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| Cody Rhodes defended his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at WWE Royal Rumble 2025. |
Both superstars endured brutal and dangerous bumps onto ladders, undeterred by the looming spectacle of WrestleMania. Owens delivered a devastating Fisherman’s Buster onto a ladder, prompting Sami Zayn to join WWE officials at ringside to check on his longtime friends. Clad in a black hoodie, Zayn remained neutral, his loyalties uncertain as Rhodes and Owens waged war. In the end, Rhodes sealed his victory with a punishing Alabama Slam through a ladder, retaining his championship.
The Rhodes-Owens rivalry has been one of the most inventive—albeit underrated—feuds of Rhodes’ title reign. When you set the bar with arguably the greatest story WWE has ever told, some stellar rivalries inevitably fly under the radar. Owens’ descent into villainy began unconventionally, in a rare off-camera heel turn. Following WWE Bad Blood 2024, Owens blindsided Rhodes—not in a grand television segment, but in a guerrilla-style attack captured via viral smartphone footage outside Cody’s tour bus. WWE’s official Twitter account was among those circulating the clip, marking one of the company’s most creative booking decisions to date.
Owens’ new heel persona thrived on unpredictability, with impromptu, worked-shoot promos. He frequently interrupted live segments, while some of his rants were filmed in his car and surfaced via grainy footage. This feud, while forward-thinking, also embraced nostalgia. The WWE Championship Ladder Match was contested with both the WWE Title and the Winged Eagle Championship suspended above the ring. Rhodes and Owens had signed an addendum to their contract for the match, sparking speculation that the Winged Eagle Championship—something Rhodes has long championed—could be reinstated.
Entering the Royal Rumble, Rhodes was a heavy -4000 favorite to retain his title, maintaining his undefeated streak at the event since his game-changing return in 2022. However, WWE teased a potential disruption in the form of Sami Zayn. With the every-man-for-himself Royal Rumble looming, Zayn—one of the event’s possible winners—had “accidentally” struck both Rhodes and Seth Rollins with the Helluva Kick in prior weeks. In a no-disqualification Ladder Match, the only path for Owens to pull off an upset was a shocking betrayal from Zayn—reminiscent of his infamous turn at WWE Hell in a Cell 2017, when he aided Owens against Shane McMahon.
Though Rhodes’ victory was expected, the fallout left more questions than answers—particularly regarding Sami Zayn. After witnessing his childhood friend’s destruction, Zayn remained a compelling dark horse to win the 2025 Royal Rumble, adding yet another layer of intrigue to WWE’s Road to WrestleMania.
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