Royal Rumble WrestleMania WWE

Is Jey Uso The Biggest Royal Rumble Upset Winner?

The 2025 Royal Rumble is in the books and boy, what a Rumble it was. In the women’s Royal Rumble, it was already announced that Charlotte Flair would be returning for the event. But there were also the likes of Nia Jax, Bayley, and Bianca Bel Air. Not only that, but we received surprise entrants like Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella.

We had an unbelievable ladder match between Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes. A match that left both men battered and bruised by the time it ended. Cody emerged the victor, but at what cost? Only time will tell.

courtesy WWE

In the main even of the night, the men’s Royal Rumble was filled with so many stars some were calling this year’s Royal Rumble the most star-studded rumble of all-time. With participants like CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, and even John Cena, I don’t think anyone saw the potential winner being Jey Uso.

Maybe they wanted to see the Tribal Chief go on to WrestleMania and reclaim the world championship. Maybe fans wanted to see CM Punk finally accomplish his goal of main eventing the Showcase of the Immortals. There were undoubtedly fans in attendance who wanted to see John Cena go on to Mania and try to win his record-breaking 17th world championship.

But in the end, it was “Main Event” Jey Uso, the master of the yeet, who survived the rumble and knocked John Cena off the ring apron to become the 2025 winner.

It was a surprise, that much is true, but if I’m being honest, it was a pleasant one. I watched the Rumble almost expecting John Cena to win because, well, it’s John Cena. So, when Jey Uso got the upper hand, it was shocking but seemed well deserved for him. Entering at number twenty, he battled through every man he faced in the rumble, plus all the battles he’d faced over the last couple of years.

With Jey Uso winning, though, it got me thinking; Is this the biggest upset victory in Royal Rumble history?

There are some Royal Rumble winners that on the outside looking in one might think are an upset. Take the 2003 Rumble.

The final four competitors in that match came down to Kane and Undertaker, along with two fresher faces in the WWE, Batista and Brock Lesnar. While both younger wrestlers weren’t as established as the Brothers of Destruction, they both had built a solid early career. Especially Brock Lesnar, who had already faced Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match. So even though that Rumble came down to Lesnar and Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar won, I don’t think I’d classified that as a huge upset.

What if we go back to a very early Royal Rumble? All the way back in 1993, Yokozuna had only been in the WWF (as it was then called) for a relatively short amount of time.

courtesy WWE

With Yokozuna’s size, Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan referred to the wrestler as an odds-on favorite. But when Macho Man Randy Savage came out as the 30th entrant, the crowd erupted. They were heavily behind Savage as he battled through the rest of the competitors.

When it looked like Savage was going to get the upper hand, he inexplicably went to the top rope, hit an elbow drop on the massive Yokozuna, and then went for a pin. Of course, the only way to win the Rumble is to throw the competitors over the top rope, and when Yokozuna kicked out of Savage’s elbow drop, he did so with so much force that he threw the Macho Man over the top rope, out of the ring, and won the Rumble.

In my eyes that was an upset. Even with Yokozuna’s size, he was so new to WWF. And when Macho Man came out, the fans were totally behind him. It looked like Macho Man was going to win. Until he didn’t.

In 2021, the women’s Royal Rumble was held in the Thunderdome, during the middle of the pandemic. In it, the likes of Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Alexa Bliss, Natalya, and more competed. An up-and-coming superstar by the name of Bianca Belair also entered the Rumble, entering the match at number three.

Bianca had competed multiple times for the NXT Championship before, but had never won it. And though she was making a name for herself on the main roster, there were still powerhouses in the women’s division that dominated the field.

courtesy WWE

So, when Belair lasted nearly an hour in that year’s Royal Rumble, it came down to her, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley. Fans weren’t sure who was going to win. After all, the other women had been WWE champions already and Charlotte Flair had won the Royal Rumble a year prior.

But 2021 was to be the EST of WWE, and Belair finally made a mark for herself. So much so that she was able to capitalize on her Royal Rumble win by winning her first world championship at WrestleMania later that year.

All things considered, Bianca Belair knocking off Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley to win the Rumble could definitely be seen as an upset.

But I think the biggest upset win in Royal Rumble history wasn’t Jey Uso. I think there is an upset victory in the Royal Rumble that is even bigger. And it’s by the wrestling world’s biggest underdog of all time. I’m talking about Rey Mysterio.

As popular as Rey Mysterio has seemingly always been, in the 2006 Royal Rumble, it came down to Mysterio, Randy Orton, and Triple H. Not only did Rey Mysterio enter that Rumble at number two and compete in the match for over an hour. Mysterio had never world the world championship before, so the stakes could arguably be even higher than normal.

Orton and Triple H already had a well-established relationship, having been members of Evolution. Both had championship reigns. And they decided to team up to take out Rey. But, somehow, Rey eliminated Triple from the match, who himself entered at number one.

courtesy WWE

As if the odds weren’t already against him, Triple H pulled Mysterio out of the ring and slammed the masked wrestler into the steel steps. When he threw Mysterio back in the ring, it should’ve been easy pickings for Orton. But somehow, someway, Mysterio countered Orton’s move to throw him out of the ring, and instead delivered a hurricarana to Orton, sending the third-generation superstar out, and Rey Mysterio won the rumble. Mysterio would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship later that year at WrestleMania.

Was it surprising to see Jey Uso win the Royal Rumble? Yes. Could it even be called an upset? I’d agree with that too. But I don’t think it’s the biggest upset in history.

There are some online detractors out there that say Jey Uso doesn’t deserve to main event WrestleMania. To that I say Main Event is in Jey Uso’s name. Ever since breaking away from his brother and The Bloodline, Jey has been proving people wrong. At WrestleMania 41, it’s just another chance for Main Event Yeeter to prove them wrong again.

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