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New York Post
Jey Uso feels stuck in WWE no man’s land after Rhea Ripley flirtations, Sami Zayn team-up
By Joseph Staszewski,
2 days ago
The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
It’s time to have a serious conversation about Jey Uso.
Before Money in the Bank, I wrote the event felt like a make-or-break moment for him. Having not secured the briefcase, Uso feels even further from his first singles championship in WWE than he did at any point during his run.
Uso is now doing entertaining comedy as the potential fourth wheel in the Rhea Ripley-Dominik Mysterio-Liv Morgan love triangle and dodging the Wyatt Sicks after delivering movie-level storytelling with The Bloodline.
Yes, it’s a continuation of Uso and Ripley’s past on-screen flirtations, but I wish he was doing it from a stronger position. It possibly could have been cooled after one week for now with Ripley and Mysterio seemly back on the same page.
Part of the mission behind The Bloodline story was for Roman Reigns to elevate the Usos — especially “Main Event” Jey — into singles stars.
Jey Uso WWE
While there is no doubt about Uso’s popularity and good favor with the audience, it’s only gotten him to the upper-mid-card/main-event border. Part of the reported reason Reigns beat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 was to give Uso time to become a top-tier singles star. That’s happened to an extent, but has WWE truly taken advantage?
Over the past two years, Uso has had just three singles matches at premium live events, and his only win was against his brother Jimmy in possibly the worst match of WrestleMania 40 weekend.
Over the past year, he’s lost two matches for the World Heavyweight championship, one for the Undisputed WWE Universal championship, one for the Intercontinental championship and a King of the Ring semifinals loss to Gunther.
All of WWE’s quick paths to world championships have passed for the year, and the singles title pictures all seem set for a while.
Rhodes likely isn’t losing the Undisputed WWE championship until at least next year. Gunther, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre all seem to be in the World Heavyweight title picture for the foreseeable future, and it’s hard to see Jey turning heel to beat former friend Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental championship. Maybe his one path is eventually beating Bron Breakker for the IC title down the road. There is always the Speed championship.
Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio WWE
Triple H is big on saying it’s just not a wrestler’s time yet when popular ones don’t reach the heights fans want quickly. L.A. Knight at SummerSlam may soon be an example of patience paying off — though he failed way less in title opportunities.
It leaves the question of what’s holding Uso back.
Outside of his Intercontinental championship clash with Gunther, Uso isn’t exactly putting on five-star classics, but that hasn’t stopped wrestlers as over as he is right now from claiming gold, especially at the mid-card level.
There are bigger names and maybe better workers in front of him now, but I’m sure some fans would make the case they’d rather have Uso than Priest as the World Heavyweight champion.
Maybe it’s just a being a victim of The Bloodline story itself. With Reigns set to return soon and him needing to get the old band back together, maybe WWE doesn’t want to tie up of one its championships. It’s why having Uso win Money in the Bank made so much more sense than the terrible McIntyre cash-in because you could have saved Uso winning for months and the right moment.
Jey Uso and Sami Zayn WWE
Instead, he’s left as a bit player in The Judgment Day story and likely to get folded right back into The Bloodline angle again with only a tag team championship with Rhodes to his credit. Could he be heading down that feel-good road against old friend Zayn after they beat the World tag team champions Finn Balor and JD McDonagh on Raw?
That doesn’t seem worth all the effort WWE and Reigns put into establishing “Main Event” Jey Uso.
Match made in heaven
If we have learned one thing about Will Ospreay and MJF, they don’t miss in the big moments and matches. What we got for 59 minutes and 58 seconds to open the 250th Dynamite was a perfect blend of both men’s styles that showed both can do what the other does best. MJF, whose style is ’80-’90s WWE with some old territories stuff mixed in, was able to go through some fast-past counter sequences perfectly, and Ospreay — the quintessential modern wrestler — was able to slow the match down with methodical precision and storytelling.
Will Ospreay (r.) and MJF battle for the AEW International championship. Lee South/AEW
After everything we got, it feels like there is so much more to explore between these two, who have the potential to be the singles version of FTR and Young Bucks. MJF clocked Ospreay with the Dynamite Diamond ring to take his International championship, which sets up a redemption story for Ospreay at Wembley Stadium and All In.
Stall tactics
There are times under Triple H when it feels like WWE’s creative is just treading water and Friday’s Smackdown was exactly that, especially with the Rhodes‐Bloodline story. It was as if Rhodes hadn’t learned anything battling the faction for two years — thinking that two-on-four with Randy Orton by his side two weeks ago and Kevin Owens last week was going to be enough. Once fine, but not twice.
