WWE.com and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly combs through the Royal Rumble and lists his post-Rumble rising stars based on their performance and what that might mean for WrestleMania 42
THE SETUP
Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan won the Royal Rumble while the usual suspects were right there in the end, Gunther, Randy Orton, Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, Tiffany Stratton, Rhea Ripley, and IYO SKY. But a new look, or so I say, a new era is quickly approaching WWE, and the Royal Rumble was the formal introduction to many up-and-comers to the main roster, who just may have gotten a shove to the front of the line in terms of newcomers with their Rumble performances. When Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, and Oba Femi stood in the middle of the ring early in the Rumble, acknowledging the NXTers have arrived, that said plenty.
MEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE
1. Oba Femi: So, Femi stood toe-to-toe with Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event, eliminated the first five competitors to start the Rumble (three of which came within a minute), faced off against Brock Lesnar twice, and then disposed of The War Raiders on Raw just because he could. It’s hard to imagine a better start to his call-up to the main roster than that. Femi has the entrance, the entrance and integrated it with his talent and put it into action at the Rumble that very well could lead to a WrestleMania match against Lesnar – the guy who eliminated him after spending 39 of the 56 minutes in the ring, which was longer than anybody else except for Je’Von Evans.
2. Je’Von Evans: Keep in mind that Evans is only 21, but you couldn’t tell that about how he went about things at the Rumble. While Oba Femi and Trick Williams had a much more anticipated debut, you can argue that Evans improved his stock the most moving forward. Evans spent more than 40 minutes in the ring and despite being one of the final 10 left yet, not eliminating one Superstar and being eliminated by Randy Orton, it was still a solid performance that should indicate what the company views him as moving forward. Now, with not one spot clearly revealing itself, it makes it hard to envision something, at this point, revealing itself for him at WrestleMania.
3. Royce Keys: Considering this was the first time we’ve seen Royce Keys in WWE. He isn’t a newbie by any sort and made it aware that he and Cody Rhodes have history, but he may be more ready than any of the “new guys” to be a can’t-miss acquisition. Keys might eventually renew his rivalry with Rhodes, but a matchup on The Grandest Stage of Them All against Damian Priest seems inevitable, or maybe even as much as a Fatal Four Way. I wouldn’t be totally against a Keys vs. Logan Paul Mania match, either.
4. Trick Williams: Considering Trick Williams was arguably the most well-known among the up-and-comers in the Rumble, he was an early entrant, and the only stat line he had was eliminating Mr. Iguana and The Original El Grande Americano in the six minutes he was in the ring. Still, Williams being included in the Rumble and being eliminated by the face of the company, Rhodes, can’t go unnoticed. A Priest/Williams/Evans Triple Threat match at WrestleMania or even add Royce Keys for a Fatal Four Way, would play nicely.
5. Ilja Dragunov – Dragunov is far from being new as he’s been on the main roster since 2024 and with the company for close to a decade but missing 13 months with a knee injury right after he was called up kind of put him out of sight, out of mind, even if he did hold the U.S. Championship for two months when he returned. Dragunov giving five or six hard chops to Lesnar may have had no effect, but it was something that you won’t soon forget, and isn’t that the point?
WOMEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
1. Sol Ruca: Sol Ruca at No. 1 doesn’t need an explanation. Ruca very well could’ve won the Rumble from the No. 10 spot, and after spending 50 minutes in the ring before getting eliminated, she opened eyes. Still, Ruca was a heartbeat away from winning as a rookie and was shoulder to shoulder with Tiffany Stratton and Liv Morgan at the end. Ruca’s athleticism was off the charts and easily translated from NXT to the main roster. Just how the match ended suggests that Ruca and Tiffy could be seeing much more of each other on the road to WrestleMania 42.
2. Lash Legend: We’ve seen Lash Legend on the main roster partnering with Nia Jax, but not so much in singles competition. That’s surely going to change sooner rather than later after an utterly dominant performance at the Royal Rumble. Just look at who Legend tossed over the top rope: Nikki and Brie Bella, Charlotte Flair, IYO SKY, and Jordynne Grace. Legend was one of the final five left. A WrestleMania match with Ripley would be interesting.
3. Raquel Rodriguez: Even though not new, Rodriguez has transformed herself from being a ‘heavy’ into a potential main-eventer, and the Royal Rumble didn’t do anything to silence that. She was in the match for 35 minutes, eliminated Ripley, and was taken out by her BFF isn’t a bad night at all. I can list about five different opponents that would make sense for Rodriguez at WrestleMania, but a Triple Threat seems like the right fit.
4. Jordynne Grace: We saw Grace in the Rumble last year, so it was no surprise that she took a bigger step this time around. Grace took out Lola Vice, Candice LeRae, and Ivy Nile, just set the table for where this is going to go for her – a match with Jade Cargill at WrestleMania, maybe for the WWE Women’s Championship, or maybe just an all-out brawl if Cargill drops the title before that.
5. Kiana James: I didn’t have Kiana James spending nearly 30 minutes in the Royal Rumble. That tells me you need to keep an eye on her moving forward.
