John Cena returned to WWE Saturday night in the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble, kicking off a retirement tour that will run throughout the year.

In his final Rumble appearance, he lost.

And it was the right call.

That is just one of several hot takes to be had from a momentous night in Indianapolis that kicked off the road to Wrestlemania 41 and left fans wondering what is next for some of their favorite Superstars.

John Cena Losing to Jey Uso Was the Right Call

There were lofty expectations that John Cena would enter Saturday's Royal Rumble, win it, and cash his ticket to WrestleMania 41. That did not happen and that is for the best.

Had Cena returned and won the Rumble, we would have been in a scenario where WWE's resident Superman walked back in the door, secured an unnecessary victory, and predictably waltzed into the biggest show of the year to compete in one of its main events.

Everything wrestling fans hated about Cena when he was at the top of the game would have played out and likely polarized the audience, no matter how beloved and respected he is at this point in his career.

Instead, Cena losing allowed a fresh face to win the Rumble and added a much-needed edge to the Michael Cole-proclaimed Greatest of All Time.

After the Rumble went off the air, Cena told the media that he is going to stop doing what he thinks is best for business and, instead, do what he knows is best for it by entering the Elimination Chamber and telling the world that he will main event WrestleMania 41 and win his 17th world championship.

A new wrinkle in Cena's character, a fresh Rumble winner, and a less predictable story than many expected?

Yes, please.

Uncertain CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns Paths Are Best Move for WrestleMania

We are still no closer to knowing exactly what awaits CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth "Freakin" Rollins at WrestleMania than we were entering this year's Royal Rumble and that is not a bad thing.

Again, too much predictability has long been one of the biggest gripes wrestling fans have had with the WWE product, dating back to the previous creative regime. Triple H and his creative team have worked to eliminate that and took another step Saturday night, when Punk eliminated Rollins and Reigns, only to see himself dumped over the top rope by Logan Paul.

Rollins' post-match beatdown of both saw him unleash a year of frustration and likely kick off a heel turn. Does that mean we get a triple threat match at the year's biggest event? Does Punk team with Reigns to battle Rollins and someone else, like Drew McIntyre? Is there still room in a championship match for any of the three?

That we do not know the answers to those questions means the road to WrestleMania 41 on April 19 and 20 will be more unpredictable, engrossing, and engaging than ever. As we witnessed a year ago with all of the moving pieces surrounding The Rock's return to the company, that often makes for some of the best TV.

WWE Must Overcome the Predictability of Charlotte Flair's Return

Charlotte Flair's return to, and victory in, the Royal Rumble was the right call.

There were a plethora of other contenders in the match, including Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Iyo Sky, and Bayley, but none had been built up as credible challengers to Rhea Ripley or Tiffany Stratton in recent weeks, paving the way for The Queen making history as the first two-time women's Rumble winner.

With that call, though, comes a certain bit of that dreaded predictability that WWE will have to overcome in the weeks ahead.

The big return has come and gone. The future Hall of Famer walked the aisle, got her win, and now will have to keep fans invested long enough to make her championship match against Rhea Ripley or Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania deserving of such a significant victory.

It cannot merely be a redemption story of someone who overcame a debilitating knee injury to return and win the title. Fans do not view Flair as an underdog and will not now. There has to be more to it than that to justify the Rumble win and give fans a reason to care rather than believing they have already seen this song and dance play out.

Triple H and Co. have proven to be up for that challenge before. Now, it will be interesting to see what magic they can work on a character that had become too one-dimensional recently for most's liking.

Too Many Meaningless Eliminations for Top Superstars

If there is one downside to having too many top guys, it played out during the Men's Royal Rumble on Saturday night.

Drew McIntyre has been one of the centerpieces of WWE storylines since late 2023. He has had his hands in every major feud in recent months and had been teasing an alliance with like-minded villains in an attempt to take down The Bloodline.

In the Rumble, though, his elimination happened so quickly that it was nearly an afterthought. Sure, he has history with Damian Priest dating back to their rivalry over the World Heavyweight Championship, but the two had seemingly nothing to do with each other of late, so it was surprising to see The Scottish Warrior not even get a spot in the final six competitors, let alone a deeper run than that.

Then there was Priest, who was unceremoniously eliminated.

Ditto for Sami Zayn, whose pursuit of his first world title has been a fairly sizeable element of WWE Raw over the last year. He was eliminated by the eventual winner Uso, also in an elimination that felt like an afterthought, even if it does have long-term storytelling effects.

Jacob Fatu's dominance came to an end at the hands of the same Braun Strowman he decimated at Saturday Night's Main Event. Penta was tossed aside, as was LA Knight, not to mention the returning AJ Styles.

So many guys could conceivably main event WrestleMania tomorrow. WWE just has to find ways to make their eliminations from a match of this caliber seem more important and meaningful than a handful of them ultimately did.

Jey Uso Was the Right Choice to Win This Year's Rumble

The idea that in 2025, people are arguing that CM Punk, Roman Reigns, or John Cena would have made better Royal Rumble winners than Jey Uso is mindblowing. They are likely the same fans who, five years ago, would have scoffed at the idea that established stars of that magnitude would have a Rumble win wasted on them instead of a fresh face in the main event scene.

In his 14 years with WWE, Uso has risen from tag team specialist to the breakout star of The Bloodline story, became an undeniable singles star, and is as popular as any of those three aforementioned Hall of Fame-worthy competitors. He sells a ton of merch and fans genuinely want to see him win.

If that is not a story that the WWE faithful should get behind and embrace on this road to WrestleMania 41 and what will likely be a World Heavyweight Championship match against Gunther, who has repeatedly referred to him as a "cartoon character" or "mascot," nothing is.

Uso's story is not dissimilar to that of Daniel Bryan or Kofi Kingston, two underdogs who got over with audiences until there was no choice but to book them in the main event. Some may argue that we have seen Uso lose to Gunther already, as recently as on Saturday Night's Main Event.

Bryan wrestled Randy Orton in three straight pay-per-views before beating him for the title at the following spring's WrestleMania. Kingston lost to Bryan inside the Elimination Chamber just over a month out from the show, then again as part of a gauntlet match, before beating him at the Showcase of the Immortals.

The difference between those situations and Uso's is that Triple H and Co. recognized Uso's ascent earlier and planned on it, rather than being forced into a corner.

In an industry becoming more reliant on established stars, both in WWE and AEW, Uso emerging from where he did, breaking out thanks to some intensely personal promos, establishing a catchphrase, and becoming one of the most popular guys on any wrestling show, is something to be celebrated.