Jey Uso told talkSPORT that Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s recent return to WWE made him realize that wrestling is cool again.
Jey was a key part of the Bloodline storyline that appealed to the wrestling sensation and turned the Hollywood star into WrestleMania XL.
The two men do not share the same blood, but they are from the same famous Anoa’i wrestling family and refer to each other as cousins.
The Rock’s grandfather, “Big Chief” Peter Maivia, was a blood brother to Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and The Usos’ grandfather, Reverend Amituana’i Anoa’i.
The opportunity for the quintet to work together on the road to ‘Mania proved to be the key to enticing the Fast and Furious actor back into the squared circle.
Rock then wowed fans with his renewed energy and commitment to wrestling in his first full return in over a decade.
The People’s Champion reinvented his on-screen persona as the “Final Boss” while going through a brutal training camp to be in tip-top shape for his return match at WrestleMania 40.
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Jey Uso opened up about what it felt like to help bring back the Rock’s love for wrestling.
He explained: “[It felt] Fire Use, because I feel like when he came back to us and saw what we were doing again, he started a fire.
“It was like, ‘Damn, I feel cool now,’ I feel like that’s when he realized wrestling is cool again.”
The Bloodline story had been brewing for years before Rock stepped in in early 2024.
After a record-breaking World Tag Team Championship alongside his brother Jimmy as The Usos that lasted over 1,000 days, The Bloodline began to split, with the siblings defeating Reigns and Sikoa in a war match civil at Money in the Bank 2023.
Jimmy and Jey would then fight against each other, culminating in a brother vs. brother match at WrestleMania XL.
Meanwhile, Rock aligned himself with Reigns against Cody Rhodes in a crazy match featuring cameos from John Cena and The Undertaker.
Jey added: “A real struggle, it’s been cool without him.
“It was cool when the Bloodline was together, you know what I’m saying, we’ve been suppressing it since 2020.
“We still have a chokehold but I enjoyed it, man.”
On the second night of ‘Mania, The Rock was forced to watch Reigns and was knocked down by Cody Rhodes to end a WWE Undisputed Universal title run that lasted over 1,300 days.
The following night, Rock admitted that he would be leaving WWE for a while, but already had his sights set on returning.
The 51-year-old is currently training in MMA with the goal of playing retired MMA fighter Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC champion with addiction issues, in a biopic titled “The Smashing Machine.”
Likewise, Reigns has been on hiatus from WWE to flex his muscles, but the Bloodline storyline is far from a finished product.
Jey told talkSPORT: “[Rock’s] taking time off, Roman is going to take time off, my brothers are still going to maintain him but raise him in that way, you know.
“We’re still moving forward on RAW, trying to get my first title, so [the] Bloodline continues to run things.”
Backlash: France airs Saturday, May 4 on WWE Network and TNT Sports Box Office.
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