EXCLUSIVE
Jey Uso has told talkSPORT that Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson's recent WWE return made him realise that wrestling was cool again.
Jey was a key part of the Bloodline storyline that enticed The wrestling sensation turned Hollywood star back for WrestleMania XL.
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The pair don’t share the same blood, but they belong to the same famous wrestling Anoa’i family and refer to each other as cousins.
The Rock’s grandfather, 'High Chief' Peter Maivia, was blood brothers with Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and The Usos' grandfather Reverend Amituana'i Anoa'i.
An opportunity for the quintet to all work alongside each other on the road to 'Mania proved to be the key to tempting the Fast and Furious actor back into the squared circle.
Rock then wowed fans with his renewed energy and commitment to wrestling upon his first full-length return in over a decade.
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The People's Champion reinvented his on-screen character as a heelish 'Final Boss' while going through a brutal training camp to be in peak shape for his comeback match at WrestleMania 40.
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Jey Uso discussed how it felt to help give the Rock his love for wrestling back.
He explained: "[It felt] Fire Use, cause I feel like when he came back around to us and saw what we was doing again it did light a fire.
“It was like, 'Damn I feel cool now', I feel like that’s where he got that wrestling is cool again."
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The Bloodline storyline had been festering for years before the Rock inserted himself at the start of 2024.
After a record world tag team championship run alongside brother Jimmy as The Usos that ran to over 1,000 days, The Bloodline began to splinter, with the siblings defeating Reigns and Sikoa in a Civil War match at Money in the Bank 2023.
Jimmy and Jey would then go into battle against one another, culminating in a brother-versus-brother match at WrestleMania XL.
Rock meanwhile aligned with Reigns against Cody Rhodes in a madcap match that featured cameos from John Cena and The Undertaker.
Jey added: "On a real wrestling’s been cool without him.
"It was cool when the Bloodline was together you know what I’m saying, we’ve been having a chokehold on it since 2020.
"We still got a chokehold but I enjoyed it, man."
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On night two of 'Mania, The Rock was forced to watch on as Reigns, was toppled by Cody Rhodes to end a WWE Undisputed Universal title run that stretched back more than 1,300 days.
The following night Rock admitted he’ll be gone from WWE for a while but has already set his sights on returning.
The 51-year-old is currently in MMA training in his bid to portray retired MMA fighter Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC champion with addiction issues, in a biopic called ‘The Smashing Machine’.
Reigns similarly has been on WWE hiatus to flex his acting muscles, but the Bloodline storyline is far from a finished product.
Jey told talkSPORT: "[Rock's] taking time off, Roman’s gonna take time off, my brothers still gonna hold it down but still elevate it on that side you know.
"We’re still going forward on RAW, trying to get my first championship so [the] Bloodline's still running things."
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