Royal Rumble (2025)

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Royal Rumble
Indianapolis, Indiana
VenueLucas Oil Stadium
Attendance70,343[1]
WWE Network event chronology
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2026

The 2025 Royal Rumble, also promoted as Royal Rumble: Indianapolis, was a

livestreaming and featured wrestlers from all three of WWE's brand divisions. This was WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to air on Netflix in most markets outside the United States, following the WWE Network's merger under the service in January 2025, and the first Royal Rumble to be held in a National Football League
stadium.

The event is based around the

Undisputed WWE Championship, while the women had the choice between Raw's Women's World Championship and SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship. The women's match, which was the opening bout, was won by SmackDown's Charlotte Flair, becoming the first woman to win two Royal Rumble matches, first winning it in 2020, while the men's match, which was the main event of the card, was won by Raw's Jey Uso. In the women's match, NXT's Roxanne Perez set the record for the longest time spent in a single women's Royal Rumble at 1:07:47 while Nia Jax
set the record for most eliminations in a single women's Royal Rumble at nine. The men's match also set the record for the longest Royal Rumble match ever held at 1:20:15.

In addition to the two Royal Rumble matches, two other matches were contested on the card, which were for SmackDown championships. In the first,

TNA World Champion Joe Hendry. This was also the final Royal Rumble appearance of John Cena
due to his retirement from professional wrestling at the end of 2025.

Production

Background

NFL
stadium.

The Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling event traditionally held in January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five".[3][4] The concept of the event is based around the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time.[5][6]

From the event's inception in 1988 up through the

Indianapolis, Indiana, subsequently marking the first Royal Rumble to be held in a National Football League (NFL) stadium. The date for the 38th annual Royal Rumble was announced for Saturday, February 1, thus marking the first Royal Rumble held outside of January.[7][8][9] The event primarily featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, but with a select few NXT wrestlers, veterans, and other surprise entrants also participating in the Rumble matches. Tickets went on sale on November 15, 2024.[10] The official theme song of the event was "Von Dutch" by Charli XCX.[11]

The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a

Undisputed WWE Championship, while the women had the choice between Raw's Women's World Championship and SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship.[5][6]

Broadcast outlets

In addition to airing on traditional

livestream on Peacock in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, and the WWE Network in any remaining countries that had not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts. This marked the first Royal Rumble, and the first WWE PPV and livestreaming event, to livestream on Netflix following the WWE Network's merger under the service in January 2025 in those areas.[8][12]

On January 9, 2025, WWE announced a multi-year deal with

Dallas, Texas (similar to Las Vegas's Sphere). WWE's first event to be broadcast from Cosm's domes was the 2025 Royal Rumble.[13]

Storylines

The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,

Friday Night SmackDown.[16]

On November 13, 2024, it was announced that

Raw premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, Cena announced he would compete in the Royal Rumble match to try and earn an opportunity to win his 17th world championship at WrestleMania 41.[18]

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII
.

At

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII on December 14 for the title and due to the 1980s retro theme of the event, Rhodes wore the "Winged Eagle" version of the WWE Championship belt. During the match, Owens performed a Stunner on Rhodes and pinned him, which lasted more than 3 seconds, but the referee had inadvertently been knocked out of the ring when Owens had hit the Stunner. While the referee was still incapacitated, Owens grabbed a chair and attempted to attack Rhodes only for Rhodes to seize it and perform a Cross Rhodes on Owens onto the chair. The referee subsequently recovered and counted the pin, thus Rhodes retained the title. After the event went off the air, Owens attacked Rhodes with a package piledriver and stole the Winged Eagle belt, subsequently claiming to be the "true champion".[20] On the December 27 episode of SmackDown, the brand's general manager Nick Aldis demanded that Owens return the Winged Eagle belt or be fired. Owens stated that he would only give it back if he received a rematch against Rhodes. Aldis declined and said that the demand was non-negotiable. Rhodes interrupted and stated that he did not want Owens to return it as he wanted a chance at revenge on Owens and take it back himself, thus challenging Owens to a rematch as a ladder match at the Royal Rumble with both the Undisputed and Winged Eagle belts suspended above the ring, which Aldis reluctantly made official.[21]

