ASK TITO: WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Predictions, Britt Baker, Corey Graves, SNME Thoughts, AEW, and More
The 2025 WWE Royal Rumble is this upcoming Saturday and I’m excited… It’s going to be great to see WWE pushing its top superstars into stop storylines for Wrestlemania. It’s the BEST time of the year for wrestling fans, as the late Spring and Summertime seem be becoming an “offseason” for the WWE. Top wrestlers take vacations, weaker Pay Per Views featured, and weaker efforts for television shows. Keep in mind that BOTH Austin vs. McMahon and the New World Order storylines kicked off and grew during this timeframe over 25 years ago.
Before I get into my WWE Royal Rumble discussion, TUNE IN to NoDQ’s YouTube Channel on Thursday, January 30th at 8pm ET for the WWE Royal Rumble Predictions show in which I’ll be a panelist… What you’re about to read may be exactly what I say live, though what happens on RAW and other news that comes out may change my opinion until then. Besides me, check out the other GREAT panelists from NoDQ giving their predictions and hot takes this Thursday! Honor to be there with them.
Now, this is likely Mr. Tito’s CRAZY conspiracy theory, but I believe that the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble will be the LAST Rumble on domestic soil for a while. The 2026 version will be in Saudi Arabia and I believe their government will pay substantial sums of money to retain WWE’s 2nd or 3rd ranked event for many years to come. Simply put, the show has the name “Royal” in it, and their government is obsessed with royalty. Hence why the first Saudi PLE was called “The Greatest Royal Rumble” while other events were called “Crown Jewel”. It wouldn’t surprise me that the Saudi Arabia government ponies up to $50 million to make this happen each year (up from $20 to $30 million per other PLEs).
This was why I was trying to attend the 2025 show in Indianapolis, but damn, WWE and Ticketmaster jacked up the prices and I refuse to pay Ticketmaster’s bloated handling fee. F them. But since I never attended a Rumble and felt it could be gone for good (or at least the next 5 years), I had a sense of urgency to see this show live with it being reasonably nearby. But then, I came to my senses instead… When I can book an entire beach vacation at a luxury resort for the SAME price that I could have paid for decent seats for 1 WWE event (excluding costs of parking, travel, hotels, food, etc), it tells you how strong demand is for WWE products and how much WWE is taking advantage of that.
But prices could be going up because many fans may believe that this could be the last WWE Royal Rumble on North American soil for a while, as Saudi money will own it for the near future. When Royal Rumble 2027 is announced in Saudi or if they boldly capture Wrestlemania (God, I hope not), I’ll enjoy telling you “I told you so”.
Anyway, let’s get onto my predictions for the show…
Women’s Royal Rumble
Current champions are Rhea Ripley and Tiffany Stratton. I believe both will enter Wrestlemania as champions. Early indications is that Becky Lynch will face Rhea, while Charlotte will wrestle Tiffany. While I’m usually against a proven veteran winning this, giving both Rhea and Tiffany strong opponents to defeat at Wrestlemania 41 helps them strengthen their position as both Rhea and Tiffany has lots of peak runway to go. Thus, the process is in reverse this year with the newer star as champion and the veteran will be there to put them over. The wildcard is if WWE wants to begin pushing Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair, which in my opinion, is the BEST absolute women’s match that the WWE has in their pocket. Do they want to begin a series of Wrestlemanias with those 2 facing each other now or save it for later? The thing with Bianca is that we have unresolved business with Jade Cargill who has been injured and set to return sometime soon. That could get in the way of Bianca winning this year.
Tito’s Prediction: Charlotte. I just don’t see as much value in Becky Lynch returning to win it as I do Charlotte. Charlotte looked incredible when we last saw her and put on one of the best women’s matches ever with Rhea. Becky didn’t look as strong. I think Charlotte winning the Rumble and then challenging Tiffany would help elevate Tiffany instantly, whereas I don’t see too much value with Becky winning it and then challenging Rhea. I need to see something different or evolved with Becky and maybe we’ll see a different character and maybe a heel turn heading into Elimination Chamber to bolster Becky as the challenger to Rhea.
