The WWE’s Road to WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas is about to open in Indianapolis through the much-anticipated 2025 Royal Rumble.

Thirty superstars are about to clash against each other to determine who will main event the WWE’s Show of Shows and set up a bout with one of the promotion’s two world titles.

Among the main highlights of the men’s Royal Rumble match is the participation of 16-time World Champion John Cena who recently announced that 2025 will be his retirement tour.

One of Cena’s goals is to surpass ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair’s world title count of 17, and winning the Men’s Rumble can be his ticket to challenge for Cody Rhodes’ WWE Undisputed Championship or Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship.

However, on his way are 29 other men, some of whom are familiar names and others, intriguing individuals.

One of the most notable is CM Punk who has a rich and extensive history with the Leader of the Cenation.

Punk, who made his return to the WWE in 2023 after a more-than-a-decade absence, was last year’s Men’s Rumble runner-up to Rhodes who went on to finish his story, main event WrestleMania 40, and take the title away from the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.

The Best in the World also missed another chance to fulfill his dream of main-eventing WrestleMania after he tore his tricep during the same match, and he is now looking to complete that dream of his by surpassing his 2024 runner-up finish and finally winning the Men’s Rumble for the first time in his career.

Circling back to Reigns, the Head of the Table has also declared for the 30-man match in hopes of getting a shot at reclaiming his place at the top above everyone else after losing to Rhodes last year.

Aside from Cena, Punk, and Reigns, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Sami Zayn, and Logan Paul have also submitted their names to the match.

Also on the list of 18 confirmed participants are Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker, US champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Jacob Fatu, Penta, Chad Gable, Damian Priest, Carmelo Hayes, and Santos Escobar.

On the other hand, newly-minted WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and World Champion Rhea Ripley also have a lot on their plates, as the Women’s Rumble has a loaded roster despite only 14 being confirmed so far.

Headlining the list are former champions Liv Morgan and Nia Jax, but hoping to overtake them and also challenge for either of the two world titlists are Bailey, US Champion Chelsea Green, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Raquel Rodriguez, and Lyra Valkyria.

Charlotte Flair is also expected to make her return after sitting out due to a knee injury, while the other competitors are Ivy Nile, Iyo Sky, Zelina Vega, Candice LeRae, and Piper Niven.

Returns and Surprises

Aside from Cena and Flair, a number of superstars are also expected to make returns and cameos in both the women’s and men’s Rumble matches.

US wrestling media PWIndsider and Fighful both have reported that Becky Lynch is expected to at least appear in the PLE, but nothing has been made official as of writing.

Other than the former World Champion, The Rock, Randy Orton, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, AJ Styles, and AJ Lee are some names which fans are anticipating to participate in the Men’s and Women’s Rumble matches or at least appear in the premium live event (PLE).

TNA Invasion?

After the partnership between the WWE and TNA Wrestling, multiple reports have been shared regarding how the latter’s talents can make appearances in tomorrow’s festivities.

TNA World Champion Joe Hendry is one choice, as the fan-favorite has already appeared in NXT and even competed for their World Championship against former titleist Ethan Page in last year’s No Mercy.

Cameos from Nic Nemeth, F.K.A. in WWE as Dolph Ziggler, and Jeff Hardy with his ‘No More Words’ theme, would also make sense for the Men’s match, while present TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich, much like Mickey James did in 2022, could also join the Women’s action.

Meanwhile, two matches are also set for the 2025 Rumble.

Rhodes is at risk of getting dethroned even before ‘Mania for he will be defending the WWE Undisputed Championship against Kevin Owens in a ladder match

The WWE Tag Team Championships are also on the line as titlists Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) will battle DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a 2-out-of-3 falls match.

The 2025 Royal Rumble PLE is on Sunday, and will start at 7:00 a.m., Manila time.