Wrestling legend defends WWE's decision for Jey Uso despite criticism (Exclusive)

Jey Uso is in an interesting spot on RAW, with many unaware of what's next for him. One major storyline could unfold, but not everyone is happy about it. However, on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Time Machine, wrestling legend Bill Apter told host Mac Davis why he doesn't agree with the criticism.

Jey Uso's father Rikishi was critical of the romantic storyline tease with Rhea Ripley on RAW. On his podcast Rikishi Fatu: Off the Top, the WWE Hall of Famer was not happy with WWE's booking of his son. He felt the storyline would negatively affect Jey's marriage and criticized WWE for not putting him in a good storyline.

Jey, in a straightforward response on The Ringer Wrestling Show, said that he simply said, "Dad, just watch the show. Let me work" before urging his father to work on his rap track. He still gave Rikishi a shoutout.

On the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, Bill Apter, in the context of romantic storylines in wrestling (particularly Jey Uso and Rhea Ripley), spoke to host Mac Davis and ex-SmackDown general manager Teddy Long about characters and romances in WWE and likened today's wrestling to a TV show or movie where you know the main actor is married to somebody in real life but has on-screen romances with other people:

"Keep in mind, before the internet and all that, when these scenarios happened, people weren't sure of the line between fantasy and reality at all. But now, everybody screams out that this is the WWE. They all scream out that these are the characters that they're playing. So you got to look at it, not like an old-school wrestling fan. Like it's a movie and one of your favorite movie stars is married to someone but he's screwing around with someone on the screen." (4:32-5:11)

Teddy Long followed this up by stating that it was "World Wrestling Entertainment", emphasizing the "Entertainment" aspect of things. Apter continued, saying:

"It's a different business. It's not the wrestling we all grew up in. It used to be you protect it and people used to say 'Is wrestling planned?', no absolutely not. But now if you tell somebody that they think you're an idiot." (5:27-5:43)

You can watch the full video below.

Rikishi was also unhappy with Jey Uso losing at Money in the Bank 2024

Jey Uso also fell short in his attempt to become Mr. Money in the Bank. There were some fans who felt it was wasted on Drew McIntyre as his win was only used as a way to fuel the CM Punk storyline.

On his Rikishi Fatu: Off the Top Rope podcast following Money in the Bank, the WWE Hall of Famer was upset that his son wasn't given the briefcase. He didn't ask for him to get a free pass but believes that Jey Uso has made a case for a big main event push:

“That kind of hits a nerve with me. I’m not asking or saying to give this kid a free pass because who he is and where he comes from. But I mean, again, I’m gonna go back to the numbers. The numbers don’t lie with Yeet. The merchandise that the Yeet Man has done so much for the company. The Yeet Man, he doesn’t have a bad track record. The Yeet Man is not a liability. The Yeet Man shows up to work and does what he does." (17:33 - 18:13

Perhaps Jey Uso will have his time. However, on the first RAW of August 2024, he teased pursuing the Tag Team Championship with Sami Zayn.

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