Rikishi: It 'Hits A Nerve' That Son Jey Uso Didn't Win WWE's Money In The Bank Match

Since breaking out on his own after leaving the Bloodline last summer, Jey Uso has proven to be a successful, and popular, singles star on WWE's "Raw" roster. He's also, however, been unable to capture an elusive first singles title reign, coming up short when challenging for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Those struggles continued at Money in the Bank as well, where he was unable to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase.

While it's unclear how Uso feels about the lack of a major title victory, his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, is a bit disappointed to see his son without a title. That frustration was evident on the latest episode of Rikishi's "Off the Top Rope" podcast, where he lamented WWE picking Drew McIntyre to win Money in the Bank of Uso.

"That kind of hits a nerve with me," Rikishi said. "I'm not asking or saying to give this kid a free pass, because of who he is and where he comes from. But I mean, again, I want to go back to the numbers. The numbers don't lie with 'Yeet.' The merchandise [shows] 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."

Rikishi further cited Uso' success selling merchandise, and WWE using him as the face on the poster of Money in the Bank to promote the show as more evidence that Uso had earned himself a championship run, leaving Rikishi unsure of what else Uso could due to prove himself. He also revealed that, while he had communicated with his son after the Money in the Bank loss, he didn't reveal his feelings to him, though Uso will surely be aware of them now.

"I just texted my boy 'Hey, good match,'" Rikishi said. "Keep working hard.' I didn't want to tell him anything else, because, you know, he's probably feeling it. And I'm damn sure feeling it. And it's like 'Okay, what is it that we got to do to give 'Yeet' a chance to finally, after 17 plus years, going on 18, blood, sweat, and tears?' 

"He gave it to you all, everything, his mind, body and soul. Wouldn't you think after all these years, to finally crown him and make him earn it? Cause [hasn't] he damn sure earned it, [for them to] crown him as an Intercontinental Champion, or whatever other championship belt they've got? I think he deserves it, whether he's my son or not."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Off The Top Rope" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription