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Major WWE Champion Defends Jey Uso Against Online Criticism

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jan 07, 2026 13:55 EST
Jey Uso WWE

Jey Uso was one of the few wrestlers who fell from grace in WWE in 2025.

Uso kicked off the year by winning the men’s Royal Rumble and went on to defeat Gunther at WrestleMania 41 to claim is maiden World Heavyweight Championship.

However, his title reign lasted only 51 days, with the company deciding to put the title back on The Ring General.

The 40-year-old struggled for the remainder of the year, losing his chance to reclaim the belt as well as the opportunity to face John Cena in his retirement match.

More than once, Jey Uso teased a heel turn, but WWE did not complete the arc, leaving fans frustrated and questioning his future.

Amid the confusion, he also faced online criticism from fans, who have accused him of several misdemeanors, including overreliance on his ‘Yeet’ catchphrase, limited in-ring ability, and undeserved main event status, to name a few.

WWE Champion CM Punk Defends Jey Uso Against Online Criticism

CM Punk and Jey Uso clashed at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI after the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated due to Seth Rollins’ legitimate injury.

Punk went on to defeat Uso, who put on a decent effort and came close more than once to becoming a two-time World Champion in the same year.

The Second City Saint has also been vocal about the abuse that wrestlers receive, including Jey Uso, from fans online.

Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, the 47-year-old came to the defense of Uso while highlighting the two-faced nature of wrestling fans, who show support for his WWE colleague in arenas but criticize him online.

Jey Uso in every arena, like, I’m battling with John Cena and Jey Uso as who sells more t-shirts on any given night. Everybody is going crazy over music; they’re Yeeting, they want him to run it back. This dude can go on TV for 10 minutes and just Yeet. But then, if you went on the internet, “Oh, he’s the worst wrestler alive.” Is he? Or are you just extremely hyperbolic?

Everything nowadays, “This is the best thing ever, this is the worst thing ever.” “I don’t like this, so you have to not like it, too.” And it’s really just like, like what you like…champion that. I try to stay away from the negativity. Jey Uso is f**king phenomenal. He is. 100%. We just live these lives that are so public that everybody wants to point fingers and, like, laugh if we slip on a banana peel or make a mistake.