Every new year brings with it tidings of hope and the feeling you can become the best version of yourself. If you’re a wrestling fan, this optimism has to extend to the Royal Rumble. Paul Levesque and his creative team have laid the foundations for an intriguing WrestleMania season.
For better or worse, The Bloodline has been at the heart of WWE since 2021. The group has been central to some of the greatest highs in the promotions history, but their greatest value has been as a plot device to further the character arcs of several others and spin off other feuds.
WWE has managed to spin an intricate web of interpersonal relationships that entangles many of the top stars in the company stemming from their interactions with The Bloodline. There are several well-crafted narratives centered around different characters and their quests in play that have built up over the course of a year, and the Royal Rumble presents the perfect canvas on which they can unfold.
Numerous wrestlers are in contention to win, and WrestleMania spots are up for grabs. Here are the five leading candidates to win the men’s Royal Rumble:
1) John Cena:
Once the pariah of a vocal section of the audience, John Cena returns to a very different WWE for his farewell run. The loudest portion of the current audience grew up idolizing him, and there is now a greater appreciation of his work across the community.
Reports suggest that the Massachusetts native is set to challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania for his 17th world title in a clash between the defining babyfaces of two eras.
On the debut episode of RAW on Netflix, Cena outlined the challenges facing him: Father Time is catching up, and his recent performances in the ring have been lackluster. He hasn’t won a televised singles match in years either, leaving him with a Herculean task to finally secure a 17th world title.
However, this is WWE, and they like nothing more than the story of a hero overcoming all odds to pull off a miracle. John Cena winning the Rumble would also leave more than two months to promote his WrestleMania match.
Alternatively, there is juice in this crisis of confidence story, and a bolder creative choice would milk the drama and see him earn his title shot by going through the Elimination Chamber. While he is among the favorites to win, it doesn’t feel like a foregone conclusion.
2) Seth Rollins:
Seth Rollins’ heel turn in 2014 was one of the most iconic moments of the 2010s, but little did anyone know the repercussions it would have. The trauma left by that fateful chair shot helped shape Roman Reigns’ Tribal Chief character and has reverberations that are felt to this very day.
It is only fitting that, in turn, Rollins has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the stories that have spun off The Bloodline. While other babyfaces have been willing to forgive Reigns or work with him out of self-interest, the former Tyler Black has stood by his ideals and still sees his erstwhile stablemate as a tyrant. There were even hints at a possible match between the two on the go-home RAW.
As a result of the simmering tensions with Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre acting as the proverbial devil on his shoulder, there remains the possibility that Seth Rollins could turn heel down the line. He could even form a temporary alliance with McIntyre in the Royal Rumble to eliminate Reigns and CM Punk.
His tiffs with The Bloodline and Punk aside, Rollins’ primary ambition is to win a world title. He’s been rumored to work GUNTHER at WrestleMania, and a Royal Rumble win would set him on his way.
3) Sami Zayn:
By rejuvenating the Bloodline in 2022, Sami Zayn served as one of the catalysts of WWE’s resurgence. He was the creative team’s muse in many ways, enabling them to add extra dimensions to the other members of The Bloodline through their interactions with Zayn. This resulted in some of the most riveting television in the promotion’s modern history.
He’s remained one of the most consistent performers in wrestling over the last couple of years, but his maiden world championship has consistently eluded him.
After dropping the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, the selfless Zayn has spent most of his time aiding Jey and the reunited Bloodline. He finds himself no closer to his ultimate goal after repeated losses to arch nemesis Drew McIntyre, whom the 40-year-old has never beaten. Several characters on the show have started to urge him to start acting in his best interests.
Witnessing Sami Zayn’s downturn in fortunes, Kevin Owens made an appeal to his longtime friend to make their dream of main eventing WrestleMania against each other a reality. While Owens was gaslighting Zayn, it does present the former El Generico with an interesting character choice and the possibility of taking the easy way out.
The two longtime friends and rivals appear to be on a collision course and appear destined to clash at WrestleMania. Zayn is the perfect babyface in many ways and a heel turn feels unlikely, but he could still win the Royal Rumble if HHH goes all in on his match with Owens and gives their feud the WWE Championship.
4) CM Punk:
Throughout his career, one of CM Punk’s biggest ambitions has been to headline WrestleMania. He appeared set to break his duck at WrestleMania 40 following his stunning return, but an unfortunate tricep injury scuppered his plans.
Is 2025 finally his year? During the Royal Rumble build, several characters on the show have taunted him for being unable to headline WrestleMania, hinting that it could finally happen. Punk’s been cutting promos with the conviction of a man destined to win the Rumble. He even had another incredible segment with Cody on the go-home RAW. There is a sprinkling of magic in the air whenever the two characters are in the ring, and this might be the most interesting pairing on the roster.
However, there have been suggestions that plans call for CM Punk to work Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. His “favor” from Paul Heyman is still on the table. These circumstances might rule Punk out as a Royal Rumble winner, but with numerous backstage machinations at play, plans seem to be in a state of flux.
A pivot to Punk-Cody would open the door for John Cena to wrestle GUNTHER, a more natural pairing, and for the rising Jacob Fatu to get his match with the Tribal Chief and make for an even better WrestleMania card.
5) Roman Reigns:
After years of trying, WWE have finally gotten what they’ve wanted: Roman Reigns is finally a babyface beloved by their audience and universally cheered in every arena. Even when he’s not on the show, Reigns remains the central character in WWE as different feuds have spun off his relationships with other characters.
The first part of Reigns’ babyface run was spent reuniting the OG Bloodline to defeat the New Bloodline in WarGames at Survivor Series 2024. Reigns then beat Solo on RAW’s Netflix debut to reclaim the Ula Fala and his seat at the head of the Anoa’i family. He’s now now intent on winning back the WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes.
Reigns and Rhodes are the biggest stars wrestling’s produced since John Cena and a definitive rubber match divorced from the bells and whistles that defined their first two encounters is a tasty prospect worthy of headlining any stadium show.
The Reigns-Punk match is also big enough that it could elevate one of the world titles by association. This opens up another path for the former Shield member to win the Royal Rumble. Even if the road looks murky, Reigns seemingly always finds a way into the main event of WrestleMania.
