As Netflix made its very first WWE Raw broadcast, it also kick-started one of their major storylines of 2025 (and likely in company history), as John Cena declared for the 2025 Royal Rumble, during his first appearance on his Farewell Tour. Cena is expected to be an active member of one of the greatest rosters the company has ever assembled throughout the year, adding to a Main Event scene that already includes established big hitters like CM Punk and Roman Reigns, and a rapidly expanding list of contemporary names like Jey Uso, Gunther, Sami Zayn, and Drew McIntyre.
It's important to establish this glittering array of superstar names, as they are all potential entrants or winners for the 2025 Royal Rumble. The best event to introduce new fans to "who's who?" in the WWE, the 2025 Royal Rumble is set to feature a cast to rival the classic years of 1992 and 2001. And there, at the beating heart of 30 men vying for the Main Event spot at WrestleMania, stands John Cena, hoping for a miracle and to earn the opportunity to win the WWE Championship a record-breaking 17th time.
Can John Cena Feasibly Win The 2025 Royal Rumble?
One Of WWE's Greatest Ever Rosters Faces Big Match John On February 1st
There's no way around this, John Cena will have to overcome one of the most stacked line-ups in Royal Rumble history to win the match and reach the Main Event of WrestleMania. CM Punk just defeated Seth Rollins, fresh from putting on one of the best matches of 2024 with Drew McIntyre in Hell In A Cell, and is coming for gold and the Main Event slot at WrestleMania. That's just one man. Usually, there are two or three names who could feasibly win the Royal Rumble, but this year, you can make a solid argument for a litany of potential Rumble entrants.
If you've ever been a WWE viewer during a time that John Cena has been part of the landscape, you know you can never count him out of any situation. His current predicament is that Cena hasn't won a singles match since April 2018, and that was against the man that's now the Chief Content Officer of the company, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque. As the man himself put it, John Cena is looking for a miracle, but you can never count out Big Match John.
John Cena Is A Two-Time Royal Rumble Match Winner
The 16-time WWE Champion Has Years of Royal Rumble Match Experience
On the surface, it might be difficult to imagine 2025's John Cena being able to defeat someone like Drew McIntyre in the Royal Rumble match. But, dig a little deeper, and one of those men has a lot more successful Royal Rumble experience than the other. Cena won the Royal Rumble in both 2008 and 2013, the first of which featured one of WWE's most shocking returns, as Cena recovered months earlier than expected from a pectoral injury, and entered the Madison Square Garden-hosted Rumble match at number 30, before emerging victorious.
If you'd like to dig a little deeper still on that, Cena has also finished runner-up twice in the Royal Rumble match in 2005 and 2010, being eliminated by winners Batista and Edge respectively. He also has Royal Rumble wins over a distant member of The Bloodline in Umaga (Last Man Standing match, 2007), and Cena tied Ric Flair's 16th World Championship victory at the 2017 Royal Rumble when he defeated AJ Styles. In other words, he has pedigree.
Who Would Cena Potentially Face At WrestleMania 41?
If Cena Wins The Rumble, Who Would Be Waiting At The Showcase Of The Immortals?
As the rules clearly state, the winner of the Royal Rumble match gets to challenge for a championship of his or her choosing at WrestleMania. If he were to win this year's Royal Rumble, as things stand, Cena would have the choice of Cody Rhodes and Gunther, the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion respectively. Each of those men has their own pros and cons for the Ambassador of Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.
Gunther is WWE's most formidable champion. He held the Intercontinental Championship for a record-breaking 666 days, and has been World Heavyweight Champion since defeating Damian Priest at last year's SummerSlam. All current rumors suggest WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is set to face John Cena at WrestleMania in Las Vegas. And frankly, that's a mouth-watering prospect, following in the footsteps of legendary babyface vs babyface WrestleMania matches such as Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6, Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 13, and The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels in their legendary WrestleMania matches. Now all Cena has to do is win the 2025 Royal Rumble in Indianapolis on February 1st.
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