Fans noticed a sign in the crowd at WWE's 2025 Royal Rumble PLE (Premium Live Event) that included a specific time stamp for an episode of The Sopranos, so many are naturally wondering what it referenced.
The Royal Rumble took place in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, February 1, featuring four matches that included the two Royal Rumble bouts (one men's and one women's). The Royal Rumble has become a staple in the WWE, as the winner is guaranteed a title match at WrestleMania against the opponent of their choosing.
On the other hand, The Sopranos is one of the most popular TV shows in history, and its effects have been felt throughout pop culture since it ruled the late 1990s and 2000s (find out if a new Sopranos series will be released in 2025 here).
What Did The Sopranos Sign Mean at the Royal Rumble?
During the women's Royal Rumble match at the PLE of the same name (which two major streamers were in attendance for following their appearance on Monday Night Raw), some fans watching the streamed broadcast on Peacock noticed that a fan in one of the floor seats in view of the hard camera was holding up a sign with a strange message on it.
Signs aren't rare at wrestling events at all, as hundreds of fans like to either write something for wrestlers to see or, if they know they will be on TV, something that the whole world can see.
In the Royal Rumble's case, the fan's sign read "The Sopranos S3 E7, 28 min 39 sec," meaning he obviously wanted anyone who saw the sign to view that specific moment in The Sopranos.
In the show at that time stamp, Tony is with Junior, who is putting some things in a blender to make a milkshake. Junior doesn't put the lid on the blender, so the contents of the milkshake spill out onto Junior.
When put into context that the sign was present during the women's Royal Rumble match, it can be implied that the sign had a suggestive meaning. It is also worth noting that that respective scene in The Sopranos also has some suggestive dialogue.
The fan who made and brought the sign seems to be the owner of an X account (@FrameInOrder) that posts every frame of The Sopranos in the order they appear on-screen. The owner revealed in a post from the account that he wanted everyone to see the frame of the milkshake coming out of the blender.
It is important to note that the same fan also seemed to hold up other signs at different points throughout the show. For example, at the beginning of the women's Royal Rumble match, it appeared as though he was holding up a different sign that read, "Meltzer fears facts."
Dave Meltzer is a longtime journalist who has covered professional wrestling for decades, but many fans believe that he is not as credible as he once was in terms of reporting scoops. Therefore, the sign was obviously made to troll and poke fun at him.
During the men's Royal Rumble match, the same fan appeared to be holding up yet another sign. This one stated "McAfee bets on Red 18," which was also likely the fan's way of messing with Pat McAfee, who was a commentator for the Royal Rumble event.
For context, McAfee was a professional football player and is now involved in the sports betting world via partnerships with sportsbooks such as FanDuel. Red 18 is a cadence that quarterbacks sometimes use in American Football prior to snapping the ball.
So, it seems as though the fan enjoyed the Royal Rumble by trolling multiple people with different signs, including the internet and anyone watching at home.
The Royal Rumble is streaming on Peacock and The Sopranos is streaming on Max.
