When the Royal Rumble came down to Jey Uso versus John Cena for a chance to main event WrestleMania 41, it felt like a chance for “The Face That Runs the Place” to punch his ticket to the “Showcase of the Immortals” and take a shot at his record-breaking 17th World Championship.
On paper, it makes sense, right? While some fans would have scoffed at Cena eliminating Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins due to his, well, lack of regular in-ring reps, when that trio was quickly taken out of action, and Cena put in work to flip Logan Paul out of the ring, it felt like everything lined up perfectly… at least until it didn't.
That's right, after going full-on high-risk, high-reward on the ring apron, Cena ended up putting two feet on the ground first, with Uso celebrating his win in seeming disbelief.
Did WWE make the correct decision with the booking call? It's hard to say, as fans don't really know how things will shake out, but what is undeniable is that more than a few fans online weren't particularly pleased with how the match shook out, as they either really want to see Cena get that WrestleMania main event or really don't want to see Uso earn that spot for one reason or another.
Fans were mostly upset to see Jey Uso's Rumble win over John Cena
Discussing the decision to have Cena put Uso over in the Royal Rumble immediately after the match, fans of “The Champ” admitted that they were hurt watching him come up short in the big event, with some offering to literally catch him and keep his WrestleMania 41 dreams alive.
Me trying to catch @JohnCena before he fell off the ring #ROYALRUMBLE pic.twitter.com/tQaWiiWWuk
— fr△nk (@frnkwvz) February 2, 2025
Others, like DraftKings, called out WWE for doing Cena dirty, noting that he deserved better than losing to Uso in his final Royal Rumble.
Article Continues BelowJohn Cena deserved better 🥲 pic.twitter.com/QEmLP1YPPw
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) February 2, 2025
After being largely untouchable during his initial run as the CCO of WWE, some fans openly admitted that they are losing faith in Triple H's bookings, with some using his old television material to really rub that moment in.
Jey Uso royal rumble winner over Punk and cena pic.twitter.com/Z0npBrA8Aa
— kyle (@knicks_tape99) February 2, 2025
Others preferred to use clips from another member of Evolution, Dave Bautista, who questioned the state of the business if Uso is main eventing WrestleMania, as he has come up short repeatedly in his pursuit of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship versus Gunther.
JEY USO MAIN EVENTING FOR THE WWE TITLE AT WM pic.twitter.com/15CgH6Ih5f
— Vandal (@BEEHIGHB) February 2, 2025
Will Uso dethrone Gunther at WrestleMania 41? Yeah, that feels incredibly likely. Why? Because you don't win the Royal Rumble for another rematch only to come up short for the second time in the same calendar year. Uso is going to be World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 41, and these next few months will likely serve as a preview of what that will look like in April.