NFL
By Keith Richards
Yesterday, we discussed the three biggest takeaways from the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble. Today, we will discuss the three biggest takeaways from the Men’s Royal Rumble. While Road to Wrestlemania is less complicated for the Women’s division, it’s like Frodo taking the ring to Mordor for the Men’s division.
In one of the biggest twists in modern Rumble history, Jey Uso won the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble. No one saw it coming! Many feel it’s the wrong decision, but I disagree. Jey has earned the right to be Main Event Jey Uso in the main event of Wrestlemania. It’s no mystery who Jey will face at Wrestlemania 41. It’s not officially official, but Jey will square off with Gunther again. This time, I think that Jey will conquer Mount Everest.
However, that leaves us with three big questions for the Men’s Division after the Royal Rumble. Who will Cody Rhodes face at Wrestlemania? What happens between CM Punk, Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and Roman Reigns? Who was the breakout star of the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble? My three takeaways from the Men’s Royal Rumble are the answers to these questions. Let’s discuss it!
Cody Retains, but is it someone else’s last time now?
In the battle of true champion vs. delusional champion, Cody Rhodes exorcised the demon that is Kevin Owens. It was a brutal ladder match between the American Nightmare and the Canadian Dream Son of a Security Systems Technician. Brutality from Kevin Owens is not anything new. However, the viciousness we saw from Cody is not often seen.
As KO lay bloody and broken, Cody is over him, raising both titles in triumph. Yet, did the feud with Owens change Cody? If it did, was that change for the better or the worse? In the build-up to the Royal Rumble, Cody learned a valuable lesson. Dusty’s baby boy has no friends on the top of the mountain. Cody Rhodes is lonely at the top after a year of doing everything for WWE and who he thought were friends.
The Internet Wrestling Community rarely agrees on anything. There are two things on which there is majority consent: Cody needs to lose the title and turn heel. In this feud with Kevin Owens, we’ve seen shades of the company’s biggest face threatening to turn heel. However, you need a more prominent face to realize this dream. Enter John Cena.
If there is one wrestler who can be a face big enough to force Rhodes to turn heel, it has to be Cena. Arguably, John Cena is the GOAT of WWE. John Cena wants to win that record-breaking 17th WWE title to add fuel to the fire. After losing to Jey Uso, Cena’s last time is getting closer and closer. Don’t expect John to roll over and accept that number 17 may not be in the cards, either.
After the Royal Rumble, during the post-show, Cena did not take any questions. Instead, he cut one of the best promos of his career. John said, “In the 23 years I’ve been in this business, I know there are different perspectives about my path. But my truth is I’ve never used my opportunities for a spot I haven’t earned.”
Cena would continue, “Because my truth, my perspective is I’ve always done what’s best for business. Tonight, standing in that ring, I wanted this experience to be a tour of goodwill. I’ve openly admitted I don’t know how much I have left in the tank, and I just wanted to do something that would be nice for all of us to get together and have a good time. Unfortunately, tonight, it dawned on me that that’s not best for business. What is best for business is I main event Wrestlemania, and what’s best for business is, for the first time, I confidently say that I’m gonna win a 17th championship.”
With his Royal Rumble golden ticket gone, John Cena announces he will complete at Elimination Chamber. In that announcement, Cena mentions that he will be flying off to another movie set and realizes that his opponents will slander his name. What’s different about this John than what we’re used to seeing? John Cena does not care.
Cena also stated, “I am going to the elimination chamber to win, and I’m going to main event, my final appearance at Wrestlemania, and win a 17th championship because that’s what’s best for business. And I say that because it is not best for my ego. It is not best for my business. I have built my existence here off of hard work, loyalty to this company, and respect for all its branches.” Before leaving the presser, John Cean finishes by saying, “I will win 17, not for me. I will win 17 to someday shake the hand of the person who wins 18.”
Even though it comes off as a heel promo, it’s not. Arguably, John Cena is the most prominent company man in the history of WWE. So, why not be selfless? He’s got nothing else to lose. Taking this angle, Cena opens the door for Cody to turn heel. Since his return, the American Nightmare has been the modern-day John Cena. Cody does everything WWE asks of him. After seeing all of his friends abandon him with hopes of claiming his spot, it’s not difficult to see why Rhodes would turn.
Cena wins the Elimination Chamber, challenges Cody at Wrestlemania, and wins, which leaves time to let the story continue. John’s remaining dates can be dedicated to expanding Cody Rhodes’ heel persona. The old face of faces battling the new golden boy who has gone rogue. Cinema. Meanwhile, as the prototypical babyfaces battle one another, we reach the next takeaway from the Men’s Royal Rumble: The ultimate heel triangle.
CM Punk vs. Seth Freakin’ Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
In the Men’s Royal Rumble, we saw a moment of beautiful chaos. The Only Tribal Chief enters the contest as entrant number 16. Reigns has spots with Fatu and McIntyre, but the true magic happens as entrant number 24 enters. Entrant number 24 is CM Punk—the Second City Saint—the original Paul Heyman guy. Let’s not forget that Punk saved the Original Bloodline at War Games. Because of his…heroism, the Wiseman owes CM Punk an undisclosed favor. Then, it gets better.
Entrant number 25 comes, and it’s Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Before Seth was The Visionary and Revolutionary, he was The Architect. As The Architect, Rollins was a member of The Shield with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley). For many, The Shield was a faction without an equal. The sky was the limit – until Plan B. Seth Rollins decided he was bigger than the almighty “we” and ended that version of The Shield.
How does CM Punk factor into this? The Shield was the mercenary group for CM Punk. Punk will tell you that the existence of Rollins and Reigns in WWE is due to him. Of course, Seth and Roman will disagree. Still, this is not an equilateral triangle. All three sides are not equal in length. In truth, it’s more like a scalene triangle. All sides of this triable are different in length.
The longest side is Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Why? Seth has two separate beefs with the OTC and the Second City Saint. While the roots of Seth’s beef come from The Shield, the roots are not the same. With Roman, The Visionary’s beef is his betrayal. Rollins stabbed Reigns in the back…with a steel chair…multiple times. It took ten years for Roman Reigns to get his revenge for that. He returned the favor when Seth Rollins came to the aid of Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 40. However, the two still have unresolved issues.
Rollins’ beef with CM Punk is well documented. To make a long story short, Seth feels Punk turned his back on WWE and tried to destroy the company, which is true in many ways. Finally, in the main event of the Netflix Era debut, CM Punk defeated Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Those issues may never be resolved. This was evident at the Royal Rumble.
CM Punk eliminates Roman and Seth Rollins in a chaotic sequence as Reigns tries to eliminate Rollins. Logan Paul then sneaks up from behind and eliminates Punk. While Reigns begins to realize who eliminated him, Seth delivers a vicious stump to him. The Visionary and the Second City Saint then get into it. After dispatching Punk with a Superkick, Rollins then stares down Paul Heyman.
Seth flips the bird to a livid Heyman and then delivers another devastating stump to Roman on the steel stairs. Rollins leaves up the entryway. Punk leaves the crowd. With the Wiseman kneeling over, Reigns is on the floor, confused and dizzy. If Jey faces Gunther and Cody faces Cena, that leaves the schedules open for Punk, Rollins, and Reigns at Wrestlemania.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see a triple-threat match between those three than a match with Reigns and the Rock. With two months until Wrestlemania, there is plenty of time to build the match. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better Wrestlemania match. You’d also be hard-pressed to find someone with a better Royal Rumble than Jacob Fatu.
The Samoan Werewolf is HERE
Every so often, there comes a wrestler who oozes potential champion. Meet the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu. Since his debut, Jacob Fatu has been a menace and a terror. While Solo Sikoa was the enforcer for Roman Reigns, Fatu goes beyond that. In the short reign of Solo as Tribal Chief, the Samoan Werewolf was the imposer.
Solo was there for Roman to enforce the rules the OTC worked for a year or so to establish. On the other hand, Fatu was there to impose the new order of the Street Champ. If one does not understand what Solo means to rule, Jacob Fatu beats that understanding into them. With Roman now back in charge, the Samoan Werewolf is unleashed. He is not a slave to the full moon. This beast can strike when he pleases, which is often.
Before the Royal Rumble, we saw Fatu dismantle Braun Strowman, Damian Priest, and LA Knight. However, that was in one-on-one settings. In the Royal Rumble, we saw Jacob unchained in chaos. Before being eliminated by Braun Strowman (a measure of revenge), Jacob Fatu showed wrestlers like Andrade, Penta, and AJ Styles what he was capable of.
It seems that his business with Braun Strowman is not done. Once it is, however, the Men’s Division is now on notice. Yadadamean?! With the Men’s Elimination Chamber qualifying matches underway, the field will continue to take shape.
On Monday Night, CM Punk defeated Sami Zayn to become entrant number two. Who will join John Cena and CM Punk in that steel hell and try to stop him from championship number 17? Team NBS will be here to cover it all on the Road to Wrestlemania!
