I’m nervous about the Royal Rumble.
It’s one of my favorite gimmick matches and it’s produced some of the greatest moments in professional wrestling. But I remembered last year’s Rumble and it simply wasn’t good. Sure, you can pick great moments from the 2024 Rumble match because they were several highs. But the overall matches were dull.
I noticed that WWE is making the same mistakes that they did last year and I fear that the 2025 Royal Rumble could be just as boring even though the winner isn’t as predictable.
What annoys me about this year’s Rumble matches is the lack of build. I won’t even get started on how much of the women’s Rumble feels like an afterthought. Let’s focus on the men so far. Below were the confirmed entrants for the Men’s 2025 Royal Rumble before RAW this week:
- John Cena
- Roman Reigns
- CM Punk
- Seth "Freakin" Rollins
- Drew McIntyre
- Sami Zayn
- Shinsuke Nakamura
Sure, that number has doubled by now, but it doesn't mask the problem that this year’s Rumble has.
The names above feel like a star-studded cast, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the problem. Let’s pretend that WWE has tried to do something with Nakamura, Reigns, and Cena leading up to the big show. Actually, scratch Cena, the former WWE Champion does have a strong motivation on why he should be winning the Rumble. I don’t feel that we need two months of build to exemplify that.
But Reigns is a uniquely missed opportunity. I don’t particularly have any interest in seeing Roman/Cody III at WrestleMania, but there is a compelling story to tell with Reigns trying to recapture what he lost a year prior.
But my biggest issue is WWE focusing only on main-event talent. WWE has been doing this for decades, but they miss out on a key ingredient that made last year’s Rumble so boring - they fail to make believable challengers beyond the main event names they announced. The company is blatantly telling you that nobody else in the Rumble match matters. And that shouldn’t be the case.
I wish WWE would give lower and middle-card talent some love heading into the Rumble as well. I would love to hear Apollo Crews motivation for being in the Rumble. Maybe he’s frustrated that he’s been on the sidelines and feels that this is his last opportunity to finally be seen. Or Bron Breakker, who’s conquered the mid-card scene and wants to prove himself as a main event star. Or even Kofi Kingston, who could secretly still be pissed about the way he lost the WWE title and is determined to change his WWE career by any means necessary to become the next World Heavyweight Champion.
I’m fantasy booking here, but my point is that we need to feel that multiple guys on the roster have a genuine shot at winning the Rumble. That’s up and down the card. Even if the names mentioned don’t last for more than two seconds in the Royal Rumble, giving these guys promo time and a mini story heading into the match will create that “anything can happen” feeling.
More importantly, the entire Rumble won’t feel so boring because the audience has connected with numerous talents who have made their Rumble motivations clear. Yes, we understand the stakes that the Royal Rumble brings, but we don’t feel the impact it truly has. This should be life-changing, especially for lower card names like Apollo Crews.
And I’m not delusional. I understand that it would be nearly impossible to give all 30 men (and women) a story heading into the Rumble. Unfortunately, some wrestlers will be short-changed. But WWE has social media. Have guys cut a promo or two about their dreams and WrestleMania goals. Push on television these promos (for their social media channels) to get over just how important the Rumble is.
This year’s Rumble feels unpredictable, but do you believe that anyone who’s not on this list has a chance at winning it? WWE needs to create that illusion that anyone can win, whether you’re a guy on NXT, a jobber on RAW, or even a stud who’s on the cusp of grabbing that brass ring. It can be done.
I do understand that stories need to be told within the Rumble itself too. There was this glaring copy-and-paste model in last year’s matches where a wrestler came in, got their shit in, and disappeared from the spotlight once they had a moment to shine. Hopefully, they find creative stories to tell through the Rumble match, but it would be much easier to tell such stories when characters have a defined meaning going into the match.
Let’s Talk About The Women
What the hell is going on?
I’m sorry, but the lack of build for the women’s rumble grinds my gears. This has been a consistent thing since the women’s rumble started. I noticed something about the way women’s wrestling is booked on the main roster; Creative seems to have a problem telling a story with female wrestlers when a title isn’t involved. Heck, they seem to be having trouble telling female stories when titles are involved sometimes too.
All that time Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley were feuding, we were getting women’s matches that lacked any substance. The women on RAW were trapped in a Pure Fusion Collective vortex that did no one any favors. Smackdown’s been a little better, but not by much. Naomi was given the Iron Women honors in 2024’s Royal Rumble and what has she done ever since? Be the backup for Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair.
I can ramble on about the issues with the women’s division, but the main point is that Triple H arguably has the best female roster on the planet. Why aren’t more stories being told? Everything I said about the men’s division can apply here; It could be fun to see an underdog story of Zelina Vega getting a chance to compete on the biggest stage in wrestling and winning a world title to make her father proud.
Or Lyra Valkyria, WWE is high on the former NXT Women’s Champion, but she just doesn’t have a character. That’s why she’s failing to connect with the fans. It’s great that she’s IC Champion, but that isn’t going to get her a bigger fan base. Giving her a clear goal for the Rumble could’ve helped develop her character in interesting ways.
I have to say, for all the good that Triple H has done since taking over, I continue to be disappointed in the way the women’s division is being booked. The crazy thing is that this is the same guy who booked the black-and-gold era of NXT, which had an amazing women’s division! That Asuka reign remains legendary.
Character Motivation Is Key
Having wrestlers cut promos about their WrestleMania dreams may seem minor, but fans grativate towards relatable characters. Of course, charisma and personality also come into play, but that stuff comes out when a character has an interesting arc.
Do I think the Royal Rumble will be bad? No. It’s always possible that creative tells intriguing stories within the rumble itself. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this year’s Rumble was another forgettable affair. While I desperately hope that WWE has something great in mind for this year’s event, I can’t help the feeling that the 2025 Royal Rumble will end up being on plenty of “worst of” lists.