Opinion

Andrew’s WrestleMania 35 Ratings & Analysis

Well it’s the end of the biggest week in professional wrestling! We get the name sake and what should be the crown jewel. Andrew gives ratings and analysis on WrestleMania 35!

Published

6 years ago

April 8, 2019

Andrew Balaz

Well it’s the end of the biggest week in professional wrestling! We get the name sake and what should be the crown jewel. Andrew gives ratings and analysis on WrestleMania 35!

WWE tends to prioritize moments over matches a lot of the time, but you would hope this “New Era” would mix things up a little.

Kofimania and the women headlining the show are the two biggest stories. Miz being a convincing face opposed to Shane is another one. Batista forcing Triple H to put his career on the line are some of the bigger stories, culminating at WrestleMania 35.

Does it disappoint? Does it outdo TakeOver? Let’s find out!

Ratings:

Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy (c) vs Tony Nese: Nese wins via Running Kneese @10:40 – ** 3/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!
Women’s Battle Royal: Carmella wins @10:30 – **
Raw Tag Team Championship: The Revival (c) vs Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins: Hawkins wins via Inside Cradle @13:20 – *** – TITLE CHANGE!!!
Men’s Battle Royal: Braun Strowman wins @10:20 – **
WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Seth Rollins: Rollins wins via Stomp @2:30 – * 1/2 – TITLE CHANGE!!
Randy Orton vs AJ Styles: Styles wins via Phenomenal Forearm @16:20 – ****
SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles: The Usos (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev vs The Bar vs Aleister Black & Ricochet: Usos retain via Double Uce @10:05 – *** 3/4
Falls Count Anywhere: Shane McMahon vs The Miz: McMahon wins via…Superplex Shenanigans? @15:25 – *** 1/2
Women’s Tag Team Fatal 4 Way: The IIconics vs Tamina & Nia Jax vs Boss & Hug Connection vs Divas of Doom: IIconics win via Avalanche Glam Slam @10:45 – *** 1/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!
WWE Championship Match: Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan (c): Kofi wins via Trouble in Paradise @23:45 – ***** – TITLE CHANGE!!!
United States Championship Match: Rey Mysterio vs Samoa Joe (c): Joe retains via Coquina Clutch @1:00 – N/A
Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre: Roman wins via Spear @10:10 – ** 1/2
No Holds Barred: Triple H vs Batista: Triple H wins via Pedigree @24:45 – *** 1/4
Kurt Angle Retirement Match: Baron Corbin vs Kurt Angle: Corbin wins via End of Days @6:00 – **
Intercontinental Championship Match: Bobby Lashley (c) vs Finn Balor: Balor wins via Coup de Grace @4:00 – *** 1/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!
Winner Take All Raw & SmackDown Women’s Championship Main Event: Becky wins via Crucifix Pin @21:30 – **** 1/2 – TITLES CHANGE!!!!!

Analysis:

The perennial Pre-show participants, the Cruisers have a match. It was alright for what it was, but felt flat, never really got out of first gear and really felt like nothing special. So I don’t know. Not the best showing from either, so it makes Murphy’s loss look fairly weak.

Well this Battle Royal was a mess. Sloppy spots, awkward spots and Carmella doing a heel style tactic is a little odd. Most faces don’t dip out and take advantage of the one on one when the one person thinks they won the match. Maybe this is a Carmella going back to being a snotty brat, or they were really just trying a misdirection spot, that no one reacted to. It tried, but it was lame.

A lot of personality in this match. Revival kept verbally running down Hawkins and obviously didn’t take them seriously. But all things considered, it wasn’t a bad match. A few solid near falls, a big outside suplex car crash kind of spot. Hawkins then seemed to play a little possum, and caught Dawson with an Inside Cradle for the upset victory!

The fact the Saturday Night Live guys hid under the ring immediately made sense, but there wasn’t really much story telling in this. The brief period of Luke Harper and Braun having a stare down was irrelevant when it just turned into a dog pile moment. Andrade got paired against the luchadors mainly and eliminated himself. So yeah, the therapist was stupid, but it was different and fit the story. But yeah, no twist hear, just Braun looking scary and destroying most of the participants. Slightly better than the women’s, but still nothing to care about.

