‘Royal Rumble’ Shockers: Jey Uso Eliminates John Cena & Nikki Garcia Returns

Scott Fishman February 2, 2025, 10:35 am

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The road to WrestleMania 41 officially began on Saturday (February 1) with the Royal Rumble. More than 70,000 fans packed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to witness the grand spectacle. A homecoming of sorts for former Colts player and current WWE commentator Pat McAfee, who was key in bringing the event to the city. When the dust settled, Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair survived 30 other participants in their respective over-the-top elimination battle royal matches to punch their tickets to Las Vegas.

It’s in Sin City they are guaranteed to face the champions of their choosing at WWE’s biggest two-night extravaganza of the year on April 19 and 20. The Rumble comes in the midst of a company hot streak, just a few weeks after its flagship series Raw was moved to Netflix. Along with the two Rumble matches, the Tag and Undisputed World titles were also on the line. Let’s break down a night of shocks and surprises that set the stage for what’s to come.

‘WrestleMania’ Main Event Jey Uso

WWE

Rey Mysterio and new acquisition Penta kicked off the men’s Rumble at numbers 1 and 2 in a dream scenario, especially for lucha libre fans. There was some controversy with arguments made that Penta’s feet hit the floor in the opening minutes. That wouldn’t matter as he was eliminated by Finn Balor after an impressive 42 minutes. When Akira Tozawa couldn’t compete, viral YouTuber Speed (I Show Speed) took the number 8 spot. It didn’t take long before Bron Breakker tore him in half with a spear and sent him over the top rope with a gorilla press slam. Otis caught him only to dump him over his head like a sack of potatoes. Ouch.

The mood of the match changed once the “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu entered the mix and conducted a series of eliminations. TNA Champion Joe Hendry got the crowd on its feet by entering event. A product of the working relationship between TNA and WWE. The hits kept coming with Roman Reigns entering at number 16. He quickly took out The Miz, Sheamus, Breakker, and Henry. The stadium erupted when the “Tribal Chief” stood face-to-face with Fatu in a Bloodline standoff. Another Reigns enemy Drew McIntyre entered next., which led to a double team.

The star power grew even more with the final entries including the return of AJ Styles at number 21. John Cena started his farewell tour at number 23, eliminating Braun Strowman and Balor. Not to be outdone, CM Punk and Seth Rollins added to the stacked group at 24 and 25. Logan Paul was the final entrant of the match and played a little floor is lava with the elements around the ring. From there, the herd thinned out when Punk took an opportunity to dump Rollins and Reigns out. Paul surprisingly took out Punk. Rollins snapped going after Punk and Reigns at ringside. This left Jey Uso, Cena, and Paul as the final three. Cena managed to take out Paul, meaning all that was left for him was the king of Yeet. The crowd was divided with “Let’s go Cena” and “Cena Sucks” chants like the old days. Cena performed his trademark moves until Jey hit him with a superkick and attempted to toss him over. Cena and Jey both found themselves on the ring apron at one point working to hang on and building up to a suspenseful finish. Jey pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time by eliminating Cena. It’s YeetMania!

Hail to the Queen

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 01: Charlotte Flair celebrates her win during the Women’s Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 1, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)

Former WWE Co-CEO and Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon kicked off the proceedings. Her appearance coincided with the recent announcement of a new ESPN+ series Stephanie’s Places coming in March. Io Sky and Liv Morgan began at numbers 1 and 2. NXT was represented well throughout with Roxanne Perez, Lash Legend, Jaida Parker, Stephanie Vaquer, and Women’s Champ Giulia. B-Fab was the first eliminated in the match by Chelsea Green, who had a standout performance. The depth of the women’s division was really on full display. Jordynne Grace, fresh off her incredible run in TNA Wrestling, made her first appearance as a WWE-signed talent at number 19. Grace came in hot, eliminating Parker, but was sent over the top rope by Giulia.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 01: Nikki Bella makes her entrance during Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 1, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)

In the first of several surprise entries, Alexa Bliss made her much-anticipated return to the ring at number 21. This especially turned heads, given internet speculation she couldn’t come to terms on money with WWE. That was obviously not the case as Bliss emerged for the first time in two years. She has since become a mom and has been enjoying wedded bliss with pop star Ryan Cabrera. Trish Stratus entered at number 25. The WWE Hall of Famer just so happened to be celebrating 25 years since her WWE debut and even had the same look from back in the day.

Is Nikki Garcia Returning to WWE? What We Know About Her Comeback

Flair made her triumphant return at Number 27. The second-generation competitor eliminated Michin to start an impressive stretch. Number 30 turned out to be Nikki Bella (Nikki Garcia), who was knocked off this season of The Traitors. The WWE Hall of Famer was last in the ring three years ago. Nia Jax had a dominating night and narrowed the field with a series of eliminations including Bella. Flair knocked off Jax and Perez to win the match. The Queen has her sights next on reclaiming her throne.

Cody Rhodes Retains WWE Gold

WWE

Things were personal between former friends Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. Hence the ladder match stipulation with the Undisputed WWE Championship hanging in the balance. The weeks leading up to the battle Owens had been parading himself as the real champ with the dormant Winged Eagle title in his possession. They didn’t hold back as they used the unforgiving ladder as a weapon and fought through the crowd to give it that bar-fight vibe.

At one point Owens broke out a smaller ladder to troll Rhodes and the audience. The mini ladder came into play with each using it to stop the other from climbing and securing the precious cargo. Owens choked Rhodes with a piece of the ladder, beating him down in hopes WWE’s quarterback would stay down. Both threw everything at each other to the point physicians and officials were checking to see if he could continue. Sami Zayn, who was friends with the champion and challenger, came out to check on the combatants. Rhodes and Owens continued the battle. Rhodes was able to keep Owens down with a spinebuster through a ladder to retrieve the gold and retain. However, it was revealed that Rhodes incurred some injuries, so we’ll have to see what this means for his “finish the story” title reign.

Street Profits Send Message

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 01: Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa of DIY make their entrance during Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 1, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)

The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) challenged DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a two-out-of-three falls match. The action was hot and heavy with Ciampa taking the first fall on Shelley after hitting him with a knee to the jaw. Shelley tied things up by scoring a pinfall after hitting the Skull and Bones finisher with Sabin. After a series of near three-counts on multiple occasions, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits nailed the Machine Guns with crutches to cost them the titles. The Street Profits showed no affiliation with either team after also hitting DIY with the weapons after the match. They are looking to regain the tag titles.

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