WWE Royal Rumble Dark Horse to Watch, A Breath of Fresh Air For AEW, More Quick Takes

Every new episode of Raw and SmackDown since the start of the year has featured a slew of new entries for the men's Royal Rumble match. Even with only a handful of names announced, the 2025 installment is shaping up to be one of the most star-studded—and unpredictable—in years.

The top of the card at WrestleMania 41 is far from set in stone and thus there's a number of different directions WWE can go in for the men's Rumble winner. However, one notable name that's alluded the conversation arguably has a better chance of coming out on top than fans have given him credit for.

Meanwhile in AEW, Samoa Joe's surprise return was the highlight of an otherwise-uneventful Maximum Carnage edition of Dynamite on Jan. 15. He had been absent from AEW programming for nearly six months and his presence was sorely missed.

The former AEW World champion could be the key to injecting some much-needed interest into the product simply by being back and in the mix.

This installment of Quick Takes will discuss Joe's importance to AEW, what Penta's perfect Raw debut means for future AEW defectors, why the time isn't right for Jey Uso to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and more.

Bron Breakker has been a bit of an afterthought on Raw as of late. The show's move to Netflix has caused his second run as Intercontinental champion to take a backseat to other Superstars and storylines on the show.

The questionable booking of Breakker could be by design to make a potential Royal Rumble win all the more shocking.

John Cena and CM Punk lead the pack of odds-on favorites for the men's Rumble, but Breakker shouldn't be counted out despite currently being in possession of the Intercontinental Championship. He'll defend the title next against Sheamus at Saturday Night's Main Event on Jan. 25, and losing it there could increase his chances of winning the Rumble.

The second-generation star has had a meteoric rise on the main roster over the last year and has proven he's well on his way to becoming a permanent fixture in the main-event scene.

His backstage face-off with Gunther on Raw back in September might have been a sign of what's to come if WWE goes forward with Breakker as Gunther's World Heavyweight Championship challenger at WrestleMania 41, and there's little doubt that he'd excel in that spot.

Although it's been apparent since the summer, the working relationship between WWE and TNA was finally made official this past week, leading to several familiar faces from the NXT brand showing up at TNA's Genesis pay-per-view on Sunday night.

It's believed that TNA will have a recurring presence exclusively on NXT as part of the partnership, but select WWE shows and events shouldn't be considered completely out of the question, especially with the Royal Rumble around the corner.

The then-reigning TNA Knockouts World champion has taken part in the women's Royal Rumble match twice in the past: first with Mickie James in 2022 and again with Jordynne Grace in 2024.

This time around, it'd be only logical for TNA to be represented in the men's Rumble, most notably with new TNA World champion Joe Hendry, who's already had plenty of exposure on NXT TV, leading the charge. Either of The Hardys would also be an appropriate pick along with Mike Santana, Josh Alexander or Moose.

On the women's side, reigning Knockouts champ Masha Slamovich would be a solid choice. Any of them having a strong showing would immediately establish this working relationship between the two companies as being a big deal.

No matter how exceptional of a talent Penta is, there was zero guarantee that he'd be portrayed as the star he's always been upon arriving in WWE.

His brilliantly-booked Raw debut thankfully put those worries to rest.

From the electric crowd reaction to his terrific match with Chad Gable to his emotional post-match promo, Penta got himself over with the WWE audience in just one night. He isn't the first ex-AEW star to make the jump to WWE, but he is among the first AEW originals to do so.

It will be all about the aftermath and how he's handled in the weeks and months ahead. WWE could allow him to be overshadowed and get lost in the shuffle or actually push him consistently as a singles star and capitalize on the popularity he clearly has.

Wardlow and Ricky Starks are two prime examples of "homegrown" AEW stars who have never had a meaningful run in AEW. They've also been non-factors in AEW for so long that it'd be almost impossible for them to have a worse spot in WWE than they do right now.

If the wrestler is worth the hype as Penta proved he was, they should ideally be successful in today's WWE landscape regardless of whether they made their name in AEW or elsewhere. Penta may have opened the floodgates for future defectors to hedge their bets and give WWE a shot after all.

With CM Punk declaring for the men's Royal Rumble match, World Heavyweight champion Gunther wasn't left with many intriguing options for opponents at the Rumble event itself.

It was revealed on the Jan. 13 edition of Raw that he'll instead defend the title at the next installment of Saturday Night's Main Event a week before the pay-per-view and that Jey Uso will be the one getting the golden opportunity following Jey's recent win over Drew McIntyre.

Gunther acknowledging during their confrontation that Jey has never beaten him before resulted in speculation that Jey could be on the verge of picking up that elusive victory over The Ring General and capturing his first world title.

Even if Goldberg were to make a surprise appearance to cost Gunther the win, the timing would be less than stellar so close to WrestleMania.

There's next to no chance of Jey walking into 'Mania with the prestigious prize, and booking yet another title change at the Rumble or Elimination Chamber would be excessive. It would also take away from what should be a monumental moment for Jey if he were to lose the title as quickly as he lost the Intercontinental Championship mere months ago.

Jey can absorb another loss and Gunther can continue to build momentum ahead of his next major program.

The Death Riders are doing very little to make AEW's week-to-week programming engaging and nothing else about the main-event scene seems to be sparking interest among fans.

While he isn't currently involved in the AEW World Championship scene, the overall product will greatly benefit from the return of Samoa Joe, who resurfaced on the Jan. 15 edition of Dynamite following a six-month hiatus.

Joe has been one of the best parts of AEW TV since signing with the company three years ago. Whether he's been a dominant force in Ring of Honor or defending the AEW World title, he's made the most of everything he's involved in and has brought a sense of realism and legitimacy to his storylines that's sorely lacking across the card.

The Samoan Submission Machine is hardly a fresh face; he's been around for over two decades and is closer to the end of his decorated career than the beginning. Despite that, Joe can continue to contribute and elevate any show he's on.

A feud with Jon Moxley over the AEW World Championship—a title he never received a rematch for last year—would be the best route for him to go down at some point, but resuming his rivalry with The Patriarchy or targeting any other active champ would an equally acceptable use of his skill set.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.