Rikishi Hopes WWE Does ‘The Right Thing’ For Jey Uso

In the latest episode of his Off the Top Rope podcast (via Fightful), Rikishi said that he wanted WWE to push his son Jey Uso more and said he hopes the do ‘the right thing’ for him. While Uso has been on a singles run for some time now, he’s yet to hold anything more than tag gold in spite of his popularity. Here are highlights:

On Jey Uso deserving a push: “It comes from the head of the corporate table. I like to call my son The Yeet Man. This is no favoritism to him or anyone. As a wrestler who has been there, put in work, and you can see the outpouring of love and support from the fans. Whether it be Jey Uso or somebody else. I want to know what this kid has to do. He’s probably the hottest intro when he’s coming out. You talk about fan engagement. We all see it. Yet, when it comes time to give this kid his flowers and ‘let’s do business,’ why wasn’t my son handled with Money in the Bank? Where is the guy who won Money in the Bank? What is he doing now? What business sense does that make for a company that let the most exciting guy, a guy that is not a liability, a guy that shows up and shows out, a guy who does his job. What does it hurt this company to even give this kid a shot? Once the Money in the Bank thing didn’t go through, I thought, let’s see what they do now. Maybe they will give him a shot. Maybe they’ll set him up for the Intercontinental belt. I think he deserves a shot to the World Championship.”

On thinking the writers don’t know what to do with him: “I’m at this point where I want to call my son, ‘Go ahead and take a break. Obviously, the writers don’t know where to put you, or they can write something that is right for the character Jey Uso, The Yeet Man.’ Definitely, WWE is making money off The Yeet Man. The Yeet Man is making money himself. The only difference is, The Yeet Man is working for his money. You see it every week. There is new merchandise of Yeet coming out. The Yeet Man is out doing personal appearances. It’s not because he has to. It’s because that’s the demand of the fans. Of all the characters they picked, they picked The Yeet Man. Make no mistake about it. I am not in favoritism of my son. I’m speaking about what is happening. It could be any other wrestler. What is the case? Why aren’t you lighting this kid up and letting him do his thing? Let’s hope WWE gets it together and does the right thing.”

On Uso possibly going elsewhere: “It’s a concern. At the end of the day, these are our bodies and this is my flesh and blood. My flesh and blood is pounding his body day in and day out. He has a family and comes home aching, his body is hurting. He’ll never sell it because he’s not trained to quit. You sign that dotted line, I’m not talking about that contract, that dotted line for you and yours. That’s bigger than the purpose of WWE. The kid is so good, WWE ain’t the only spot. He could probably go to AEW if he wants to write his own ticket, maybe more than what WWE is making on him. Hopefully, they turn it around and do the right thing by The Yeet Man.”