CM Punk is on track to finally main event WWE WrestleMania. (Credit: WWE/Getty Images)
WWE Royal Rumble 2025 will feature one of the most star-studded men’s battle royals in company history, and a lot of dominoes will fall on the way to WrestleMania 41.
Last year’s event was the most-watched non-WrestleMania in the show’s storied history, and this year’s show could shatter that record. That’s because the 2025 Royal Rumble features as much star power as any Royal Rumble ever and two major men’s matches that will have significant WrestleMania ramifications.
The highly anticipated WWE Championship Ladder Match between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens could very well determine who holds that title heading into WrestleMania 41. Meanwhile, the men’s 30-man Royal Rumble—featuring legends like John Cena and sentimental fan favorites like Sami Zayn—may determine Rhodes’ or Owens’ challenger or perhaps the No. 1 contender for Raw’s World Heavyweight Championship, currently held by Gunther.
In other words, the 2025 Royal Rumble is a really big deal, and with a jam-packed field featuring some of the biggest names in WWE, these five stars are the frontrunners to punch their ticket to WrestleMania 41.
Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has been arguably WWE’s most well-rounded performer for the past two years, and WWE is reportedly planning a massive push for the former three-time world champion.
Last year, the Scottish superstar was prominently featured in Raw’s world title picture and WWE’s best feud of the year against CM Punk, even facing Seth Rollins for the world title at WrestleMania 40. This year, he remains a focal point of the red brand and one of the most intriguing characters on either Raw or SmackDown.
Because McIntyre has entered that upper echelon of top stars, he is going to consistently hover around the main event scene and world title picture. A former Royal Rumble winner himself, McIntyre could easily slide into a WrestleMania feud with someone like Gunther or Rhodes and be a believable foe for either world champion.
While McIntyre is clearly not the odds-on favorite, he is one of perhaps just a handful of stars with a realistic shot at winning the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble.
John Cena
The Rock’s uncertain status for WrestleMania season has shifted WWE’s creative plans for some of its top stars, namely Rhodes.
Now, Rhodes vs. Cena for the WWE Championship is reportedly planned as the WrestleMania 41 main event in a feud that ultimately sells itself. That is, it’s Cena, the former face of WWE, challenging the current face of WWE, Rhodes, on his retirement tour.
This, of course, is Cena’s last year as an active wrestler before he hangs up his boots for good. What’s more, if Cena were to defeat Rhodes, he would win his record-breaking 17th world title. That seems virtually inevitable by the end of 2025, but it doesn’t necessitate a Royal Rumble win for Cena.
Though Cena is a strong candidate to win the Royal Rumble to earn his shot at Rhodes, it might make for a better story if he loses the Rumble only to win his shot at redemption at Elimination Chamber the following month.
Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns seemingly won’t be involved in the world title picture at WrestleMania for the first time in what feels like an eternity. Then again, maybe not.
Although Reigns vs. CM Punk, a reported option for Reigns at WrestleMania, now seems most likely, the truth is that you can never count out Reigns being thrust back into the world title picture. One option—which would definitely be overkill—is a WrestleMania trilogy match with Rhodes, which Reigns could earn with a Royal Rumble victory.
Reigns has been such a consistent force in the world title picture over the past decade that he—believe it or not—hasn’t won the Royal Rumble match since 2015. As arguably WWE’s biggest star, Reigns could very well win his second Royal Rumble, a feat accomplished by other marquee stars like Cena, Rhodes and Randy Orton.
That’s not necessarily the most ideal option, but when Reigns is in the Royal Rumble mix, he can’t be counted out as a possible winner.
CM Punk
If it is Reigns vs. Punk at WrestleMania, that epic match seemingly would not involve a world title, potentially spoiling his dream to main event a WrestleMania.
But Punk’s WWE return has been such a huge success that the creative team may ultimately choose to put him in a world title match at WrestleMania. Punk, after all, continues to generate some of the loudest crowd reactions in WWE, and his two major feuds—one with McIntyre and another with Seth Rollins—have been overwhelming successes.
Everything that Punk does feels important, so he would make a great candidate to face either Rhodes or Gunther at WrestleMania 41, especially given his interaction with Punk on this week’s Raw. Indeed, those are both true dream matches pitting two of WWE’s biggest stars against one another, with the added bonus of Punk pursuing his first-ever WrestleMania main event.
That’s a potentially intriguing storyline for Punk to have, especially if he wins his first-ever Royal Rumble to get there.
WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Favorite: Seth Rollins
Another reported marquee WrestleMania match? That would be Seth Rollins vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.
As noted, one shift in a major star’s WrestleMania status could drastically alter the entire card, a reality even WWE CCO Triple H has admitted is possible. But if WWE indeed sticks to its currently planned WrestleMania matches, then it’s a safe bet that Gunther vs. Rollins is one of them after the two stars battled it out on the mic on Raw this week.
Gunther, after all, is Raw’s heel World Heavyweight Champion while Rollins is one of the red brand’s top babyfaces, setting the stage for a first time ever bout on a televised WWE event. That’s a true dream match between two of the best in-ring performers in all of pro wrestling, with the potential for a legendary clash on the grand stage of WrestleMania.
Rollins continues to be an anchor of Raw while the same is true of Gunther, so it’s not difficult to envision a second Royal Rumble win at WWE Royal Rumble 2025 for Rollins catapulting him into another WrestleMania world title match.
Read the full article here