Why bother watching some overpaid NFL stars prance around playing flag football while protecting their disgustingly high contracts when you can turn on Peacock and watch the 2025 Royal Rumble event Live from Indianapolis, Indiana? Well, the answer is quite simple, because the Super Bowl is next weekend, and that’s the only game we Eagles fans care about right now!!
Before I dive into this little piece on my favorite WWE PLE, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chris, my friends call me Show, you can call me whatever you want, just don’t call me late for dinner. You may also be asking yourself why the GENY team has added a wrestling column to the Philly sports product they already have.
Well, that’s why I am here, because not only am I an avid lover of all our beloved sports teams, but I was a professional wrestler on the independent scene for 15 years and my first love has and ALWAYS will be professional wrestling! So, buckle up, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the ride as I take you through MY take on the 2025 Royal Rumble PLE! What I plan on doing here, is giving you two Superstars who SHOULD win the Men’s Royal Rumble match but won’t and why. And a third Superstar who I believe WILL win the match and why he should.
And remember, this is only part one. My next article will feature the Women’s Royal Rumble match. But in the meantime, let’s kick this off the only way I know how, and that’s by acknowledging our Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns!
The Original Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns
Now you may be wondering why I’ve started with our Tribal Chief, and it’s quite simple, he is the Superstar who most definitely NEEDS to win the 2025 Royal Rumble. Reigns made it clear several times leading up to Survivor Series: War Games, that his goal was to reclaim his Ula’Fala and bring honor and prestige back to his family; he did just that by defeating his cousin Solo Sikoa. That prestige includes everyone, “dripping in gold”, as they once were. For the OTC to accomplish this, he needs to reclaim the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship, which he lost last year at Wrestlemania 40 in Philadelphia to current champion Cody Rhodes. And we all know, the fastest way to reclaim that title, is by winning the Royal Rumble, securing the main event of Wrestlemania, and challenging Rhodes for the title. For Reigns, it’s just that easy.
Well, I have to apologize to all the fans of the OTC, because I’m about to explain why he WON’T be winning the 2025 Royal Rumble. I know I know… it hurts me to even type this out, but I can’t argue with the evidence laid before me. It’s safe to assume that the New Bloodline will be entered into this year’s Rumble, and if this is the case, I fully expect AT LEAST Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga to target Reigns and do everything they can to eliminate him from the match. While they may not be successful in doing so, Solo may be the one who accomplishes that feat. It would be the ultimate way to continue the Bloodline Civil War, by eliminating Reigns and costing him a chance at reclaiming the WWE Championship.
The Final Boss
The other route—and this is a BIG stretch—is that the FINAL BOSS, the HIGH CHIEF himself, The Rock, makes an appearance during the match. Either as an entrant or just to throw Roman out himself, The Rock could easily stab his cousin in the back and remove the Tribal Chief label from Reigns; all while crushing his dream of returning to the main event of Wrestlemania. Why would The Rock do this after placing the Ula’Fala on the neck of Reigns on the premiere of Raw on Netflix?
I’m glad you asked, and it’s quite simple: not only did Roman spear Rock on night one of Wrestlemania 40, but after The Rock bounced back from that, he secured the victory for Roman to have Bloodline rules on night two, and Roman squandered it all away and LOST the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes. In Rock’s mind, he dishonored the family and doesn’t deserve to lead them anymore. And what better way than to set him up and knock him back down in the Rumble match?!? I know, CRAZY right?!? Wait till you see what I say about John Cena!
The Last Time Begins Now: John Cena
What better way to start your retirement tour than by entering the 2025 Royal Rumble, winning it, and securing a title match to possibly break the tie between you and Ric Flair for most world title reigns? I don’t think there is any better way than this. It’s almost a storybook ending in the making for the man who brought us Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect for more than 20 years! He makes a triumph return to in-ring competition.
