Jey Uso kept WWE Royal Rumble win a secret from Rikishi

Nobody was happier about Jey Uso winning the Royal Rumble than his father, Rikishi.

Rikishi has frequently made headlines in recent years for using his podcast to call for his son to win titles or major matches. Seeing Jey win the Royal Rumble was an emotional moment for him.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Michael Cole told Jey that Rikishi teared up when he saw him later that night.

“As soon as the Rumble was over, I was standing at the airport and I walked into the hotel and your dad was there,” Cole said to Jey. “They had a Rumble watch party and your dad had no idea what was going on. He walked out, had these tears in his eyes, and he gave me this massive hug. That’s Rikishi, of course, the Hall of Famer. He had no words for it. He was so incredibly proud of you. And as you know, he has been one of your biggest supporters through all of this and all the ups and downs in your career. It was just an incredible moment for me to see him and see that emotion out of him when you had just won that match.”

Jey later shared that he FaceTimed with his father shortly after his victory.

He said:

“Yeah, man, my dad called right when I was in the locker room. He called Jeyce (his son) actually, and then Jeyce gave me the phone. I had him on FaceTime, and I was back there with John, CM Punk, my brothers were there. We had a good talk, man. But I love my father. He looks at me just like his son again, rooting for me. It feels good.”

Jey explained that he doesn’t like to tell his father everything that’s going to happen and Rikishi was surprised with Uso’s Rumble win.

“My dad knows everything in the business, so I’m not going to tell him everything. I want to surprise him too. And he was, man, he was very excited. Shout out to my dad, man.”

Uso also spoke about the seeing himself in an image posted online of him and his relatives The Rock, Yokozuna, and Roman Reigns as all being Royal Rumble winners.

“I saw a picture today, and out of all my family, it’s Rock, Roman, Yokozuna. And now I get to be a part of that group. So there’s four of us, man. I’m ready to rock with it. This Yi train is just starting, bro. I’m going to WrestleMania. I’m going to take one of these titles off one of these fools, regardless of who it is, because it’s all business now, man. That’s all I’m about. And I just want to show the world that I’m something different.”

Jey Uso entered the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble as a +2500 underdog, with John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and The Rock all favored over him. However, Jey Uso’s win was predicted in the Royal Rumble 2025 preview and predictions post published on this site.

Uso is set to appear on tonight’s WWE Raw in Cleveland, Ohio.