WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi is once again voicing his frustrations over the creative direction of his son, Jey Uso. Despite Uso currently holding the World Heavyweight Championship, Rikishi isn’t thrilled with how things are playing out.
On the latest episode of his “Off The Top Rope” podcast, Rikishi reacted in real time to the news that Jey would be teaming with Cody Rhodes to face John Cena and Logan Paul at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. He said,
“Bro, why? Why? I mean, Jey is a World Heavyweight Champion. He should be standing on his own. They really need to fire creative over there. Just book me so I can book my son’s matches, man. You know what I mean?”
Rikishi also took issue with the way Jey’s storyline with Logan Paul has been handled. While he expressed admiration for Paul’s ability to draw heat and entertain, he felt WWE missed a bigger opportunity by rushing the outcome. He said,
“Like I said before, I like Logan. He’s talented and knows how to get heat. But damn, I wouldn’t have had Jey beat him right away. They should’ve built it up to something bigger—like a cage match or some kind of gimmick match. Now that he’s beaten Paul, what’s next? A tag match? Alright…”
Looking ahead to Jey’s upcoming title defense against GUNTHER on the June 9 edition of WWE RAW, Rikishi again voiced concerns about the booking. He believes the match lacks urgency and should feature a stipulation to elevate its importance. He stated,
“We’re just gonna have GUNTHER hang around until the match? If I was GUNTHER, I’d want Jey now. This should’ve been a gimmick match — something big like a double cage. That brings excitement. If Jey wins, it takes him to another level. But if GUNTHER loses, where does he go next? Honestly, it took Jey three tries to beat GUNTHER, so maybe it’s only fair GUNTHER gets three shots too. Or not. Who knows. But still, it all goes back to whoever’s writing this stuff.”
The WWE ticket website lists WWE NXT Great American Bash for July 12th with a 2:30 PM EST start time, indicating the live broadcast is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM EST. WWE typically posts start times 30 minutes before the show goes live to ensure fans are seated ahead of time.
Currently advertised for the event are Trick Williams, Oba Femi, Stephanie Vaquer, and Sol Ruca, though the card is subject to change and no official matches have been announced yet.
Notably, AEW All In is also set for July 12th with the same 3:00 PM EST start time, setting up a direct scheduling conflict between WWE and AEW.
NXT Great American Bash is the first of three WWE events taking place in Atlanta, Georgia over the weekend. WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event will follow on Saturday evening, and WWE Evolution 2 is scheduled for July 13th.
(h/t – Fightful)
