WWE Hall of Fame inductee Rikishi was brimming with emotion as he witnessed Jey Uso, his son, clinching the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
The trophy was won by Uso a fortnight ago, halting the continuous 51-day championship streak of Bron Breakker which originated from his victory over Sami Zayn at SummerSlam 2024.
In a recent episode of his podcast, “Off The Top”, Rikishi shared his thoughts on his son’s trendsetting victory in the WWE singles championship. He expressed,
“I’m proud to be his pops. I’m proud that the fans are proud. I don’t know who was more excited, [if] I was or the fans because when I [saw] the reaction of the fans and the reaction of my boy, you think about it. That was a long road. What is it, 15 years or 14 years? You dominate the tag team division, and then you finally break off into singles competition, not knowing which way is it gonna go.
“But you see it, the fan-favorite, you see the entrance, you see the everything, everything about the character of Jey. For me, Jey is not a character. That is really that kid…
“Being a son of a wrestler and being on the road, you see a lot of stuff. You can either steer left or steer right. At the conclusion of the day, they make their personal choices, and he’s made the right choices throughout his career. Your new Intercontinental Champion demonstrates this fact.”
Jey and Rikishi make the second father and son pair to seize the Intercontinental Title following Mr. Perfect and Curtis Axel.
In tonight’s RAW event, Jey is set to defend his title against Xavier Woods, who hasn’t yet captured a singles championship since his WWE debut.
The championship victory footage and Rikishi’s reaction can be accessed here:
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