2025 has been quite the year for Jey Uso. He won the 2025 Royal Rumble and picked up the WWE World Heavyweight Championship along the way. But as this was happening, fans were loudly unhappy with how he was and remains central to so much going on within the promotion. Social media metrics and merchandise sales aside, fans were not willing to accept him as the top guy. That was especially clear and it is time that WWE used that to inspire a full heel turn of Jey Uso.
There was a time when Jey Uso was one of the hottest acts in professional wrestling. As the COVID-19 global pandemic raged and Jimmy Uso dealt with injury, Jey turned that moment into a career-defining change that saw him become “Main Event.” His feud with Roman Reigns put him on the path that led to this massive 2025. He showed a range of character that made him the one fans wanted to see overcome Reigns for much of the Bloodline arc. Through the ups and downs, that character development carried Jey Uso and showed how great storylines in wrestling can truly change a career.
Then all of that crashed to a halt when Jey became a meme of himself, all based around that bland four-letter word. As 2025 comes to a close, there isn’t enough “YEET” momentum left to carry Jey back into the position of being the top fan favorite. Even though WWE focuses on cheering fans in arenas and merchandise sales, there’s still a growing number of people who are ready to see something else. That something else should be a character change that can see him become that main event performer again.
Roman Reigns is the top babyface in the WWE. He doesn’t need to hold either of the promotion’s top two titles. There’s no telling if and when he’ll get back to being a champion, but imagine if he has to get through a heel version of Jey Uso before getting back to that point and after. It would be interesting to see Jey Uso take all the “lessons” learned from his time in The Bloodline and turn them on Reigns. He could get back to that character development that made him feel so special during the ThunderDome days. He needs that so much and it seems like the more WWE attempts to force him as the main event attraction on Monday Night Raw, the more some loud fans turn away. This character shift could go a long way in changing that if pulled off correctly.
Effective storytelling can go a long way in professional wrestling and sports entertainment. “Hangman” Adam Page just went through an amazing character arc, one of the best in wrestling. WWE could do something similar with Jey Uso, and the story would need to include a major heel turn.