WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi recently weighed in on his son Jey Uso losing the Intercontinental title from last week’s RAW. On the September 23rd episode of WWE RAW, Jey defeated Bron Breakker to claim his first singles title in WWE in 14 years.
Jey’s title reign, however, was short-lived. He managed one defense against Xavier Woods on RAW before losing the title to Breakker last week. In a shocking turn of events, The Bloodline interfered in the match which cost him the title. Despite the brief reign, fans celebrated Jey’s success. However, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi also weighed in, expressing that he believes the title reign ended too soon.
Rikishi on Jey Uso’s loss: ‘I think it was too soon’
Rikishi recently shared his thoughts on Jey Uso’s brief Intercontinental title reign. On his podcast Off the Top, Rikishi expressed that Jey Uso’s title loss happened too soon. He highlighted Jey’s popularity, noting the “Yeet Man” character had generated impressive fan interest and merchandise sales, including custom shirts for each city he visits.
The WWE Hall of Famer stated, “I think it was too soon. If I’m the promoter, I’m only gonna go speak business wise, you know, finally Jey had gotten his flowers with the belt that he so rightfully earned and deserved it. Now we got it on this kid here. He’s well over. Now this character, this Yeet man, is through the roof as far as notoriety. Probably selling the number one hottest merchandise, if not close to OTC, maybe surpassed it.”
Acknowledging Jey Uso’s Yeet man persona, Rikishi elaborated on revenue generation through WWE merchandising. He said, “He’s got merchandise with every city he goes to…from a marketing standpoint, you’re only going to do even more, better, good business if you leave that on this kid. I’m not saying that because he’s my boy…I’m speaking as a promoter now, because at the end of the day, this is what it’s about. It’s about numbers. It’s about revenues.
While fans expected him to go after a rematch, he has now turned his attention to the new Bloodline. Recently, he reconciled with Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns during a taped WWE SmackDown show. This weekend at WWE Crown Jewel 2024, the three original members of the Bloodline will face Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline faction.
