WWE Royal Rumble 2025 predictions, card, matches, start time, PPV preview, location, date, expert picks

WrestleMania season kicks off on Saturday when WWE brings the Royal Rumble to Indianapolis. The occasion is likely one of the most anticipated yearly WWE occasions and this yr isn’t any completely different.

As is the usual, there will likely be a males’s and a girls’s Royal Rumble match on the cardboard, with the winners having the ability to problem any champion for his or her title at WrestleMania, which takes place on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas. 

To win the match you should be the final particular person nonetheless within the ring in spite of everything different rivals have been tossed excessive rope and hit the ground with each ft.

This yr’s males’s Royal Rumble is predicted to have loads of drama and surprises. Amongst these confirmed as entrants are John Cena, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and extra. However there are nonetheless 15 slots which can be to be decided and WWE CCO Paul Levesque stated you possibly can count on loads of wildness on Saturday night time at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

“I am eager about the Royal Rumble,” Levesque stated on the Royal Rumble kickoff on Friday. “It makes me assume, nearly anyone may enter the Royal Rumble as a shock. [Turns to Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton] You bought a minute?” 

The ladies’s Rumble match will even have loads of each, and much more provided that solely 10 entrants have been introduced. However among the many most notable is the return of Charlotte Aptitude after greater than a yr away to get better from a nasty knee harm.

There are solely two matches past the Rumbles on the cardboard for Saturday, however they’re certain to ship the joy. WWE undisputed champion Cody Rhodes places his title on the road towards buddy turned foe Kevin Owens in a ladder match. Plus, the WWE tag workforce championships are on the road when titleholders #DIY tackle Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons in a two-out-of-three falls match.

Let’s check out who the CBS Sports activities consultants are selecting to win in every match on Saturday’s card, starting at 6 p.m. ET.

WWE Royal Rumble 2024 predictions

Males’s Royal Rumble Match: I felt considerably sure that John Cena would win the Rumble till Monday night time. CM Punk’s confrontation with Cody Rhodes sparked one thing that made it clear Punk vs. Rhodes is the story WWE must be telling as a lot as potential. After all, there’s additionally simply the truth that momentum has utterly stalled out for Cena when his huge return for his final run began with a considerably awkward promo on Jan. 6 and he has been nonexistent since. Certain, he may nonetheless win the Rumble and go on to up his appearances between the Rumble and WrestleMania, however his absence has killed my curiosity whereas Rhodes and Punk have me excited. I feel WWE needs to play into the traditional rivalry between Punk and Cena and the match seemingly comes all the way down to these two males on the finish however give me Punk to get the win and Cena to punch his personal ticket at Elimination Chamber — a whole reversal of what I predicted only a few weeks in the past. Choose: CM Punk wins the Royal Rumble — Brent Brookhouse

I wakened this morning believing Cena would win the Rumble, however I am having second ideas. A straight shot to WrestleMania is just too handy for the down-on-his-luck veteran searching for glory one final time. Orton is not marketed for the Rumble, however I think he’ll pull out a shock victory to arrange a showdown with Rhodes at WrestleMania. Orton will not tie Cena’s world title document, however he can tie “Stone Chilly” Steve Austin’s three Rumble wins. Choose: Randy Orton wins the Royal Rumble — Shakiel Mahjouri

Girls’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Aptitude is such a simple plug-and-play possibility for the most important WrestleMania matches that it is arduous to not decide her to win right here. The inevitable match with Tiffany Stratton additionally makes an excessive amount of sense to move up. Stratton vs. Aptitude appears like a possible passing of the torch second, even when Aptitude will likely be round for so long as she needs. They’re comparable sufficient wrestlers whereas separated sufficient by the eras by which they entered the sport to offer loads of compelling storytelling earlier than an incredible WrestleMania match. Choose: Charlotte Aptitude wins the Royal Rumble — Brookhouse

There aren’t many standouts amongst this yr’s girls’s Rumble individuals. Reserving Aptitude reverse Tiffany Stratton for WrestleMania is an effective way to spice up Stratton’s profile. Aptitude might be trusted to ship in huge matches, so she may simply return from harm victorious. Choose: Charlotte Aptitude wins the Royal Rumble — Mahjouri

Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Ladder Match): I hope Owens pulls off the upset. It is a compelling twist within the story, plus it might be tough to see Owens lose in three consecutive undisputed WWE title matches. WWE is dedicated to Rhodes as champion. Whereas I do not assume it’d harm him to lose and reclaim the title between now and WrestleMania, I think WWE takes the secure route by protecting the title on him. Choose: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Mahjouri

Because it does not actually matter to be proper or fallacious when predicting wrestling matches — and should you’re betting on scripted leisure you are braver than I’m — I used to be going to select this one with my coronary heart as an alternative of my head. WWE has solely dipped into the title loss earlier than rapidly regaining the title as soon as with main titles just lately, when Jey Uso received the intercontinental title from Bron Breakker earlier than Breakker received it again lower than a month later. It is good to see prolonged title reigns in WWE once more, however typically there must be a bit extra drama by way of a sense of unpredictability. From that view, Owens ought to win on Saturday with Rhodes grabbing the title again forward of WrestleMania. A ladder match gives sufficient escape hatches for that loss to come back cheaply by means of outdoors interference. That stated, that method is not actually how Paul Levesque has booked main titles and Punk’s interplay with Rhodes on Monday targeted on how the strain of being champion will proceed to put on Rhodes down till he lastly breaks at WrestleMania. You do not have that interplay and wipe that story away lower than every week later. Choose: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Brookhouse

WWE Tag Workforce Championship — #DIY (c) vs. Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons (Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match): It is too quickly to take the titles off #DIY. Kudos to WWE for giving two world-class tag groups ample time to point out what they’ll do. Count on the Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons to look sturdy however drop the final fall by nefarious means. Choose: #DIY retain the titles — Mahjouri

I agree with the logic that WWE will not rip the titles away from #DIY this quickly however I’m very excited to see what these two groups can do in a two-out-of-three falls set-up. Fairly Lethal seemingly will get concerned to tilt issues within the champions’ favor within the third fall. No matter if the end result feels predictable, that is going to be an incredible match between two completed tag groups. Choose: #DIY retain the titles — Brookhouse