Every WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Surprise

8. Alexa Bliss

WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Alexa Bliss
WWE

Heading into the 2025 Royal Rumble, various reports claimed that the WWE return of Alexa Bliss had been scrapped as the two sides struggled to come to terms over that return.

So, seeing Alexa come out at the #21 spot was a genuine surprise that caught many off-guard.

Seemingly a blend of her Goddess persona and the darker side shown during her allegiance with Bray Wyatt, Bliss had a so-so 11 minutes in the Rumble. By so-so, it wasn't particularly noteworthy and there were no eliminations for the five-time WWE Women's Champion when it comes to the in-ring action, but what was noteworthy was the reaction Lucas Oil Stadium gave to the returning 33-year-old.

As we look ahead to what's next for Alexa Bliss, it remains to be seen whether she'll do something with the Wyatt Sick6 on SmackDown or whether she'll instead call Raw home for the foreseeable future.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.