After announcing that the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble match would open up the Indianapolis-based Premium Live Event, fans knew they would be in for more than a few surprises across the board.

But who would return? Who would debut? And what kind of storyline developments could Paul “Triple H” Levesque and company have in store for the thousands of fans watching along? In an event literally known for being a veritable cornucopia of creative storytelling, it was clear someone was going to step up, stand out, and make a bit of noise, and in Indianapolis, that began with pick number three when Roxanne Perez from NXT officially joined the match behind IYO SKY and Liv Morgan.

From there, things remained largely as expected, with participants four through eight all coming from either RAW or SmackDown, but at spot nine, another NXT Superstar made her way into the ring, with Lash Legend coming in for a short but sweet run. From there, the next surprise came at pick 16, when Jaida Parker became the first, but not the final NXT star to join the match, with Stephanie Vaquer coming in at pick 24 and Giulia coming in at pick 28, but between them came three genuine surprises in the debut of Jordynne Grace, who is officially a WWE Superstar after an incredible run in TNA at spot 19, then Alexa Bliss at spot 21, and finally Trish Stratus, who ended up being the first of two Hall of Famers in the match.

With just two more spots left to fill out, Nia Jax made her not-so-surprise entrance at spot 29, but fans were met with one final shock at spot 30, when, after rumors of a Becky Lynch return spun through the wrestling world, none other than Nikki Bella, fresh off her RAW on Netflix viral moment, came out at spot 30, leading to some excitement from fans but also some disappointment as well.

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As the match progressed, it rapidly became “The People Vs. Nia Jax,” but in the end, the match came down to three, with Jax, Perez, and Charlotte Flair all duking it out for a guaranteed spot at WrestleMania 41. Flair eliminated Jax while Perez was in danger, leading some to wonder if WWE would take a massive swing and make a massive new star, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be: Flair eliminated Perez with relative ease and gave fans the ending they largely expected.

Did WWE do a good job of putting the Rumble together? For the most part, yeah, while some fans were upset to see no TNA stars or the return of Lynch, it largely went as expected. Still, giving Flair the win will be controversial all the same, as there were so many other ways to get “The Queen” to the “Showcase of the Immortals” that could have made for a more interesting journey, even if the results would have been the same.