After watching one Royal Rumble match, a best two-out-of-three falls tag team battle, and a ladder match between Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes that turned into a bloody affair, fans in Indianapolis, Indiana, were left with one match and one match only at the end of WWE's first PLE of 2025: the Men's Royal Rumble.

Soon, fans will find out if WWE has any new stars, any returning stars, and ultimately, who will headline WrestleMania 41 in a match for one of the top titles in Las Vegas. But what did Paul “Triple H” Levesque and company have planned for the show and which surprises would fans be talking about at the water cooler on Monday?

Well, it all started at spot eight, when, after being taken out by Carmelo Hayes ahead of his official entrance in the Rumble, Akira Tozawa's spot was officially replaced by IShowSpeed, who eliminated one WWE Superstar, Otis, before being speared in half by Bron Breakker before behind tossed out of the ring like a sack of potatoes. While Otis ultimately caught him outside the ring, the Alpha Academy powerhouse flipped him onto the announcing table and eliminated him for good.

From there, WWE exclusively featured Superstars from RAW and SmackDown, at least until spot 15, when none other than TNA Champion Joe Hendry entered the ring. While he got some fun moments, including his theme, his spin around, and even a boot to the stomach of Roman Reigns, in the end, he was eliminated by the Tribal Chief without much issue.

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At spot 21, AJ Styles returned to the WWE Universe for his first match since the fall, when he had his match with Carmelo Hayes called off after suffering an injury eventually characterized as a Lisfranc injury. Styles looked fully recovered and performed up to his usual standard, but was ultimately eliminated by Logan Paul, who ended up securing two on the show in addition to his shocking elimination of CM Punk.

And from there… well, that was that; the final nine members of the match were members of the WWE Universe, and in the end, the match came down to six, with Punk, Reigns, Paul, Seth Rollins, John Cena, and Jey Uso making up the final collection of stars. Punk, Reigns, and Rollins were all eliminated in quick succession, leaving the final trio of Cena, Uso, and Paul to figure out who would main event WrestleMania 41 in one of the top spots alongside Charlotte Flair.

Well, as it turns out, that honor would go to Uso, who shocked the world with a win over Cena as the crowd went curiously wild. While that choice will largely be what this year's Men's Royal Rumble will be remembered for, the decision to avoid Hall of Famers, NXT wrestlers, and other surprises in favor of just two unusual entrants will come in a close second, especially depending on how this Uso angle shakes out.