WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has released another episode of his podcast, Dinner With The King, and discussed The Usos going off-script during their rap battle against The New Day last night (Tues. July 4, 2017) on SmackDown Live, and defending his retweet of President Donald Trump. Here’s what he had to say:
The Usos going off-script during rap battle:
“You say Vince [McMahon] would have not been pleased, but I’m sure that’s not what would have been something that they told him to say or been scripted. Once again, that was one of the things that Vince used to always say: It’s live TV; nothing can go wrong.
“Because of that, anything can happen on live TV.“
Defending his retweet of Donald Trump:
“Not as much negative reaction as I thought I was going to get. To me, it was pretty cool, no matter who the President is. It’s the President of the United States and they put out a tweet and you’re in it. I mean, c’mon! There’s not many people that can say that happened to them, so I just thought it was cool.
“Everyone just needs to lighten up. That was a funny tweet. You gotta admit, whether you like Donald Trump or whatever, it was the President of the United States putting out a funny tweet. Lighten up. What is wrong with that?”
The rap battle between The New Day and The Usos on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live turned out to be more entertaining than most fans were expecting. Guest judge Wale is also getting rave reviews for his appearance and his sweet nWo Wolfpac t-shirt.
The most noteworthy line of the rap battle came when The Usos told New Day, “Let’s just keep it PG, you know what’s good… don’t get all Rated R like ya boy Xavier Woods.” The audience reacted in a big way to the apparent reference to Xavier Woods’ cameo in a certain NOT-PG home movie featuring two other WWE personalities.
It appears the line about Xavier Woods was unscripted, since WWE censored it from the video posted on the company’s official YouTube page. It will be interesting to see if the line is also edited from this week’s Hulu broadcast.
The Usos and Wale had this interaction on Twitter late Tuesday night:
On Talking Smack last night, Smackdown Live General Manager Shane McMahon announced that if both teams are still on the Smackdown roster net week, American Alpha will face the Usos.
The match, should it occur, will be a rematch from the March 21st Smackdown, when the Usos won the Smackdown tag team championships.
Will Either Team Switch Brands?
The Usos were the last guests to join Talking Smack this week. The pair were upset with Shane McMahon about not being able to defend their titles at WrestleMania. The Usos have never wrestled on the WrestleMania main card.
Shane then said that if the Usos are still on Smackdown next week, they’ll face American Alpha.
Jimmy and Jey Uso won WWE tag team gold for the 3rd time last night on Smackdown. They won their first championships in March of 2014, and their second in December of the same year. With another championship win to their name, the Usos are making a case for themselves as the greatest tag team their bloodline has ever produced.
Jimmy and Jey Uso’s real names are Jon and Josh Fatu. Why the WWE doesn’t go with their more famous sounding last name is anyone’s guess. They are part of a long lineage of championship tag teams that their family has produced.
Anoa’i Family Tag Team Legacy
The Wild Samoans were the first tag team the family produced, and Afa and Sika would play a major role in cementing wrestling as the family business. A legendary tag team, they held the WWF tag titles on 3 occassions and were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
Afa and Sika’s sister married and had children with I’aulualo Folau Solofa Fatu. They had 3 sons who became wrestlers. Eddie Fatu would go on to have a very successful WWE run as Umaga before dying at the early age of 36. The other two sons were twins, Sam and Solofa Fatu. They would become the Tongan Kid and Rikishi respectively.
The Tongan Kid, Uncle to the Usos, would form a tag team with family friend Haku as the Islanders in the 1980s. While they would never win the WWE tag team titles, they were successful in their own right.
The next tag team the family produced was “the Headshrinkers”, which consisted of Rikishi (as Fatu) and his cousin Samuel Anoa’i, who was known as Samu. They would win the WWE tag team championships on one occasion.
Next up was 3 Minute Warning, which consisted of Eddie Fatu (Umaga) and Matthew Anoa’i (Rosey). The team would serve as bodyguards for Raw GM Eric Bischoff for a period, before both wrestlers would move into different characters.
Finally the Usos are the first 3rd generation tag team the family has produced. Now with 3 championship title reigns to their name, they are starting to make a case for themselves as being the greatest tag team in family history. They still might need to do more to pass the Wild Samoans however, but considering the Usos are only 31 years old, they have plenty of time left still.
The Usos began their first reign with the SmackDown Tag Team Championships on tonight’s show in Uncasville, CT as they defeated American Alpha. The Usos will now go to WrestleMania 33 to defend the championships.
