Rikishi expects the best performance yet from his son, Jey Uso, against Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 41.
Jey Uso is the winner of the 2025 Royal Rumble, and as a result, he got to choose the champion he would challenge in one of the main event matches at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas this coming April. Uso chose to stay on WWE Raw and challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. He's already had several cracks at "The Ring General" during Gunther's runs as both World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Intercontinental Champion, and every time, he's come up short.
During the most recent episode of his Off The Top podcast, Rikishi said his son made the right choice and spoke about Jey Uso's rise stemming from more than just his popular catchphrase, "YEET."
"I felt Jey made the right decision. There's history between him and Gunther. After not getting the job done in two opportunities, this means something now. You're getting the third time to crack at this thing here, but the only difference is that it's on the biggest stage of them all, right? So, I don't see anything else but the best performance ever from Jey going into WrestleMania," he said. "I mean, we've seen a lot of great matches from Jey with his brother, Jimmy, tag teaming, and that history. We really kind of opened our eyes when, during the pandemic, you had this kid here with him and Roman, when they had their little dance-off together, going as a singles, that was the first time Jey was introduced to being a singles competitor, due to his brother being out on an injury.
"It was there that I saw the skills of Jey to be able to adapt in front of a crowd that's not there, but on the TV screen," he continued. "Can you imagine how hard that is to perform during a pandemic in an arena full of TV screens and to be able to carry the weight of the company during that time, right? Those that perform day in and day out every week, knowing that there was COVID out there, but they went and put their bodies on the line, jeopardized their family [by] being out there, [they could] possibly catch something, take it home to their kids. But no, that didn't happen. They went out there and did what they were supposed to do to be able to entertain and perform for the world during these times, these dangerous times... So my point is this: Jey was prepped up all the way. This just didn't happen because of 'YEET.' This happened because they saw a kid who was loyal, who put in the work, and who you hardly ever see or hear anything negative about this kid. His drive was to be able to, 'Okay, I gotta prove something.' To himself, not to the family, not to the company, anyway, but to himself as a pro wrestler. 'Can I do it, step out of the shadows of my brother, and be able to get out there, perform, and make a name for myself?'"
Rikishi would further elaborate that his son electrifies crowds on a level comparable to The Rock and John Cena and that going into WrestleMania, Gunther and Jey Uso have the opportunity to steal the show if they bring their very best.
"Congratulations to Gunther. I was wrong about Gunther earlier. I'mma man up because I didn't see Gunther as being the main player. But obviously, there's things that I don't see because I'm not on the road with them. I don't see the work ethic of this guy. I don't see the professionalism of this guy. I'm a fan of Gunther. I see his work. He's a real good heel. So, I think that if Jey and Gunther bring their A-game, which I know they will -- Gunther has to feel just as excited as Jey is because, if I'm not mistaken, this is Gunther's first WrestleMania main event. So this means just as [much] to Gunther [as] it does to Jey, but on the flip side, for both sides of the family, we all rooting for them, too, to get out there and steal the show."
In the past, Rikishi has praised Roman Reigns for elevating his family to this level. You can read those comments here.
Check out the full card for WrestleMania 41 here.
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