The Usos on WWE staying power, Roman Reigns story, Backlash

2022-05-14 23:25:17 By : Ms. Teresa Wang

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Brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso, the current SmackDown tag team champions, have put themselves on top of the WWE tag team division for more than 12 years and have been an integral part of cousin Roman Reigns’ all-time run as the “Tribal Chief” as part of The Bloodline.

The family members will team up against Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton and Riddle at the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view on Sunday (8 p.m., Peacock) after they were originally set for a match to unify the tag titles with RK-Bro. Before stepping in the ring this week, The Usos took time for some Q&A with The Post’s Joseph Staszewski.

Q: You guys as a team have been on top of WWE for so long. What has been the key and secret to your staying power?

Jey: It’s almost being as real as possible. There is a thin line between our character on TV and who we are now. It does come off like we are trying to hit a ‘Lucha, Lucha.’ We are really believing what we’re doing right now, legit the best longest-reigning as far as tag teams. We the ones. The “we the ones” phrase came off of like we the ones that are always traveling, we doing this, we doing that. He (Jimmy) was like, “that’s it bro, we the ones.”

Q: Were you disappointed that the opportunity to unify the titles isn’t happening this weekend and do you think it’s something that could be there for you guys down the line?

Jey: Personally, hell yeah, I was blown away. We wanted that. We can always go back to that. Right now we got to do what the damn Tribal Chief says or he’s going to be mad at us again. You know what happens when he gets mad. 

Jimmy: Definitely [disappointed]. This is a chance to level us up again. 

Jey: Didn’t you [Roman] tell us to unify these tag championships?

Q: You have both been part of this storyline with Roman. What do you guys think you bring specifically to that, if he was trying to do this on his own, wouldn’t be there?

Jey: The Tribal Chief, the “Acknowledge Me,” came from right here with me and (Jimmy). I don’t think if he came out and tried to be this tribal chief against like Drew McIntyre, then it was Cesaro, it wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t me and him like making that story as real as possible. “Acknowledge me,” that was some real like stuff. It was just born right there.

Q: On Roman’s “WWE Evil” episode, I thought you said an interesting thing that when he was a kid and you guys would have games, if he wasn’t having his way or things weren’t to his liking he’d come in and try to wreck things. It feels similar to some of his character. Do you think that’s part of what’s allowed it to come so naturally for him?

Jimmy: Basically it’s just a big baby. He’s lashing out right now is what’s happening. It’s like he said on Evil, he’s not playing a character, he is his character. That’s something that Roman’s always been as a kid, always wanted to level up, be the best no matter who’s around. If it’s a baseball team, a basketball team, a football team he always wanted to be the star. His work backed him up.

Q: Is there a moment like that as a kid that stands out to you?

Jimmy: Say we’re in a 1-on-1 in the middle of a 21 game, say it’s like 19 … we’re ballin’. We’d been out there for damn near 35, 45 minutes, sweating, playing. He comes in, “Yo, let me get a shot (in Roman voice).” Nah man, we’re in the middle of a real game right now. If we shoot and if it bricks and he gets the ball, he’s throwing the motherf—-r over to the neighbor’s yard.

Q: Who would get the ball?

Jimmy: Hell no, nobody would go.

Jey: My little brother (Solo Sikoa)?

Jimmy: Yeah, we would tell little brother to go get it.

Q: What’s your creative process like for the three of you coming up with things?

Jey: So maybe Thursday we’re in a group text, he’ll (Roman) shoot the text. We’re doing this. We got RK-Bro. Then on Friday when we come in (for SmackDown), we’ll eat. We’ll always eat together. He’ll say “I got steak and shrimp ready for the boys.” Then we will all sit together and lay out what we’re doing, what we want to say. Writers ain’t writing for us. That’s real talk right there.

Jimmy: If it’s something we don’t like, something we’re not comfortable doing or it doesn’t feel right or it’s not part of who we are, we’ll definitely can it and at least get it somewhere to where it’s close to what they want, but not necessarily exactly. 

Q: What’s that freedom like for you guys, who probably have had writers in the past, to not have to worry about that as much?

Jey: It’s great. Because you should see some of the stuff they try to write for me and him. I don’t know if you can see it, but when we do our promos we are trying to make it like one person’s talking. So it’s like bop, bop, bop, bop. You can’t write that. It’s literally what me and him are feeling and talking. When they put it on paper, it looks like a lot. It goes quick. “You sure this is a minute and a half?” I go, “yeah man.”

Jimmy: Before all this, we did start here in 2009 and we were saying that was on there (the script) and it wasn’t feeling like … what we were saying wasn’t really us. Now, we’ve built up this trust with everyone to, “Hey Usos, you mention that and that and y’all can do what y’all need to do.”

