5 Things That NEED To Happen At WWE Royal Rumble 2025
Shock Royal Rumble winners, huge title changes and more. WWE must make it happen!
![WWE royal rumble 2025 announcements](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/80d446fa37b1aabeff3cc6e2ee5d70ea.png)
John Cena's hopes of a dream retirement, CM Punk's ticking career clock on finally headlining WrestleMania, Roman Reigns desperately trying to reach the mountaintop again, Drew McIntyre hating on everyone - there's a lot to like about the men's 2025 Royal Rumble. All that drama comes before even touching on the women's bout or discussing the fact ye olde 'Winged Eagle' belt is involved in a fractured friendship between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens.
WWE has it made this 'Mania season.
Raw is doing big things on Netflix, casual fans are coming back in their droves, ex/current TNA stars like Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry are about to become household names. Yep, it's all happening under Triple H's watch, and 'The Game' deserves immense credit for creating a product that delivers thrills and spills even on secondary cards like the recent Saturday Night's Main Event specials.
Wrestling is a 'here's what we have for you next' kind of business though. The fanbase won't accept mediocrity (which the Rumble was guilty of a good few years back), and it's vital that WWE picks the right winners for both titular brawls. This show sets the tone for Wrestle-bloody-Mania to come, so there are certain things 2025's version must get right.
The good news is there are probably several more curveballs pre-April. Don't forget about Elimination Chamber in March, or the oodles of TV content waiting for everyone after the Rumble. Saturday's show should be a trip.
Here's everything creative must do to make sure it's a rip-roaring success you never forget.
5. The Women’s Match Opens
![WWE Royal Rumble 2024](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/74a16147a02a7cad185cc006a9882d0b.jpg)
Whether by accident or design (surely the former?!), this year's 30-woman Rumble match can't hold a candle to the male version. There are just so many more enticing feuds and storylines in the men's brawl, and it seemed even WWE themselves forgot they had to promote a female bout until very, very recently. They've scrambled to even reach 10 entrants in some rushed segments on Raw and SmackDown, let's be honest.
That's why the women's match has to open the show. Keeping both Rumbles are far apart as possible is always wise, especially on a four match card like this one. Triple H is unlikely to add to that number ahead of Saturday, so the ladies have to kick things off. Do that, and they'll have fan excitement on their side. There's just no getting away from it - the women's Rumble feels secondary this weekend.
Obviously, that shouldn't deter the roster from putting on a show. There are WrestleMania spots up for grabs, and that's true even for those who don't actually win the thing. 2025 saw WWE introduce midcard straps for the division, so turning heads backstage with a stunning performance in the Rumble could reap huge rewards for some lower-tier stars.
Charlotte Flair's announced return, Becky Lynch's possible unannounced comeback and a whole load of top work from the likes of Jordynne Grace, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax, Liv Morgan and Bayley should give this match some much needed oomph once it starts. Opening the show isn't a disgrace, but it would be nice to see some more emphasis put on the women's Rumble next year.
For now, it is what it is.
4. Jordynne Grace Announces Herself In WWE
![TNA Genesis 2025 Jordynne Grace](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/d7a1e342c8f011c531e39f0d3282e242.jpg)
Previously, this writer has predicted that Charlotte Flair will get the nod in the women's Rumble and then motor onto 'Mania to challenge either Rhea Ripley or Tiffany Stratton (probably the latter if Trips wants something totally fresh). Casting Flair as a babyface against both would be risky, largely because she's always excelled more as a stuck up heel who's entitled beyond belief.
Upon reflection, minds have been changed. Now, this fan reckons strapping a rocket to incoming ex-TNA star Jordynne Grace and pushing her into a title bout vs. Ripley would be best for business. Why not? Who says workers have to start at the bottom of the ladder and slowly work their way up the ranks? Grace is immediately impressive, and she's 100% ready for this kind of pressure spot.
Anyone who has watched her work in TNA could tell you that. She also impressed during a cameo in last year's Rumble, and WWE must've been delighted by how into Jordynne's act the live crowd seemed. That'll be true in Indianapolis too. Honestly, there are far worse ideas out there than springing a surprise win for Grace in the 2025 match. She'd represent something utterly refreshing for WWE's weekly product.
Imagine the uproar if Jordynne dumped Charlotte and/or Becky Lynch out of the match, overpowered Bianca Belair and then won the whole darn thing. She'd announce herself overnight as a superstar, and then creative could set about the task of booking her against fellow alpha female Rhea.
This practically writes itself and sounds way better than Flair emerging victorious.
3. Penta Is A Rumble ‘Iron Man’
![WWE Raw Penta](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/fd0b54ce2e6c6b4acf042dc6d31859c4.jpg)
The Rumble can enhance careers even if you're not winning the match and bagging a major match at WrestleMania. Each year, fans ponder just who could be the night's 'Iron Man/Woman'. Sometimes, WWE plump for one apiece in each bout, but it'd be best if they picked a side and went for it. 2025's best candidate? Former AEW man and Netflix sensation Penta.
