5 WWE stars who should have won the Men's Royal Rumble instead of Jey Uso
Jey Uso won the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble. Just a week after losing to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event, The Yeet Master now has a guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania 41.
Depending on who fans were rooting for, they either loved the decision or felt greatly disappointed. Arguments can be made that someone like Roman Reigns or Sami Zayn should have won.
However, Reigns came off a four-year championship run last April. He shouldn't get another main event and a major title shot at the Show of Shows. Sami Zayn is in the same boat as Jey Uso, but he defeated Gunther for the Intercontinental title last year.
Who else should have won the match? The next five WWE stars should have outlasted 29 other competitors to win the Royal Rumble instead of Jey Uso.
#5. AJ Styles made a triumphant return at the Royal Rumble
AJ Styles last held a major WWE title in 2018 after losing to Daniel Bryan. He's 47 years old and may be on his last contract. Jey Uso has more than 15 years of service to WWE and starred in the biggest storyline of the past five years.
Jey also lost to Gunther, Seth Rollins, and Damian Priest during their reigns as World Heavyweight Champions last year. If WWE is attempting to leverage the "this will be the time" trope, it's hard to invest in.
It may be the case since he also lost to The Ring General during his Intercontinental Championship run. Styles hasn't been in title contention for over a year and could have challenged Gunther.
#4. LA Knight competed in his first Royal Rumble match
Jey Uso began his journey as "Main Event" Jey Uso around the same time LA Knight started gaining popularity on SmackDown. He ultimately captured the US title just as Jey claimed the Intercontinental title on RAW.
Knight had a longer run but lost it to Shinsuke Nakamura in November. His popularity is just as high as Jey's, but he was cheated out of his two major title shots against Roman Reigns.
The OG Bloodline interfered both times, as they did in nearly every one of Roman's title defenses. The promo battles between Knight and Cody Rhodes would have been great. Even tangling verbally with Gunther would have felt new and fresh.
#3. Seth Rollins' feuds have been among the best in wrestling
Seth Rollins is the first man to hold the reinstated World Heavyweight title. The Visionary defeated Uso while holding the belt, helping to re-establish its lineage. Even without the title, he remains one of WWE's top stars.
While Rhodes has been the light and Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre the dark regarding how they feel about Reigns, Rollins has been the grey. He understood Zayn and Usos' reasoning for teaming with Roman at WarGames.
The Visionary and The Head of the Table just cannot get over their history. Rhodes also owes Rollins for putting him over in three straight matches since The American Nightmare returned to WWE in 2022.
He also sacrificed himself and his title for Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. Gunther has never faced The Architect one-on-one for the title.
#2. John Cena was this year's runner-up
Winning the Royal Rumble wasn't the only way John Cena could earn another title shot; it was just the first option. While he's still a part-time performer, Cena can still go and carry a feud.
It seems WWE will take a medium to long-term approach regarding how Cena gets his title shot. This will likely be an ongoing storyline for each PLE cycle.
Instead, he could have set his sights on Cody or Gunther and waited to decide by winning the Royal Rumble.
He was already in the final two and will be in the Elimination Chamber match in March. Jey had more title shots in 2024 than most other stars.
#1. CM Punk made the most sense as the 2025 winner
Of all the stars who should have won the Royal Rumble instead of Jey Uso, CM Punk stands out like a sore thumb. He was last year's runner-up and missed WrestleMania 40 because of an injury sustained in the Rumble.
WrestleMania 41 will be his first such event since returning to WWE, so Punk should have secured a guaranteed spot well ahead of the event. He has never headlined the show or won the Rumble.
Through his tag team title match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Jey Uso has already main-evented WrestleMania. He'll basically be moving into the spot Reigns has occupied for the last seven years.
If he follows through on his post-event words by going after Gunther, it takes away a lot of intrigue from his big decision. Punk can still secure a title shot, but the "main event" spot is debatable since he didn't win the Royal Rumble. He also had great teases of potential feuds with Gunther and Cody Rhodes.