Q: Jimmy, you’ve had your ups and downs over the last year or so (DUI arrest in July). How have you dealt with that and how have you tried to grow from some of the things that have happened?

Jimmy: WWE has always been there for us in our good and our bad times. We all face the noise and take our lashes like men and we just need to learn from it and bounce back and show up at work and just keep pushing forward. That’s the only thing we can do. You can’t sit there and dwell on that s–t and let people f—ing bash you because they will. Especially in this business that we’re in today, trust me there’s a lot of noise out there. We just try to keep moving and level up every single time and just let everybody know we’re here to stay. We bust our ass every week.

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Jey: That’s the thing Joe, we slip outside the ring. Like regular life stuff will happen, but never has it affected us at our work, in there (the ring), on the screen. You’d never, ever, never know. We’re dependable here. Everybody can talk. We’re still here. We’re still the ones. 

Q: You mentioned your little brother. What’s it been like to see him start to find some success in NXT and would you guys want to add him to The Bloodline when the time is right?

Jey: Solo is down there handling business. This is the Bloodline for real. Yes, I’m so happy he’s finally down there making noise and making a name for himself. We tell him all the time, you have to separate yourself from us, like the whole family. We did it. You got to find your own role. He’ll get there and then when the time is right, hell yeah.

Jimmy: The Bloodline’s definitely in his future. It’s definitely there.

Jey: We’re looking to expand.

Jimmy: He needs to take baby steps. He’s just starting. 

Jey: Joe, for generations, we got little cousins. There are so many, we deep. There are so many lined up behind us man. It’s gonna be another 50 years. We are gonna put in 100 years in WWE. 

Q: You guys have accomplished so much. Is there still something that motivates you and what haven’t you accomplished that’s maybe the next goal or next thing you want to do?

Jey: I think in hindsight, the No. 1 goal that we want …  

Jimmy: It would probably be me and you.    

Jey: Me versus him at a WrestleMania, twin vs. twin. Maybe my dad (Rikishi) as a special guest referee. If he’s still able to move.

Jimmy: That’s in our back pocket man, just taking it right back to the living room. Jumping up and down. We said this before, putting holes in the damn dry wall. 

Q: Have you guys tried to pitch that and it just hasn’t happened?

Jimmy: It hasn’t been the right time. We have been too dominant together, especially since we debuted here in WWE. We have always been stronger together. If the time was right to get there, possibly yeah, or it may never happen, depending on the circumstances or the storylines.

Q: You guys express disappointment with not having the unification match, and obviously some fans are disappointed. Does that give you any extra motivation going into the six-man match that you need to give them something that makes them forget about that?

Jey: I just like the fact that it’s always Roman Reigns time, but it’s almost like these tag titles are like, yo, we want to see what this is about right here. We want to see this unification match go down. The promos have been fire. Survivor Series, they one upped us but that was fire. Everything around us is first. We lighting it up.

Jimmy: Every week, we let them know why we should be the best tag team here. If that alone doesn’t solidify our legacy as the best tag team in this business, I don’t know what else we can do. 

Q: What went into making 1D the new finisher and was there anything else that was in the running?

Jey: We knew we wanted to do that.

Jimmy: It was always that.

Jey: That was the dopest tag-team finisher move to me and him ever, ever. We had to ask As soon as we got the blessing. We had ask D-Von (Dudley).

Usos def. the New Day with the 3D! (Called 1D for One and Done). The match itself was fantastic – SHOCK. Two of the greatest tag team rivals in WWE history. #WWEDay1 pic.twitter.com/sCIbjQyGFC

Q: So you did ask them?

Jey: Of course. He said, “Man, if there’s any tag team in this world that I’d let use the 3D, it would definitely be you two. 

Jimmy: We were trying to find another double finish that we could hit together all the time.

Jey: Because that (Uso) Splash does hurt on your knees a little bit. We’re getting a little older. We’re getting a little older, Joe. Splash is hurting me more than my opponent?

Q: Favorite tag team to face?

Jimmy: No. 2 is The Wyatts, Brodie (Lee) and Erick Rowan.

Q: Tag team you haven’t faced present or in the past you’d love to have a match with?

Jey: I’d love to have a tag match in the past against Harlem Heat. 

Q: Favorite part of “Young Rock?”

Jimmy and Jey: Seeing a young Roman in it.

The Post’s Joseph Staszewski has been covering pro wrestling for the past six years. His Post Match Angle column about the industry appears every Tuesday on NYPost.com.