if he won too. Andrade kicked Jimmy and hit a top rope headscissors on Penta. Andrade hit a running forearm on Sheamus. Andrade hit the running double knee attack. Penta nearly sent Andrade out, but Andrade held on. Andrade kicked Penta to knock him down. Gable sent Rey into the turnbuckle while Penta hit a superplex on Andrade. The “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu was #12 for his Rumble debut. Fatu superkicked Gable and Fatu hit a popup Samoan Drop on Andrade. Fatu hit a running hip attack on Gable. Fatu punched Penta. Rey jumped onto Fatu, who also picked up Penta and Fatu hit a double Samoan Drop. Fatu tossed Gable over the top to eliminate him. Fatu eliminated Rey as well. Fatu eliminated Andrade as well, so that’s 3 eliminations by Fatu. Bron faced off with Fatu as Jimmy superkicked his cousin Fatu and Sheamus knocked Bron down. It’s Ludwig Kaiser at #13 and he sprinted down to the ring, but then Kaiser stopped himself on the floor rather than go into the ring. After nearly a minute, Kaiser went into the ring to try to toss Penta out, but Penta came back and Penta tossed Kaiser out. Kaiser was in the ring for about 3 seconds. Penta and Sheamus tried to dump Bron out, but Bron managed to hold on. The Miz was #14 and he was in his 16th Royal Rumble match, which is tied for the second most of all time. The Miz avoided Bron and Miz nearly dumped Bron, but Bron held on. Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale on Jimmy. Penta worked over Miz with a hurricanrana. Miz came back with his own hurricanrana off the middle turnbuckle. Miz hit Fatu in the mouth and then Fatu tried to toss Miz, but Miz held on. Miz jumped off the top rope leading to Fatu hitting a Samoan Drop. The TNA World Champion Joe Hendry made his entry as the #15 entrant and the fans sang his song for his entrance. Joe hit a fallaway slam on Miz. The fans popped for Joe after that. Joe fired up the crowd and Joe hit his Standing Ovation slam. Fatu nailed Joe with a running forearm. Sheamus said he was enjoying that and he wondered why Fatu was always angry.

Analysis: I’m so happy for Joe being in there. That was a cool moment.

It’s time to acknowledge the Tribal Chief because Roman Reigns was #16 with the “Wise Man” Paul Heyman joining him for his entrance. There was a pyro display for Roman as well. Heyman took the Ula Fala as Reigns made his slow walk to the ring. It is Roman’s first Rumble match in five years because he was the champion in the last four years. Reigns hit a Spear on Miz and eliminated Miz. Reigns hit a Spear on Sheamus and Reigns eliminated Sheamus with a clothesline over the top. Hendry sent Reigns into the ropes and Reigns hit a Spear on Hendry. Reigns eliminated Hendry. Bron ran the ropes at the same time as Reigns and Bron hit a Spear on Reigns. When Bron tried to toss Reigns, it was turned around and Reigns eliminated Bron from the match. That tease of Roman and Bron is something I want to see. Jimmy wanted to help Reigns up, but Fatu superkicked cousin Jimmy and Fatu eliminated Jimmy from the match. It was Reigns, Fatu and Penta having a staredown. As Reigns and Fatu faced off, Cole said you are looking at a future WrestleMania main event. They have main evented shows already in tag team matches. Fatu worked over Reigns with punches and then Reigns bounced off the ropes leading to a Spear. That period with Reigns in the ring was a lot longer than two minutes. Drew McIntyre was #17 looking angry since he always complains about Roman Reigns, so Reigns was waiting for him in the ring. Drew said he’s been waiting for this moment. Penta and Fatu were laying on the mat as Reigns exchanged punches with Drew. Fatu knocked down Reigns with a forearm. Drew worked over Reigns with punches while Fatu hit a running hip attack on Penta against the turnbuckle. The #18 entrant was Finn Balor for his fourth Royal Rumble match. Balor stomped on Reigns. Penta chopped Balor a few times and Balor nearly tossed Penta. Balor hit an elbow drop on Drew. Reigns decked Balor with an uppercut. Penta hit a unique dropkick on Balor and dropkick on Fatu as well. The US Champion Shinsuke Nakamura was #19 as a former Royal Rumble winner just like Drew and Reigns already in the ring. Nakamura attacked Reigns with a knee to the ribs. Nakamura knocked down Penta and stomped on him. There were six guys in the ring as Penta jumped off Balor’s back and Penta hit a Mexican Destroyer on Fatu. Penta went after Balor, who tossed Penta over the top to the floor. Penta was in the match for 42:04 as the second man in the match. The “Yeet” man Jey Uso was #20 with the fans going crazy with some arm swinging as Jey made his way down to the ring. Jey worked over Balor with punches. Drew charged at Jey, but Jey was ready with a Spear. Jey punched cousin Jacob and hit a Reverse Rana to spike Fatu on his head. Nakamura hit a spinning kick on Jey, but Jey came back with a jumping kick. Nakamura hit a back elbow on Jey. Nakamura charged and Jey hit a back body drop to send Nakamura over the top to the floor.

