10 Worst WWE Royal Rumble Final Twos EVER

Rumble season is upon us, and the biggest question is the same every year: who will win? Being that the match is taking place in Saudi Arabia, don't be surprised if Undertaker limps out at the last minute and steals the win just like he did with his Tuwaiq Gauntlet Trophy! 

Anything can happen in WWE, don't forget.

The majority of the time, the winner is never really in doubt; other times, it's anybody's game. What blurs the line between the two can indeed be a nail-biting final two. A last stretch of false finishes, bum-clenching close calls and a final cathartic release when your favourite wrestler pulls off the final elimination, punching their ticket to the WrestleMania World title scene. Awesome.

There have been some phenomenal final twos in Rumble history: Undertaker & Shawn Michaels in 2007, Sheamus & Chris Jericho in 2012, Stone Cold & Kane in 2001, to name a few. Any of those names could have won the match - and its that unpredictability and/or showmanship that makes you believe it could be anyone.

Not every time though. 

Sadly, as fun as the Royal Rumble is for the majority of the time, a hot 30-superstar gauntlet can be dampened by a cold finish, be it bad spots, dodgy eliminations or just the wrong person winning the match (at least one entry on this list has all three!). Fingers crossed for another pair of amazing Rumbles this year, but now we look back at the finalists of the biggest match of the year that certainly didn't fit the bill...

It was very much up in the air as to who would win the 2025 Royal Rumble, although most fans were fairly vocal about CM Punk being the one to win it. According to Unreal, that was apparently the plan before they pivoted to Jey Uso. Jey had been slowly catching fire as a singles competitor following the breakup of the Bloodline, winning the Intercontinental Championship and battling his cousin Roman Reigns in some great matches during the pamdemic shows.

But despite his prowess and a very infectious "Yeet" chant, something never really clicked when it came to "Main Event" Jey Uso in the, erm, main event. This coupled with the fact that the fans choice Punk was white hot going into the Rumble, and John Cena's retirement tour had begun in earnest, Jey was never given a realistic chance of winning the big 30-man gauntlet.

In the match itself, CM Punk finished 4th, being eliminated by Logan Paul of all people, and the final two came down to Jey and John Cena. The two had a small amount of back and forth until Uso just kind of shoved Cena off of the apron, with John landing on his feet looking more baffled than disappointed, almost as if Jey had won the match by accident. Something of a deflating end to an otherwise excellent Rumble.