2025 Men’s Royal Rumble Preview & Predictions

Thirty men will battle in the most anticipated match of the year. The thirty-eighth edition of the Royal Rumble emanates from the “Cross Roads of America.” Sixty-five thousand fans will descend upon Lucas Oil Stadium with the WrestleMania hopes of their favorite WWE superstars hanging in the balance.

Two Rumble matches and two championship showdowns boast a less-is-more lineup. Cody Rhodes will likely retain the WWE Championship in his ladder match against Kevin Owens. Although the outcome seems predictable, the storytelling has made the journey worthwhile.

This year’s Men’s Royal Rumble is the most unpredictable of all time, a far cry from years past. Vince McMahon’s booking style focused on one main star while everyone else was a rung below. Triple H has reinvigorated WWE storytelling by making every character as important as possible.

Eighteen entrants have declared for the Rumble. The remaining spots will be wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown, NXT and a couple of surprises from perhaps TNA or the independent scene. The wrestlers already in the Rumble all have a story going into the match in one form or another.

Will John Cena win his last Royal Rumble? A winning lottery ticket on his farewell tour could earn him a shot of breaking the record for most world championships. Now that Bloodline business is settled, Roman Reigns looks to reclaim the throne following his record-setting title reign. Seth Rollins’ road to WrestleMania is intriguing regardless of which champion he faces. One of the titles is held by a man Rollins has never beaten, while the dominant Gunther holds the belt he made famous.

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WWE and TNA: A Game-Changing Wrestling Partnership

What started as a friendly talent exchange has blossomed into a full-on partnership. WWE and TNA Wrestling announced a multi-year partnership. The arrangement will see TNA talent appear on WWE programming and vice versa.

Both promotions set clear boundaries before this arrangement came together. They avoided the word “partnership” during their talent exchange last summer, which saw TNA star Joe Hendry challenge Ethan Page for the NXT Championship.

TNA has formed partnerships with various promotions over the years, but this is an unprecedented move for WWE. Vince McMahon looked at such moves as a fruitless endeavor. WWE is the industry titan and everyone else is fighting for a second place.

Triple H embraces the industry as a whole and understands the value of compelling crossover content. This partnership comes at an interesting time. Several TNA stars exited the promotion in December. Reports suggest that more stars are likely to follow.

One of those stars is Jordynne Grace. The former multi-time Knockouts Champion signed with WWE after finishing up with TNA at their Genesis pay-per-view. 2024 saw Grace make a memorable appearance in the Women’s Royal Rumble match and NXT.

Grace working for the E is the tip of the iceberg for talent crossovers and relocations.

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WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event: Nostalgia Reimagined

A nostalgic staple of WWE’s network programming returns as Saturday Night’s Main Event airs on NBC. The December 14th special, featuring a WWE Championship match with Cody Rhodes defending the gold against former friend turned dastardly challenger Kevin Owens has fans buzzing with excitement.

Whether it’s the formation of the Mega Powers, Mr. Perfect destroying the WWF Championship belt with a hammer, or an all-time classic between Rockers facing the Brain Busters, Saturday Night’s Main Event was a show where big things popped off that kept people talking all day Sunday and well into Monday.

I vividly remember my first Saturday Night’s Main Event. I hadn’t been a wrestling fan for that long. However, if you heard me talk about anything related to the squared circle, you’d think I was a long-time superfan. I was playing outside with my friend Billy Andrews when he said he couldn’t wait to see the Ultimate Warrior face the Super Ninja.

Hearing the words “Ultimate Warrior” and “Super Ninja” in the same sentence made my mind explode with excitement.

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The Rise of Women’s Mid-Card Titles in WWE: What to Expect

The winds of change in WWE’s women’s division arrived in the form of the Women’s United States Championship. A tournament to crown the inaugural champion kicked off on SmackDown last Friday when Bayley defeated B-Fab and Candice LeRae and will meet the winner of the Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Blair Davenport. The other side of the bracket sees Jae Cargill vs. Michin vs. Piper Niven and Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. Elektra.

The tournament finals will be held on 12/14 at Saturday Night’s Main Event, emanating from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The first round will comprise four Triple Threat Matches, with singles matches filling the semi-final rounds.

Fans have clamored for a women’s mid-card title in WWE for years. NXT was the testing ground for the initiative in June when Kelani Jordan became the inaugural Women’s North American Champion.

Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley recently bested Jordan to hold the gold. There are rumors of either a Women’s Intercontinental Title or a Netflix Title being implemented on Raw as the brand’s secondary women’s championship.

Tony Khan popularized the women’s mid-card title concept in the U.S. when AEW introduced the TBS Championship 2021, and ROH followed suit with the Women’s World Television Championship in May 2024. Mercedes Moné and Red Velvet are the respective title holders. Last year, Billy Corgan’s NWA also implemented a Women’s World Television Title.

Women’s wrestling in WWE and abroad has significantly expanded over the last decade. The top storyline on Monday Night Raw was the love triangle between Rhea Ripley, Dominick Mysterio, and Liv Morgan. In the eyes of many, it demonstrates how female acts on television are now on par with male performers in terms of importance.

