Original Frontrunners to Win 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble Match Revealed in WWE Unreal Series

The WWE Unreal series on Netflix has exposed the original creative direction for the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble match—and it wasn’t Jey Uso at the top of the list. Backstage footage showed that CM Punk and John Cena were the two names most seriously considered to win the match before WWE made a dramatic pivot to Jey.

During a creative meeting captured in the docuseries, Paul “Triple H” Levesque asked the room who should win the Rumble. The immediate responses? Cena and Punk. One voice laid out the case for Cena based on his retirement arc.

“If the two options are Cena and Punk, I’d say Cena because this is his final year. I feel like he should play the hits. It’s more of a classic moment in time. ‘Hey, I remember John Cena’s last year, he won the Royal Rumbles.’ That feels like to me, whereas I feel Punk could do Chamber.”

Despite those pitches, Jey Uso got the nod. Michael Hayes, speaking on the sudden shift, said WWE had to rethink the playbook once Jey started gaining real fan traction.

“I think in the case of Jey Uso, when somebody catches fire, they just catch fire. Sometimes you have to alternate all your plans. Who do we have on our roster that’s hot, that hopefully is maybe new and fresh? All of a sudden, Jey Uso is checking all those boxes. Then you start and wonder, is that individual up to the task?”

The footage confirms that Jey Uso wasn’t WWE’s original choice—but he became undeniable as his stock surged with the fans. What was originally set up to be a legacy win for Cena or a major moment for Punk ultimately became a breakthrough for one of WWE’s most unexpectedly red-hot stars.

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