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No Denying Jey Uso & The Yeet Movement That Made Him World Heavyweight Champion At WrestleMania 41

Whether you are team 'Yeet' or 'No Yeet', Jey Uso simply was not going to be denied his moment at WrestleMania 41.
Rick Ucchino|
Jey Uso is World Heavyweight Champion
Jey Uso is World Heavyweight Champion | WWE.com

Jey Uso woke up Sunday morning, assuming he ever went to sleep, as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

That's a sentence that many would have read with a satirical undertone just a couple years ago, but between then and now, you'd have to have been willfully obtuse to deny his ascension from Bloodline supporting cast member to the new leading man on Monday Night Raw.

From his awe inspiring arrival, to the sleeper hold that forced Gunther to tap out and sent over 60,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium into a frenzy, Saturday night belonged to Jey Uso. The culmination of a two year journey fueled by the adulation of the WWE Universe.

During the days and weeks that followed his Royal Rumble victory this year, a very vocal minority of online detractors began their campaign to tear down the latest WWE Superstar who dared to break away from this preconceived perception of who a Superstar is and what a World Heavyweight Champion should look and act like.

He can't work. All he does are splashes and super kicks. He's just an entrance and a catch phrase.

While Jey Uso failed to impress some, those in charge of the creative process in WWE knew they were witnessing something special in real time. His ability to resonate with the crowd stretches far beyond any one syllable word or hand gesture.

Call it special, call it magical, call it darn near tangible. What you cannot call it is a run of the mill wrestling shtick that will one day fade into obscurity. The crowd simply loves Jey Uso and there would be no denying them the moment they so desperately craved to experience together at WrestleMania 41.

“They believe in him,” Paul Levesque said during the Post WrestleMania Saturday Press Conference. “There's just this magical connection between him and when he's in that ocean of people that are loving what he does, that becomes undeniable."

WWE's Chief Content Officer couldn't pinpoint an exact moment when the conversations surrounding Jey Uso began to change. His emergence from tag team competitor to main event singles star was a process over time, and one that was not going to be deterred or hindered in anyway.

"As that’s beginning to take place… You just have to not pay attention at all, to not see that happening and say, 'we gotta run down this road 'cause it's real.’”

Uso's evolution isn't exactly unprecedented. WWE Hall of Famers like Stone Cole Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Adam Copeland, and now Triple H himself, all spent time embedding their roots into tag team divisions before breaking out of that mold and being bold enough to capture their first of many World Championships.

In an industry where performers are often type casted or pigeonholed into a certain role, it can be extraordinarily tough to evolve. It can be difficult to even earn the opportunity to prove that you can be something more than what you have been. Especially for someone like Jey Uso, who by his own admission, only has a couple years left in his career.

"My hats off to him for doing it," Levesque said Saturday night. “That's a [professional] to me. That ability to adapt, to change, to put the gas on something when you need to. I saw it tonight with Seth, Punk and Roman, same thing. You get into this three-way thing and it becomes [a competition] of who is going to be a highlight.”

Rollins capped off Saturday night with a special moment of his own when he defeated Roman Reigns and CM Punk in a highly anticipated and hyped up triple threat match that somehow exceeded expectations.

Each man laid everything on the line to show that they were truly the best in world. Paul Heyman's betrayal of both Punk and Reigns no doubt allowed Rollins to get his arm raised at the end, but the actions of the Wiseman take nothing away from Seth's overall performance.

"Hard to argue, as this came into the home stretch, that Seth didn't become the highlight, right?" Levesque said. Long, deep into his career to still have that fire, to go that next level, to get there and have that connection with people. That's a pro. That's impressive to me. And Jey has it. Seth has it… that's what makes you great.”

Now that Jey Uso has reached the pinnacle of the pro wrestling industry, the hard work really begins. It's one thing to win a title. It's a completely different animal to defend one.

History will ultimately judge Jey Uso, and his time as World Heavyweight Champion, after it comes to an end. And whether that's 10 days or 10 months from now, there is absolutely no denying that he's earned the opportunity to take the ball and run with it.

So one more time for all the haters out there that are still doubting the new World Heavyweight Champion on this fine Easter Sunday... YEET!

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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