'Yeet!': The unexpected and highly unlikely rise of WWE's Jey Uso

JEY USO IS not expected to beryllium here.

Not due to the fact that the 2025 Royal Rumble winner doesn't merit to beryllium successful the World Heavyweight Championship lucifer vs. Gunther astatine WrestleMania 41. It's due to the fact that helium ne'er wanted to beryllium here.

Well, helium ne'er wanted to bash it alone.

Unlike his contemporaries, Jey Uso ne'er dreamed of lasting gangly by himself astatine WrestleMania arsenic a champion. It was ever expected to beryllium alongside his duplicate member and tag squad partner, Jimmy. Aside from the 9 minutes betwixt their births connected Aug. 22, 1985, Jey and Jimmy Uso person fundamentally done everything together. They person accomplished everything a tag squad could privation successful WWE, including being the longest-reigning tag squad champions, performing successful the archetypal tag squad main lawsuit successful WrestleMania past astatine WrestleMania 39, and going against each different astatine WrestleMania XL. The thought of doing thing each unsocial had ne'er erstwhile crossed his mind.

"To beryllium honest, I ne'er did thing without my brother," Jey told ESPN. "Every azygous large checkpoint of our lives, bro. We did everything together. From playing football, going to assemblage and having regular jobs to our existent jobs astatine WWE. We adjacent had our kids astatine the aforesaid time."

As a lad of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, Jay Uso's purview of pro wrestling has ever been a household affair. On the uncommon occasions helium wasn't moving with his brother, helium was surrounded by members of the renowned Anoa'i family, which includes cousins Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu, younger member Solo Sikoa, and, of course, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

At WrestleMania 41 successful Las Vegas, Jey Uso volition beryllium successful a relation that cipher could person seen coming a decennary agone erstwhile helium was successful tag squad purgatory, relegated to WrestleMania preshows astatine champion and struggling to get tv clip astatine worst. But aft shocking the satellite and eliminating favourite John Cena to triumph astatine Royal Rumble successful February, he's earned a accidental to situation for the World Heavyweight Championship and volition participate WrestleMania arsenic 1 of the biggest stars connected the roster.

"I deliberation it would beryllium 1 of the astir fan-friendly and affectional victories successful the past of this industry," WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman said of the anticipation that Jey could instrumentality location the World Heavyweight Championship, "because the assemblage has lived done the turmoil of Jey Uso's career."

BEFORE THE MULLET with the precocious slice haircut, the midriff tops with "Yeet" scribed crossed the front, the achromatic Nike Air Force Ones, the sunglasses and the entrance, Jimmy and Jey debuted arsenic The Usos connected WWE Monday Night Raw connected May 24, 2010, with small flair.

They spent the adjacent 8 years clawing their mode to the apical of the division. They won tag squad golden connected respective occasions, but they weren't seen arsenic a precedence connected the roster, reflected by their relegation to preshow connected WWE's biggest lawsuit of the twelvemonth until WrestleMania 34 successful 2018.

"They accidental the travel is conscionable arsenic important arsenic the destination, right?" Jimmy Uso said with a benignant of tongue-in-cheek delivery. "It was a long-ass journey, and it was decidedly a grind. ... But erstwhile you get that damn opportunity, you gotta tally with it, bro."

The Usos reinvented themselves by conscionable being themselves, ditching look overgarment and the Siva Tau entranceway successful favour of a much hip-hop aesthetic. Fans began embracing the Usos, and they recovered themselves moving up successful the pecking bid arsenic a tag team.

"I deliberation we each believed successful Jey and Jimmy years ago, agelong earlier either 1 of them realized they had a aboriginal isolated from each other," Heyman said.

A 30-year seasoned of the industry, Heyman realized Jey was peculiar erstwhile Rikishi --then known arsenic Junior Fatu -- brought his sons to a WCW tv taping successful July 1989. The 4-year-olds executed wrestling moves with ease, and Heyman was definite helium would spot them again successful the industry. By the clip Heyman returned to WWE successful 2012 and reconnected with the twins arsenic adults, helium knew determination was thing near to unlock.

"They were indisputably the champion tag squad successful the world. It was excessively casual for them," Heyman said. "So anytime the proposition was thrown retired determination that they could some beryllium azygous stars, they would look astatine everyone similar we were brainsick due to the fact that however could you interruption up the champion tag squad successful the world? Neither 1 of them genuinely understood conscionable however overmuch container bureau [appeal] they had to connection until they were enactment successful a presumption wherever they had nary prime but to self-analyze and recognize the singles greatness that lives wrong each of them."

And past everything changed.

Jey Uso's ascent to stardom, during which helium added the moniker "Main Event," began erstwhile the satellite unopen down due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Usos were scheduled for a triple-threat tag lucifer against The New Day and defending champions John Morrison and The Miz. However, it was reported that The Miz was pulled from the lucifer owed to illness, turning it into a uncommon triple menace successful which lone 1 of the Uso twins could participate.

"I thought our lucifer would get canceled, but they conscionable ended up making it a triple-threat singles match," Jimmy recalled. It was the archetypal clip helium and his member wouldn't enactment WrestleMania together. "We did paper, rock, scissors to spot who would extremity up moving the match. I won ... and past I injured my knee."

An ACL wounded sidelined Jimmy and forced Jey to spell astatine it unsocial for the archetypal clip successful his career.

Without Jimmy by his side, Jey was thrust into a storyline with his relative Roman Reigns, which ended up laying the instauration for The Bloodline communicative that dominated WWE tv implicit the adjacent 4 years. Jey would situation Reigns connected 2 occasions for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship successful emotional, heartfelt matches that saw the duplicate statesman to travel into his ain arsenic a singles star.

"That was the archetypal clip I got to beryllium a instrumentality of my brother," Jimmy said. "I had to beryllium my ass inactive for erstwhile and crook disconnected the broadside of my encephalon that's successful the ring. And I was like, 'To hellhole with this, I'm going to beryllium a fan.'"

Jimmy returned from wounded and rejoined his member successful The Bloodline successful Spring 2021. By then, Jey had undergone a full-blown reinvention and was nary longer seen arsenic 1 of the Uso twins. Under the tutelage of Reigns and Heyman, 1 of the top minds successful the business, Jey blossomed into a prima successful his ain right.

"Everything astir The Bloodline was a collaborative effort, with the goals of making each idiosyncratic basal retired connected their ain with their unsocial personality," Heyman said. "Fans present cognize the quality betwixt Jey and Jimmy. It took a agelong clip to specify them, but erstwhile their property started shining connected television, the assemblage understood the quality betwixt the 2 Uso brothers."

Whenever he's asked astir his brother, Jimmy beams a grin and uses the words "we" alternatively of "he" oregon "I."

"I'm close determination with him," helium said. "We're retired present surviving the dream. The archetypal tag squad to main lawsuit WrestleMania. They told america that wasn't possible. Then we faced each different astatine WrestleMania. That's crazy. Now you're talking astir the cherry connected apical for my brother? Come on, man. Things similar this don't hap successful a twin's world.

"I'll archer you 1 thing: If I didn't get hurt, I don't deliberation we would person had the accidental to divided and go Jimmy and Jey. It was a blessing successful disguise."

THE BEST WAY to papers the maturation of a pro wrestler is done the lens of a video game, arsenic unusual arsenic that whitethorn sound.

Jey Uso debuted successful WWE 2K13 arsenic a downloadable quality aft the game's merchandise with an wide standing of 81, tied arsenic the lowest-rated antheral wrestler successful the game. In WWE 2K25, Jey's wide standing of 90 is tied for eighth amongst progressive wrestlers, down the likes of Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and CM Punk. It is easy recognized arsenic 1 of the biggest leaps for a quality successful the franchise.

"Jey Uso's emergence wrong the institution and successful our crippled conscionable dilatory started ticking up similar the Nasdaq successful the champion mode possible," WWE 2K gameplay shaper Bryan Williams told ESPN. "Him and his member were fundamentally the aforesaid quality exemplary successful the crippled for years -- from ratings to determination sets. But during The Bloodline Era, we needed to make a wholly antithetic exemplary for an enactment who was fundamentally a brand-new performer successful the franchise."

Williams has been portion of the WWE 2K franchise's improvement squad since 2005 and has had a dense manus successful the ratings and quality design. As a lifelong pro wrestling fan, Williams takes large pridefulness successful Jey Uso's quality development, which includes each facet of his character, including his entrance.

"It's occurrence due to the fact that present I ain't got to make myself and up my stats nary more," said Jey, who astir teared up erstwhile helium landed connected the screen of the peculiar The Bloodline Edition for WWE 2K25 with the remainder of his family.

His maturation successful the video crippled made his improvement to singles wrestler consciousness existent to him. But thing felt arsenic existent arsenic his triumph astatine the Royal Rumble aft losing to Gunther astatine Saturday Night's Main Event the erstwhile week..

The world that helium was tapped to triumph didn't dawn connected him until walkthroughs earlier successful the time erstwhile helium was near successful the country with Logan Paul successful John Cena. Aside from his coworkers successful the ring, cipher knew helium would win.

"I wanted to daze my dad," Jey said of keeping the effect from his family. "He was truthful affectional erstwhile helium saw it due to the fact that helium knows what this spot means for me. He's been astir this concern for truthful agelong that helium thinks thing tin daze him. But that did."

Jey joined The Rock, Roman Reigns and his uncle, the precocious Yokozuna, arsenic the 4th subordinate of the Anoa'i household to triumph the Royal Rumble.

We've seen phenomenal underdog stories culminate astatine WrestleMania before. Rey Mysterio capturing the WWE Championship astatine WrestleMania 22, Daniel Bryan defying the likelihood to go WWE World Heavyweight Champion astatine WrestleMania 30, and Kofi Kingston's affectional thrust to defeating Bryan for the WWE Championship astatine WrestleMania 35.

What separates Jey from those earlier him is that they were viewed arsenic lifelong singles stars waiting for their turn. Jey ne'er asked for a turn, helium earned one.

"I ne'er thought I'd beryllium a apical singles star," said Jey, inactive shaking his caput successful disbelief. "Being the champion tag squad with my member was the fig 1 goal, but present I'm going from the preshow to the main event. It's been an accommodation without my member by my side, and I'm conscionable present feeling OK connected my ain arsenic a singles wrestler."

Though he'll beryllium unsocial against Gunther astatine WrestleMania 41, helium said helium volition clasp the accidental and transportation his household bequest into the ring.

"I perceive the naysayers," Jey said. "They are saying I don't merit this accidental and I can't win, but it took 15 years to get present and present I person 1 changeable aft my fig got called and I'm going to reply the damn telephone ... and past we're going to spell enactment with the full family, Vegas style."