Ranking the Top 7 Men's WWE Stars For 2025 WrestleMania Build

Provided injuries and other unforeseen circumstances don't derail the Road to WrestleMania, WWE will have an incredibly deep roster to work with in the months preceding the two-night extravaganza on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas.

Seeds have already been planted for several storylines, including Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, following their tense confrontation on Monday's Raw. Randy Orton is also expected to return around the Royal Rumble, presumably to rekindle his rivalry with Owens in time for WrestleMania season.

The Rock's role at the event remains uncertain, but as of now, all signs point to him not competing despite previously teasing a matchup against Cody Rhodes. The Road to WrestleMania is always unpredictable and the projected card is subject to change, but Rock should be ruled out of any possible plans until there's more of a concrete sign of commitment.

WWE's talent pool is star-studded enough that The Final Boss isn't needed for this year's 'Mania. There are a number of marquee matches WWE can deliver to ensure it's on par with previous installments under the Paul "Triple H" Levesque regime.

These are the seven Superstars of greatest importance to the 2025 WrestleMania build.

Five years ago, Drew McIntyre was the man the entire Road to WrestleMania revolved around after winning the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble and earning the opportunity to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.

The pandemic, unfortunately, hindered his ultimate 'Mania moment in front of no fans at WWE's Performance Center, but McIntyre has remained a headliner for the company despite the less-than-ideal circumstances. He's only grown as a performer since then and has been firing on all cylinders since turning heel over a year ago.

His long-awaited World Heavyweight Championship win at WrestleMania 40 was quickly ruined when Damian Priest successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on him. McIntyre has been working tirelessly to return to those same heights but has recently experienced setback after setback, including losses to CM Punk, Jey Uso, and Seth Rollins.

The Scottish Warrior being down on his luck will merely fuel his frustration and set him up for a significant storyline en route to WrestleMania 41. Regardless of his opponent, he'll be prominently positioned on the card.

Seth Rollins' résumé of matches at WrestleMania over the years is virtually unmatched, and since splitting from The Shield, he's had a heavily-touted match on the card every single time.

WrestleMania 41 should be no exception, even though the exact details of his Road to WrestleMania are unknown.

He has a bit of momentum at the moment following his hard-fought win over Drew McIntyre in the main event of Monday's Raw. The timing couldn't be better with the Royal Rumble right around the corner, especially as someone who has a strong chance of winning the whole thing.

If CM Punk and Rollins don't resume their rivalry as expected, Rollins would certainly be a suitable opponent for Gunther at WrestleMania, with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. However, it's also possible that he or Punk will capture the prestigious prize before then, so their rematch on The Grandest Stage of Them All is at stake.

Either way, the Visionary will factor into high-profile plans for Mania and perform exceptionally, as only he can.

It's strange to say that the reigning World Heavyweight champion won't be among the top two or three stars to receive the most amount of attention and focus on the Road to WrestleMania, but it shouldn't be too surprising based on how his title run has been booked so far.

For as dominant as Gunther has been in the role, he's also been a bit of an afterthought on the Raw roster. He's had excellent title defenses against the illustrious likes of Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Damian Priest and Finn Bálor but has been routinely overshadowed by anything involving Seth Rollins, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.

Unlike Cody Rhodes, there's zero guarantee he'll still be World Heavyweight champ when WrestleMania rolls around. He will be defending against Jey Uso at the next installment of Saturday Night's Main Event, and if he can retain there, he may have to escape Elimination Chamber with the gold in his grasp as well.

Per PWInsider, Raw's newest acquisition, Logan Paul, has been pitched internally as an opponent for Gunther at 'Mania. Even if that turns out to be a non-title bout, facing the social media sensation would at least get Gunther a featured spot at The Show of Shows.

Following his appearance on Raw's Netflix premiere at the onset of the year, John Cena has confirmed that the next stop on his retirement tour will be the men's Royal Rumble match, which he has every intention of winning so he can punch his ticket to WrestleMania 41.

If he's successful, it would mark his first singles triumph in nearly eight years and put him in contention for what would be his record-setting 17th world championship. That alone makes him the odds-on favorite to reign supreme in the annual Battle Royal for the men.

Many expect Cena vs. Cody Rhodes to headline one of the two WrestleMania matches. Despite the Babyface vs. Babyface dynamic, the unpredictable outcome would carry the contest and create genuine intrigue during the build.

There are a plethora of other worthy WrestleMania opponents for Cena this year, but any match he has will be a top priority with this set to be his last ever on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Championship stakes or not, it will be a historic happening.

Cena has taken a backseat at 'Mania for the past decade, but not for his final hurrah.

For the first time in five years, Roman Reigns will not walk into WrestleMania with gold around his waist. However, that won't make him any less of a focal point en route to WrestleMania 41.

Reigns has ascended to such a status that he'll automatically be inserted into one of the two main events for 'Mania—or at least a top-level attraction match—no matter who he's put up against.

His definitive victory over Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat on the first Netflix Raw seemed to put his rivalry with The Bloodline to rest for the time being, leaving him without an obvious opponent for the event. A dream match with The Rock is still on the table, but this doesn't appear to be the year that will be coming to fruition.

CM Punk is perhaps the most feasible foe for Reigns after they teamed up to defeat The Bloodline in WarGames at Survivor Series. Reigns' advocate Paul Heyman subsequently promised Punk a future "favor," which Punk could very well cash in on in the form of a WrestleMania main event with The Tribal Chief.

Reigns' involvement in the upcoming men's Royal Rumble should clear up any confusion regarding what the Road to WrestleMania will have in store for him.

CM Punk's shocking Survivor Series return in 2023 shook up the entire Road to WrestleMania. They put him in a position to challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at last year's installment in Philadelphia.

His injury in the men's Royal Rumble sidelined him through August and prevented that highly-anticipated outing from being booked. Punk sat in on commentary for Rollins' title defense against Drew McIntyre, but it wasn't the same as what he was initially believed to be doing at the event had he been healthy.

The Second City Saint has since gotten back on track with wins over Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell, The Bloodline in WarGames and Seth Rollins on Raw's Netflix debut. He's never won the Rumble before, and thus, that should be next on his list of accomplishments.

As previously mentioned, Punk and Rollins running it back at WrestleMania would make the most sense, ideally for the World Heavyweight Championship. If not, Roman Reigns and Gunther would also be must-see matchups depending on the build.

Punk is being primed to be a pivotal piece of this year's Road to WrestleMania.

It's been just over nine months since WWE ushered in its newest era, led by Cody Rhodes. Rhodes remains in possession of the Undisputed WWE Championship, which he unseated the unstoppable Roman Reigns for at WrestleMania 40.

It was never realistic for Rhodes to hold the gold anywhere near as long as Reigns did at almost four years, but he's made the most of his run by having a string of stellar championship clashes with AJ Styles, Logan Paul, Solo Sikoa and Kevin Owens. He was already the biggest babyface in all of WWE and being champ has only reinforced that fact.

For many months, Rhodes vs. The Rock was assumed to be penciled in as one of the main events for WrestleMania 41, but The Final Boss having yet to set in stone whether or not he'll be wrestling at the event suggests it won't be happening this year.

CM Punk or John Cena could plausibly win the Royal Rumble and challenge Rhodes at 'Mania, not to mention the possibility of Randy Orton going heel before then and stepping up to face him. Rhodes will undoubtedly headline WrestleMania for the third consecutive year and that won't be in jeopardy, but the question of who he'll be programmed with will make him a hot topic of conversation between now and Las Vegas.

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.