The great AJ Styles is #21 making his return after a foot injury sidelined him for a few months. AJ had his classic theme song too, so that’s a good thing. Styles got some offense going and the fans popped big for him as a former WWE Champion. Styles hit a Pele Kick on Fatu, but Fatu came back with a back body drop on Styles. Braun Strowman was #22 as a former Universal Champion and he was taken out by Jacob Fatu recently. When Braun got into the ring, he knocked Balor down and Braun got into a fight with Fatu. Bron knocked down Fatu with a cross body block. Braun picked up Fatu on his shoulder and Braun tossed Fatu over the top to the floor. Fatu pulled off the commentary table and Fatu tossed a leather chair toward the ring. Fatu left. There was a huge pop for #23 John Cena making his last Royal Rumble match appearance. The fans were going crazy for Cena as he jogged down to the ring. Fatu was in the aisle staring at Cena as Cena made his way into the ring. Cena avoided a charging Strowman and Braun went over the top to the floor. Cena caught Balor and Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on Balor to eliminate him. Reigns hit a Spear on Drew. Cena and Reigns had a staredown in the ring. The clock ticked down quickly during Cena’s entrance. CM Punk is #24 and he got a huge pop as well. The fans sang along with Punk’s “Cult of Personality” song as he made his way toward the ring. It was Punk’s eighth Royal Rumble appearance. There were six guys in the match and they were all a former WWE Champion except Jey Uso at this point. There was no interaction as Punk just stared at Cena and Reigns in the ring. Seth Rollins is #25 and he went right after CM Punk with punches. The other guys all paired off and they fought by the turnbuckles. There were 7 men in the match. Rollins tried to dump Drew, but that didn’t work. Drew eye-gouged Punk and then everybody paired off against the turnbuckles.

There are five guys left with Dominik Mysterio at #26 so Cole trashed him while Wade wondered what it would be like if Dom got the win. Dominik went up top and hit a Frog Splash on Cena, who was down in the ring. Dom tried to suplex Reigns, but that didn’t work so Reigns hit Dominik with a Samoan Drop. There were eight active guys in the match. Sami Zayn is #27 as another big name in the match and it’s his 7th Royal Rumble match. Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Drew. Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on his friend Rollins. After Zayn got in there, he didn’t do much and they all tried eliminations near the ropes, but nothing was happening. Damian Priest entered as #28 and a former World Champion. Priest hit a cross body block off the top onto Drew. Priest hit running splashes. Priest hit a spinning kick on Styles. Dominik dropkicked Priest in the back, but then Priest hit South of Heaven. Priest tossed Dominik out of the ring. The megastar LA Knight was #29 with Wade marking out for Knight and it is Knight’s Rumble debut. Knight went into the ring and hit some neckbreakers. Knight and Jey exchanged punches so the fans could chant “Yeet” and “Yeah” for them. Knight hit a lifting belly-to-back suplex on Jey. Zayn helped Reigns back up, which Drew didn’t like, so Drew shoved Reigns into Zayn. When Zayn was on the apron, Jey tried to superkick Drew, who moved and Jey superkicked Zayn off the apron to the floor. Drew hit Jey with a Claymore Kick. Logan Paul was #30 as the final man in the match and the fans booed him heavily on his way to the ring.

There were 10 men left with nobody else entering the match. Paul hit a double clothesline and a snap suplex on Jey. Priest eliminated Drew while Drew was trying to throw Jey out. Drew stared at Priest and Drew had an angry look on his face. Knight tried to kick Knight off the apron to the floor, but Paul jumped onto the commentary table. Paul was not eliminated. Knight clotheslined Priest over the top to the floor. Styles snuck up behind Knight and Styles dumped Knight over the top to eliminate him. Paul went to the barricade and Paul jumped to the steel steps. Styles went for a springboard move, but Paul grabbed AJ’s legs to eliminate Styles.

There were six guys left in the match as Cena fought with Jay while Reigns battled Paul and Punk stomped on Rollins. Punk picked up Paul and Punk hit the GTs. Rollins superkicked Punk. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jey. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Cena and Rollins hit The Stomp on Cena. Rollins hit The Stomp on Punk. Reigns and Rollins were the only two men standing as the fans came alive for the former members of The Shield. Reigns and Rollins faced off while the other four guys were on the mat. Reigns and Rollins exchanged punches. Rollins went for a Stomp, Reigns avoided it, Rollins avoided a Superman Punch and Reigns tried to dump Rollins, but Rollins held on. Rollins superkicked Reigns into the ropes. Reigns ducked a Rollins clothesline and Reigns tried a clothesline, but CM Punk was there to dump Rollins and Reigns at the same time. Paul eliminated Punk! Rollins hit The Stomp on Reigns on the floor. Rollins and Punk got into a fight on the floor. Rollins hit a superkick on Punk on the floor. Heyman was yelling at Rollins for hitting The Stomp on Reigns on the floor. Rollins gave Heyman a middle finger salute and Rollins hit The Stomp on Reigns on the steel steps. Rollins went after Punk, but the referees stopped that. Heyman was screaming about Reigns getting attacked on the floor while Punk was so sad as he walked away.

