2025 Royal Rumble winner predictions

The 38th edition of the Royal Rumble PLE will emanate live from the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on February 1, 2025. It will kickstart the road to WrestleMania 41, and the results will have huge implications going into the Grandest Stage of Them All.

The men's and women's 30-person Royal Rumble match will be the highlight, and the winners will receive a world title opportunity at WrestleMania 41. WWE's current product has been the hottest it has been over the past few years, and the company would look to make no mistake in choosing the right people to get the world title opportunities at WrestleMania. With that in mind, let's figure out which superstars could be "the chosen ones" to win the 2025 men's and women's Royal Rumble matches.

The Rock

The Rock almost took last year's men's Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes' opportunity to face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40. But fan backlash resulted in Rhodes getting back his title shot and in The Rock turning heel and introducing his sinister Final Boss character.

The Rock pinned Cody Rhodes in the tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 and made sure Rhodes knew he would come for him after his hiatus. He returned after the main event of the Bad Blood PLE but didn't give any clue as to which side he'd choose in the Bloodline Civil War or if he was there to rekindle his rivalry with Cody Rhodes.

In the case of the latter scenario, The Rock winning the 2025 men's Royal Rumble makes more sense, as he could go on to challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship while Roman Reigns finishes his business with Solo Sikoa's New Bloodline.

Jade Cargill

It's been ten months since Jade Cargill made her in-ring debut for WWE, but the creative team under Triple H is taking their time in inserting her in the women's title picture. She's one of the few powerhouses in women's wrestling and has an exhilarating in-ring presence, but she still had to hone her crafts when she first walked into WWE.

WWE ensured she received extensive training at the Performance Center before joining the main roster. The company then paired her up with Bianca Belair, one of the best in-ring workers on the roster, and together, they went on to become 2-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.

Bianca Belair has already conquered the Royal Rumble match and is a 3-time Women's Champion, and it's safe to say Jade Cargill is ready to climb up the ladder. Fans would love to see a face-off between Cargill and Belair in the 2025 women's Royal Rumble match, with the former winning the contest, which could lead to a potential feud between the two down the line.

Roman Reigns

When Roman Reigns made it clear to Cody Rhodes that once he finishes his business with The Bloodline, his next target would be to reclaim the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, the addition of The Rock into the storyline and the way Jimmy Uso is trying to recruit his brother and Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso into reforming the OG Bloodline shows that Reigns still has a lot of work to do in his family business before he can chase the title.

Roman Reigns vs. The Rock is a match WWE has been holding back for a long time. However, rumors suggest that WWE is likely leaning towards doing Rock vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. But as the fans have seen last year, The Rock doesn't need to win the Royal Rumble to get a title shot at WrestleMania.

That leaves the spot wide open for Roman Reigns, and The OTC can win the 2025 men's Royal Rumble and choose to face Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41, only for The Rock to insert himself into the match to make it a colossal Triple Threat.

Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch became a free agent after her WWE contract expired in June 2024. Her last match in WWE was against Liv Morgan inside a steel cage on the May 27, 2024, episode of Raw, where she failed to regain the Women's World Championship.

Wrestling fans started speculating about Lynch's next move and wondered if she would jump ships to AEW or return to WWE after a brief hiatus. But current rumors state that it's only a matter of time before Lynch signs a new contract with WWE and returns.

With Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan occupying the Women's World title picture on Raw, fans wouldn't mind a returning Becky Lynch taking center stage. Lynch could return at the 2025 Royal Rumble PLE and become the first-ever 2-time women's Royal Rumble winner.

John Cena

John Cena dropped a bombshell announcement on the entire pro wrestling fanbase at the 2024 Money in the Bank PLE when he announced 2025 would be the final year of his in-ring career.

The John Cena retirement tour will kick off on WWE Raw's Netflix debut in January 2025 and continue until December, when the 16-time WWE Champion will hang up his boots for good.

Word on the streets is that WWE might be looking to have Cena break Ric Flair's record and capture his 17th championship during his retirement tour, and Gunther is the front-runner to drop his world title to Cena. Having John Cena win the 2025 men's Royal Rumble would allow WWE to give him a proper send-off with one final world title run and a WrestleMania moment.

Alexa Bliss

Ever since the Wyatt Sicks debuted on the main roster, wrestling fans started anticipating a potential Alexa Bliss return. Bliss took a hiatus from WWE after Royal Rumble 2023 after she got diagnosed with skin cancer and then took a maternity leave to give birth to her first child, a daughter, born on November 27, 2023.

During a recent episode of Raw, WWE showed Alexa Bliss' Lily Doll in a backstage segment featuring Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio. That started speculations about The Judgment Day being the Wyatt Sicks' next target, and Bliss herself revealed on Instagram that she would return soon.

If that's the case, Liv Morgan being the reigning Women's World Champion opens up the possibility of Bliss winning the 2025 women's Royal Rumble and going on to challenge Morgan for the title at WrestleMania 41.

CM Punk

After winning a brutal Hell in a Cell match at WWE Bad Blood, CM Punk culminated his lengthy feud with Drew McIntyre. With that chapter of his career behind him, WWE fans look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Straight Edge Superstar.

Punk expressed his intentions of going after Gunther and the World Heavyweight Championship before McIntyre attacked him on the Raw after Bash in Berlin. However, he might not get that shot soon as he might have to deal with another long-time rival, Seth Rollins.

Rollins will most likely deal with Bronson Reed at the upcoming Crown Jewel event, which leaves Survivor Series wide open for a match against CM Punk. Both superstars have equal chances of winning the 2025 men's Royal Rumble, but CM Punk winning the contest and Rollins finding a way to add himself to the title match would open the doors for an entertaining triple threat World Heavyweight Championship match between Gunther, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk at WrestleMania 41.