After losing the

two out of three falls match, which was made official.[27]

Event

Royal Rumble stage
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
Pat McAfee
Wade Barrett
Spanish commentators Marcelo Rodríguez
Jerry Soto
Ring announcer Alicia Taylor
Referees Danilo Anfibio
Shawn Bennett
Jessika Carr
Dan Engler
Daphanie LaShaunn
Eddie Orengo
Chad Patton
Charles Robinson
Ryan Tran
Rod Zapata
Interviewers Cathy Kelley
Byron Saxton
Pre-show panel Jackie Redmond
Big E
Joe Tessitore
Peter Rosenberg
Bubba Ray Dudley

Preliminary matches

Charlotte Flair became the first woman to win multiple Royal Rumbles following her second win in the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble match.

The pay-per-view opened with the Women's Royal Rumble match.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair (#10) and Naomi (#15), Zelina Vega (#22), Vaquer, Stratus, Raquel Rodriguez (#26), and Bella. The final four were Flair, Bella, Perez, and Jax. In the closing moments, after Jax eliminated Bella, Flair eliminated Jax. Flair then eliminated Perez to win the match, earning a world title match at WrestleMania 41 and becoming the first woman to win two Royal Rumbles, previously winning in 2020. Perez also set the record for the longest time spent in a single Women's Rumble match at 1:07:47.[1]

Next, #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) in a two out of three falls match. #DIY got the first fall after Ciampa pinned Shelley after a running knee strike. The Motor Machine Guns tied up the falls after Shelley pinned Gargano after Skull and Bones. As The Motor Machine Guns set up for Skull and Bones again, two hooded figures appeared, which caused a distraction allowing #DIY to hit Meet in the Middle and Ciampa pinned Shelley to retain the titles. After the match, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) revealed themselves as the hooded figures and laid out both teams.[1]

In the penultimate match, Cody Rhodes defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens in a Ladder match, with both the Undisputed and Winged Eagle belts suspended above the ring. During the match, Owens attempted a Package Piledriver but Rhodes countered, back dropping Owens onto a ladder. Owens hit a Fisherman's Buster Suplex to Rhodes onto a ladder bridged inside the ring, laying both men completely out as officials, as well as Sami Zayn, came out to check on them. The two continued until Owens attempted another Package Piledriver on the announce table but Rhodes countered, driving Owens through a bridged ladder with an Alabama Slam. Cody then climbed the ladder and unhooked the both championship belts to retain.[1]

Main event

Jey Uso won the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble match.

The main event was the Men's Royal Rumble match.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins entered at #25. Logan Paul was the final entrant at #30. With everybody down, Reigns and Rollins tried to eliminate each other, but Punk snuck up from behind and eliminated them both, who was subsequently eliminated by Paul. Outside the ring, Rollins delivered a Curb Stomp to Reigns and then began attacking Punk as officials tried to break the three men up. Rollins hit a second Curb Stomp to Reigns on the steel steps before storming off from ringside. The final three were Cena, Paul, and Jey Uso (#20). As Cena attempted the Attitude Adjustment on Paul, Jey hit a Superkick on Paul followed by Cena clotheslining Paul over the top rope to eliminate him. Cena and Uso were fighting on the apron after going over the top rope. Uso hit a Superkick on Cena, who held on. Cena attempted the Attitude Adjustment but Uso landed feet first in the ring and then knocked Cena off the apron to win the match, earning a world title match at WrestleMania 41. At 1:20:15, this became the longest Royal Rumble match ever held.[1]

Aftermath

During the Royal Rumble post-show, John Cena announced that he would be participating in the men's Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber: Toronto as it would be his last time at an opportunity to compete for a world championship in the main event of a WrestleMania.[28]

