A.J. Reviews Royal Rumble 2025

(Photo by WhatCulture.com)

The 2025 Royal Rumble took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana as the start of many big events between the city and WWE. The road to WrestleMania in Sin City begins here....

WOMEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

-This match kicks off the PLE as Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan are the first two competitors.

-Roxanne Perez comes out as #3 and almost landed on her head with a Hurricanrana.

-Lyra Valkaria, the Women's Intercontinental Champion, has a "Woo" gimmick. I wonder if Ric Flair is okay with this.

-There is a graphic showing how many people are in the match, who have been eliminated and what number is next. I'm liking this so I don't lose track.

-We are now at eight entries and no eliminations yet. Two entries, Ivy Nile and Zoey Stark, will be gold in the future if booked correctly.

-B-Fab is the first to be eliminated.

-Bianca Belair was my pick to win it at #10 and does a spot where she did multiple moonsaults off the turnbuckle.

-Zoey almost broke her leg on a Springboard spot.

-WWE needs to UNLEASH SHAYNA BASZLER, man!

-There is a "Meltzer Fears Facts" sign, he sure (bleep)ing does.

-We are at 13 entries and no surprises yet.

-Michael Cole says that there are 70,000 plus at Lucas Oil Stadium and makes an NFL referee dig.

-Maxxine Dupri seems to improve on her wrestling skills despite near (bleep)ing up on the Worm.

-Fifteen participants and no surprises.

-Baszler's stable gets eliminated at the same time. This is what we call a burial and seriously, they need to push these women instead of having them be on a jobber team.

-Do Piper Nevin and Nia Jax wear the same ring outlets? Also, Piper accidentally eliminates her buddy, Chelsea Green.

-Natalya botches a back suplex on Liv.

-The company's new signing, Jordynne Grace, is going to be a legit star after slamming Niven, causing the crowd to erupt and Pat McAfee to cuss.

-Bianca is mad after seeing Naomi and Jordynne embrace. Huummm??? Is this a sign of a heel turn?

-First surprise of the night, Alexa Bliss returns after more than a two-year absence, entering at #21. She is wearing a jacket honoring the late Bray Wyatt. Michael Cole is saying that he thought she wasn't coming back, what a mark! Dave Meltzer is probably punching the air right now.

-Stephanie Vaquer enters at #24.

-Trish Stratus enters at #25. This woman does not age, and Wade Barrett's voice almost cracks when she comes out.

-The crowd chants, "This is awesome."

-The match, so far, has been above average.

-The first three women, Iyo, Liv and Roxanne are still in this match.

-Charlotte Flair returns at #27, packed with fireworks and a standing ovation (That won't last). She is clearly wearing a brace to protect her knee. Her chops do not look crisp, but that is probably ring rust.

-Giulia, the NXT Women's Champion, enters at #28. Look out, WWE, Vaquer and Giulia are going to take over the company in the near future.

-Nia Jax sets the record for most eliminations of all-time.

-I think Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan have the record for longest time in a Royal Rumble match, but they haven't said anything. Minutes after taking notes about this, Cole finally mentions it.

-The final entrant at #30 is.......Nikki Bella. Dammit, really wanted AJ Lee. Barrett says that Nikki hasn't aged. She was gone for like three years, guy.

-Nia eliminates about ten women (that's a stretch). Please don't have her win it.

-Roxanne and Charlotte are the final two, we all know what's happening. Charlotte eliminates Roxanne to win the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble.

Not really a fan of this, and apparently a lot are not either, but it us what it is. Iyo, Liv and Roxanne put on groundbreaking performances.

They show the Cosm Bar in Dallas as Nikki entered the Rumble. Cole said that they were pumped but looked relaxed. A lot of time between matches as they showed the Godfather, Mickie James, Kurt Angle and Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman in the front row. Also, the Wheatley Vodka commercial is starting to annoy me, and the BK commercial is making me say, "BK MEEELLLTTTTSSS."

TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH (TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS)

As the Motor City Machine Guns enter the ring, Cole informs the attendance that Roxanne Perez broke the record for longest time in Royal Rumble. Cole also mentioned the Revival twice during this event. Barrett has also called these four men "cardio machines" many times. DIY scores a quick pin on a smart tactic when Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa apparently tagged each other, but Ciampa was still legal in the match. Will they please stop with the referees/rigging/NFL/Chiefs jokes already? MCMG scores the second pin with their Skull and Bones finisher. You know, I think people will try to trash this match because the tag division is very thin. Give these four men credit for doing what it took to put on a good-paced contest. The Street Profits attack MCMG to help DIY retain the titles. Finally, the Profits now can show range as heels. Is this a sign that Bianca is turning also?

They showed some highlights from Pat McAfee's days with the Indianapolis Colts. Ron Simmons, Rick Steiner and RVD are in the crowd. McAfee makes a "cloud nine" joke which made me roll my eyes. UFC star Belal Muhammad and rock legend John Mellencamp are also in the crowd.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP (LADDER MATCH)

CODY RHODES VS. KEVIN OWENS

KO needs to start a t-shirt company or partner with Wrestling Tees. Cole mentions that Owens hasn't been a world champion in eight years, ouch! She's not Samantha Irvin, but Alicia Taylor can hold it together on the mike. KO slams Cody through the ladder, breaking it. Both go out to the crowd. I think KO tossed beer in Cody's eyes, but the camera missed it. Cole says this event is the third largest gate in WWE history and that KO has lost it. Owens snaps back and says that he is not losing it. Owens wedges a ladder between the announce table and the ring. He also uses a stepladder to Rhodes. Cody counters and uses the stepladder on KO. Rhodes gets slammed back first onto the stepladder. Owens executes a pop-up powerbomb as he catches Rhodes was coming off from the giant ladder. This match is sponsored by Wing Stop, since the logo is plastered around the ring. Cody suplexes KO onto a big ladder and then breaks a rung of the ladder to use on KO. Owens counters with a superkick and grabs the rung to hit Cody in the head. There are about four ladders in the ring. Owens tries to execute a packaged piledriver but Cody counters with a backdrop onto the ladder. Owens grabs Rhodes from the ladder and bombs him onto another ladder wedged in the turnbuckle. Both competitors ascend to the top turnbuckle where KO takes advantage and executes a cradle suplex onto the ladder that caused Cody to land on his feet and fall back. Officials come out to check on both men when Sami Zayn comes out. Rhodes snaps and pummels Owens until he is busted wide open. On the announce table, Owens tries to execute a package piledriver, but Cody hits an Alabama Slam to break the ladder in half as KO lands in a grotesque manner. Cody climbs up the ladder to retrieve the two belts and win the match. That was gut wrenching to watch both of these competitors nearly kill themselves to try to win the championship.

Tyrese Haliburton, Ice Cube Jr., and Kai Cenat...whoever he is, are in the crowd.

The attendance is 70,347. That's a lot of (bleep)ing people.

MEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

-Rey Mysterio and Penta are #1 and #2. Yes! This is going to be sweet.....for about two minutes until the next competitor comes out. Their interaction had the crowd in their hands.

-Chad Gable is #3, okay, okay, this is interesting.

-Rey botches a turnbuckle spot and hopefully, he is okay.

-Carmella Hayes is #4. Let's add some more speed and agility to this recipe.

-Gable took a bump where Rey landed on both of his knees. Hopefully, he is okay.

-Santos Escobar is #5. It's LUCHAMANIA!!!! Santos executed a 619 on Rey, which was something.

-Barrett keeps using the term, "cardio machine"......and he needs to make that into a t-shirt.

-Otis slaps Gable that made Rey look impressed.

-The #7 entry is future WrestleMania main eventer Bron Brekker.

-Carmello Hayes is the first man eliminated.

Akira Tozawa enters at #8, but Hayes attacks him as he is leaving for the back. Personnel come to take Tozawa to the back and deemed him unable to compete. Triple H is scrambling and finally points at......IShowSpeed. Ahh, the never-ending need to put "internet celebrities" in a match when they are taking it away from a trained wrestler or sports entertainer. He helped eliminate Otis and celebrated with Bron Brekker, as he did a back flip. As the meme goes, "This is the moment he knew he (bleep)ed up." Bron hits the ropes and....

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣......seriously, every time I see this, it gets me.

-Charlotte's now ex-husband, Andrade, is #11.

-I LOVE YOU, SOLO! is #12......Jacob Fatu, not Solo.

-Ludwig Kaiser waits his time outside and finally goes in, only to be eliminated within seconds. They are pushing his lady and giving him the shaft.

-The Miz is a future Hall-of-Famer, he should be practicing his speech now.

-First surprise: The TNA champion, Joe Hendry, is #15. Remember when everyone said he was going to be on the Jericho cruise?

-Cole mentioned that Hendry defeated Nic Nemeth to win the TNA title. That's right, Nic Nemeth and not the other name he used while he was in WWE for many years.

-Roman enters #16 and it feels weird since he was champion for four years.

-Bron hit an awesome spear on Roman. Like I said before, Bron Brekker is a future WrestleMania main eventer.

-Finn Balor's new theme music is not bad, don't lie!

-Shinsuke Nakamura, the most forgotten Royal Rumble winner.

-Right now, Penta and Jacob Fatu have had breakthrough performances.

-AJ Styles is back at #21 with his old entrance theme, all is right with the world.

-John Cena is #23 in his final Royal Rumble and here comes the jokes about how he needs Rogaine.

-The entire stadium is singing "Cult of Personality" when Punk enters and are at a fever pitch when Punk, Roman and Cena stare at each other.

-Seth Rollins enters at #25 and immediately attacks Punk.

-Dom enters at #26 and Cole loses it to the point where he calls Barrett an idiot for thinking Dom will win it.

-And the number 30 entry is......Logan Paul. Apparently, Paul said that if Dwayne Johnson entered at #30, he would have quit. Not many people would have been upset.

-Cole mentioned Ricochet when Logan entered the ring. Taboo isn't in the vocabulary for WWE or TKO.

-Paul leaps from the ring to the announcing table, then walked the barricade onto the steel steps and eliminates Styles.

-Roman and Seth try to eliminate each other, but Punk comes from behind and pushes both of them over the top rope. Moments later, Logan eliminates Punk. CM and Roman are arguing until Rollins hits a two-foot Curb Stomp on Reigns. Punk and Seth now go at it, again. Officials separate the two, but it allows Rollins to Curb Stomp Roman again onto the steel steps.

-We are down to three: Paul, Cena, and Jey Uso.

-Paul is eliminated and it's Cena and Jey. The crowd is on their feet to see who is going to WrestleMania.

-Remember when the crowd would chant, "Cena sucks?" Well, not here my friends.

-Cole's voice is hoarse due to the excitement.

-Both are on the apron as Cena tries an AA on Uso, only for Jey to escape over the top rope to the ring and pushing Cena off, thus shocking the crowd as Jey Uso wins the 2025 Royal Rumble.

The PLE was another solid effort to start off 2025. The tag team match was rushed, and I wish they had more patience in that. The ladder match was violent as both Rhodes and Owens deserve some praise for putting their bodies on the line. Both Royal Rumble matches were solid and despite the two winners being criticized for different reasons, hopefully, their storylines heading towards WrestleMania would make everything worth wild.

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