Jey Uso advanced in the King of the Ring tournament on SmackDown. (Credit: Brien Adams/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
Jey Uso has advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 King of the Ring tournament, but the victory has been met with fierce resistance from the WWE Universe. On last week’s SmackDown, the former World Heavyweight Champion outlasted LA Knight, Finn Bálor, and Royce Keys to secure his spot in the final four. Uso is now slated to face Raw newcomer Je’Von Evans, with the winner advancing to face either Oba Femi or Dominik Mysterio in the tournament finals at Night of Champions on June 27.
As Uso moves closer to another main-event singles opportunity, fans have flooded YouTube and social media with negative feedback. The official clip of Uso’s qualifying win was immediately bombarded with dislikes, surpassing 70,000 at the time of publication.
This scenario feels like a case of déjà vu. This marks at least the third instance where a YouTube video highlighting a major Uso victory has been overwhelmed by negative ratings. The pattern emerged twice in 2025: first in March, when Uso defeated Austin Theory in under 30 seconds on Raw shortly after winning the Royal Rumble, and again in the fall when he won a battle royal to challenge CM Punk for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship.
During his surge in late 2024 and early 2025, Uso became a polarizing figure within the online wrestling community. While other heavily pushed babyfaces—most notably Roman Reigns and John Cena—faced similar pushback during their ascents, Uso’s trajectory differs significantly. Reigns and Cena rank among the most decorated singles champions in WWE history, with 11 WrestleMania main events and 17 world titles between them. By contrast, Uso holds a single world title reign, captured by defeating Gunther at WrestleMania 41 in 2025. That reign lasted just 51 days—the shortest for the World Heavyweight Championship since its 2023 revival, excluding two one-night reigns ended by Money in the Bank cash-ins.
Uso captured lightning in a bottle with his Royal Rumble victory and WrestleMania triumph, yet WWE quickly pivoted, ending his singles push and returning him to the tag team division. By December 2025, he had reunited with Jimmy Uso, and he has since resumed a supporting role in The Bloodline alongside Roman Reigns.
That creative direction appears to be the core issue. WWE is once again centering its flagship narrative on The Bloodline saga—the storyline that fueled the company’s resurgence over the past half-decade. However, this reunion lacks the spark of its predecessor, feeling more like a retread than an evolution. Audiences are responding with disengagement; last week’s Monday Night Raw recorded the brand’s lowest average viewership since its Netflix premiere in January 2025.
Fan fatigue regarding The Bloodline, Reigns, and the Usos offers a plausible explanation. This is not an indictment of Uso’s in-ring ability—he retains a substantial base of support. Rather, the frustration stems from the perception that he is being positioned at the expense of underutilized stars like LA Knight, a sentiment crystallized by Uso’s victory over “The Megastar” in the King of the Ring quarterfinal.
While YouTube metrics alone cannot define a performer’s value, the confluence of sustained social media hostility and declining viewership warrants attention. Professional wrestling remains a fan-driven business, and WWE must assess how aggressively to continue pushing Uso as a top singles act.
Uso himself has acknowledged the negative reception, taking it in stride, but the audience shows little sign of softening. If the backlash persists, this may represent a rare moment where creative is compelled to alter course.