Raw

After appearing on both Raw and SmackDown over the next week to make his decision,

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVIII.[31]

Seth "Freakin" Rollins, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns would continue their rivalry. On the March 10 episode of Raw, Rollins defeated Punk in a

Steel Cage match after Reigns pulled him out of the cage in order to attack Rollins as revenge from the Royal Rumble. Afterwards, Reigns saw Heyman tending to Punk in the ring, which angered Reigns, causing him to also attack Punk.[32] On March 21, after a confrontation between the three on SmackDown that day, they were scheduled for a triple threat match at WrestleMania 41.[33]

After being transferred to the Raw brand, AJ Styles would have various encounters with Logan Paul over the next few weeks and on the March 31 episode of Raw, they were scheduled for a match at WrestleMania 41.[34]

SmackDown

After appearing on the following week's episodes of Raw, NXT, and SmackDown, 2025 women's Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair confronted Tiffany Stratton following the latter's title defense on the February 14 episode of SmackDown and announced that she had chosen to challenge Stratton for SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 41.[35]

In the tag team division, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defeated #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on the March 14 episode of SmackDown.[36] On the April 4 episode, The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated #DIY in a rematch to become the number one contenders for the titles.[37]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
Undisputed WWE Championship[38]
The "Undisputed" and "Winged Eagle" championship belts were suspended above the ring.
25:05
4Jey Uso won by last eliminating John Cena30-man Royal Rumble match for a World Championship match at WrestleMania 41[38]1:20:15
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Women's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations

  – Raw
  – SmackDown
  – NXT
  – Hall of Famer (HOF)
  – Unaffiliated
  – Winner
Draw Entrant Brand/Status Order Eliminated by Time[39] Elimination(s)
1 Iyo Sky Raw 21 Nia Jax 1:06:45 1
2 Liv Morgan Raw 24 Nia Jax 1:07:00 2
3 Roxanne Perez NXT 29 Charlotte Flair 1:07:47[a] 1
4 Lyra Valkyria Raw 2 Ivy Nile 16:13 0
5 Chelsea Green SmackDown 9 Piper Niven 26:52 2
6 B-Fab SmackDown 1 Chelsea Green 07:20 0
7 Ivy Nile Raw 3 Maxxine Dupri 16:29 1
8 Zoey Stark Raw 5 Bianca Belair and Naomi 16:58 1
9 Lash Legend NXT 8 Chelsea Green 17:22 0
10 Bianca Belair SmackDown 23 Nia Jax 49:17 1
11 Shayna Baszler Raw 6 Bayley 10:12 1
12 Bayley Raw 26 Nikki Bella 46:59 1
13 Sonya Deville Raw 7 Iyo Sky 06:04 1
14 Maxxine Dupri Raw 4 Pure Fusion Collective[b] 01:20 1
15 Naomi SmackDown 22 Nia Jax 38:04 1
16 Jaida Parker NXT 10 Jordynne Grace 06:54 0
17 Piper Niven SmackDown 14 Charlotte Flair 24:10 1
18 Natalya Raw 11 Liv Morgan 17:14 0
19 Jordynne Grace Unaffiliated 15 Giulia 22:41 1
20
Michin
 SmackDown 13 Charlotte Flair 16:59 0
21 Alexa Bliss Unaffiliated 12 Liv Morgan 11:01 0
22 Zelina Vega SmackDown 16 Nia Jax[c] 18:04 0
23 Candice LeRae SmackDown 17 Trish Stratus 16:32 0
24 Stephanie Vaquer NXT 20 Nia Jax 19:02 0
25 Trish Stratus HOF 18 Nia Jax 13:13 1
26 Raquel Rodriguez Raw 19 Nia Jax 15:02 0
27 Charlotte Flair SmackDown — Winner[d] 15:04 4
28 Giulia NXT 25 Roxanne Perez 10:08 1
29 Nia Jax SmackDown 28 Charlotte Flair 08:13 9
30 Nikki Bella HOF 27 Nia Jax 03:04 1