He outlasts 29 other men and earns a title shot in the main event of Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas, where the odds would SURELY be in his favor no matter which champion he chose to face. He could dethrone 2 men in one night at that point, whoever the champion is, AND the Nature Boy Ric Flair. By winning the championship, Cena would stand alone as the WINNINGEST World Champion in history, breaking the tie that he currently has at 16 World Championships with Flair. He could then go on throughout the rest of 2025 defending the title and quite possibly retire in December as World Champion. See? Storybook right? Hang on… I have to confer with the voices in my head real quick!
See what I did there?? You can’t have a retirement tour without the possibility of your greatest foes resurfacing and wreaking havoc on you one last time before you hang up the boots! Queue Voices by Rev Theory mister deejay!! That’s right folks, the Apex Predator of WWE will return to the ring this Saturday night and once again, be a thorn in the side of his arch nemesis, John Cena. If you look back at the history between Cena and The Viper, Randy Orton, the careers have been parallel since both of them debuted in 2002.
Both men are multiple-time WWE or World Champions. Randy sits tied with WWE COO Triple H with 14 reigns under his belt. And while Cena chases that elusive 17th title reign, there is NO MAN more qualified to ruin the dreams of Cena than Randy Orton. And trust me when I say, he will do it with the three most DEVASTATING letters in sports entertainment, R-K-O!! Well, THEN he’ll throw him over the top rope, obviously.
If one thing is for certain, it’s that SOMEONE has to win the 2025 Royal Rumble. This is shaping up to be one of the most star-studded Royal Rumble matches we’ve seen in quite some time. Could we see a repeat winner? Maybe Seth “Freakin” Rollins? Drew McIntyre? Could a legend like The Rock enter and win it? Maybe TNA Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry will make more believers out of Indianapolis and be the FIRST superstar from ANOTHER company to come in and win!! Highly unlikely, but who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Speaking of which…
And Your 2025 Royal Rumble Winner Is: Sami Zayn
This decision is not one that I made lightly. I truly sat and thought about each and every scenario that could play out Saturday night. But nothing makes more sense to me, than seeing Sami Zayn win the 2025 Royal Rumble match and go on to challenge for the WWE Universal Championship. I mean sure, he could challenge Gunther and dethrone him AGAIN at Wrestlemania, but that choice would be too obvious. No, this decision was made solely on the premise that Kevin Owens HAS to, not should, but HAS TO BEAT Cody Rhodes in the Ladder Match for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Saturday night. That way, when Sami Zayn remains the sole participant of the Rumble and points at the Wrestlemania sign, he’ll be pointing at a main event championship match with his best friend Kevin Owens.
To see these two men main event Wrestlemania AGAIN, this time facing each other for the biggest prize of them all, is something only kids dream of. But I can assure you, those kids that dreamt of it, are the two best friends from Montreal, Canada. As a bonus to this stipulation, I cannot be the only one who wants to see KO win the ladder match, discard the newer championship, and reinstate the Winged Eagle title from ALL of our childhoods!
I’m no Expert, I just call it as I see it!
I’ve sat through MANY Rumble events and almost nearly predicted the whole event as it happens. It’s a blessing and curse really. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that this article will prove to be true, but I just lay out how it looks to me as I watch the product week in and week out. When I picked Sami Zayn, it was after he kicked Seth Rollins in the face to end Raw two weeks ago. When he did the same thing to Cody Rhodes this past Monday, that fully strengthened my belief that this was his year! Sami has had an amazing career within WWE filled with many ups and downs, but there’s no denying that this man deserves to be WWE Champion at least once in his career.
Strong cases can be made for many of the superstars who have entered the 2025 Royal Rumble match. Bron Breaker, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight. One thing is for certain, we should ALL be tuning in this Saturday at 6 pm EST on Peacock. Whether it’s your pick winning or mine, doesn’t really matter at this point, because we are officially on the Road to Wrestlemania!!!!
What are your predictions for tonight’s Royal Rumble? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok.