WWE Royal Rumble Ending Explained: Results & What It Means [SPOILERS]

Warning: The following copy has SPOILERS for WWE Royal Rumble (Feb 1st, 2025)

WWE kicked off their PLE year with the 38th annual Royal Rumble from Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium The men's Royal Rumble is a crowded and unpredictable match, as Roman Reigns has declared he wants his belt back, CM Punk looks to headline WrestleMania for the first time, and pretty much the whole of the Raw locker room is hell-bent on stopping him. Motor City Machine Guns will also look to regain their WWE Tag Team titles from DIY in a 2-out-of-3-falls match.

Cody Rhodes defends his WWE Championship in his bitter feud with Kevin Owens, and the women's Royal Rumble match was stacked and included the return of Charlotte Flair as well as a couple of other surprises. It is a night often loaded with new stories and shock returns, as WWE's year begins to take shape. The road to WrestleMania starts now.

WWE Royal Rumble Results - Feb 1, 2025

• The Women's Royal Rumble match kicked off the show, with Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan drawing numbers 1 and 2.
• NXT was represented by Roxanne Perez, Lash Legend, Jaida Parker, Stephanie Vaquer, and NXT Women's Champion, Giulia.
• Jordynne Grace made her first WWE performance since signing from TNA. She had a great, superhuman performance with amazing showings of strength, including lifting Piper Niven in eye-catching fashion.
• Alexa Bliss returned at number 21 in the Rumble match's biggest shock. She was eliminated by Liv Morgan shortly after Raquel Rodriguez entered the match. Hints on her ring gear suggest she will be aligned with the Wyatt Sicks.
• WWE Hall Of Famers Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella returned at the Rumble. Nikki Bella is currently part of Season 3 of The Traitors and this was her first WWE appearance in 3 years.
• Women's Rumble highlights included Bianca Belair stacking 4 women in the corner for top rope punches, and Pure Fusion Collective running riot on woman after woman but all being eliminated simultaneously.
• Perennial underdog, Maxxine Dupri, eliminated Ivy Nile, and Roxanne Perez set a new record for time spent in a Women's Rumble.
• Niia Jax eliminated more people in a single Rumble than ever before, tossing out 9 people despite coming in at number 29.
• Charlotte Flair got pyro and hit a hundred chops for her entrance in the Rumble, and there was a superb comedic performance from Chelsea Green, who was accidentally eliminated by her Secret Service, Piper Niven.
• Charlotte Flair won the 2025 Royal Rumble, eliminating Roxanne Perez and Nia Jax in the final 3, to become the first woman to win the Rumble match twice.
• DIY retained their Tag Team Championships after Street Profits returned to cost Motor City Machine Guns in the third and final fall. DIY took the first fall, before Skull And Bones leveled it up for Motor City Machine Guns, but DIY won their 2-out-of-3-falls match.
• Street Profits then attacked DIY with their crutches after the bell. The Street Profits have been out injured since they were attacked backstage, losing their Tag Team title shots in the process.
• Cody Rhodes retained his WWE Championship after a brutal Ladder Match with Kevin Owens, with Cody taking a Fisherman Buster through a ladder, before winning the match by putting KO through a set-up ladder with a brutalizing Alabama Slam.
• Sami Zayn arrived in the final stages of the match, but was helpless as Owens was left bloodied and helped to the back by medics.
• The Men's Royal Rumble match began with Rey Mysterio and Penta as numbers 1 and 2 to a stadium-wide standing ovation.
• TNA Champion Joe Hendry entered at Number 15 to a hero's reception, including an incredible child in the front row jumping up and down in excitement. Hendry was eliminated by Number 16, Roman Reigns.
• AJ Styles was the most high-profile return, entering the Royal Rumble at Number 21.
• YouTuber IShowSpeed replaced Akira Tazawa after Carmelo Hayes blasted him during his entrance. Speed took a full-blooded Bron Breakker Spear before being eliminated, following up on his appearance at last year's WrestleMania.
• Bron Breakker eliminated the first three men in this year's Rumble, starting with Carmelo Hayes after a rib-shattering Spear. Breakker beat Roman Reigns to land another thunderous Spear on the Tribal Chief, only to be eliminated straight after by Roman.
• Jacob Fatu entered at Number 12, Samoan Dropped both Rey Mysterio and Penta stacked one on top of the other, and eliminated 3 men (Chad Gable, Rey Mysterio, and Andrade) by the time Ludwig Kaiser entered as Number 13.
• Braun Strowman returned at Number 22 to eliminate Jacob Fatu, throwing him like a lawn dart. Fatu demolished the announce desk before heading to the back after one of the night's stand-out performances.
• Finn Balor returned after several weeks missing to eliminate Penta, who lasted nearly an hour in the match.
• John Cena returned at Number 23, eliminating Braun Strowman almost immediately.
• CM Punk entered at Number 24, leaving Punk, Roman Reigns, and John Cena facing each other with Lucas Oil Field in raptures.
• Seth Rollins then broke the silence, entering at Number 25, running to the ring, and heading straight for CM Punk.
• High-profile eliminations included Drew McIntyre being eliminated by Damian Priest, LA Knight ending his one-night friendship with Priest by eliminating him, AJ Styles getting his revenge on LA Knight from their match at last year's WrestleMania by throwing him out, and Logan Paul eliminating wrestling royalty, AJ Styles, all in sequence.
• In the highlight of the night, CM Punk eliminated Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at once, before being eliminated by Logan Paul.
• Seth Rollins then lost his mind, hitting The Stomp on Roman Reigns multiple times (including on the steel steps), then scrapping with CM Punk over and over, and then even going after Paul Heyman, as months of frustration boiled over in shocking circumstances.
• John Cena eliminated Logan Paul, leaving John Cena and Jey Uso as the final 2 of this year's Men's Royal Rumble match.
• Jey Uso is the winner of this year's Men's Royal Rumble match, eliminating John Cena in an enormous shock moment.
• Cena and Jey Uso embrace on the ring apron, as the whole stadium rocks with the feeling of Yeeting.

Jey Uso Will Headline WrestleMania 41

A Shock Win For One Of WWE's Most Popular Superstars

As the final seconds of the Royal Rumble match took place, only John Cena and Jey Uso remained. It doesn't matter that Cena hasn't won a singles match since 2018, it's a brave person who favors Jey Uso over Big Match John. With Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins back in the locker room, WWE strapped the rocket to Jey Uso on merit.

It feels like a bizarre and perhaps silly thing to say when he's just made an entire stadium of people lose their minds, but Jey Uso is a controversial Royal Rumble winner to some. All fans are passionate, but some of the more serious fans have a hard time accepting Jey Uso as a top guy. Here's a counterargument. As WWE move onto Netflix and want to get families invested in WWE, who is more suitable for that role that Jey Uso? This is the Yeet Era and Jey Uso deserves his flowers.

Charlotte Flair Returns To Rule Once More

The Woman Is The First Two-Time Women's Rumble Winner

As sure as night follows day, Charlotte Flair is back to winning ways in emphatic fashion, as she won the Royal Rumble for the second time. Her vignettes have radiated importance and a sea change in the women's division. After marveling at the top the women's mountain for the last 12 months, it now remains to be seen if they can meet Charlotte at her level.

There is an inevitability about her victories that are designed to irk fans, but if you don't like Charlotte winning, 2025 may not be for you. Press rumors suggest the audience should expect her to carry a title "sooner rather than later". This is a new dawn for Flair, and her new cast of challengers is going to make this a hell of a ride, but Charlotte reaffirming this is her ring felt inevitable.

Cody Rhodes And Kevin Owens Engage In A War

A Violent Exchange Sees Cody Retain, But At What Cost?

It was always going to be a bitter match, and yet Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens raised the bar of violence in contemporary WWE. Cody went to the darkest place since rejoining WWE, breaking Kevin Owens in half with an Alabama Slam. KO being attended to by medics as Sami Zayn looked on with concern at the hands of the company's top babyface was a shocking turn of event.

Reports surfaced on the post-match show that Cody Rhodes is injured with no timeline on his return. Marvel at Kevin Owens' Fisherman Buster to Cody Rhodes through a ladder. This was noticeably more extreme than WWE's average Ladder Match, and maybe even more so than the majority of it's Extreme Rules matches.

Seth Rollins Spirals Out Of Control

After Months On The Edge, Seth Rollins Snaps

It's been obvious if you've been paying attention, but Seth Rollins has not been himself in recent months. The Architect is usually laser-focused on achieving championships and WWE's richest prizes. This has not been the case as Rollins' hatred of Punk has driven him to madness, and Roman Reigns has always been a point of contention for him. This was the night that it all boiled over.

If you were to dig deep into Seth's psyche, Rollins being dumped out alongside Roman Reigns by CM Punk is his worst nightmare. Even the sight of Punk having his WrestleMania dreams dashed by a YouTuber couldn't stop everything getting too much for Rollins. Seth will lose fan support over this evening, brawling with Punk and engaging in extreme violence towards Reigns, Stomping him multiple times outside the ring, including on the steel steps. There will be consequences, and Seth is responsible for igniting the road to WrestleMania.

John Cena Held Everyone In His Palm

The 2025 Farewell Tour Is Destined to Be An Emotional Rollercoaster

As the clock counted down for Entrant 23 to hit the ring, Cena's music playing sent an emotional tsunami over the WWE universe. Tears in his eyes as he spoke to Stu the camera man before his last Royal Rumble match, the global goodwill towards John Cena is beautiful. The miles he has traveled, the matches he has given the world, and his determination to give back to the fans who love him so fervently. These moments between Cena and his fans are special and, though it was definitely the right decision for WWE, his agonizing Rumble defeat showed 2025 is going to be a special year.

Showing respect to Jey Uso for his win, Cena walked out of the stadium with his path to his 17th Championship uncertain. John's post-match press conference is essential viewing, as he delivered "a statement" instead of fielding questions. His defiance and guts as he digs deep to find the "you want some, come get some", Cena buzzes with passion and determination. John Cena promises to win the Elimination Chamber, and only a fool would bet against him.

John Cena came almightily close, but Jey Uso's Royal Rumble win is sure to get people talking, in what will go down as one of the most shocking Rumble moments of all time. Less shocking (but no less impressive) was Charlotte Flair returning to book her spot at WrestleMania, and Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens took each other to their physical limits, pushing the envelope of what level of violence is acceptable in WWE. Street Profits are another fascinating and talented Tag team to add to SmackDown's growing and exciting Tag team scene, and the road to WrestleMania has taken a number of surprising but satisfying turns on a shocking night in WWE.