At the big event Payback, Jey Uso announces he will now compete on RAW. New champions are crowned, a partnership breaks up
A few weeks ago, he claimed he was leaving WWE. Now he’s back – under slightly different circumstances than most expected.
At Sunday night’s big event Payback, the wrestling league revealed that Jey Uso will be moving from Friday’s show Friday Night SmackDown to Monday’s show Monday Night RAW.
RAW star Cody Rhodes, like Uso a rival of “Undisputed Universal Champion” Roman Reigns, announced the news in a talk segment with Grayson Waller, who was then taken down by Uso. WWE later confirmed the internal squad transfer via its official channels.
WWE Payback: Jey Uso moves from SmackDown to RAW
Jey Uso most recently lost a title match to his uncle Reigns at SummerSlam, which also saw him lose his domination of the Bloodline family clan. Jey lost after his own twin brother Jimmy Uso betrayed him, previously appearing to rebel with him against “Tribal Chief” Reigns.
Shortly after, Jey got into a brawl with Reigns, Jimmy and younger brother Solo Sikoa on SmackDown and then said he was “quitting” and leaving not only SmackDown but WWE as well.
The move to RAW now distances him from brother Jimmy, delaying what is clearly shaping up to be a brotherly duel for the time being – possibly until the annual highlight WrestleMania 40 next spring in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.
For the same event, a rematch is also widely expected between Reigns, now reigning as champ for 3 years, and nemesis Rhodes, cheated out of the title at this year’s WrestleMania.
Judgment Day capture the tag team titles
In addition to the change reveal, there were several other major developments at the Pittsburgh show – most notably a not insignificant title change: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens lost the tag team titles won at WrestleMania by the Uso brothers in a “Steel City Street Fight”.
The new champions are Finn Balor and “Mr Money in the Bank” Damian Priest from The Judgment Day group, which has thus received new cement after the recent internal tensions.
The title win was helped by Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley – who also defended her women’s title against Raquel Rodriguez at Payback – as well as JD McDonagh, Priest’s sceptically eyed old friend and compatriot of Irishman Balor.
Zoey Stark turns on Trish Stratus
The show’s opener also ended in turbulence: Becky Lynch won the duel of the generations against legend Trish Stratus in a Steel Cage Match, after which the alliance between Stratus and the newcomer Zoey Stark, whom she had protected, broke up.
Stratus blamed Stark for her defeat and slapped her. She didn’t take it and beat up the legend, whose comeback may be over.
A bigger win was also celebrated by up-and-coming crowd favourite LA Knight, who won a match against former WWE Champion The Miz, managed by record-breaking champion John Cena, fresh off a two-month comeback tour. Cena celebrated with Knight after the match.
In the main event of the show, World Champion Seth Rollins defended his title against Japanese star Shinsuke Nakamura.
