It’s been roughly twelve hours for the reason that 2025 Royal Rumble ended, and I’m nonetheless in full shock about what occurred. Tag workforce legend turned breakout higher mid-card/ decrease important occasion star Jey Uso beat probably the most stacked fields in Rumble historical past to safe possibly the most important wtf win within the occasion’s historical past. On an evening when WWE may have chosen not less than 5 safer and extra standard future Corridor of Famers in John Cena, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, it was as an alternative Uso that emerged victorious, leaving followers bitterly divided over whether or not it was a great shock or a foul shock.
Now, earlier than I get into the specifics of why some followers are so pleased and a few are so upset, let me step again actual fast and supply a fast rationalization for why this issues a lot for these of you who won’t be obsessive wrestling followers. Annually, WWE holds the Royal Rumble in late January or early February. The winner, on each the lads’s and girls’s sides, will get to battle for a championship of their selecting at WrestleMania in April, which is the most important wrestling occasion of the 12 months. So, briefly, whoever wins is assured to be a part of one of many largest matches at WrestleMania, which suggests Jey Uso is about to be a part of one of many largest matches at WrestleMania.
To some followers, that’s probably the most thrilling WWE developments in years and a refreshing change from how issues have been run beneath Vince McMahon, who tended to favor to push the identical confirmed stars again and again. To different followers, it’s a huge overreach and a slap within the face to all the different confirmed stars who’ve an extended and extra established observe file of delivering good memorable matches in massive spots. Let’s break the arguments down and discuss them extra in depth.
First, let’s construct the case for why Jey Uso is sensible because the Royal Rumble winner. Uso has spent most of his profession in a tag workforce alongside his brother Jimmy Uso. Collectively, The Usos have gained eight tag workforce championships and important evented the primary night time of WrestleMania 39. In addition they each performed integral roles in Roman Reigns’ Bloodline story over the previous few years, which many followers have referred to as the best recurring plot in wrestling historical past. Over the previous few years, Jey has began working extra persistently as a singles performer, headlining SummerSlam alongside Roman Reigns in 2023 and wrestling his brother Jimmy at WrestleMania 40 in 2024.
Due to his trademark catchphrase, YEET, and his excessive power entrances that contain coming via the gang and doing coordinated arm actions, he’s additionally gotten actually, actually over with followers. He’s surpassed a lot of the firm’s largest stars over the previous few months in merchandise gross sales, and you would make a powerful case that he at the moment will get extra crowd participation than anybody else on the complete roster. Generally when he’s speaking on the microphone, followers will actually shout YEET after each single phrase or sentence he delivers. It’s the kind of fan funding each performer goals of getting, and it’s why enormous celebrities like Travis Scott have began accompanying him on his walkouts. It’s additionally why many followers have been elated to see him win final night time.
WWE’s official Instagram put up congratulating Uso has virtually 200,000 likes already, and X exploded after his win with followers speaking about how a lot he deserved it and what a fantastic shock it was. Different WWE superstars additionally despatched out greater than their share of YEETs and optimistic social posts speaking about how thrilled they have been. Clearly, there’s an infinite groundswell of help for Uso.
Given all that, it’s straightforward to see why WWE is exhibiting a lot religion in Uso, however there are numerous wrestling followers, particularly hardcore wrestling followers, that don’t see issues the identical method. In actual fact, there are various which can be downright livid. My colleague right here at CinemaBlend Mick Joest was on the Rumble, and he stated a wholesome share of the gang was very deflated, and you would see that on social, as quite a few tweets calling it WWE’s worst ever reserving choice and questioning why they’d go there attracted many hundreds of likes. I get why.
Jey and Jimmy have a protracted historical past of delivering incredible tag workforce matches in massive moments, however sadly, lots of Jey’s singles matches haven’t been fairly so effectively reviewed by followers. His match with Jimmy did not make logical sense from a storyline perspective was very broadly thought-about to be the one worst match at WrestleMania 40, and his match towards Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2023 is usually talked about as one the weakest in Reigns’ 3+ 12 months title run. His match towards Drew McIntyre was clearly the low level of in-ring motion through the Uncooked debut on Netflix, and even his matches towards Gunther, who’s broadly thought-about to be one of many strongest employees on the complete roster, have gotten lukewarm responses.
These in-ring issues are, to many followers, symptomatic of a bigger problem Uso has. He’s extraordinarily widespread, however a lot of that recognition depends on enjoying to the reside crowd in a call-and-response method, which might be extraordinarily repetitive. If he’s giving a promo, it’s enjoyable to take part and yell YEET in between every of his sentences, however as a result of he’s stopping in between each sentence for the followers to say YEET, it’s lots tougher to construct momentum and say something significant. As a result of numerous his in-ring strikes contain enjoying to the gang in an exaggerated method, he doesn’t look fairly as plausible and tends to depend on a smaller arsenal of strikes he is aware of are over with followers and can get a optimistic response.
A number of weeks in the past, Gunther, who he’ll seemingly face once more at WrestleMania, referred to as him WWE’s firm mascot. The implication was that, whereas he’s widespread with followers, he’s in the end a sideshow that’s to not be taken critically. Clearly, he’s going to play into this through the lead-up to WrestleMania and attempt to make the case that he’s a performer who must be taken critically. Perhaps he’ll be capable to make that case, however the polarizing response from followers makes it very clear that there are lots of people he must win over.
I’m undecided how we’re going to recollect this reserving choice just a few years from now. The historical past of the wrestling enterprise is crammed with mid-card performers who obtained a enjoyable catchphrase over and have been tremendous widespread for a 12 months or so earlier than everybody obtained bored and moved on. Then once more, it’s additionally crammed with a handful of performers who took a enjoyable catchphrase and used it to propel themselves into important occasions for the remainder of their careers.
I’m on the fence. I like Uso and am pleased for him, however he must step up and show why he ought to have gotten this nod over Cena, Punk, Reigns and everybody else. I feel he’s succesful, nevertheless it’s going to imply he must cease enjoying the hits each single week and begin giving us one thing new. It means he wants to inform a narrative with much less YEET and extra layers, and he’s gonna have to pay that off with a great match at WrestleMania. Fingers crossed he can.