Jey Uso Was WWE’s Third Choice To Win 2025 Royal Rumble
Jey Uso had to overcome a lot to win the WWE Royal Rumble but it seems his opponents weren’t just in the ring.
Jey Uso shocked the world when he won the 2025 Royal Rumble match by last eliminating John Cena. Cena seemed destined to win the bout to kick off his final year as a WWE Superstar with a bang and put him in exalted company alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin as the only star to win the Rumble on three occasions.
But it was Uso who reigned supreme, and the shocks kept coming when Jey Uso made Gunther tap out to win the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 41 off the back of his Rumble success.
While Uso had to withstand 29 other WWE stars to win the Rumble, he also had to navigate the writer’s room in the company and win a battle he had no part of fighting.
CM Punk & John Cena Top Picks Over Jey Uso To Win WWE Royal Rumble
WWE: Unreal is a new Netflix series taking fans behind the scenes in the company to find out how decisions are really made. One clip from the series shows the writer’s room discussing who will win the men’s 2025 Royal Rumble. CM Punk is named as a potential winner by most people in the room while Ed Koskey, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Creative Writing, outlines why he believes John Cena should win the bout.
It’s WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes, however, that really gets the ball rolling for Jey Uso as a potential winner.
The initial picks to win the 2025 Royal Rumble by most of the creative team were either CM Punk or John Cena.
Jey Uso was brought up as a potential winner by Michael Hayes.#WWEUnreal
— EliteRockerz š¯•¸ (@EliteClubS0B) July 29, 2025