Jey Uso: October Surprise

Some people did in fact see Roman Reigns’ return coming, but no one saw the rise of Jey Uso. Rob Bonnette details why he indeed is WWE’s 2020 October Surprise.

The October Surprise is an election season myth, the arrival of a last minute unexpected event or revelation that changes the course of the looming vote and may affect the outcome of the election itself.  In WWE October has had a few surprises of it’s own over the years.  Sometimes it’s good, like in 1997 we got the arrival of the Undertaker’s evil brother Kane.  But then sometimes it leaves you scratching your head like the finish of last year’s Hell in a Cell main event that left a lot of people in the building chanting for AEW.  But this year we’re back on the good side in one aspect, and that is the performance of one Jey Uso.

Since Roman Reigns surprised us all when he returned at the conclusion of SummerSlam in August and reclaimed the  Universal Title that he never lost, Jey has been the most important supporting player in his story.  And now after two stellar performances in back to back pay per view matches against Reigns, Jey is at a height no one predicted for him–maybe ever.

One of the best thing about Roman’s heel turn story has been the element of surprise.  We didn’t know he was even coming back when he did, we didn’t know he was going to align himself with Paul Heyman, and we didn’t know that Jey was going to benefit so much from it, either.  Jey’s singles run has been a true delight in a year that flat out hasn’t had many.  Jey was left in limbo when his bother Jimmy got injured but in the last month and a half he’s been involved in big matches on TV and pay per view, and has even scored clean victories over Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles!

Any other time when a member of a tag team challenges for the world title it’s a throwaway match, but Jey’s performance in the ring and on the mic has turned into a much bigger affair. As great as Roman has been this doesn’t last this long without Jey knocking it out of the part like he has.

Now comes the big question: What’s next?

Jey has seemingly fully aligned himself with his now evil cousin and has secured himself a spot on Smackdown’s Survivor Series team.  And while that would normally be enough for one half of a tag team I got people in my Twitter circle that are calling for an Intercontinental Title run, and some even for the big prize itself.  While I don’t expect him to go that far the idea that it’s even being spoken of is just crazy.  There’s a strong possibility that even when jimmy comes back they won’t revert back to their usual roles.  While I do want to see them vs the Street Profits at least once, if they both can shine as singles then it is what it is (on a side note, this is exhibit A why Vince is prone to break up tag teams – if a guy or gal can excel as a solo act then that’s where you ultimately want them).

But for the time being it’s time to give Jey his due for doing the unexpected over the past two months.  The man has somehow managed in his 10th ear in the WWE to become the breakout star of the year.  I won’t use the word organic because I absolutely hate it, but he has managed to do this without appearing forced on us be it by Vince or by any loud and obnoxious demands from fans on Wrestling Twitter.  He got a shot, he took it, and now he’s flourishing. It’s stuff like this that is some of the real magic of pro wrestling.

Since Jey isn’t someone that we had a long list of fantasy bookings for there are no preconceived notions as to what he should or will do next, so all he has to do is execute.  And he has executed brilliantly.  The Usos have always been good on the mic but here he has communicated with a level of emotion and realism that isn’t seen very often in the world of pro wrestling.

So hats off to Roman Reigns for shaking up the WWE with his return but hats off to Jey as well for adding that little something extra to take this thing to a whole other level.  It’s normally crazy to consider someone for breakout star of the year in their tenth year with the same company but this time around it isn’t.  For Jey Uso, talent met opportunity and here we are.  It’s been a great ride so far and we’re all looking forward to where it goes.