It seems not everything went to plan at Saturday’s Royal Rumble, but fans pointing the finger at Logan Paul may be laying the blame too soon.
It was another momentous night for WWE in Indianapolis, Indiana as the 2025 Rumble produced the highest attended show in the event’s history.
The talking points were aplenty as a returning Charlotte Flair snatched victory in the women’s Rumble match to guarantee herself a title shot at WrestleMania, and Jey Uso scored a major upset in the men’s version at the expense of John Cena.
Another story dominated the headlines coming out of the weekend however, after what appears to have been a rushed or changed elimination in the men’s Rumble for Scot Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre is one of WWE’s top performers and enjoyed a stellar 2024 thanks to an epic feud with CM Punk, but his 2025 got off to a less than an ideal start when his exit from the match appeared decidedly off – with no crowd reaction to meet it and on air commentators barely noticing it before it had happened.
If the spot did come across oddly on TV, it’s for good reason – reports have since emerged that it should have happened earlier in the match but ended up being rushed due to what McIntyre has hit out at as the actions of another wrester in the bout.
Initial details from PWInsider and the Wrestling Observer in the early part of Sunday reported that the veteran former world champ was seen ‘screaming and cursing’ backstage because the offending wrestler ‘had to get their moves in’, seemingly hinting at the delay that resulted in the elimination spot being rushed later.
It’s said a number of talent similarly irked on the Brit’s behalf and, having viewed footage of the match, fans were quick to lay the blame of Logan Paul.
He was stood posing towards the camera before he and LA Knight bumped into McIntyre and Damian Priest just as they were preparing to execute what would have been a high-profile elimination.
“Think Paul messes this up, spends too long emoting in front of the camera,” said one fan online, with another writing: “The streets are saying its Logan Paul.”
A third commented: “I guess the mystery person Drew McIntyre & everybody was allegedly mad at was Logan Paul.”
Quite whether the rush to point the finger at Paul is because of his villainous role in WWE isn’t quite clear, but a further report from Fightful has suggested that Knight is the wrestler most attracting McIntyre’s anger.
WWEFans may have thrust the blame at the door of Logan Paul too hastily after a moment with LA Knight[/caption]
The noted outlet reported: “A number of other talent have reached out to say they agreed with McIntyre, and indicated the frustration was on LA Knight,” adding that Priest had originally been due to eliminate McIntyre before Paul had even entered the match.
Knight had entered in the slot before Paul and lasted just five minutes in the bout before being eliminated, so presumably, at least to McIntyre’s reported belief, got a little too busy during the time he had in the squared circle before the Maverick then arrived.
It appears the former Royal Rumble match winner’s anger didn’t abate quickly, either – WWE threw a after-show party for stars at Royal Rumble.
However, McIntyre snubbed the event, according to the report.
Minutes after the mishap, Uso went on to stand tall at the end of the show by winning the Rumble.
He dumped out Cena, who has vowed to continue his quest for a record 17th world championship.
