Latest WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Match Card Predictions After Saturday Night's Main Event
December 16, 2024
With the return edition of Saturday Night's Main Event done, WWE turns its attention to the official start of the Road to WrestleMania: the Royal Rumble.
The February 1 premium live event will take place at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and will feature the company's top stars.
What can fans expect from the match card? Let's take a look.
Match Card Predictions
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
World Heavyweight Championship: Finn Bálor vs. Gunther
Men's Royal Rumble Match
Women's Royal Rumble Match
United States Championship: LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Kevin Owens' American Nightmare
Rhodes defeated Owens at SNME using the same chair that The Prizefighter had introduced to the fray.
It infuriated KO, leading to a vicious beatdown after the show went off the air, one that left the undisputed WWE champion in need of a stretcher out of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
It was a hot angle that fans in attendance captured on social media and one that will be shown across WWE television this week. It will also be the emphasis for their next championship clash, presumably at the Royal Rumble.
WWE @WWEBREAKING: Earlier today it was confirmed that <a href="https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CodyRhodes</a> suffered cervical swelling and was kept overnight at a local hospital for observation. While X-Rays were negative for a fracture, Rhodes has been officially diagnosed with axial compression of the cervical spine, as well… <a href="https://t.co/zyfdThsMQs">pic.twitter.com/zyfdThsMQs</a>
It would not be surprising to see a gimmick attached to the contest since emotions will be running wild. But at its core, the match is about Rhodes avenging the initial betrayal and Owens' vicious assault after their latest matchup.
With The American Nightmare likely to enter WrestleMania season with the gold, he probably wins, but Owens has been so good of late that it would not be too shocking if he scores an upset and wins the title.
Regardless of the outcome, the match will be fantastic and one of the bright spots on a Royal Rumble card the company is likely to load up.
The Road to WrestleMania Begins
The men's and women's Royal Rumble matches serve as the official kickoff to the Road to WrestleMania, with the winners of the respective matches cashing their tickets to the biggest night of the year and a guaranteed championship opportunity.
This year, each figure to feature a number of ongoing rivalries, including CM Punk vs. Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Drew McIntyre vs. The OG Bloodline dominating the men's side of things while Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, and more compete for the right to challenge Liv Morgan, Nia Jax, or whomever is holding gold come February 1.
The potential is there for surprise returns, too, with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch among the top contenders in the women's match.
On the men's side of things, the return of The Rock and his impact on the WrestleMania 41 picture bears watching. We last saw him appear at Bad Blood in Atlanta but he has been conspicuous in his absence since. Will he make his presence felt, winning the namesake match for the first time since 2000 and setting up a championship clash in Las Vegas with Rhodes, a competitor he teased a showdown with the night after last year's Showcase of the Immortals?
Perhaps the biggest question is whether Roman Reigns will compete in his first Rumble match since 2018, when he was the runner-up to winner Shinsuke Nakamura. If so, he immediately jumps to the forefront of potential winners, along with the aforementioned Punk.
The surprise, unexpected nature, and potentially historic nature of the match makes it a fan-favorite and this year figures to be no different.