Sami Zayn and Dark Horse Picks to Win the Men's and Women's 2025 WWE Royal Rumble
Every year, there are a handful of WWE Superstars who can conceivably enter either the men's or women's Royal Rumble match and be counted on as favorites to win the whole thing and cash their ticket to a championship opportunity at WrestleMania.
This year is no different, with John Cena, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns making up the list of favorites on the men's side and the returning Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Bayley, and Liv Morgan among those who could earn the win on the women's side.
Beyond them, though, are a handful of men and women who are legitimate dark horse contenders to enter the match and win the whole thing, thanks to creative momentum or ready-made storylines begging for the grandeur of WrestleMania.
Who are those competitors and why should they be considered as potential Rumble winners?
Find out with this preview of the upcoming 30-person extravaganza on February 1, live from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Men's: Sami Zayn
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Monday night on Raw, WWE introduced the possibility that Sami Zayn could challenge Kevin Owens for the company's top championship at WrestleMania, one of the few things the best friends have yet to accomplish in the world of professional wrestling.
It was met with considerable excitement and intrigue across social media and understandably so.
Zayn and Owens have a rich history as both friends and enemies, with some of the best matches of either man's careers coming against each other.
While it is a long shot given the sheer number of moving pieces in and around the title picture, the idea of Zayn winning the Rumble and earning a championship opportunity against Owens rather than doing as he suggested by helping him beat Cody Rhodes in their ladder match is as interesting and engaging as any other manufactured story available to WWE at the top of the WrestleMania card.
Zayn is hellbent on proving himself as a credible world champion, something that dates back to last summer, when he nearly upset Gunther to capture the World Heavyweight Championship.
Having him win the Rumble, then defeat his best friend on the grand stage to do so would be an epic culmination of a three-year story that started with Zayn and Owens dethroning The Usos in the main event of Night One of WrestleMania 39.
Women's: Bianca Belair
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The idea of a woman who has held championship gold at every level and been the face of the women's division since her first WrestleMania appearance in 2021 being a dark horse candidate to win anything is somewhat far-fetched yet, as this years' women's Royal Rumble approaches, that is exactly what Bianca Belair is.
The EST has been embroiled in the tag team division for most of the last year, partnering with Jade Cargill and Naomi to defend the titles and seeing only limited singles competition along the way. This has left her somewhat overlooked when it comes to singles championship opportunities and a perceived shot at winning the Rumble match.
While there is an entire "whodunnit" storyline centered around Cargill and an unknown attacker, there is plenty of time to address that after the Rumble.
WWE has repeatedly teased a match-up between The EST and her fellow NXT alum, Rhea Ripley, over the past two years. Tense staredowns and interactions have led to fans believing that sooner or later, they will clash on the grandest stage of them all.
With Ripley achieving superstardom in 2024 as one of the faces of the Raw brand, Belair entering her fifth WrestleMania unbeaten, and a wealth of history dating back to their time in the developmental brand, there is plenty of meat on the proverbial bone for the creative team to craft a truly special story.
It feels like a real Belair heel turn is still to come and a match of that magnitude against Ripley may still be a year away, but it is right there. Considering WWE does not have an obvious opponent outside of potentially Iyo Sky for Ripley to combat in Las Vegas, The EST would seem a rather logical option.
Men's: Seth "Freakin" Rollins
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Rollins has essentially become the "Bret Hart circa 1995" of today's WWE.
He is beloved by fans, is among the most respected in-ring performers in the company, and has a championship resume. Despite all of that, he is never quite the guy, regardless of how perpetually popular he is or how many times he has stolen the show.
Most of that has to do with creative focus on others perceived to be bigger stars or in more prominent positions. Still, the pop Rollins receives as he enters arenas around the world is about so much more than a singable theme song. It is about a body of work that is second to few, if any, since his rise to singles stardom in 2014.
With WrestleMania 41 on the horizon, though, The Visionary and MVP of last year's event, does not have a clear path to a significant match on the show. Perhaps, it was designed that way.