He'd really benefit from going an hour or so in such a famous match. Then, if the writers really stop to think about it, perhaps the guy who eliminates him could be a full-time rival heading through April. For example, who wouldn't want to see Penta go after Shinsuke Nakamura's United States Title, or maybe even Penta vs. Logan Paul in the future? Both matches sound like a lot of fun.
What's more, like with Jordynne Grace vs. Rhea Ripley, they'd be fresh and new.
GUNTHER looked like a million bucks by going well over one full hour in the 2023 match. The same sort of deal could work wonders for Penta and further establish him as somebody fans should keep an eye trained on. If he comes out first, second or third then lasts all the way to the final four? Man, he'd recruit some new loyalists to the Lucha Bro cause.
Letting Penta eliminate a few bigger names before succumbing to his latest arch nemesis sounds like a plan too. He doesn't need to break any elimination records, or anything, but the WWE newbie has to go an hour to earn some company stripes and show his worth on such a stacked roster.
2. CM Punk Pips John Cena
![WWE Raw Cody Rhodes CM Punk](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/6fa9cd00aa67dc2b1741d6299bc1a031.jpg)
Take a good long look at the picture above. It shows CM Punk and Cody Rhodes from the 'go home' episode of Raw pre-Rumble. WWE's photographers captured a scorcher there; Punk is out of focus in the background, but he's clearly staring a hole right through very much in-focus company poster boy Cody. The message is clear: Punk is coming for Rhodes, and he views this year as one of his last remaining chances to headline 'Mania.
Someone else is in the same boat. John Cena will retire in 2025, so this is set to be his last Rumble ever. Realistically, it probably won't be (a cameo is always possible in coming years), but let's roll with the emotional story. Cena would be heartbroken if anything got in his way and stopped him from theoretically winning a 17th World Title before hanging it up.
Here's the sweet addendum to that: Cena doesn't need to win the Rumble to get a crack at GUNTHER or the World Heavyweight Championship. Meanwhile, WWE has Cody vs. Punk sitting right there. It's a golden ticket style match. The kind that'd have AEW boss Tony Khan tearing his hair out for missing out on. Triple H has the chance to make it a box office smasher.
To get there, Punk should win the 30-man match then point his cannons directly at Rhodes. Managing him on the grandest stage can be the favour Punk asked of Paul Heyman for agreeing to team with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. Or, perhaps Heyman is about to screw his 'Tribal Chief' over in Indianapolis?!
Oooh, the drama.
1. Kevin Owens Shocks The World
![Kevin Owens WWE Winged Eagle Title](https://cdn4.whatculture.com/images//2025/01/fc996fd5c5e78d670b8aa00004f23877.jpg)
Strap in for story time with KO.
One of the absolute best things about the man's latest heel run is that he believes he's right to shake his fist at Cody Rhodes for teaming with Roman Reigns. After all, The Bloodline made Kevin's life a misery for years, and yet some of his industry besties deemed it acceptable to go to war with them. It's a simple, straightforward story, albeit one tinged in realism and logical behaviour.
This treachery has caused Owens to go off the rails, and it's led to the best WWE heel run since Drew McIntyre went rogue. At Royal Rumble, KO and Cody will scrap to pull down both the standard WWE Title and the 'Winged Eagle' one Triple H gave Rhodes for Saturday Night's Main Event's comeback late last year. Having Kev run around with that claiming to be the "real World Champion" has been an excellent add on to the story.
Most tuning into Saturday's show would expect Cody to fend off the heel menace, pull down both straps and then celebrate amidst pyro as attention turns to exactly who will be his foe at WrestleMania. As aforementioned, WWE will know they have Elimination Chamber in their back pockets to play with here. In other words, they can book a title change then get back on track with Cody vs. Punk (assuming that's the plan) afterwards.
It'd be a huge shocker if Kevin Owens ended up winning the belt(s) at the Rumble. Don't totally dismiss that by being fooled into thinking it's an impossibility. Rhodes doesn't need to have an unbroken, epic title reign like Reigns did. In fact, it might be for his own good if he's forced to struggle back into the title mix before 'Mania all over again by reclaiming gold in Toronto this March.
A short layover in Camp KO doesn't sound too bad. Seeing him win this weekend would shake things up heading into Monday's episode of Raw on Netflix, and it'd only rally even more support around Cody. On further inspection, this sounds like an inspired title change that'd win back some warped justice for Owens, give Rhodes some more strife (which every hero needs), and make WWE's road to 'Mania 41 a thriller.
If Triple H doesn't want to switch the belt back at Chamber, then he can always do it in a heavily promoted main event on Raw or SmackDown. Why not, eh?!
What else do you think must happen at WWE's 2025 Royal Rumble? For more wrestling, check out WWE Royal Rumble 2025: 10 Surprise Entrants We Could See and 5 New Directions For WWE After Saturday Night's Main Event (25 Jan)!