Alexa and Hulk Hogan open the festivities and the crowd is fairly welcoming to Hulk. Not a huge explosion but it sounded more positive than negative. It’s a nice surprise.

So Heyman wanting the match to start immediately makes sense, fits the Lesnar persona of not wanting to spend more time there than necessary. And then we just get a mauling from Lesnar, and by the time the match officially starts it’s a few suplexes, a ref bump, low blow and three stomps. Was it a surprising enough moment, sure. The pop seemed pretty big since people are bored of Lesnar. But as a match it was really nothing. But it got the desired reaction.

Our first really good match of the night! Randy and Orton go back and forth nicely, showing some familiarity and playing back to previous encounters. Randy shows more desperation in the match as he goes to the top rope, which isn’t really his wheelhouse. This gives AJ the opening he needed to put together the last necessary moves to squeak out a victory. Really good match.

This four way was surprisingly solid. The extended Big Swing and Beats of the Bodhran moment was fun, I hate the over use of the Tower of Doom spot in multi person matches, but they added a neat wrinkle. Ricochet rolling through and having a very close near fall was fun. Usos overcoming the odds and the punishment for doing the right thing was the right way to tell the story. Good match.

We see Shane take an early advantage after putting his hands on Miz’s father to get him chasing. It was nice to see Miz’s father get involved in the match which helped add some visible emotional weight and fire up Miz. Miz then beat Shane from pillar to post, Shane bounced off a golf cart, they climbed a lighting rig/trellis. I would’ve liked to see Shane Spartan Kick Shane into the pit of death, but he decided a Superplex was the way to go. Because of how they landed, when Charles Robinson got down there, Shane was technically on top, so Shane won. I’m not mad at the match, it was fine, we get to see more of the Miz than we previously were aware of, and it wasn’t too bad. Some may argue that Shane kicked out too often, but his last name gives him some plot armor.

Okay so I expected this match to be awful, but it was mapped out well. The Samoans were knocked out kinda early and only showed up for power spots, the IIconics were better than usual, and Divas of Doom/Boss & Hug did most of the heavier lifting in the match. I do like how Paige kind buried the stupid references to Eddie every time Sasha sneezes by pointing out that Peyton’s gear was inspired by Eddie as well. And let’s be honest, the fact the IIconics snuck in the tag and ninja’d that win away from Beth. Lie, Cheat and Steal. That’s the Eddie Guerrero way. But the match wasn’t bad. Good job.

Wow. This was one of those quintessential WrestleMania moments. A fantastically wrestled match with Daniel being a step ahead for most of the beginning and then Kofi figured it out as the match went on. Kofi showed great resiliency, the rest of the New Day took out Rowan and Kofi’s heart helped him keep the edge as the match went long. Just a tremendous match, great ending, great moment, great great great.

Mysterio’s story is that he was dinged up but was cleared to wrestle. So an early flurry from Rey, with a chance for him to win quickly…turned around for Joe to put him to sleep in a minute, is good for him. I think I said something similar either in the write up or at Supercard, but having a short match is part of the fun as long as it makes sense. This makes sense.

Drew and Roman was a bit more plodding than I would’ve liked. Lots of space between moves, with little effect on the crowd or the overall story. Drew was fairly in control until a slap “woke up” Reigns and he went back to Superman mode. This whole time I was hoping they would’ve played on the sympathy and not given Reigns the win in his first singles match back from cancer and a concussion. Match was alright but nothing special. Some things don’t change, but I’ll give WWE enough credit that the crowd still mostly cheered Roman. So it should be interesting if we go back down the old rabbit hole, or if they pivot a little.

WWE has made me generally sick of Elias now. The crowd still seems to respond well enough to him…but can they please give him a story? Just…please?

Wait instead we get a Babe Ruth clip…wait…Word Life? Old school Cena? Well I’ll be damned. He runs down himself, gets in a lot of his product endorsement, uses IWC nod nicknames like Golden Shovel…and embarrasses Elias for the second year in a row. I feel dirty saying it wasn’t bad, I kind of liked it. I also liked how he even made the nod to his finisher being called the FU instead of Attitude Adjustment and even did the sneaker pumps before it. Fun moment, but I still wish Elias had a story. Yes him being involved in any capacity with Cena is a bigger spot than most get, but I’d personally like to see more matches and less moments for Elias.

HHH had another cool entrance and Batista tripped over the rope. Well…foreshadowing? The beginning of the match was mostly Triple H making an example of Batista, even ripping a nose ring out of his face with some pliers. The rest of the match had some back and forth, Batista fired up at times and we got glimpses of the Animal, but it was a slow match. Ric Flair showing up to hand Triple H a second sledgehammer and distract Batista a little popped the crowd and helped to forgive the painfully plodding pace at times. A few cool spots and the German announce table seems to be the new Spanish announce table, but yeah, this was alright.

Well now, I guess they were giving Corbin the ball to keep rolling down Heat Street. No one expected a classic, but most, myself included, were hoping for more of a swerve. But Kurt did the right thing by going out on his back, and I guess now we wait and see if Corbin does something with it.

Hmm…okay Balor must’ve listened to some criticism since he came out with an adjusted move set for The Demon. A few Finn Balor classics, but things like the Flying Axe Kick, a Powerbomb on someone of Lashley’s size and a few other quirks were nice to see. It was a short match, but fast paced, fun and both men didn’t have a hiccup.

This triple threat had everyone holding their breath before the bell rang. We’ve become so conditioned to expect WWE throwing us a fast one, that they worked us, by not working us. The match was fantastic, a few nit picks. Like Charlotte not selling the Piper’s Pit on the outside, sloppy crucifix and a few of the double moves looked odd, but that’s nit picking. Great match by all three women, and it’s cliche to say, but the right person won.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Great WrestleMania! HappyMania even? Or I suppose not quite since Corbin did beat Angle which left some people a little sour. But yeah this was a hell of a show.

Yes I give it the same score as TakeOver because where TakeOver is more in-ring focused, this involves everything and there weren’t too many rough spots honestly. Nothing was out right bad. Some stuff was slow, or didn’t really assist such a long show…but honestly it was a pretty easy 7 hours, from home. Cena doing the Doctor of Thuganomics throw back, Hogan resurfacing, Ric Flair getting a pivotal moment, Hall and Nash popping back up for the backstage segment. And those are just the nostalgia pops.

Damn good all around show. WrestleMania lived up to it’s name, and will be very hard to take anyone seriously who says this show was bad.

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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2025 WWE Royal Rumble Results, Review & Reaction

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

Published

3 weeks ago

February 2, 2025

Greg DeMarco

We are firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, starting with the Royal Rumble! Greg has his initial thoughts and reactions for everyone’s favorite event!

It’s the first Royal Rumble in an NFL stadium (thanks to the WWE calendar change), and both Rumble matches feature a star-studded line-up that makes it much harder than you’d think to pick a winner. I was lucky enough to attend one Royal Rumble live, 2019, and it’s always the best way to set the stage for WrestleMania.

If @whoislaniee‘s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is any indication, we are in for one hell of a night with one hell of a crowd!

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Always great to see Stephanie McMahon kicking off a show–the more Stephanie, the better. Apparently we’ve managed to pack 70,000 fans into Lucas Oil Stadium, and if you didn’t know, Pat McAfee loves him some Indianapolis.

With each match you’ll see my picks, in my traditional “Who Should Win?/Will Will Win?” format. I made them in this week’s solo edition of The Greg DeMarco Show, which you can listen to here:

Women’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Bianca Belair
Who Will Win: Bianca Belair

Last year’s winner was Bayley, entering at #3, and she went on to defeat Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Iyo Sky enters #1, and I do love the elevated platform–it’s not really a stage, but it does enhance the overall feel of the show. Old school fans will remember the entrance from Montreal watching Prime Time Wrestling.
I feel like Liv Morgan always enters these matches early. I also didn’t realize she’s been in all 8 Women’s Royal Rumble matches.
I do love the “ticker” across the bottom of the screen with stats and info during the entrances. Very ESPN, very “Wrestling As A Sport” to me.
Gotta say I was hoping for the black canvas (I’m biased), but I’ll always take grey over light blue.

Roxanne Perez has “Iron Woman” written all over her entering at #3. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

We even get “Active” and “Eliminated” in the ticket? I am REALLY digging this.
Lyra Valkyria enters to very little reaction–she’s a fantastic talent but has not connected on the main roster.
Lyra with the early wardrobe malfunction and we are already slightly derailed, kudos to everyone for getting it together.
Interesting to have the secondary champions enter back-to-back, and Indianapolis doesn’t seem to care much about her, either. Maybe I was wrong about this crowd, and maybe my criticism of Lyra was premature.
Chelsea thinking she’s dumped everyone and pointing to the sign is a great piece of business.
B-Fab enters at #6, and I would assume she has the lowest chance of winning of anyone in the field.
Man, B-Fab is still very NOT good.
Ivy Nile enters #7, the 5th straight entrant who has zero chance of winning this thing.
Also, we are still without an elimination, but probably 10 “hanging on the rope” spots already.
Ivy Nile is already more over in Indy than the Intercontinental and United States Champions.
Zoey Stark, complete with Barry Windham’s “Stalker” facepaint, enters eighth to continue our run of women with zero chance of winning.
Lash Legend enters at #9, and I have a feeling she’s about to win this crowd over.
LASH POINTED TO THE SIGN.
“Get her on the Fever” – Pat McAfee.
Chelsea Green gives us our first elimination, of B-Fab.
Bianca Belair enters at #10, really hurting my chances of being right.

And here’s my pick to win the Women’s #RoyalRumble, Bianca Belair. At #10? Doesn’t look good for me!

(Seth Rollins won his from #10, I believe.)

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

The crowd definitely picked up with Bianca being in the match.
BIANCA IS A MACHINE.
Shayna Baszler enters #11, reminding me she works for WWE. Which is sad, I really thought she’d have a hell of a run in WWE.
Bayley is #12, and we still have quite the group in this match. Personally I don’t see Bayley being a back-to-back winner.
Sonya Deville is in at #13 to complete the PFC trio in this match. I’m sure that’ll work out well for them!
Iyo Sky is so good, she saved Sonya’s knee spot and I am sure no one noticed.
Maxxine Dupri in at #14, another non-winner, but to her credit she only keeps getting better.
With 12 women thill in this match, I have a feeling we’re getting Nia Jax or Charlotte Flair soon to give us a bunch of eliminations.
Ivy Nile out, followed by Maxxine Dupri, and the countdown is on!
Naomi brings the halfway point with her, entering at #15.

Naomi is a former women’s champion and had an amazing WrestleMania moment back in Orlando–why does Michael Cole keep saying 2024 was her breakout year? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

All of PFC is gone, and nothing of value is lost (from this match–they are valuable as people).
Jaida Parker, entering at #16, comes in to a better reaction than half of the field. Miss Parker has a hell of a WWE career ahead of her.
Chelsea Green is so damn good at what she does.
And here comes Piper Niven at #17.
Will Piper somehow eliminate Piper?
Yes – the answer to that question is yes.
Naalya enters at #18, her eighth Royal Rumble. She’s a little over 20 minutes away from 3 cumulative hours in Rumble matches.

If anyone “deserves” a Royal Rumble win, it’s Natalya. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

FANTASTIC reaction for Jordynne Grace–that has to raise some eyebrows among leadership.
JORDYNNE GRACE IS A STAR.
Michin in at #20, as we are up to 10 eliminations.

BUT THE INTERNET TOLD ME ALEXA BLISS WASN’T GONNA COME BACK DUE TO A CONTRACT DISPUTE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 1, 2025

Wade Barrett, Michael Cole, and Pat McAfee crapping all over the wrestling newz sites is amazing.
And you can tell Alexa Bliss is THRILLED to be back.
Zelina Vega in at #22 to not win the Royal Rumble.
HUGE SPOT for Zelina Vega and Jordynne Grace.
If you happen to rewatch this match, watch Bayley very closely. It’s a look inside the business–she’s basically an agent in the ring.
Candice LeRae enters at #23, and I am reminded that she’s the WWE Women’s Speed Champion. I also wonder if they’ve started piping in crowd noise for these entrances.
Of note, we haven’t closed a Royal Rumble PLE with the Women’s Royal Rumble Match since the first one in 2018.
Of the 10 women eliminated so far, 6 of them entered #4-5-6-7-8-9.

Great reaction for Stephanie Vaquer–Indianapolis seems to be an NXT crowd. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LET STEPHANIE VAQUER HER WIN YOU COWARDS. (Personal opinion, she’s the best women’s wrestler in the world.)
#25 already–we are trying to make up some time.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it’s Trish Stratus.

Honestly, did we need Trish Stratus? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Kinda wanted Jordynne Grace to toss Trish Stratus right there.
Piper Niven just kncoked the SH*T outta Trish!
Raquel Rodriguez in at #26, and we have 4 more entrants left.
Nia, Charlotte, and…..Becky? Nikki? (Bella, that is.)
The crowd is NOT HAPPY about Alexa Bliss’ elimination.
#1-3 all still in the match.
Charlotte Flair and her new face at in at #27.

Listen, I’m going to hell, but Charlotte Flair’s entrance reminds me of when JR returned from his stroke. Lay off the plastic surgery. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Love Wade Barrett pointing out that Charlotte got pyro. I hope Roman gets his, too.
Took Charlotte forever to get her robe off, apparently.
Like I’m supposed to believe Jordynne Grace can’t suplex Charlotte Flair?
Charlotte definitely brought some fire to this match.
Giulia getting almost no reaction is surprising given the reaction of some other NXT talents.
Iyo and Liv approaching an hour in the match, along with Roxanne Perez.

Giulia eliminated Jordynne Grace, which makes me think Jordynne might be spending some time in NXT. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Nia Jax enters at #29, leaving a surprise for #30? Becky Lynch?
Good for Nikki Bella! And she gave someone in the crowd one hall of a souvenir.
And now it’s time for the “World vs Nia” spot.
Forget Superkick It’s an APRON PARTY.
Roxanne Perez just snuck back in without being eliminated.
Given who is left, it does seem like this is Charlotte’s match to win.
ROXANNE PEREZ IN THE FINAL THREE?

This company obviously believes in Roxanne Perez. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

LOLCHARLOTTEWINS

Winner of the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Flair

I don’t love the decision to have Charlotte Flair win the Women’s Royal Rumble Match after being gone for over a year, but she IS Charlotte Flair. This should shock nobody. I know Charlotte Flair is a dream match opponent for Tiffany Stratton in the eyes of many, and if she were to put Tiffany Stratton over at WrestleMania, then I will eat my words and say it was worth it.

Hell of a performance for Roxanne Perez, I haven’t seen the tally yet but I do wonder if she broke the record for longest time in one Rumble.

I could go for a Slim Jim meat stick right about now.

Why was Mickie James in the crowd, and not IN THE MATCH??? #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano, champions)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)
Who Will Win: DIY (but it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things)

(I won’t be live tweeting or doing a bulleted list for these two matches, likely just the two Rumbles.)

Had to laugh seeing the drone in front of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin during their entrance.

DIY wins 2 falls to 1, making my prediction accurate. That is small change, though. I liked the match for what it was, but it’s a reminder of Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey from WrestleMania 38–great match, wrong setting. This was an arena match, not a football stadium match. Yes, that DOES matter. Setting is a huge part of pro wrestling.

NXT Black and Gold will always hold a place in my heart, but part of what made that what it was was the crowd. This wasn’t the crowd for this match. Plus it got around 15 minutes, which is about right for a 1-fall match featuring these four. On TV, counting commercial breaks, these guys get 25-30 minutes.

The Street Profits got involved, eventually attacking everyone. I fully expect a WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania, with DIY, MCMG, the Street Profits, and possibly Pretty Deadly and Angel/Humberto. This was really just the beginning–it was just misplaced on this card.

Winners AND STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: DIY

Michael Cole did also inform us that Roxanne Perez is the new record-holder for longest Royal Rumble performance. Score one for the good guy (me, from my tweet above).

Ladder Match for the WWE Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes (champion)

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Kevin Owens
Who Will Win: Cody Rhodes

Love that Kevin Owens took down the Winged Eagle Championship during SmackDown last night, and entered with it. Granted, Cody Rhodes has his, too. But KO has a certain edge to him when carrying that title.

That little ladder is HILARIOUS. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This match was brutal, and whatever they are paying Kevin Owens isn’t enough. Cody Rhodes was beating on KO as a heel would, but he’s a babyface? I know everyone wants “Homelander” Cody, but really he might be more like “Patrick Bateman” Cody. Either way, as great as Cody is (and he is great), there is one missing element. At this point, it’s obvious to me that Cody is the worst babyface in the company. Look at him: THE MAN IS A HEEL.

