The good, bad and ugly of the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble
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The superstars of the WWE had a great time kicking it in Indy. Photo: Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images
The WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend was a massively successful first step in a multi-year partnership between the sports entertainment juggernaut and the city of Indianapolis that's only going to get bigger.
Zoom in: Here's what worked — and what didn't — as the WWE took over Indy.
🤼 Good:
- The records! Indy broke them like a table under the force of a Jacob Fatu moonsault. According to Paul "Triple H" Levesque, 70,347 fans packed Lucas Oil, making Saturday's event the biggest rumble ever and WWE's third-largest gate. In terms of single-night headcount, that puts WWE in Taylor Swift territory.
- The giving back. Before hitting the ring, the WWE held a Community Champions Showcase event celebrating local nonprofits including the Indianapolis Public Schools Foundation, Girls Inc. and the Inner Beauty Program.
- The returns! AJ Styles (with the right music) and Alexa Bliss are welcome roster returns, while Trish Stratus and John Cena did wonders for the nostalgia junkies.
- One last rumble. Cena picking Indy to be the site of his final Royal Rumble is big, and the crowd showed him tons of love with the biggest cheers of the night. Plus, his Colts-themed retirement tour merch is pretty solid.
- The positivity. Whether it was hanging out at the Upland merch swap or standing in line at the Royal Rumble Superstore, wrestling fans were there (in some dope cosplay) to lend a hand and explain to new fans what was going on.
- The weather. A good hoodie is all you really needed to get by while walking from event to event.
- The Marcus Freeman sighting.
- The custom video the Pacers came out to on WWE night.
👎 Bad:
- The finish. A prediction from our Axios Cleveland friends of Logan Paul winning the men's rumble match came a little too close for comfort. Thankfully, the power of YEET overcame The Maverick.
- No Tyrese 3:17 debut. Haliburton was in the house and ringside for the Rumble, but sadly never stepped in the ring. Maybe he's saving it for a future SummerSlam. Or maybe the Pacers don't want him risking injury midseason. (It's probably that second part.)
- Parking costs. Event parking from $70 to $100 was far too common on Friday and Saturday.
- Dominik Mysterio's mustache. Actually just Dom, in general. He's the best heel and we don't deserve him.
- The response to the rumble winners. While the Lucas Oil crowd went wild, Charlotte taking the women's match has been called boring and predictable, and Jey Uso being crowned the men's winner has some fans saying it was the "wrong guy." The men's result even drew boos from the crowd watching at Kilroy's downtown.
💭Justin's thought bubble: I wanted to see Iyo Sky and CM Punk win their respective matches, but last night's finish sets up for an interesting road to WrestleMania while finally putting Jey Uso in the main event where he belongs.
🪜 Ugly:
- Everything Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens did to each other in their brutal ladder match for the WWE Championship. It was one of the best matches of the night, but not for the faint of heart.
- The spear. IShowSpeed took a heck of a shot from Bron Breakker when the streamer entered the rumble as this year's shock celebrity entrant. He got crushed.
- WWE commentator Michael Cole's voice by the end of the broadcast.
- The likely spike in Slim Jim consumption in Marion County over the weekend.
The bottom line: Indy has raised the bar for all WWE host cities.