25 Best Wrestling Moments Of 2025

20. Jey Uso Wins The Royal Rumble

John Cena looked set to win the match that only one person ever seems likely to win. He was about to enter his retirement year, and while the direction of WrestleMania 41 was more misty than most, the narrow Royal Rumble field only seemed to extend as far as CM Punk. Jey Uso was never in the conversation, particularly since his brother versus brother affair against Jimmy a year earlier was such a colossal dud.

But then, after a sloppy but improbably dramatic match-within-a-match, Jey won. As ironic as this all was - Main Event Jey Uso was only ever going to open the show, which he did - it was a genuine, heartwarming shock from Triple H, otherwise a very pedestrian booker.

If you look past Jey’s lack of technical ability, and you bloody must, what happened here is that a beloved babyface - a genuine strictest-definition fan favourite, a pushed wrestler but never “chosen” - won the Royal Rumble unexpectedly and made his fans deliriously happy.

Is that not what WWE was missing for over two decades? Is that not what pro wrestling is?

Here’s something else cool about this moment, one that critics of Triple H might not care to admit: the decision will inform a sense of intrigue and hope around future Royal Rumble matches. Whenever the field doesn’t exist, and the only likely winner feels odds-on, you can always recall the year Jey won it. Something that happened in 2025 might make 2026, 2027 and 2028 a little less obvious.

Triple H is often criticised because it seems to take him an eternity to do anything - but this was a savvy long-term decision.