Jey Uso’s 2025 Royal Rumble Win Is WWE’s Most Questionable Decision of Triple H Era

At the 2025 edition of the Royal Rumble, WWE and Triple H picked perhaps the strangest time of all to pull off a swerve for shock value.

There, with John Cena and Jey Uso the only wrestlers left standing in the men’s Rumble match and a trip to the main event of WrestleMania 41 at stake, it was easy to think The GOAT was on his way to starting his retirement tour with a bang.

But WWE just couldn’t resist the swerve—Jey eliminated Cena.

Somewhere in here, we have to acknowledge it is a really cool moment for Jey, organically getting over with crowds in a big way and breaking free as a solo act. This is what fans demand: Reward those who climb the ladder.

But so much about pro wrestling is about timing…and this just isn’t it.

In what was perhaps the most stacked Royal Rumble roster many of us will ever see, there wasn’t a justifiable reason to have somebody like Jey steal the win. With Cena as one of the final two on a night Charlotte Flair already won a Rumble match, it’s really hard to shake the feeling that WWE went for shock value and as a way to balance the scale.

To be blunt, Jey’s match against Jimmy Uso last year was an 11-minute, universally panned disaster. His singles work since hasn’t inspired the confidence that should turn around and hand him a main event.

Ditto for the booking outlook. What’s the plan here? He’s not going after Cody Rhodes, assuming Cena wins at Elimination Chamber. And he’s had plenty of singles encounters with Gunther already. That’s a match that feels like it could be the main event on a decent Raw at this point.

It doesn’t help the case that this was a fantastic match before the end result. There was lots of drama, good storylines unfolding and little wrinkles that will have long-reaching effects in a new era that favors long-form storytelling.

But most will remember this Rumble for the end result.

A shame, because to get here, Logan Paul, of all people, eliminated CM Punk. He only has so many Rumbles left and has yet to actually main-event a ‘Mania. WWE threw his blood feud with Seth Rollins onto a silly debut episode of Netflix instead of the main event it deserves to be.

Rollins’ post-elimination meltdown clearly hints at what should be a Triple Threat with Punk and Roman Reigns. But again, that’s a main event-level match that should have a title.

And while The Visionary just keeps endlessly getting plastered as the third wheel despite being a modern GOAT, Reigns clearly isn’t getting a match with The Rock.

It’s not like there weren’t alternatives if WWE didn’t want to lean on some of the above names. Put over Dominik Mysterio. Give LA Knight his moment. Where was Randy Orton?

Again, it smacks a little contrarian to nitpick this result, as most have begged WWE for years to build up the next generation of stars. Jey is unquestionably over, at least when it comes to entrances and catchphrases (and those sweet, sweet merchandise sales).

But ushering in the Netflix era with so many new eyeballs on the product and actively choosing Jey over Punk, Rollins, Reigns and any number of other big names just feels downright wild. And not just choosing Jey, but putting him in a retread matchup that has already been done…also wild.

There won’t be much in the way of momentum, should Jey end up beating Gunther at ‘Mania, either.

It feels like most fans have soured on The Ring General’s run in the first place, so Jey beating a guy limping to the end of his reign and turning into a Rhodes-lite sort of main eventer isn’t going to be a great start to his run.

What’s worrisome is that with Jey, WWE is taking this sort of “cinema” era the wrong way.

The Bloodline was super-over because of the long-form storytelling and great matches (they’ll look better in hindsight, just wait). All the cool camera angles and epic entrances for guys like Jey are cool, but it still needs to be pro wrestling. Meaning, it needs to translate to the ring and make sense.

Right now? At this specific Rumble? Jey winning didn’t make sense. It got a big pop, but it’s a cheap one, too.

Compare this to that historic Rumble where WWE finally pulled the trigger on Drew McIntyre. He took down Brock Lesnar, was clearly the guy in every respect and went on to carry the company on his back through a wild era.

By comparison, even Cena raising Jey’s hand at the end can’t remove the stink from this one.