Analysis: That was stunning to see CM Punk get eliminated by Logan Paul there. Rollins attacking Reigns like that was great as well. This might lead to Rollins becoming a heel again. I wouldn’t mind seeing that.

The final three were John Cena, Logan Paul and Jey Uso. Cena was up against the turnbuckle while Jey battled Logan. Jey hit a spinning kick to the face to knock Paul down. Jey tried a splash, but Cena avoided it. Cena hit a running elbow on Paul and Jey against the turnbuckle. Cena picked up both guys, Jey got off Cena’s back, Jey superkicked Paul and Cena clotheslined Paul out.

John Cena and Jey Uso were the final two men in the match. The crowd was going crazy for both guys. Cena hit the two shoulder tackles and the spinning slam. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle fist drop on Jey. Cena picked up Jey, but Jey slipped out and Jey hit a superkick. Jey tried to flip Cena out, but Cena held on. Jey hit a superkick to knock Cena down again. Jey tried to eliminate Cena and Cena managed to kick him down. Jey bounced off the ropes leading to a Spear. Both guys were down selling the fatigue. Jey tried to eliminate Cena, but Cena tossed Jey and Jey held on. Cena charged, Jey sent him over the top to the apron and they battled on the apron after being sent over the top. They exchanged punches instead of just going back into the ring. Jey hit a superkick and Cena held on. Cena lifted up Jey going for an AA, but Jey went into the ring. Jey shoved Cena in the back and Cena landed on the floor on his feet. Jey Uso wins! The match went 1:20:15.

Winner: Jey Uso

Analysis: ****1/2 I thought it was an excellent Royal Rumble match. A lot of star power in it the whole way and especially in that second half. It wasn’t as predictable as some people thought either so that just shows anything can happen in this era. They booked it well with a lot of cool showdowns like Jacob Fatu battling a lot of different people, Bron Breakker had a nice showing, Roman Reigns interacted with a lot of people he normally doesn’t and then John Cena near the end as well. The Seth Rollins angle I thought was brilliant and shocking because it looked like maybe Rollins turned heel after he was eliminated. When it was down to Cena and Jey I thought it would be Cena winning, so it was a shocking result to see Jey eliminate him. I like that it was unpredictable. That’s how the Rumble should be instead of being too predictable.

After the match, Cena went into the ring and hugged Jey as a sign of respect.

Jey Uso celebrated in the ring and pointed at the WrestleMania 41 sign. Jey Uso led the fans in doing the arm swinging celebration while the three announcers joined in. Jey Uso continued to celebrate while the fans joined in as Jey did the arm swinging motion some more. Cole said that Jey Uso was truly the main event. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: This will likely mean that Jey Uso goes against Gunther for the World Title at WrestleMania 41 since Jey has tried to beat Gunther in the past and failed, so I think Jey will win. I’m not sure if that match is going to headline one of the WrestleMania nights, but it might.

Here are stats from WWE regarding the Men’s Royal Rumble match.

The WWE Royal Rumble had a runtime of 4:28:47. A long show, but I didn’t mind it.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. Jey Uso
  2. Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens
  3. Charlotte Flair
  4. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, CM Punk
  5. John Cena

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Final Thoughts

I’m going 8.5 out of 10 for this show. (I went 8.25 but I’ve bumped it up on Sunday morning.)

I thought it was a great show. I loved the Men’s Royal Rumble match and I thought Jey Uso winning shows that Triple H books this stuff in ways different than Vince McMahon used. The obvious results aren’t going to happen as much as they used to in the past. That’s a good thing because it keeps the audience guessing about what’s coming next. Jey is a former tag team wrestler who worked his ass off, became really popular with the fans and now he’s being rewarded for it. I’m genuinely happy for that man. There was so much star power in that Men’s Rumble, especially the second half of it, and I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. A lot of great stuff there with Jey, John Cena, Logan Paul, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and others. Great Men’s Rumble this year.

The Women’s Royal Rumble match wasn’t as interesting overall, but still a solid match. Nia Jax dominated with the nine eliminations and then Charlotte Flair getting the win was the result a lot of us expected. I’m sure it pisses off some fans that think Flair wins too much even though the woman missed 13 months of action. I certainly don’t mind that Flair won. Also, I was happy to see Alexa Bliss back and some of the other surprises as well.

The Cody Rhodes-Kevin Owens match was outstanding. It also looked very painful at times because they took some crazy bumps on those ladders. Some people might say they went too far and I wouldn’t argue that. To me, it’s two guys with a lot of pride who want to put on a memorable match, and they did.

As for the Tag Team title match, it wasn’t as good as I was expecting, but at least the storyline that they did with The Street Profits getting involved will continue the story of #DIY finding a way to win while Motor City Machine Guns will seek revenge.

I enjoyed the show overall.

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