Men’s Royal Rumble
I believe that John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes is going to be one of the Wrestlemania 41 matches. To me, this is about safety and I don’t think WWE wants John Cena risking any injury in the Elimination Chamber versus winning the much safer Royal Rumble. But the real question is WHO could Gunther wrestle at Wrestlemania 41? The rumors are possibly John Cena (in my mind, that depends if another opponent arises for Cody, such as the Rock), Logan Paul, or Bill Goldberg. Logan Paul winning it would create a ton of mainstream buzz for the WWE and business wise, I’d go with that. Bill Goldberg has wrestled like crap since his Lesnar feud and doesn’t deserve a big Wrestlemania spot. For me, I’d personally pick Drew McIntyre to not only win the Rumble, but actually defeat Gunther whom I think is just an OK champ and nothing exceptional. Drew more than proved himself during 2024 and seeing Drew and Gunther switch the title back and forth during the Late Spring/Early Summer could spice things up a bit.
Tito’s Prediction: John Cena. The Retirement Tour begins here and the hype of Wrestlemania 41 will be Cody trying to prevent John Cena from winning World Title #17 to pull ahead of Ric Flair (even though many consider Flair a 19-time champ).
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
If John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes is “etched in stone”, then it seems obvious that Cody will escape this match as champion. However, riddle me this… Doesn’t Kevin Owens have a contract coming up? For all we know, he may have re-signed and historically speaking, sometimes a sweetener is added to that contract like at least one World Title reign. Kevin Owens is actually a loyal Triple H guy, and arguably the most accomplished NXT guy that Triple H ever signed. I could seriously see a scenario where Kevin Owens wins the WWE Title here and then loses it back by Elimination Chamber. Then, maybe to spice up RAW or Smackdown (I seriously don’t know where the brand lines are painted these days), they’ll have the third match where someone like Sami Zayn interferes to cause KO vs. Sami at Wrestlemania 41 (or maybe KO vs. HBK?). THEN, Cody won’t be as strong of a WWE Champion for John Cena to defeat at Wrestlemania 41 and fans are more accepting of Part-Time Cena winning the title at an older age. I could see it happening, but I still say something happens with the Rock and Cody in the near future regarding that letter Rock handed him. I’ll play it safe and predict Cody, but the Owens contract expiration has me wondering what WWE might do to repay his loyalty.
Tito’s Prediction: Cody Rhodes
DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns – 2 out of 3 Falls
Why is this match on here and for 2 out of 3 falls? Unless this is stuffed into the pre-show, I don’t see the reasoning here with the Rumble matches each taking 60-90 minutes each and Cody vs. KO being 30 minutes. And nobody cares about the tag titles and the participants appear to be online fan favorites only. I’m sure the match will have lots of high impact spots and have lots of action, but it will also be Indyriffic and probably won’t have much selling to the non-stop moves hit per minute.
Tito’s Prediction: I don’t care who wins.
So there you have it, my 2025 predictions for the Rumble match.
On to your questions.
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What is your opinion on the apparent Britt Baker situation in AEW?
Isn’t it pretty normal for a wrestler to appear and then receive 2-3 months off afterward for no apparent reason other than Tony paying wrestlers millions not to wrestle? I mean, I’ve hardly noticed that she’s been gone so long because the show just slides in wrestlers here, there, and everywhere.
Yeah, I’ve read the rumors and Britt possibly being “toxic” backstage has been in the rumor mill for a while. If she has a bad attitude, then she fits right in with the cliques who have Tony’s ear and affect other wrestlers trying to either join or make it in AEW. From my own sources, I’ve heard it for a while that a contingent of female wrestlers has been in the ears of both Tony Khan, the Bucks, and Kenny Omega on wrestlers to bring in or wrestlers to keep out. For example, Tessa Blanchard… For some who worked with Tessa or are friends with Indy wrestlers who dislike Tessa, they’ve been giving Tony and the EVPs earfuls of negative stories about Tessa. Meanwhile, AEW’s women’s division has badly needed a top talent like Tessa.
