Did WWE Make The Right Decisions With The Royal Rumble Winners?
Through my years of writing these things, I’ve made it very clear that my preference when it comes to the Royal Rumble, Money In The Bank, and so on is to try and create new stars as often as possible.
Obviously, it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes, the best story to tell in a certain year is to give an already established star a Rumble win or the Money In The Bank briefcase. Ideally, though, you want to use those platforms to elevate someone who may not be able to get that type of rub otherwise.
As we counted down the days until the 2025 Royal Rumble, both the men’s and women’s Rumble matches seemed like they were going to go with some sort of “old guard” winner combination. On the women’s side, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair seemed to be the favorites to win, with Bayley not too far behind. All three women have won a Royal Rumble in the past, and none of them would be starving for a title opportunity without another Rumble win. On the men’s side, John Cena and CM Punk were the clear betting favorites to win, with names like Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins getting a lot of traction, as well. Of those names, Punk is the only one not to win a Royal Rumble in his career, but it’s not like he’s some lowly nobody that desperately needed something like the Rumble to give himself some sort of credibility.
Hell… if you read my “Booking 2025” column from a couple weeks back, I even said I would have Bianca and Punk win this year’s Rumbles if it were my decision to make. The stories made sense, and I didn’t see any problem with those two coming out victorious.
Watching the Rumble pay-per-view live, I saw Charlotte go on to win, and even though she wouldn’t have been my first choice, I understood the choice. The story was told on commentary, with it being said that Charlotte’s knee injury was once viewed as something that could’ve been career-threatening. Whether that’s kayfabe or not is irrelevant here. The point is that she suffered a major knee injury, was on the shelf for over a year, and was able to make her return a successful one. Early rumors are that she will be challenging Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania. Not only am I fine with that, it’s the match I “booked” for WrestleMania in the aforementioned column I wrote a couple weeks ago.
When it came time for the men’s Rumble, I was absolutely, positively sure that either CM Punk or John Cena was going to win. Would I have been shocked to see Roman Reigns win? No, but I felt that the stories WWE was trying to tell with Cena and Punk were simply too strong for them to ignore. When the match came down to Cena, Logan Paul, and Jey Uso as the final three, I was already preparing to write my “Cena won” column. As talented as Logan Paul is, I don’t think WWE is crazy enough to give him the WrestleMania main event right now. Jey Uso, on the other hand, seemed to be stuck in that “super over midcarder that will get title shots, but never quite win the big one” role that many names have made Hall Of Fame careers out of through the years.
That cleared the path for an easy Rumble victory for John Cena, giving him an opportunity to win his 17th World Title, fully immortalizing him as the Greatest Of All-Time in the minds and eyes of WWE.
Well… at least I thought it was an easy Rumble victory for John Cena, giving him an opportunity to win his 17th World Title, fully immortalizing him as the Greatest Of All-Time in the minds and eyes of WWE.
WWE had other ideas, though.
When Jey won the Rumble, I let out a very loud “oh shit” and my jaw dropped. Do not get it twisted… Jey is my cousin, and I love him very much. This isn’t a knock on him whatsoever. Like I said, though, I was SURE that Cena was winning the match.
Until he didn’t.
Jey winning the Rumble is such a fascinating booking decision to me. He came out of nowhere, but didn’t come out of nowhere, if that makes sense. He was so far under the radar that I don’t really recall anyone picking him to win, but he remains arguably the most popular performer in the entire business today.
Was it the “right” decision?
If you know anything about WWE, it’s that, above all else, they’re about the big moment and the memories that will live on in video packages for the rest of time. Not that they don’t enjoy the in-ring product. It’s just that they’re clearly in a different space than, say, AEW, TNA, or other companies that focus more on the quality of the matches they put on.
When you look at it from that point of view, was Jey’s Rumble win the “right” decision?
You can already picture 50,000+ people joining in to participate with Jey’s WrestleMania entrance in unison. The lights, the motion, the interaction, the music… it’s going to be a beautiful thing to witness. The story is already in the middle of being told, too. Jey has pushed Gunther to the absolute limit twice… once for the Intercontinental Title and once for the World Heavyweight Title… but came up short both times. Even before winning the Rumble, Jey cut a promo saying that he knows he can beat Gunther if he had another chance to do so.
It’s right there.
I’m not saying that the quality of a Gunther vs Jey match at WrestleMania would be bad. Instead, I’m saying that the quality of a Gunther vs Jey match at WrestleMania takes a backseat to the spectacle of the whole thing. They will tell a story, they will tell it well, and it will take us on a ride.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t ask for much more than that.
If Gunther is going to have Ludwig Kaiser on his side, Jey needs to have Jimmy Uso at his side. Just imagine the pure emotion that we’ll see if Jey gets the pin to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and his twin brother is right there to celebrate with him. If you want to add to it, people like Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn could be involved in the post-match celebration.
Honestly, I don’t understand some of the backlash I’ve seen about making Jey the winner. Some of it might be bad faith arguing, and some of it might be trolling, but what are the honest arguments against the decision? If you’re not a fan of Jey, then sure, that’s allowed. Maybe if you’re a huge Gunther fan and don’t want to see him lose his title just yet, too. Outside of that, are people just complaining to complain? That is the specialty of the pro wrestling fan, after all.
Jey Uso winning the 2025 Royal Rumble may not have been everyone’s first choice, but it may end up being the best choice when all is said and done.
What do you think of WWE’s decisions to have Charlotte Flair and Jey Uso win the Royal Rumble matches this year? Who were you rooting for and/or who did you think was going to win? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s keep things moving to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing the column out with the soundtrack of music I was listening to as I put this whole thing together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens: A brutal, hard-hitting Ladder Match between two complete psychopaths. What’s not to like?
Men’s Royal Rumble Match: It’s always a good thing when WWE doesn’t have to lean on NXT and their Rolodex of legends to fill up a Royal Rumble field. There were only three entrants here that aren’t full-time main roster performers, and that might be down to two with John Cena being back for the year. Lots of fun here, with a finish that I don’t really think anyone saw coming.
FTR vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta: Everything involving the storyline with Jon Moxley is dying the slowest of deaths, and even some of the most diehard AEW fans are calling for it to come to an end. With that said, I still enjoy some of the matches in the feud, even though dealing with more weeks of the story makes me want to kick a great grandmother down a flight of stairs.
Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre: My math might be off a bit, but I believe this loss takes Sami to a new record of 0-217 against Drew through the years. Maybe he’ll get him one day.
WWE Returning To France: After giving WWE one of the wildest and loudest crowds that pro wrestling has ever seen for a single show, it’s only right for WWE to head back to France this year. They deserve it. Oh, and it’s worth pointing out that the venue that will be hosting this year’s Clash In Paris show… Paris La Défense Arena… has a capacity that can literally accommodate four times as many fans as the LDLC Arena that hosted Backlash last year. Clash In Paris could end up being absolutely bonkers. Please let AJ Styles find his way on the card somehow.
War Raiders vs Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh: First and foremost, JD McDonagh is certifiably insane for taking that bump at the announce table and continuing the match. The match was a ton of fun, but damn, JD’s crazy ass is probably all that anyone will remember. Hopefully, he can heal up quickly and return to the ring before too long.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match: This match featured nine entrants that aren’t full-time main roster competitors. At first glance, that seems like a lot. However, Jordynne Grace just signed with the company, and she may very well be headed to Raw or Smackdown. Roxanne Perez is rumored to be heading to the main roster after the next NXT pay-per-view. Alexa Bliss is returning after a two-year absence and will undoubtedly be on Raw or Smackdown moving forward. Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella are rumored to be back for another run, which will at least make them short-term participants on Monday or Friday nights. That leaves four competitors from NXT, which is perfectly acceptable. Let’s not forget the very first women’s Rumble in 2018, when nearly half the field came from somewhere other than Raw or Smackdown. The women’s divisions in WWE are getting more and more loaded.
Cody Rhodes & CM Punk: I really enjoyed their promo segment on Raw. Cody is starting to come across as a weary champion, showing signs of exhaustion after being through everything he has been through to become the Undisputed WWE Champion and now trying to remain the Undisputed WWE Champion. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, indeed. Punk did a great job of getting across that he is Cody’s friend, but at the same time, he is also coming for that crown and won’t hesitate to take it.
Will Ospreay vs Brian Cage: The outcome was never in question, but as always, Ospreay shines and Ospreay’s opponent knows he needs to step his game up. No complaints here.
Giulia & Bayley vs Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade: As I said, the women’s divisions in WWE are getting more and more loaded. Main roster regular Bayley joins the mix in NXT for a bit, while NXT regular Roxanne Perez is on her way to the main roster. All of it is wonderful.
Bianca Belair & Naomi vs Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson: Oh, hey, another bit of evidence about the women’s divisions in WWE. Lash and Jakara are one of the most improved acts in all of wrestling, picking up steam at an insane pace. Lash, specifically, looks like she could be a megastar for the company moving forward.
Mercedes Moné vs Yuka Sakazaki: More love for the women, this time in AEW. Yuka made her AEW debut at Double Or Nothing all the way back in 2019, and she wrestles a handful of matches for the company every year, but I’d like to see her stick around for longer. She has been really impressive, and she could be a boon to the promotion if they use her more often.
AR Fox vs Ricochet: Another one of those matches where you know the outcome going in, but when the match is entertaining, you can let it slide. Ricochet really needed a good performance like this.
Trick Williams vs Wes Lee: I appreciate that heel Wes Lee doesn’t really wrestle like face Wes Lee. You see that far too often, especially with high-flying faces, and it’s hard to get crowds to boo exciting offense. I’m not saying he’s wrestling like prime Lou Thesz right now, but he’s definitely using a more grounded style. That’s very smart.
Dark Side Of The Ring: The new list of topics for the upcoming season of the show has been revealed. I’m looking forward to the episodes on Vader, Ludwig Borga, Eddie Gilbert, Daffney, and Muhammad Hassan the most.
This Week’s Playlist: “Wake Me Up” by The Weeknd & Justice… “Baptized In Fear” by The Weeknd… “Open Hearts” by The Weeknd… “Given Up On Me” by The Weeknd… “The Abyss” by The Weeknd & Lana Del Rey… “WONDERWaLL” by Bring Me The Horizon… “Love You Too” by Ledisi… “I. The Descent” by Enterprise Earth… “III. Shadows Below” by Enterprise Earth… “IV. Chasms Of Hell” by Enterprise Earth… “VI. Shapeshifter” by Enterprise Earth… “Butterfly” by Aurora View… “Scenario 2000” by Eve, DMX, The Lox & Drag-On… “Afro Puffs” by The Lady Of Rage… “Da B Side” by Da Brat & Notorious BIG… “Hot Spot” by Foxy Brown… “Keep On, Keepin’ On” by MC Lyte & Xscape… “Love T.K.O.” by Teddy Pendergrass… “Off On Your Own (Girl)” by Al B. Sure… “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan… “Residuals” by Chris Brown… “Lazarus Drug” by Meg Washington… “I Got 5 On It” by Luniz & Michael Marshall… “I Got 5 On It (Remix)” by Luniz, Spice 1, Dru Down, Richie Rich, Shock G, E-40 & Michael Marshall… “Killaz On The Payroll” by Luniz, Phats Bossilini, Madd Maxx & Poppa LQ
