WWE: Will We Ever See Main Event Jey Uso Again?

We have witnessed the end of a strange era of professional wrestling. With things returning to normal, let’s reflect on one highlight of the pandemic.

At the beginning of 2020, Jimmy and Jey Uso were still going strong as top challengers for the WWE Tag Team Championships. At the first-ever WrestleMania without fans, Jimmy Uso took place in a Triple Threat Ladder match against John Morrison and Kofi Kingston. On a strange occasion where the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships were on the line, John Morrison won the match and retained the titles for himself and his partner, The Miz.

Unfortunately, Jimmy Uso sustained a knee injury during the match at WrestleMania. The injury would proceed to put him out of action for over a year. While Jimmy Uso was put out of action for so long, fans were wondering what was going to happen to his twin brother Jey. He had been putting on tremendous matches for years alongside his brother. However, nobody had seen what Jey was capable of doing on his own.

And honestly, many people were doubting that Jey was going to make it on his own. Jey barely ever showed up on television. He competed in a ten-man battle royal in May of 2020 and then he disappeared from television completely. While The Uso’s were gone from television, their cousin Roman Reigns had returned to forcefully take back the Universal Championship. The Roman Reigns that returned at SummerSlam 2020 was nothing like the Roman we had seen in the past.

This Roman Reigns is a vicious, ruthless, tribal chief on a mission. Like the WWE’s own Dominic Torretto, Roman Reigns became all about doing what was best for his family. However, that is when Jey Uso returned in September to change everybody’s mind about what Jey Uso was capable of. Jey Uso returned to take the place of an injured Big E in a Fatal Four-Way match to name a Number One Contender for Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship.

Going into the match, Jey Uso was the clear underdog in a match that included Matt Riddle, King Corbin, and Sheamus, three solidified singles stars. However, Jey Uso shocked everybody by pinning Matt Riddle and winning the match. In the process of guaranteeing his first-ever singles championship opportunity, a Universal Championship opportunity, at that. Although it would be against the new, ruthless version of Roman Reigns.

However, I doubt anybody could have expected what would come out of this storyline. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso pushed themselves past their own limits in the process of pushing the other to that exact level. Looking back at this nearly a year later, I believe that both men needed this feud as much as the other. As dominant and feared as “The Tribal Chief” has become, Roman molded this new character around what he did to his own flesh and blood.

While he was going to war with his cousin, Jey Uso was also breaking out of the mold of a tag team superstar. For the first time in his career, Jey Uso was on his own. And to the surprise of many people, Jey didn’t just survive on his own, he began to thrive on his own. Going against Roman Reigns, Jey Uso arguably became the most popular he has ever been. The idea of Main Event Jey Uso became a reality.

He was holding his own against the top guys in the company like his cousin, Roman Reigns, and Daniel Bryan. Although, Jey eventually turned heel and fell in line with Roman in the aftermath of their storyline. Becoming Roman’s “Right Hand Man,” Jey continued to be used in singles matches, but he wasn’t as successful in the win column. Jey went through a period of time where he became the whipping boy of Reigns and the bait that he was always willing to toss in his path.

Although, Jey Uso got the biggest payoff of this run at the most recent WrestleMania, well technically the SmackDown before the show. Jey Uso got his moment of glory when he would win the annual Andre The Giant battle royal. Standing beside the trophy of Andre The Giant, Jey Uso looked like a true star. However, after a year of being on his own, Jey Uso was reunited by the returning brother Jimmy Uso.

Since then, the two twin brothers look like they haven’t missed a step even after such a long period of time. It only took a little bit of convincing to get Jimmy to fall in line with Roman as well. Now, Jimmy and Jey Uso have taken back their place on the top of the tag team division. They defeated Rey and Dominic Mysterio in order to become the SmackDown Tag Team Champions. They now stand with the Universal Champion Roman Reigns as a dominant family unit.

While I am happy for The Uso’s to be back together and champions again, I am left with a bit of remorse. We may have seen the end of Main Event Jey Uso inside that battle royal. He may have gotten his biggest singles victory in his final match as a full-time singles star.  When I look back on Jey’s time on his own, he showed many instances where he proved he could get over organically with the fans.

When he was first gaining steam and facing against Roman, he almost had some people fooled that he was going to pull off the victory. There were also many people that were even hoping that Jey would eventually break away from Roman again and face him once more for the Universal Championship. For the first time in his career, he was the pick of many to actually win the Royal Rumble match.

If the WWE would have decided to go a different route with Jey Uso, I believe that he would have been able to be a successful singles star. Unfortunately, with Jimmy back in the picture and by his side, Jey may never be seen in the singles division again. This would be a true loss because Jey was really only getting started as a solo star. Even if he wasn’t “Main Event Jey Uso,” he would be a great choice for Intercontinental or United States Champion Jey Uso.

Unless The Uso’s are broken up in a future WWE draft, it could be a long time until we see solo Jey Uso again. That is if we are ever able to see him have a single run again. I, for one, would love to see Jey Uso get another shot at proving himself and truly becoming Main Event Jey Uso.