Irony is that if the rumors are true, Britt has morphed into the bully that Tessa used to be with other ladies…
We’ll see what happens if Britt magically appears and wrestles consistently on the show again or if she gets released… But what I do know is that AEW’s culture is toxic and poorly managed by Tony and his mark Bucks EVPs, which nobody thrives including Britt Baker and people like Cody or CM Punk who left before her.
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Thoughts on last night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event?
I strongly recommend that anyone watch Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax. Those two have AMAZING chemistry and trust with each other. Just by their body language during the match, you could tell that both were having an insane amount of fun working with each other and Nia seemed to believe that she was in safe and capable hands of Rhea for several of those high impact slams. Sometimes, you just have two performers who just magically work well together.
Gunther vs. Jey Uso was solid… I know that many online fans were calling for Jey to win it here, but I just don’t believe Jey is ready for the title. Seemed like Gunther was leading that match while Jey’s style is too reminiscent of his tag team days rather than built for singles matches. And someone fix his tattoos, as his chest looks like a cursive “W” now. I know that the tattoos have a meaning and a style, but designs for that can also be off too. Looks odd to shape them around your pectoral muscles, but that’s my opinion. For example, Roman’s tattoos look fine on him. It’s all about how you let them be drawn on your body…
From the contract signing, we saw Shawn Michaels getting physical with Kevin Owens. Might that be a Wrestlemania 41 possibility? I know that Shawn “gave his word” to the Undertaker that he was retired, but that didn’t stop him from returning for that awful Undertaker/Kane vs. HHH/HBK match in Saudi Arabia. I’d rather see KO vs. HBK than KO wrestling Sami Zayn again.
WWE needs to spread these events out over the course of the year… Didn’t we just have the last one?
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Do you think that Corey Graves is working fans?
It’s a possibility… Reportedly, he has a few years on his contract, but I could see how getting bumped off of big shows could irritate him after years of being featured as the top color commentator.
I’m agreeing with a lot of fans in that we may see Corey Graves making his wrestling return against Pat McAfee at Wrestlemania 41. I think that presents an interesting opportunity and the winner of the match gets to call the rest of the show. HOWEVER, and this is just my opinion, but I think Pat McAfee is a better color commentator and has better chemistry with Michael Cole than Corey Graves. Just feels like there is more energy and unpredictability with Pat than there is with Corey. With Corey, I feel like I get the same announcer with each match and his comments become background noise. With Pat, though, he adds to the matches with his unpredictable nature and energy when a big spot is hit.
With WWE, there is plenty of announcing pie to eat, but PLEs and SNMEs appear to be going exclusively with Cole and Pat along with Netflix RAW. I could see how longtime employee Corey Graves feels, but I’d also suggest that he needs to evolve as an announcer. While I appreciate consistency, I’m just not going to rank Graves highly as an all-time great wrestling announcer. But he’s certainly not the worst, either.
I think that his initial comments were a work, but moving him to become the NXT announcer and other recent events have been a work.
And again, what would you rather do as a wrestling announcer… Work the second team in the WWE or work with a crowded field of announcers in AEW who are frustrating to work with? Guy in a mask screaming like a mark, Tazz all over the place, and Tony/JR whom you can tell are just collecting the paychecks at this point (painful for me to say, as I love both).
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Do you think that Hogan’s RAW on Netflix appearance and CM Punk’s promo on Hogan helped kept Hogan off of SNME?
Hogan signed a more extensive Legends contract and isn’t full-time performer. He appeared on that Netflix RAW because his All American Beer was a sponsor of that show, as his logo was on the ring that night.
I think many of you are making a mountain out of a molehill. WWE officials aren’t purposely keeping Hogan off of shows, as there really isn’t much of a need to put him on the shows. He’s just a legend to bring out there occasionally. How about this? Stone Cold Steve Austin also has a legends deal with the WWE, yet we haven’t seen him in a while. Why aren’t you making a fuss about how not showing up lately?