Both times, they were decimated by Solo Sikoa’s crew with his two allies now potentially off the grid to help him at SummerSlam. It makes Rhodes look like every other clueless babyface champion while giving the audience repetitive show closings. For now, we will call it a concerning blip because maybe it leads to Reigns returning and helping Rhodes retain because Sikoa overstepped by so far.
The 10 Count
The build for Blood & Guts between The Elite and the most random Team AEW feels lukewarm, at best, outside of the individual angles of Darby Allin-Jack Perry and ‘Hangman” Adam Page-Swerve Strickland. Kazuchika Okada felt hotter watching Mercedes Moné do her CEO dance than this story. That’s because nothing is specifically at stake for AEW’s most violent match. The Elite could seize more control by turning AEW aside for the second time.
That better not be it. Liv Morgan finally displayed some revealing on-screen sexuality in some short jeans shorts only to be emphatically pushed away by Dominik Mysterio after weeks of flirting. It felt very anti-climatic even if it seemed like what he’s been wanting to say to Morgan, who left in tears. Either it unleashes fury in Morgan or there is another twist coming at SummerSlam.
Slammiversary was the exact level of show TNA needed with probably new eyes on it thanks to the NXT partnership. Mustafa Ali and Speedball Mike Bailey put on a banger. It had an emotional and fun ending that saw Earl Hebner refusing to perform another Montreal Screwjob as Bailey won the title to end Ali’s unbeaten streak. If WWE fans hadn’t been following A.J. Francis and Ash By Elegance since their departures, they got to see them still shine in defeat in title matches as well as see Nic Nemeth win the world championship.
Roxanne Perez continues to show how much she’s come into her own as her promos have been so natural, believable and confident. It feels similar to the growth Bayley had when she was left in NXT to lead the division. Perez mentioning Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer for the first time on NXT, as well as Charlotte Flair, certainly was interesting for the future of her NXT women’s championship.
Mariah May as “Timeless” Toni Storm Lee South/AEW
Mariah May completed her character’s transformation through the eras of Toni Storm from understudy to showing she is ready for the starring role, playing the AEW women’s champion’s “Timeless” character perfectly. Her promo came off cold and heartless as she looks to usurp Storm following one of the best and most bloody female turns ever two weeks ago. I do wish we got a more meaningful why, however.
I’m having a hard time seeing where all the pieces of this Wyatt Sicks-Alpha Academy storyline are going. Are we building to Uncle Howdy vs. Gable, Otis vs. Gable or both? Are the Wyatts standing up to Gable so Otis doesn’t have to?
Joe Hendry feels like an actual member of the NXT roster with all his screen time. I’m curious if the payoff is anything short of an NXT championship opportunity or him drawing one of the brand’s big names to TNA for a match. Hendry failing to win the TNA world championship at Slammiversary came with the savage booking of Josh Alexander turning heel on him and eliminating Hendry — who had just pinned the reigning champ, Moose.
Too many of AEW’s best promos happen on social media, and Thunder Rosa’s after her third loss — this time with interference from Taya Valkyrie — to Deonna Purrazzo on Collision, projected so much distress and frustration that I’m curious if he leads to a real change in her character.
The feeling from Triple H after Money in the Bank was Andrade had a star‐making performance. WWE at least backed the feeling with a convincing win for him over Carmelo Hayes, but is it the start of an actual push for the Speed champion?
If Bobby Lashley is truly done with WWE, as is being reported, companies should be lining up to bring him in. There is still some untapped short-term potential there. He’d bring a very different look and style to AEW if they embrace it unlike with Wardlow, Lance Archer, Luchasaurus.
— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) July 21, 2024 Wrestler of the Week
Nic Nemeth, TNA
The former WWE star took his long-awaited spot at the top of TNA by winning their world championship in a six‐way elimination match at Slammiversary. Yes, Nemeth won the NXT championship in 2022 and is currently AAA Mega champion, but this felt like the first time a company was truly making him its quarterback since his world heavyweight championship win with WWE in 2013. Let’s see what Nemeth does with it now and if it sparks any NXT crossover matches.
Social Media Post of the Week
Spotlight Junkie Seth Rollins stay out of a hot feud challenge
Matthew and Nicholas Jackson, Jack Perry, “Hangman” Adam Page and Kazuchika Okada (The Elite) vs. Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin, Mark Briscoe, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens (Team AEW) in Blood & Guts (Wednesday, 8 p.m., TBS)
The Elite vs. AEW story really needs some saving, and if it doesn’t happen here in this WarGames-style match, it may never. AEW needs to play this perfectly to light a fire under the main story and not just the individual feuds going on inside of it. The outcome could either be transformative if The Elite win and garner true on-screen control of AEW, or it’s going to be business as usual, which hasn’t been at the level it needs to be.
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