On the surface, there is no obvious path for Rollins. Both world champions appear to have other opponents lined up for them. He has no ongoing beef with The Rock and what looked like a surefire match with CM Punk was, instead, used to hype the debut episode of Raw on Netflix.
What if Rollins wins the Rumble and challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship, freeing CM Punk up to battle Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre to settle his issues with Jey Uso?
It would return The Visionary to the title picture and setup a potential Match of the Year candidate with one of the best workers of this generation.
It sounds, appropriately enough, like a path Hart would take in 1995, when he moved into and out of the title picture at will, delivering bangers regardless of whether he won the championship.
With undeniable popularity and a level of trust among management, do not count out Rollins as potential Rumble winner. It would add him to the list of Superstars to win two in their careers but also, outlasting Punk would be akin to him getting his win back, and give him a feud to focus on post-WrestleMania.
Women's: Becky Lynch
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WWE fans have not seen or heard from Becky Lynch since she lost a steel cage match to Liv Morgan back in May. She disappeared from the scene and has only made a few appearances, period, since.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that The Man is under contract and has been for some while, but there is no clear indicator of creative plans at this time.
Unlike Charlotte Flair, whose return was foreshadowed via vignette on Friday's SmackDown, the fact that Lynch has rarely been mentioned on TV let alone had her return hinted at or spoiled, makes her the perfect darkhorse candidate to return in the match.
Considering she lost to Rhea Ripley at least year's WrestleMania, halting a return to the top of the women's wrestling pinnacle, even provides her with a direction coming out of the February 1 premium live event.
Lynch winning and choosing to square off with Ripley in Las Vegas, with a shot to finish what she could not a year ago, is a story that writes itself.
Men's: Penta
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Don't look now but Penta is already one of the most popular Superstars on the WWE roster, if the reaction from fans in Dallas Monday night on Raw was any indication. Two weeks in and his overall presentation, and strong in-ring offerings, have him in a position to go on a monster run in 2025.
Why not strike while the proverbial iron is hot and book him to win the Rumble, then head to WrestleMania and challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship?
It is a match fans have never seen before, with the only documented showdown between the two occurring in 2018 when Penta teamed with brother Rey Fenix to battle The Ring General and Timothy Thatcher in Westside Xtreme Wrestling.
Gunther could easily criticize the showy aspects of Penta and how the entire idea of lucha libre desecrates the sacredness of the mat that he seeks to uphold every time he sets foot inside the squared circle.
The brutality of the chops they trade would make for an unforgettable match, let alone everything else they muster on the grand stage.
One of the reasons Rey Mysterio became such a big star for WWE so quickly was not only because the company knew how to present, market, and merchandise him in a way WCW never did, but also because he was routinely working with main event talent like Kurt Angle right out of the gate.
Giving Penta a Rumble win less than a month into his run with WWE would be controversial, but it would announce to the world that he is one of the top stars in the company and someone management trusts to fill a big spot on the most prestigious show of the year.
It may be wishful thinking, but that only serves to make Penta a greater dark horse candidate for the annual 30-man extravaganza.
Women's: Roxanne Perez
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Roxanne Perez is clearly poised to make the leap from NXT to the main roster and while the clear direction as of now appears to be a showdown with Bayley sooner rather than later, a monumental and career-making victory in the Royal Rumble as part of her ascent to Raw or SmackDown would go a long way in announcing to the wrestling world that The Prodigy is the face of the industry's future.
Imagine the 23-year-old following up a momentous 2024 by outlasting the likes of Bayley, Nia Jax, Chelsea Green, Lyra Valkyria, Liv Morgan, and any other surprise entrants WWE may have in store for the women's match.
It would be as bold a statement as there is, from Triple H, that fans should forget about five or 10 years from now and recognize Perez as one of the top stars in professional wrestling right now.
With that said, the former NXT women's champion making that sort of impact right out of the gate does feel like a longer shot than any other competitor mentioned here, so fans should temper their expectations.
Still, an iron-woman performance that sees her last longer than her peers and really solidify herself as a factor on Monday or Friday nights should not be out of the question.
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