You’ll likely see Hogan again at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, possibly somewhere during Wrestlemania 41 weekend, and then continue to see him on merchandise and in your WWE 2K video games. Y’all need to relax as if the booing Los Angeles crowd successfully blocked Hogan from future WWE opportunities. No, he wasn’t going to be used that much in the first place and was only on Netflix RAW because his beer was one of the show’s sponsors.
I still say WWE should push him as “Hollywood” Hogan and let him cut promos against fans to milk the heat coming from fans, I’m willing to bet Hogan is 100% against ditching his “All American” persona at this point. In the past, he would have done it, but I believe Hogan thinks he is an ambassador for the Trump administration and the last thing he wants to do right now is be portrayed as a heel. If you don’t believe me, look at how excited he is when a “news” channel hosts him.
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How successful will AEW’s Pay Per Views be on Amazon Prime?
You’ll still have to pay for them, at least from what I’m reading… But it’s good that AEW has another outlet for their Pay Per Views, as not many have Cable/Satellite these days but their fans have smartphones, tablets, and Smart TVs that can host Amazon Prime. Good job, AEW.
For me, getting them to air on MAX and keep everything within 1 platform would be more ideal. HOWEVER, I don’t trust Warner Bros. Discovery at this point. They have $45 billion in debt to manage and their CEO is on record saying he dislikes having a streaming app. So thus, spreading out their content could be an advantage to help ensure their overall survival.
Seems like a win to me… Now, AEW just has to convince more people to buy their shows, and that’s where having better creative for their television shows would help.
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When and where will Alexa Bliss return to the WWE?
WWE certainly provides LOTS of time off for their veteran female stars. Good on them, as the human body cannot endure bumps for years, let alone female ones with less bone density and not as much muscle padding on their frames to absorb it.
But I think that fans and the WWE need to take a hard look at the Wyatt Family or the Wyatt Sicks. The stable worked initially when it was Bray, Luke, and Erick while keeping the gimmick basic. Nothing too supernatural, but they were just guys from the Southern Swamps (or wherever) who were just naturally scary for their size, look, and demented promos. Then, we get into the supernatural stuff where different masks are worn, people are set on fire, Alexa Bliss has black stuff bleeding from her forehead.
Look, I’m terribly sorry that Bray Wyatt passed away. That was a total shame… It was nice of his younger brother to return and bring back the Wyatt Family. But some things just don’t work out and you just need to move on. Do something FUN instead, like the hilarious Bo Dallas gimmick while letting Alexa Bliss return to the late 2010s character that got her over.
Alexa Bliss has such a great personal story that it doesn’t need to be hidden behind make-up or theatrics. Just watch THIS VIDEO to see what I mean. She’s a mom now, so you could push the “working mom” gimmick that WWE seems to ignore with any wrestling women who have children.
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Random Royal Rumble Questions
Best Royal Rumble ever? Easily 1992. Had the best veterans of the 1980s mostly in one ring and had a great ending. However, I really enjoyed the first Women’s Rumble from the late 2010s and got legitimately emotional seeing several veterans out there again. Loved it.
Best Rumble winner? Probably Austin in 1998, though HBK in 1996 was impressive. If you asked me before 2007, I may have said Chris Benoit from 2004 but that hits differently now.
Worst Rumble winner? Either Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio. I’ll go Sheamus because at least Del Rio was at the beginning of his push and Sheamus’s 2012 win was primarily due to Triple H wanting him to win that match. That said, Batista’s 2014 win was a major error.
Best Rumble PPV event? Royal Rumble 2000. Amazing show with crazy moments, great matches, and a solid rumble. Tazz debuting against Angle, Dudleys vs. Hardys, and Triple H vs. Foley were golden. And Mae Young… LOL
Best Rumble Surprise Entrant? I really loved Mr. Perfect’s 2002 return and immediately, you could see the WWE veterans (Austin and someone else) respecting him when he entered. Cena’s unexpected return after an arm injury at Madison Square Garden may take the cake, though, and remains iconic to this day.
Best match at Royal Rumble? Gotta go with Foley vs. Triple H, which won 2000’s “Match of the Year” for me. Benoit vs. Angle during 2003 was tremendous and set the stage for Benoit’s 2004 return.
Have a great week everyone!
Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