Men’s Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations

  – Raw
  – SmackDown
  – Hall of Famer (HOF)
  – TNA
  – Celebrity entrant
  – Unaffiliated
  – Winner
Draw Entrant Brand/Status Order Eliminated by Time[39] Elimination(s)
1 Rey Mysterio Raw (HOF) 6 Jacob Fatu 24:41 0
2 Penta Raw 14 Finn Bálor 42:05 1
3 Chad Gable Raw 5 Jacob Fatu 21:38 0
4 Carmelo Hayes SmackDown 1 Bron Breakker 06:59 0
5 Santos Escobar SmackDown 2 Bron Breakker 05:42 0
6 Otis Raw 3 Bron Breakker & IShowSpeed 09:43 1
7 Bron Breakker Raw 12 Roman Reigns 22:26 3
8 IShowSpeed[e] Celebrity 4 Otis[f] 00:56 1
9 Sheamus Raw 10 Roman Reigns 15:38 0
10 Jimmy Uso SmackDown 13 Jacob Fatu 15:34 0
11 Andrade SmackDown 7 Jacob Fatu 03:17 0
12 Jacob Fatu SmackDown 16 Braun Strowman 24:16 4
13 Ludwig Kaiser Raw 8 Penta 00:06 0
14 The Miz SmackDown 9 Roman Reigns 05:25 0
15 Joe Hendry TNA 11 Roman Reigns 03:35 0
16 Roman Reigns SmackDown 25 CM Punk 37:15 4
17 Drew McIntyre Raw 21 Damian Priest 26:55 0
18 Finn Bálor Raw 18 John Cena & Braun Strowman 11:10 1
19 Shinsuke Nakamura SmackDown 15 Jey Uso 03:17 0
20 Jey Uso Raw — Winner 36:59 3
21 AJ Styles SmackDown 24 Logan Paul 21:02 1
22 Braun Strowman SmackDown 17 John Cena 02:12 2
23 John Cena Unaffiliated 29 Jey Uso 30:31 3
24 CM Punk Raw 27 Logan Paul 18:46 2
25
Seth "Freakin" Rollins
 Raw 26 CM Punk 17:14 0
26
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio
 Raw 19 Damian Priest 04:09 0
27 Sami Zayn Raw 20 Jey Uso 05:22 0
28 Damian Priest SmackDown 22 LA Knight 06:14 2
29 LA Knight SmackDown 23 AJ Styles 05:06 1
30 Logan Paul Raw 28 John Cena 11:19 2

Notes

  1. ^ Iyo Sky broke the longevity record for the Women's Royal Rumble, previously held by Bayley who lasted 1:03:03 in 2024. This record was broken by Liv Morgan then Roxanne Perez less than a minute later
  2. ^ Team name for the group consisting of Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville, and Zoey Stark.
  3. ^ Jax had not entered the match yet before eliminating Vega.
  4. ^ First two-time Women's Rumble winner
  5. ^ Replaced Akira Tozawa after Tozawa was attacked during his entrance by Carmelo Hayes.
  6. ^ Otis was already eliminated when he eliminated Speed.

References

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  2. ^ Konuwa, Alfred. "WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Results, Winners And Grades". Forbes. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  3. ^ Hamilton, Ian. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. p. 160.
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  10. ^ Russell, Skylar (September 30, 2024). "Tickets For WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Set To Go On Sale On 11/15, Presale To Begin On 11/13". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
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  12. ^ Lowson, Thomas (January 25, 2024). "End of the WWE Network: Streaming Service to Be Absorbed By Netflix Next Year (Report)". SE Scoops. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
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  28. ^ WWE [@WWE] (February 1, 2025). "BREAKING: @JohnCena just announced that he will be competing in this year's Elimination Chamber Match to secure a path towards an opportunity to become a 17-time champ at #WrestleMania 41!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
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