Last night at the Elimination Chamber, American Alpha retained their Smackdown Tag Team Championships. That is not surprising at all. In fact, there was really no reason to take the titles off of American Alpha. They are clearly the best team on Smackdown and deserve a long run with the belts. American Alpha defended their titles in a Tag Team Turmoil Match against every other team on the Smackdown roster.
In order for American Alpha to have an impressive run with the Smackdown Tag Team Championships, they need to have a legitimate opponent. There was no legitimate rival highlighted last night at the Elimination Chamber. Instead, American Alpha wound up looking like the only team worth a damn on Smackdown. Breezango was the first team eliminated. They were eliminated by Heath Slater and Rhyno, a team that has been at odds with each other for the past several weeks. The Vaudevillains were also eliminated by Slater & Rhyno. They were eliminated so quickly that most people forgot that they were even a part of the match.
Then there was The Ascension. The Usos were eliminated by American Alpha, but stuck around to beat the hell out of Gable and Jordan. The Ascension were the last team to enter the Tag Team Turmoil Match and everything was laid out perfectly for them. American Alpha were left decimated by The Usos. All they had to do was pick up the pieces and win the match. They couldn’t do it. Viktor wound up falling victim to the Grand Amplitude and Jason & Jordan wound up retaining their Smackdown Tag Team Championships.
In one match, Breezango, The Vaudevillians and The Ascension were made to look absolutely worthless. The only viable team on Smackdown right now besides AA is The Usos. American Alpha pinned The Usos last night as well. Unless Smackdown spends the next few weeks building up the teams that lost in this match, everyone will just be waiting for The Revival to finally show up.
No word yet on results from Zack Ryder’s MRI that he had on Wednesday but the Wrestling Observer reports that he was using crutches to walk backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown after suffering the knee injury in the #1 contenders battle royal.
Ryder and partner Mojo Rawley were scheduled to work the Tribute to the Troops tapings after SmackDown, but they were replaced by American Alpha in the six-man match with Dolph Ziggler against The Wyatt Family. He tweeted on Thursday that he is now in Birmingham, Alabama “and not for a vacation” – a sign that the MRI revealed he needs surgery.
Regarding The Usos returning to action, they appeared on Talking Smack this week and confirmed that Jey Uso has been dealing with an ankle injury. The Wrestling Observer reports that they are scheduled back in the ring at the 12/26 WWE house show from Madison Square Garden. The brothers talked about wanting to challenge The Wyatt Family for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, saying they were the only team that can beat The Wyatts. They also talked about how The Hype Bros shouldn’t be the #1 contenders. It will be interesting to see what WWE does with the #1 contendership if Ryder is out of action for an extended period of time.
Both The Usos and Naomi were brought into this week’s SmackDown but not used. There’s no word yet on when Naomi will be back in action, as she’s also been dealing with an ankle injury, but The Observer reports that she is not scheduled for any of the post-holiday house shows.
– We noted last week that Mojo Rawley is set to participate in a fashion show for David Alan Clothing on October 14th to benefit the American Cancer Society. It looks as though Mojo won’t be the only wrestler, as Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Wade Barrett are also scheduled to appear, as are several NFL players.
– It seems Viktor from the Ascension can relate to the promo cut by Dolph Ziggler on this week’s Smackdown, as seen below :
Hate to say it but I get it @HEELZiggler the Ascension haven't exactly been winning lately either but that's no reason to stop #SDLive
The Usos defeated American Alpha on tonight’s SmackDown to become the new #1 contenders to SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno. They will get their championship shot at No Mercy next month.
Below is the updated card for the 10/9 PPV from Sacramento:
WWE World Championship Triple Threat: AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Slater & Rhyno (c) vs. The Usos
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Apollo Crews (29), Neville (30), The Usos (31) and Paul Ellering (63).
– Despite the SummerSlam loss to Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, Big Cass and Enzo Amore are focusing on the WWE Tag Team Championships. Cass spoke with The Times-Ledger of Queens this weekend and commented on going for gold:
“It’s our No. 1 goal and it’s where we’re focused. You need guys that are competitive, you need guys that hate losing, you need guys that always want to win. That’s the team I want to be on.”
– It was expected that Bray Wyatt would appear at SummerSlam after weeks of feuding with Dolph Ziggler and WWE Champion Dean Ambrose but he did not. Wyatt did take to Twitter after the PPV and tweet the following:
– The announced attendance for SummerSlam at the Barclays Center last night was a sold out 15,974. As reported, they announced 15,671 fans in attendance for Takeover on Saturday night, also in the Barclays Center.
– The Rock tweeted “electric vibes” to the WWE Superstars before SummerSlam hit the air last night. The tweet was mentioned on commentary during the show. Below is what The Great One wrote:
Sending electric vibes to my @WWE Superstars tonight. Stacked card! Many champions but only 1 brass ring. Become the #1 draw. #SummerSlam
– After picking up the pin in the SummerSlam pre-show twelve-man match last night, The Usos believe they have cemented themselves in the SmackDown tag team division. They talk to Charly Caruso in this backstage video and talk about not going anywhere after 6 long years in WWE.
Bray Wyatt did in fact sprain his ankle during this week’s SmackDown main event against Dolph Ziggler, as confirmed by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. As of this writing, Wyatt is still planning on wrestling at this weekend’s live events.
Regarding Paige’s mother stating that she’s out of action due to injury, Paige been dealing with back and shoulder issues. She’s expected to be out of the ring for at least 2 more weeks. Meltzer hinted that there are “other, significant” problems with Paige, but there’s no talk of her being in danger of being released.
As for Jimmy Uso’s injury, he was expected back at this week’s TV tapings but was held off TV this week.
– Prior to Monday’s RAW, WWE taped The Dudleyz vs. The Usos and Summer Rae vs. Alicia Fox for this week’s Superstars.
– Samoa Joe has responded to a report from earlier this week about him working through a bad elbow injury. Joe denies that he’s hurt and says he is wearing medical tape as a preventative measure.
Rumors of a elbow injury are false. WWE has trainers who in turn have tape. It's a free resource I enjoy using preventively.
– We noted how Austin Aries was pulled from last week’s NXT TV tapings and then did not appear at a live event from Indianapolis, where he was advertised to wrestle Hideo Itami. Aries has dismissed speculation about his status:
1) I was at NXT TV tapings on Wed. 2) I didn't "unexpectedly miss" or "no show" NXT Live Events this wknd. 3) I had a very nice swim today.
– The Undertaker looks to be enjoying life. A user on Reddit posted this photo of Taker in Daytona Beach this weekend at a local golf club. He was in town for the LPGA International event.
– WWE.com broke the news on Monday afternoon that Emma suffered a back injury at a recent WWE live event. She is currently undergoing tests to determine the extent of her injuries.
– It appears that the stable comprised of WWE Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos will be known as, The Bloodline. The group had previously been going by the more generic name, The Family.
WWE’s next stop on their European tour is at the O2 Arena in London for Monday’s RAW. WWE.com has confirmed two Tag Team Titles Contenders tournament semifinals matches for the show, including the Vaudevillains’ RAW debut.
Semi-final tournament matches confirmed for RAW include:
The Usos vs. The Vaudevillains
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. The Dudley Boyz
WWE is teasing how Karl Anerson & Luke Gallows’ arrival (and attack on The Usos) will factor in to the tag title scene.
When Chris Jericho referred to The Usos as his “back-of-the-bus boys” during his returning Highlight Reel segment on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, several fans expressed their outrage at what they assumed was Jericho making a racist reference on live television in such a casual manner.
On Tuesday, several of Jericho’s WWE Superstar buddies came to his defense and explained what the true meaning behind the comment was.
Apparently, there are two types of traveling WWE Superstars — the back of the bus boys and the up-front boys. The back of the bus boys refers to those who sit in the back and stay awake all night to play cards, while the up-front boys are those who sit in the front and go to sleep.
As seen below, several WWE Superstars were quick to vouch for the fact that Jericho’s comments were in no way racist at all, and were in fact actually comments that subtly referenced the fact that he and The Usos were friends.
#WWE#RAW OK guys.The back of the bus bros comment by @IAmJericho means the guys that drink, play cards an stay up. Up front guys go to bed.
For a few months, one of the lines you’d often hear about Roman Reigns was that fans didn’t dislike him per se, they just hated how he was being booked. He first built his momentum in The Shield, but it slowed down when he started cutting lengthy, John Cena-style promos. Crowds at pay-per-view events and TV tapings either booed him or went silent. Last week’s show-ending promo on Monday Night Raw was just the latest step in that direction with the infamous “tater tots” lines.
Starting at TLC on Sunday night, it all changed, and the above video is the result. While WWE did post a Reigns celebration video, it doesn’t include this part. Here, the fans in Philadelphia (the same city as the Royal Rumble in January where he got booed) not only go nuts as we saw on Raw, but break out the “You deserve it!” chant originally made famous by Daniel Bryan. Even in light of the reaction he got last night, that’s kind of a surprise.
– WWE might be giving the name of “The Family” to the stable with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and The Usos. The group is currently feuding with The League Of Nations — Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and King Barrett.
– There was a Chet Mix ad campaign being filmed at the WWE Performance Center on December 2nd.
– WWE recently announced their debut in Amsterdam for April 15th, as well as an April 21st event in Brussels, for their next major European tour. WWE will be running the Ziggo Dome, which holds 17,000 fans, for their debut in Amsterdam. It’s worth noting that WWE has no television in Holland.
– The Gobbledy Gooker returned on Thursday’s Thanksgiving edition of WWE SmackDown. Featured above is a SmackDown Fallout video with The Usos backstage, with one of them in the Gobbledy Gooker costume.
– Also featured on SmackDown Fallout this week, as seen below, is Jack Swagger promising that “We The People” isn’t dead.
– As we reported as a spoiler earlier this week, Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze in a triple-threat match on this week’s SmackDown to become the number one contender to the WWE Intercontinental Championship. With the win, Ambrose earned himself a shot at Kevin Owens and the I-C title at next month’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.
– In the “holiday spirit” department, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, along with longtime top WWE Superstar and the star of the new FOX reality show “American Grit,” John Cena, posted the following Thanksgiving messages on Twitter today.
Today is the day to truly remember what we’re thankful for in life. Happy Thanksgiving to the WWE Universe.
– In keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, WWE.com is running a poll today asking fans which WWE Superstar they are the most thankful for. The options include Roman Reigns, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Charlotte, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, The New Day, Dolph Ziggler, Paige, The Dudley Boyz, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, The Usos, Kane, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Ryback, Natalya and “Other.” Leading the pack with 17 percent is The Undertaker, followed by Roman Reigns (14%), Dean Ambrose (12%), John Cena (10%), Cesaro (7%) and The New Day (7%).
– SEScoops.com would like to wish everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!
WWE taped the following matches on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tennessee for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event.
– The Usos def. Adam Rose & Brad Maddox in tag-team action to kick off the show. Rose and Maddox, both of whom had blonde hair, cut a promo before the match. The finish in this one saw The Usos score the pin after a top-rope splash.
– JoJo interviews The Prime Time Players backstage. Titus O’Neil will be in action later against Heath Slater.
– Naomi def. Alicia Fox via submission in Divas action. Tamina Snuka and Sasha Banks were at ringside with Naomi, while Brie Bella was out with Fox.
– Titus O’Neil def. Heath Slater in the final match taped for this week’s show. The Prime Time Players member got the win with his finisher in the end, in a match that was said to be somewhat flat.
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans to vote on who they feel is the true leader of Team B.A.D. With over 3,000 votes cast, Sasha Banks is leading the poll with 74 percent of the vote, while Naomi has 18 percent and Tamina has 8 percent.
– Samoa Joe was at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Thursday for the WrestleMania 32 ticket party. Joe tweeted a photo of the WrestleMania 32 logo on the massive screen inside the stadium with the caption, “the road begins here” #WrestleMania. Joe’s longtime rival and friend CM Punk responded, reminding Joe that WWE loves when you point at the WrestleMania sign.
@SamoaJoe make sure to point at the sign. They really like that.
– For those curious about the amount of listeners a podcast hosted by a pro wrestler can garner, WWE Superstar Bubba Ray Dudley noted that the recent episode of “Talk Is Jericho,” which featured Chris Jericho interviewing The Dudley Boyz, drew over 700,000 downloads already. For those who missed the show, you can download it today at PodcastOne.com.
– The Usos will make their return to WWE SmackDown as a tag-team on this week’s episode of the show, which airs on Thursday night. The duo will take on The Ascension in tag-team action in what will be their first tag-team match on SmackDown since March.
– Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero are launching a brand new clothing line on November 16th. Chavo Guerrero did a photo shoot recently with Melissa Santos and Jasmin Gonzalez. You can check out a photo from the shoot below.
The Usos made their WWE television return on Monday night’s RAW in Denver, Colorado, as part of Team Roman Reigns in the traditional five-on-five Survivor Series main event. Jey Uso has been away from WWE since the spring with a shoulder injury.
In addition to returning on RAW, The Usos are scheduled to work the WWE European tour, which kicks off this week. Also, they are scheduled to appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday night with Jonathan Coachman.
WWE posted the following clips of The Usos’ return on social media: