Jey Uso created a WrestleMania moment when he kicked off the 41st edition of the Showcase of the Immortals by making Gunther tap out. Even though the story was largely set up for him to succeed—it would have been horribly deflating for Gunther to win at that point—Uso was still a fresh enough face in the world title picture that the victory felt like an upset and a legitimate feel-good moment.
It was all the more shocking to see Uso make Gunther tap out cleanly—a decisive victory that left no room for doubt about who’d won the encounter. Moreover, Gunther lashing out at the Raw broadcast team and his subsequent kayfabe suspension seemed designed to put him in the rearview mirror for at least the next couple of months.
So what’s next for Jey Uso? The Raw after WrestleMania notably didn’t see a new challenger rise to face him, but rather featured a celebratory scene between him, his long-time friend Sami Zayn, and his brother Jimmy. Some fans speculated WWE was teasing Zayn turning on Uso, and that betrayal is certainly a possibility, but there’s a better choice ready to challenge Uso first: Logan Paul.
Logan Paul Can Protect Jey Uso From Fans Turning On Him
In the space between his Royal Rumble victory and his WrestleMania match, Jey Uso experienced some backlash from fans. Indeed, after the shock of him winning the Rumble wore off, critics raised the question: Were people shocked by Uso winning because he didn’t deserve it?
More than just a surprising push, Uso has critics who suggest he isn’t good enough in the ring or on the mic to justify a world title run. Such voices even go so far as to suggest his infectious, yeeting entrance obscures the fact that there isn’t much more to his act.
Whether these criticisms are fair or not, WWE does have a real challenge in preventing Internet-based haters from fully infiltrating the live crowds and undermining Uso as a babyface. One of the best ways to ensure the crowd doesn’t turn on Uso is to position him against someone they hate more. While Gunther’s character has been loathsome, hardcore fans can’t deny his talent or work ethic, so he wasn’t really the answer.
Logan Paul can get the job done. He’s a heel who leans into the part, and he has drawn nuclear heat in no small part because of the fuzzy line between his jerk antics being part of an act or who he really is. Indeed, in an era when many fans think it’s cool to cheer the bad guys, hardly anyone wants to cheer Paul.
Logan Paul Is Credibly Positioned To Challenge For The Title
Over two nights of WrestleMania, fans witnessed fourteen matches. Out of those fourteen, only nine were singles bouts, and Logan Paul won one of them. He pinned AJ Styles, a man whose prior WrestleMania resume included defending the WWE Championship, winning the Tag Team Championship, and challenging The Undertaker in a main event that turned out to be his last ever match.
While Paul is not as credible a world title contender as someone like Seth Rollins (who makes a lot of sense as a challenger to Uso this summer), The Maverick is a legitimately hated heel who just won at ‘Mania. As such, it’s very easy to imagine him sucker-punching his way right into title contention with fans readily accepting him as a number one contender at Backlash (particularly when bigger names like John Cena and Randy Orton hold it down for the WWE Championship in the main event).
Logan Paul Vs. Jey Uso Would Produce A Good Match
For as much as fans hate Logan Paul, he has consistently delivered in the ring. Indeed, his in-ring debut back at WrestleMania 38 was well-received enough to justify a babyface run, during which he delivered strong performances against The Miz and Roman Reigns before embarking on the heel run he has been on ever since.
Critics are quick to point out that Paul has benefited from direct mentorship from people like Shawn Michaels. That’s not to mention that Paul has had the advantage of sporadic matches, carefully planned around his skill set, and paired with top talents. Just the same, there’s no reason WWE couldn’t apply the same tools to a Paul vs. Uso feud. Uso is more than skilled enough to hold up his end in a solid-to-excellent bout.
The next few weeks may be pivotal in determining whether Jey Uso goes down as a legitimate world champion and main eventer or a flash in the pan. The credibility gap he still faces as champion could play to his advantage in a feud with Logan Paul. After all, no one really thought Paul would take the title off Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes. But Jey Uso? There’s room to suspend disbelief there, especially with the right build. This could be precisely the feud Uso needs to cement his place as a top guy and world champion.
