8 WWE stars who deserved better at the 2025 Royal Rumble
Many WWE stars delivered impressive performances even though they didn't win their respective Royal Rumble matches. Roxanne Perez, IYO SKY, and Liv Morgan all had runs of over an hour. Only Perez made the final four.
A few stars got the blockbuster treatment with fireworks. Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns received loud displays during their entrances, while AJ Styles had a smaller display for his spot.
Alexa Bliss was out of action longer than The Queen but didn't receive any fireworks. Bliss and the next seven WWE stars deserved better treatment at the 2025 Royal Rumble.
#8. The Men of NXT
The Women's Royal Rumble featured five top stars from NXT: Perez, Jaida Parker, Lash Legend, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia.
The women's division is highly competitive and regarded as the best in the industry. They can genuinely make that claim. Conversely, the men's division had no representatives in the Men's Royal Rumble contest.
While the roster lacks several top stars, there's no reason that Trick Williams, Ethan Page, or Wes Lee couldn't have appeared.
They could have filled Akira Tozawa's wasted spot, Ludwig Kaiser's six-second disaster, or Finn Balor's random return. Balor could have appeared on RAW after the Rumble.
#7. Andrade & #6. LA Knight have been featured on SmackDown
Aside from Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu, the men's roster on SmackDown got the extremely short end of the stick in the men's match. Andrade has put forth great matches any time he wrestles. He even made the Miz look impressive.
The former AEW star entered the #11 spot, lasted for 3 minutes and 17 seconds, and had no eliminations. LA Knight is a former US Champion and one of WWE's most popular stars. He has taken on the top-face role alongside Cody Rhodes.
The Megastar has been the surrogate enemy of Fatu and Sikoa's group since Reigns rarely shows up. Knight could have entered much earlier in his first Royal Rumble and lasted longer than the meager 5:06 run he was allotted.
#5. Giulia is the current NXT Women's Champion
Giulia was among the many Champions from across all brands to participate in a Royal Rumble. She recently defeated Roxanne Perez to win the title.
Perez entered third and set a new women's record with a time of 1:07:47 for the duration of the match. She was also the last person eliminated in the battle royal. The Beautiful Madness entered at 28th and lasted for 10:08.
Her run was shorter than that of fellow NXT star Lash Legend (17:22). As the current Women's Champion, Giulia should have entered earlier and had a longer run. Zelina Vega could have come in later and had a shorter run.
#4. Any star not used in the Akira Tozawa spot
WWE has been obsessed with featuring streamers and influencers on RAW, sometimes to the detriment of full-time wrestlers. The spots are often a waste of time, yet hyped up by Pat McAfee and Michael Cole.
Carmelo Hayes ambushed Akira Tozawa from behind as he made his way to the ring. He simply got punched in the back of the head and then replaced by IShowSpeed. He lasted less than a minute.
Instead of pandering to a niche part of the audience, Triple H should have used a full-time star. Pete Dunne, Kofi Kingston, Dragon Lee, Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, or Karrion Kross deserved the opportunity more than a non-competitor who is only in it for likes, comments, and subscriptions.
#3. Lyra Valkyria just won her title
Another female star who deserved better in the Women's Royal Rumble is Lyra Valkyria. The first-ever Women's Intercontinental Champion entered fourth and was the second person to be eliminated.
She lasted 16:13 but had a shorter match tenure than Ivy Nile, Zoey Stark, Legend, Vega, and Candice LeRae. Valkyria, along with each of those stars, had a longer run than the winner, Charlotte Flair (15:04).
Her elimination was clearly to set up a title program with Nile. As a champion, however, she should have been booked much better than she was.
#2. Alexa Bliss' Royal Rumble handling was perplexing
One of the best and worst moments of the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event featured multi-time champion Alexa Bliss. She had been away for nearly two years due to maternity leave. The moment her music hit, she received one of the loudest pops of the night.
After entering the 21st spot, Bliss lasted 11:01 before her elimination by Liv Morgan. This act was meant to set up her first feud upon returning. Given her position in the division and her popularity with the fans, she deserved a better booking.
Getting eliminated halfway through was a massive disappointment. The fans in Indianapolis were audibly not happy about it. She also didn't receive the fanfare of fireworks that Flair did.
#1. Why is it so hard to make Shinsuke Nakamura look good?
Shinsuke Nakamura is the reigning United States Champion but you may not know that due to his horrendous booking since winning the title. His new character is one of the most intriguing personas in all of WWE.
After defeating Knight, the King of Strong Style has been an afterthought on SmackDown, even with three hours to fill. He appeared in a pre-taped promo one week and paced backstage during the go-home episode of SmackDown.
Nakamura should have had a long run and a strong showing. Instead, he came in 19th place and lasted only 3:17. That's extremely disrespectful to one of the mid-card champions. The Miz, Santos Escobar, Carmelo Hayes, and Otis all had longer runs.
