The 2025 Royal Rumble had some Flair and sets up a ‘Main Event’

Tommy "Milagro" Martinez

The 2025 Royal Rumble had some Flair and sets up a ‘Main Event’
"Main Event" Jey Uso managed outlast 30 people to win The 2025 Royal Rumble. Courtesy of the WWE.

Once again we gear up for Wrestlemania, and on the men’s and women’s side, we will find out who will be the sole combatant to best 30 other wrestlers. Hopefully, there will be surprises in store at The Royal Rumble, as John Cena starts his retirement tour. It could also be CM Punk who finally wins it all, along with a few other worthy entrants.

Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes will put the belts on the line to see who is truly the WWE Undisputed Champion.

And it’s Your Lucid Luchador™, “Mr. PLE™” himself, to give you the blow-by-blow accounts.

We come to you from the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, and Indianapolis’ own Pat McAfee have the call and we kick things off with the introduction of Stephanie McMahon. First time we’ve seen her since WrestleMania XL, and she tells the fans that thanks to the partnership with Netflix and Peacock, this is to be the biggest Royal Rumble in WWE history.

There is a nice video promo by McAfee, and Alicia Taylor lets the Indy know your First Match of the Night is the…

Courtesy of WWE.

Women’s Royal Rumble

Before the match got underway, I was able to spy a sign that read, “Meltzer Fears Facts.”

Ha! Good one!

As for how this will break down, I’ll go over highlights of the Rumble, and then the table below will show the entrants in order and who got sent out.

Without any further ado, here are the…

Highlights of The Women’s Royal Rumble

  • Valkyra had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction on her halter top midway at the beginning of the Rumble. Always remember, double-stick tape is your best friend
  • First time seeing Sonya Deville in the squared circle. She nails the Deville’s Advocate on Chelsea Green
  • Green crawled under ropes and at one point Cole asked, “Are you eliminated?” Color commentary at its finest, folks.
  • As Piper Niven comes in, Green waits as her Head of Security comes in and cleans house, only to get accidentally eliminated later in the Rumble
  • Huge pop for Jordynne Grace’s official WWE debut, and she shows off her power as she lands a DVD on Niven.
  • There is an even bigger pop as the music plays and Alexa Bliss enters the Royal Rumble. Guess whatever contract issues she and WWE had got worked out. In any case, She soaks in the “Welcome back!” chants from the Indy faithful. The second closest pop was Trish Stratus coming back to the Rumble, and she showed no signs of ring rust.
  • Charlotte Flair then comes out as the fans pop for the return of the Queen. In the ring, Stephanie Vaquer and Grace attempt to give a delayed vertical suplex but Flair reverses it to a double DDT.
  • The other surprise entrant is Nikki Bella. I mean, that show on Peacock, The Traitors isn’t gonna sell itself or be sold by Nikki Garcia, y’know.
  • Nia Jax got the Diesel push, as she eliminated six women from the Rumble, and no one was happy about that
  • NXT’s Roxanne Perez and Flair are the last two in the squared circle. Perez set a record for the longest time a woman has been in a Royal Rumble match, but it was not to be as The Queen came back to claim gold once again.

Your Winner of the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble: Charlotte Flair

Total Time of the Women’s Royal Rumble: 1:10:54

As for my friend’s feelings after that match, he texted me the following:

“I haven’t ever been a huge Charlotte fan. She’s talented and all, but it f***s up my suspension of disbelief when something sooo [sic] obvious happens. It’s hard to be excited about the winner when this s*** happens.”

I’m curious what direction they will have for Flair after a long absence. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

We see Kurt Angie in the crowd with his daughter along with Marcus Freeman, the head coach of Notre Dame’s football team. Of course, it’s not a wrestling event without superfan Stephen Amell of Arrow and Heels fame.

The helicopter sounds from the speakers signal that your next match is a…

Courtesy of the WWE.

Two out of Three Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)

The crowd feels a little quiet, probably after that roller coaster of a Rumble match.

Right from the word jump, the Machine Guns dump #DIY out of the ring and they get into their aerial arsenal early, with Sabin diving at Gargano and Ciampa to force them to crash at the commentary desk. #DIY regain their composure and pick apart Sabin until Ciampa runs into a leaping enzugiri. He tags Shelley, but Sabin didn’t see the blind tag by Gargano. Some quick double team work and then Ciampa delivers a running knee to get the first fall.

Winner of the First Fall: #DIY

He and Gargano focus on Shelley but just can’t put him away. Ciampa at one point goes under the ring to the other side to distract Sabin. The ref catches him in his shenanigans and as Ciampa argues Shelley gets a tag but the ref misses it. At this point, Shelley is a Machine Gun with no bullets as Gargano nails a springboard spear. Shelley manages to get a tag to Sabin and he has a full clip running roughshod over Ciampa and Gargano. The Machine Guns deliver the Skull and Bones finish for the second pin.

Winner of the Second Fall: The Motor City Machine Guns

They are tied at one apiece, and #DIY goes for the double team but Shelley pulls off Ciampa to break the pin count. Once again Shelley dives out and he and Ciampa battle outside and back in the ring until a powerbomb gains the #DIY member a close two count. They battle up the top turnbuckle as Ciampa picks up Sabin for a high-risk maneuver. He rolls through and trips him on the top ropes and Ciampa is in the Tree of Woe. The Guns send Gargano to Ciampa while he is hung up and then they drill him with a powerbomb/Sliced Bread combo to cover but Gargano is there to break up the count. There is a bit of chaos in the ring and at one point Gargano accidentally took out Ciampa, and then Machine Guns go to work. Before they can set up the finisher, the Street Profits come out. Anthony Dawkins blindsides Shelley and Sabin with a crutch and that helps #DIY to get the third and decisive victory.

Your Winners of Two of the Three Falls, And Still WWE Tag Team Champions: #DIY

After the match, Ford and Dawkins punk out #DIY as well, holding the belts aloft. Looks like they believe they have skin in the game.

As for this match and the crowd participation, this coulda been an email…or better fitted for SMACKDOWN.

We see Ron Simmons (DAMN) and RVD in the crowd, along with UFC Welterweight champion Belal Muhhamad. We also see John Mellencamp and the poor guy is looking tired.

But we see the mechanism getting lowered as that is an indication fans will see the…

Courtesy of the WWE.

Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens

The current Undisputed and the old-school “Winged Eagle” championship belts will be suspended above the ring, and whoever claims both belts will be the winner. Once ring announcer Alicia Taylor gives us boxing-style intros, the bell rings, and the tension by both men is so thick you can cut it with a knife. They come out slugging and Rhodes is looking good early on. Owens stops the momentum and then goes out on the floor for a ladder. Rhodes attacks from behind, but Owens slams into the ladder brackets and uses the broken pieces to break down the American Nightmare. Then the action spills out into the crowd and they brawl, with Rhodes even splashing a fan’s beer in his face.

Owens gets back in control and when they return to the ring he pulls out another ladder, sets up, and hip-tosses Rhodes who is in excruciating pain. He goes into the squared circle to grab the belts and Rhodes stops him. They go back and forth and go out to the commentary desk, where Owens slams Rhodes’ head. He pulls out another ladder and sets it up between the ring and the desk. Rhodes pushes him off and Owens then goes for a small stepladder. McAfee quips he going for something “high-risk” as Owens climbs, but he steps off and stomps Rhodes instead. The champ grabs it and begins brandishing it as a weapon, bouncing it off Owens’ head. Owens comes back and slams him again on the small ladder and Rhodes wince.

Owens is doing everything he can to overcome The American Nightmare, even using a rung that snapped off a ladder to batter the champ. Eventually, Owens eats a superkick but he isn’t done. Back outside, he attempts a package piledriver but Rhodes counters it with a slam to the steel steps. He slowly ascends the ladder and Owens gets up to powerbomb him. A scary moment in the match had Owens and Rhodes battle on the top turnbuckle and he drills the champ with a twisting fisherman’s buster on a ladder in the ring. Now Smackdown GM Nick Aldis and medic staff are out to check and assess the damage. Even Sami Zayn is out too. As they come to, Owens tries to hit a stunner and Rhodes counters with the CrossRhodes. Then he finally snaps, slams Owens’s head on the commentary desk, and then throws him into the ring post. Owens is displaying signs of a crimson mask as Rhodes punches away. He stops him with a low blow on the desk and Owens again goes for the package piledriver. Rhodes manages to reverse it into an Alabama slam and drives Owens through a ladder that breaks in half.

Rhodes finally ascends the ladder undisturbed and takes down both belts.

Your Winner, and Still WWE Undisputed Champion: Cody Rhodes

As Rhodes celebrates with the fans, Zayn is cradling Owen’s bloody head while medics check on him after that brutal match.

While we reset, other people in the crowd are the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Halliburton, actor O’shea Jackson, Jr., and Kai Cenat.

I dunno why streamers are a big deal, but whatevs!

It was also announced by Cole that the Lucas Oil Stadium had over 70,000 in attendance, making this one of the third-highest WWE premium live events. Plus, we learned that WWE will have two shows coming up. One is the reality contest LFG where WWE superstars like The Undertaker and Bubba Ray Dudley will judge who gets an opportunity in the WWE, plus there is WWE EVOLVE on Tubi.

Once again, we go back to the ring, as the last match is the…

Courtesy of WWE.

Men’s Royal Rumble

Same deal as last time, folks. We’ll discuss the highlights and then you’ll see the order of the entrants and who got eliminated. There were some more surprises in this Rumble than in the Women’s Rumble.

So let’s get cracking.

Highlights of the Men’s Royal Rumble

  • Penta and Rey Mysterio started the Rumble, and if you’re getting “Lucha Underground” feelings, you’d be correct. The Indy crowd gives a standing ovation as they shake hands, but then it is clear this is “Cero Miedo” versus “619.”
  • Just as it was announced Akira Tozawa was the next entrant, he gets punked out by a frustrated Carmelo Hayes. RAW GM Adam Pearce and company take Tozawa to the back, and he and HHH try to find a substitute at the last minute. Hunter looks around and tells influencer IShowSpeed to head out. At one point, the kid does a good job (which is impressive considering he was wearing Crocs, and he helps eliminate Otis from the ring before Bron Breakker spears him in half. Breakker lifts the kid in a military press, and tosses him to Otis, who promptly chucks him to the commentary desk.
  • Andrade enters next, and the crowd goes mild. Boy, “El Idolo” is just not getting the love
  • Ludwig Kaiser is in no rush to enter as he eyes the action outside of the ring. Once he does enter, Penta makes sure he’s thrown over the top rope. It may be a “blink and miss it” moment, but Kaiser will be pleased to know Santino Marella still holds the record for the fastest Royal Rumble elimination
  • That pairing with WWE and TNA is paying off, as Indy popped for current TNA champion Joe Hendry.
  • A.J. Styles comes out and apparently, this is the first time The Phenomenal One has been in a WWE ring since October of last year.
  • John Cena is next out, and his ring gear is similar to the Indianapolis Colts, complete with a “The Last Time is Now” towel.
  • “Main Event” Jey Uso and L.A. Knight are the entrants and at one point fans were into dueling “YeAHHH/Yeet” chants.
  • Logan Paul is the final entrant and tries to use The Power of Douchenozzlery to stay in the mix.
  • At one point, Paul channels Kofi Kingston as Knight tries to boot him from the ring, only to leap on the commentary desk. Since his feet have not touched the floor, Paul catwalks the barricades and jumps onto the steel steps, and then picks his spot, and eliminates Styles.
  • There are six men left near the end: Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth “Freakin'” Rollins, Jey Uso, John Cena, and Logan Paul. Rollins and Reigns fight tooth and nail to send the other out, and that’s when Punk dumps both men out of the ring. As he watches on, Punk doesn’t see Paul come from behind and eliminate him as well.
  • There is chaos as Rollins loses his mind, stomps Reigns, and then again for good measure on the steel steps. Rollins then turns his attention to Punk before refs and staff interject and escort him to the back.
  • Cena whips Paul and Uso to the corner and then picks up both men in a fireman’s carry. Paul escapes, but Cena catches him with a clothesline and eliminates him as well.
  • Uso and Cena go toe to toe and it’s vintage Cena nailing his signature offense, including the Five Knuckle Shuffle
  • Uso digs deep but still cannot eliminate Cena
  • They both battle it out on the apron edge and Cena is about ready to hit the Attitude Adjustment, but Uso scrambles out, pushes him off and Cena is eliminated.

Your Winner of the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble: Jey Uso

Total Time of the Men’s Royal Rumble: 1:20:21

After Cena gets over the incredulity of the loss, he goes back in the ring, confronts, Jey…and then embraces him in a hug. No doubt this is a big deal as “Main Event” gets up on the turnbuckles and points to the sign signifying he punched his ticket to Wrestlemania, as the show draws to a close.

Top Photo: “Main Event” Jey Uso managed to outlast 30 people to win The 2025 Royal Rumble. Courtesy of the WWE.

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