While hard-nosed grizzle veterans say title belts are simply props, the right champion differentiates between them being a fashion accessory and a coveted prize. Mid-card championships allow members of a particular roster to work their way up, and as with most things in life, there are levels to professional wrestling.

Throughout WWE lore, most male wrestlers win the secondary or mid-card championship before capturing the World Championship. However, the women’s roster has no silver medal to win. No progression to establish a character’s credibility as they work through the ranks.

Female wrestlers have either been in the world title mix or have been irrelevant until now. With sixty-eight active women’s wrestlers in WWE and more on the horizon, it is the perfect time to introduce a second singles title across all three brands.

Brock Lesnar’s WWE Return: Rumors Resurface

The rumor of Brock Lesnar’s return resurfaces frequently, but sources with an excellent track record confirmed the story this time. While not surprising, it’s still disappointing.

Lesnar was last seen getting ousted by Cody Rhodes, the company’s top star, fourteen months ago. Since then, WWE has thrived like never before, and to be blunt, the company has moved past the need for Lesnar.

While Lesnar wasn’t named in the Janel Grant lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal and the Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary identified him as the former UFC fighter referenced. The suit alleges Vince McMahon used Grant as a sexual bargaining chip while negotiating to re-sign Lesnar in 2021.

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WWE 2024 Bad Blood (Review)

Twenty-seven years ago, at WWE’s inaugural Bad Blood event, not only did the first Hell in Cell Match take place, but the most memorable debut in wrestling history changed WWE forever. Undertaker battered and bloodied Shawn Michaels in the climax of their historic matchup. Then the lights fall, the arena turns red, and a large crimson figure storms toward the ring.

“IT’S GOT TO BE KANE!” McMahon infamously yelled as the masked man ripped the door off the Cell and tombstoned his older brother, allowing Shawn Michaels to pin the Undertaker. After two decades, WWE presents the 4th edition of Bad Blood, emanating from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

CM Punk and Drew McIntyre will complete their hellacious trilogy inside Hell in a Cell and perhaps the most star-studded tag team since the Mega Powers take center stage as Cody Rhodes teams with the returning Roman Reigns to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

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WWE SummerSlam 1989: Feuds, Matches, and Controversies

It’s time to “Feel the Heat” with the sophomore edition of WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.” The summer of 1989 was all about the feud between Hulk Hogan and “The Human Wrecking Machine” Zeus, aka Tiny Lister, aka Debo, which was used as a vehicle to promote Hogan’s first theatrical starrer, No Holds Barred.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage was still sour over losing the WWE Title to Hogan at WrestleMania 5, aligned with the seemingly indestructible Zeus to finally destroy Hulkamania. Not to fear, the Hulkster has backup in the form of everyone’s favorite barber, Brutus Beefcake.

The broadcast opened with a shot of a red-hot New Jersey crowd inside Meadowlands Arena. Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Tony Schiavone welcome everyone to the show. Ventura’s mad at Schiavone for getting Bobby Heenan run off the air.

Schiavone remained professional and excitedly proclaimed it was time to “Feel the heat,” with a video montage of summertime activities and WWE superstars hitting their finishing maneuvers to the nostalgic sound of the old-school SummerSlam theme song. Jim Johnson

Do you like driving your red Corvette with the top down? How about a Brainbuster (spiked piledriver) instead? Speaking of Brain Busters…

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The Legacy of Sid Vicious, Sid Justice, and Sycho Sid

A man of many names in many places with many faces. Intensity incarnate who enthralled the masses regardless of whether he was friend or foe.

I was shocked, along with many others, to learn that Sid Eudy, famously known as Sid Vicious, Sid Justice, and Sycho Sid, died on August 26. Eudy, who was only 63 years old, will always be remembered as one of the great pro wrestling attractions of the 90s.

Sid’s passing was announced on Monday by his son Gunnar Eudy on Facebook, who stated that Sid had been battling stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for several years. On Tuesday, Gunnar posted more about his father: “He was known as Psycho Sid Vicious to the world, but to our family, he was simply ‘Popper,’ the beloved grandfather.”

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WWE SummerSlam 2024 Review

Depending on your preferred flavor of professional wrestling, SummerSlam received rave reviews from some and faint praise from others. Those who live or die by five-star ratings won’t find a match on the card to garner such esteem. However, fans who are all about spectacle and storytelling got more than their money’s worth on Saturday night, as Cleveland Browns Stadium hosted “the biggest party of the summer.”

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CM Punk Signs w/ Raw and Declares for WWE Royal Rumble

After a weeklong trek across WWE’s three brands, CM Punk has officially planted his flag on Monday Night Raw. Punk signed the contract in the ring, presented by general manager Adam Pearce. Punk stated despite reasonable offers from Nick Aldis (SmackDown) and Shawn Micheals (NXT), the offer from RAW was head and shoulders above the rest.

Punk exclusively on Raw could significantly impact the pro wrestling landscape. Many Television deals expire next year, and everyone wants to extend their current deal or find a new network to call home. Punk could be the key for WWE.

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