Royal Rumble 2025- Top 5 Moments

As a wrestling fan for over 25 years now, the Royal Rumble is my second favourite day of the year, beaten only by WrestleMania. So when I was asked to provide coverage of the 2025 Rumble by way of giving the Top 5 Moments, I was more than happy to oblige. I mentioned that I hoped it would be a hard task narrowing it down to just five moments.

As I sit here in the immediate aftermath of the Rumble, I honestly find myself a little underwhelmed by the show, but I think that’s because expectations were so high. I think every year, fan expectations are through the roof, and anything less than the ghost of Eddie Guerrero appearing at #30 wouldn’t be enough, but this year, WWE absolutely fed into it with the hype, particularly for the Men’s Rumble, calling it the most stacked Rumble ever. That said, this article isn’t about negativity, and there were definitely things to like about the show, so let’s do this!

Number 5- Jordynne Grace enters the Women’s Royal Rumble

The Women’s Rumble was really a mixed bag. One thing I did enjoy were the surprise entrants, and one of the more predictable ones was still one of the best. Jordynne Grace tried to throw fans off the scent by saying she was hosting her mother’s birthday party this weekend, even posting her flight itinerary, but I don’t think that fooled anyone. As soon as those sirens hit, the place exploded, and Michael Cole was quick to let us know during her entrance that Jordynne was entering the Rumble this year as part of the WWE roster, not as a guest from TNA.

Jordynne got a good amount of spotlight here, and a particularly impressive moment hitting a cartwheel Death Valley Driver on Piper Niven. Time will tell where she lands in WWE, but her elimination at the hands of NXT Women’s Champion Giulia (another nice surprise) could suggest that she heads to NXT for a spell, especially given that it was her home away from home for part of last year. I would think she’d become part of the WWE main roster sooner rather than later though.

Number 4- Ladder Match Brutality

Apart from the Rumble Matches themselves, the WWE Undisputed Championship Ladder Match was a definite selling point of the show to me, and Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens absolutely delivered. With a level of aggression befitting their intense feud, Cody and KO used the ladder in increasingly violent ways to destroy each other. Rather than being a massive high spot stunt show, the steel ladder was more an implement of destruction.

The commentary team called out Owens’ desire to maim Cody and end his career en route to winning the WWE Championship, but ultimately it would be the reigning champion with the most dangerous move of the contest, blocking a package piledriver attempt on the announce table and instead hitting Owens with an Alabama Slam through a ladder bridge, with the back of KO’s head seeming to go through the ladder in sickening fashion. A satisfying finish showing that Cody could go to a darker place to keep the title if need be, and he’s not just about shaking hands and kissing babies.

Number 3- A Phenomenal Return (and They Said His Name)

I’m going to lump two in one here. I have my issues with the Men’s Royal Rumble- a little more on that later- but it was sure nice to see AJ Styles return here at #21. One of my all-time favourites, AJ did a nice job throwing fans off, recently saying that recovery wasn’t going as he’d hoped. Apparently he meant it was going better, because he came back in fine form after the leg injury in October, looking as good as ever and staying towards the end of the match, adding greatly to a star-studded field.

And, as many expected, Joe Hendry appeared in the Rumble to a standing ovation. He got a nice little bit of shine, but what dampened it for me was his brief interaction with Roman Reigns. The commentators actually laughed when they faced off- he’s the TNA Champion, but it was like, okay, he’s a funny joke, he’s a funny meme, but then Roman Speared him and threw him out in seconds. He’s TNA’s top guy, but he got treated like Santino Marella in that moment. Really soured me, but it was great to see him and I’m glad he got a moment to shine before that. Welcome to the big leagues, kid!

Number 2- The Internet Was Wrong!

Another big entry at #21 in the Women’s Royal Rumble, as Alexa Bliss made her shock return! The dirtsheets like the Observer had reported that talks fell apart between Bliss and WWE, that she was asking for too much money to return, but nope! Bliss’ return was perhaps the biggest reaction of the whole show, and she looked fired up for it, getting a nice run upon her entry into the match, particularly taking it to old rival Bayley.

I didn’t like the winner of the Women’s Rumble or the final 3- there was no chance in hell that either Roxanne Perez or Nikki Bella were going to a WrestleMania title match, and Charlotte’s victory was absolutely telegraphed- as if she wasn’t already a massive favourite- when she got pyro during her entrance. But the explosion of excitement that Alexa Bliss brought to the match (and to a lesser extent, Trish Stratus shortly after) mitigated some of that disappointment.

Number 1- YEET!

Carrying on from the previous entry, the final 3 disappointed me at first. John Cena, Logan Paul and Jey Uso. With all the other big players to get ejected from the match right before them- the likes of Punk, Rollins, Reigns, also Drew McIntyre getting eliminated to surprisingly little fanfare- I figured this final 3 was a foregone conclusion. I know we’re in the Netflix Era, but they’re not going to put Logan Paul in the main event of WrestleMania. I can’t see Jey Uso as a WrestleMania main eventer either. So, we’ve got John Cena- very much in the mold of Charlotte earlier- making the triumphant return and cruising to victory…

Well, I’ll be damned. One big shove off the apron, and Jey Uso wins the Royal Rumble. Absolutely a huge, shocking moment, which is why I’m giving it #1 on my list. I still have trouble seeing him as a WrestleMania main eventer though. He’s clearly super over, and his singles matches have been a bit better in recent months, but he’s still the man who managed to have the worst match on the 2 night card last year at WM40 with his brother, Jimmy Uso. I’m guessing he’ll be more in the vein of past winners like Sheamus and Del Rio- okay, you get the world title match with Gunther, but you’re not getting the true main event of Night 2, surely?

I don’t know if I like it in isolation, but bigger picture- I applaud the guts to have an outside the box Rumble winner. Between various forums and social media platforms like X/Twitter, there’s always tons of Rumble predictions… I didn’t see a soul picking Jey Uso. Except maybe Rikishi. I didn’t even see many picking Jey for a final 4 spot! But for genuinely shocking me, and NOT going the expected path with Cena, I have to pick it as my number one moment of the 2025 Royal Rumble.

What do you think? What were your top moments of the Rumble?

Until next time, take care.

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