While I’m glad Cody is fully out of The Bloodline’s shadow, he just needs to beat John Cena at WrestleMania, turn heel, and truly hit his stride. And I want true heel Cody. Chicken sh*t, goons, the whole thing.

Winner, AND STILL WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is gonna buy Kevin Owens a lot of cigars, booze, or meat. Whatever that man wants. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

You gotta think Sami Zayn not stopping Cody Rhodes from winning will be a major sticking point for Kevin Owens. Seems like we’ll get Sami vs Kevin at WM41.

Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

Greg’s predictions from earlier in the week:

Who Should Win: Jey Uso
Who Will Win: John Cena

Last year’s winner was Cody Rhodes, entering at #15, and he went on to defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Rey Mysterio (Jr) enters at #2, and it’s obvious that gone are the days where randoms would enter at #1 and #2.
I believe I said on my podcast (if not, I meant to) that Penta would need to enter #1 or #2 so he can have his pyro.

I am so happy for Penta in the WWE. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I really hope we get a Lucha Underground reference on commentary.
LET PENTA WIN YOU COWARDS! (I know, it didn’t work for Stephanie Vaquer.)
PENTA IS A STAR.
I do appreciate how they didn’t fight on the apron, instead just got right back into the ring.
Chad Gable in at #3, and all we need is for Dominik Mysterio to be #4.
That spot looked NASTY, I hope Chad Gable’s knee is okay.
Carmelo Hayes in at #4, and I am reminded that we likely get Trick in this match.

Trick Williams’ #RoyalRumble entrance is gonna be ICONIC.

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I know they have a temporary alliance at the moment, but Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes would be an absolute BANGER.
KING CUERNO vs PENTAGON JR! #IYKYK
That spot was far too similar to what we saw in the Women’s Rumble.
Otis in and had some fun.
BRON BREAKKER IS A MACHINE.
The crowd reaction to Bron Breakker tells me the WWE might make even MORE money in the future.
What if Breakker won this match? He won’t, but What If?
If not for WWE, I wouldn’t know who IShowSpeed was.
Honestly, nothing wrong with what they did with IShowSpeed there.
Sheamus enters at #9, and I assume we will see some Beats Of The Bowery.

Gotta play the hits, pal. (Sheamus.) #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

This is the most normal Sheamus’ hair has ever looked.
Crazy that this is only Jimmy Uso’s 3rd Royal Rumble.
Big Jim definitely got a bulk discount on his new gear. I wonder how many color combos he got???
Andrade in at #11, and Wade Barrett points out what I’ve been thinking–why run to the ring?
Jacob Fatu enters at #12 and gets his pyro. The rocket ship has been strapped, pal.
Ludwig Kaiser enters at #13 and no one not named (Greg DeMarco Show co-host) Patrick O’Dowd cares.
Kaiser immediately dumped by Penta, and he’ll probably lose to him on Monday’s Raw, too.

Here comes the most underappreciated wrestler in WWE history, @mikethemiz. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

We lost Michael for a minute there.

The fact that Joe Hendry’s fact on the ticket is “Say His Name And He Appears” is amazing.

Great pop for him, too.

And Michael Cole references Nic Nemeth! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d actually forgotten that we’d likely get a Joe Hendry appearance, so they got a little pop out of me.
I acknowledge you, my Tribal Chief.

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️ #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk would be one hell of a match at WrestleMania, just sayin’.
Showdowns like Roman Reigns and Bron Breakker is what the Royal Rumble is all about.
SPEAR TO ROMAN.
That might have been the greatest spear ever.
After Joe Gendry and Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre gets very little reaction entering at #17.
Drew McIntyre with the very silky smooth hair tonight.
Finn Balor in at #18 and we have our second drone sighting of the night.
Something is wrong with Pat McAfee’s headset. Hell of a showing by Penta, by the way.
Jey Uso in at #20 to a HUGE pop.
LET JE YWIN YOU COWARDS.
Poison Rana by Jey???
Let’s hope AJ Styles can stick around for a bit this time. (Not necessarily in the Rumble, but in general.)

All these megastars, and Jacob Fatu might be the most over guy in the match right now. #ROYALRUMBLE

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

I’d be okay if Braun shaved his head again.
Jacob Fatu can literally do ANYTHING and it makes sense.

JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!
JOHN CENA’S SOCKS!#RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

CM Punk, John Cena, and Roman Reigns all in the ring all at the same time? YES PLEASE.
Now add in Seth Rollins? This is the greatest Royal Rumble of all time.
The current field: Seth Rollins, CM Punk, John Cena, AJ Styles, Jey Uso, Drew McIntyre, and Roman Reigns. That is ABSURD.
The only man who can follow all that talent is indeed Dominik Mysterio. This is about to be amazing.
Imagine if Dom wins. I mean, just imagine it.
With the addition of Sami Zayn, the storylines in this Rumble right now are insane.
Damian Priest, who is probably challenging Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, enters at #28.
Two more to go. Any surprises?
LA Knight, who I forgot was in this match, enters next.
I kinda expect him to move to Raw in this transfer window.
Ah yes, Logan Paul. I also forgot he was on this.
We’ve had a Nic Nemeth and now a Ricochet reference tonight. I love when you’re WWE, and you are comfortable talking about (almost) ANYBODY.

If I’m WWE, I have Logan Paul wait until the final two before jumping back into the ring. #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

He didn’t, by the way. Opportunity missed.
Final 6: Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, John Cena, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul… STAR. STUDDED.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – the WrestleMania Main Event we never got.
YESSS!
Brilliant spot to have Logan Paul eliminate CM Punk.
Final 3: John Cena, Jey Uso, and Logan Paul. Two of my picks are left.
The action on the outside between Rollins, Roman, and Punk drives home how important the Rumble is to the competitors.
And then there were 2: my Who Should Win vs. my Who Will Win.
Please God let Jey Uso win this thing.
(And that’s not a slight against John Cena.)
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

IT’S JUST YOU, UCE! #RoyalRumble

— Big Daddy Greg 🤡 (@gregdemarco44) February 2, 2025

Winner of the 2025 Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match: Jey Uso

Just like the sign said: EAT. SLEEP. YEET. MANIA. I am so damn happy for Jey Uso. You can tell John Cena was as well, along with Michael Cole. And probably everyone in the entire company. Jey Uso is the success story.

As for the match? Well obviously this is a knee jerk reaction, but eff it–this is the best Royal Rumble Match they have ever put on. The early action was fun and exciting. But from the time Joe Hendry’s music hit to the moment Jey Uso pushed John Cena off of the apron, this match was insane. I think Roman Reigns coming in at 16 was a huge part of that. Once Roman is in the match, you are watching to see a) what he does, and b) if he’ll get eliminated. CM Punk eliminating Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns was beautiful, and then Logan Paul tossing CM Punk was even better. If that leads to Rollins vs. Reigns and Logan vs. Punk at WrestleMania, you can take my money.

My money is a Peacock membership, which is automatically charged. But still. Take it.

If John Cena wins it’s still probably the best Royal Rumble Match of all time. But Jey Uso winning makes that an undisputable fact.

Overall Thoughts on the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble

The Women’s Royal Rumble was decent to good. Loved Roxanne getting the Iron Woman treatment, but in the end it’s another chapter of LOL Charlotte Wins.
I need to rewatch DIY vs MCMG because I was on the phone when my son called. Maybe I will enjoy it more on a second viewing.
The ladder match was brutal but the end result was expected. Cody is still missing something, and I think that something will continue to be missing until he turns heel. He’s just overshadowed by too many of the other babyfaces.
The Men’s Royal Rumble Match was the best Royal Rumble match they have ever put on. Great action in the early half, and from 15 (Joe Hendry) on, it was amazing. The storyline movement with CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins was (here’s that word) cinema, and having the most over wrestler in the company not named Roman Reigns win, and doing so by eliminating the odds-on favorite, was perfect. I’m biased because Jey Uso was my pick, but it was the perfect ending to what was probably as close to perfect as a Rumble match has been since 1992.

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TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Crown Jewel Immediate Reactions

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Published

4 months ago

November 2, 2024

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Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Crown Jewel. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM