A brief summary of the careers of WWE’s The Usos

The Usos are a wrestling workforce extra tightly knit than probably any workforce earlier than them. Why? Because they’re twin brothers from a historic wrestling household. They have additionally been a key piece of WWE programming for the previous three years and have been hailed by a number of of their subject as not simply one of the best tag groups of all time, however the best tag workforce of all time.

This week, I provide you with the pre-2020 rundown of the careers Jonathan and Joshua Fatu, higher generally known as Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso.

Who Are The Usos?

Jimmy and Jey Uso are legit fraternal twin brothers {and professional} wrestlers, at present signed to the WWE. As of this writing, they’ve eight whole tag workforce championships to their title, together with the longest tag workforce championship reign in firm historical past at 622 days.

Their gimmick is, nicely, being twin brothers. A key factor to know about their characters is their terminology, which they defined all of one time and haven’t ever since, so the context is perhaps misplaced on anybody who didn’t watch two very particular episodes in 2017. “Day One Ish” is a big half of their branding, which implies they’ve been true to themselves and have a sure x-factor and have had it since they walked into the firm (or, technically, since they first received the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships, nevertheless it’s fluid for promotional functions; satirically, this makes their “Day One Ish” day one-ish).

The “Uso Penitentiary” is one other phrase, described as the “lockdown” mindset they go into when placing on their matches. It additionally supposedly has an impact on their opponents by instilling concern and probably leaving them in panic, which is the basis of their phrase “It’s not paranoia, it’s The Usos!” The “Uso Penitentiary” has been de-emphasized lately (probably resulting from each brothers moving into authorized hassle) in favor of the extra marketable “We The Ones,” emphasizing their dominance as a workforce.

Lastly, the brothers have what’s primarily a verbal tic and finish heaps of their sentences with “uss,” an abbreviation of “uso.” This extends far past statements they make in the ring, because it appears to be one thing they do in on a regular basis life. The phrase “uso” means “brother” in Samoan. I’ve additionally by no means seen that tic written out earlier than, so any Samoans on the market that learn this, slap me down if needbe.

The Usos weren’t recognized for having notably sturdy or memorable characters till lately, main many followers (and WWE personnel, embarrassingly) to not be capable of inform the twins aside for a quantity of years. This thorn in The Usos’ facet has been a key half of their character growth in the 2020s, as they appear intent on ensuring they’re by no means requested the insultingly deflating “which one are you?” ever once more.

Oh yeah, the greatest piece of their characters moreover being twin brothers is that they’re a component of the Anoa’i wrestling household, a dynasty of Samoan grapplers that started in the 60s.

What is the Anoa’i Wrestling Family?

Young Jimmy and Jey (backside) with their cousin and eventual nemesis, a younger Roman Reigns

The Anoa’i wrestling household is one of the most revered household timber in the craft, with its roots coming from brothers Afa and Sika and their father’s buddy, “High Chief” Peter Maivia. The most well-known member to come back from the household is present Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, however notable former grapplers embody Yokozuna (Rodney Anoa’i), Umaga (Edward Fatu), Rikishi (Solofa Fatu Jr.), and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.

The Usos are the sons of Rikishi and cousins to each The Rock and present WWE centerpiece Roman Reigns. They are additionally the older brothers of Solo Sikoa, who performs in WWE alongside them. Other relations of theirs which have wrestled in trendy instances for the firm embody Nia Jax, Tamina Snuka, and Ava Raine (The Rock’s daughter). Trinity Fatu, who carried out in WWE as Naomi, can be married to Jimmy Uso, making her associated by marriage.

This lineage and their status had been the centerpiece of WWE’s The Bloodline steady and storyline.

What Have The Usos Done?

Jimmy and Jey made their WWE debut alongside their cousin Tamina in May 2010 by attacking one other trio of wrestlers outlined by the households that got here earlier than them, The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya Neidhart). Smith and Kidd had been the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions, placing the twin brothers instantly right into a excessive profile feud. They wound up popping out on the quick finish in each six-man tag matches and Tag Team Championship matches. They would get drafted to Smackdown in 2011 and nonetheless come up quick in tag workforce championship pursuits.

Then they simply type of…disappeared from tv for the higher half of two years.

They had been nonetheless placing in work at untelevised exhibits and occasions, however to most WWE viewers, they legitimately didn’t see this extremely touted workforce of brothers from a legendary dynasty from 2011 till 2013.

According to Jimmy and Jey themselves, they tried a pair issues to vary up their act to get on or any TV time, however didn’t get a lot of a response. In 2011, they began performing the Siva Tau, a conventional Samoan warfare dance, of their ring entrance, however this was round the time they stopped exhibiting up on RAW and Smackdown. Later in 2012, they might introduce face paint much like their uncle Umaga and to additional dig into their Samoan heritage, however increased ups didn’t discover for nearly a complete yr. They wouldn’t get again on common weekly programming till the summer season of 2013. From that time, nevertheless, they began to take off.

The Usos began having matches with The Shield, which included cousin Roman Reigns, over their Tag Team Championships, then working into The Wyatt Family and Cody Rhodes and Goldust – all of this whereas these groups had been really at their hottest. They developed a gimmick of having their matches go “Uso Crazy” at instances when the brothers had been rolling at a quick tempo. They would lastly win their first tag workforce gold in March of 2014.

The brothers would stay in competition and rack up a pair extra tag title reigns till they turned heel in the midst of the match to find out the first ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions in 2016. They exchanged their vivid colours and face paint for black, road impressed apparel. They would seize these belts, once more in March, this time of 2017 and had what was, till lately, the finest run of their profession. The defining moments of this run was undisputedly their rivalry with The New Day, the place all the members of each groups placed on match of the evening performances each time they locked horns.

Both squads have stated that the different was their excellent foils and the finest dance companions all of them had, bringing out the finest in each groups. Highlights of that fantastic feud included a rap battle between all 5 males, the cap-off of the complete program ending in the first-ever tag workforce Hell in a Cell match, and each groups getting pissed they had been assigned to the Summerslam 2017 pre-show and deciding to tear the absolute home down and overshadowing each different match that evening.

The final payoff was really attending to compete on the most important Wrestlemania card for the first time ever in 2018 – a full seven years after debuting. Going into the subsequent yr’s Wrestlemania, The Usos could be concerned in a single of their first actual items of character growth once they deliberately forfeited in a match towards New Day members Big E and Xavier Woods as they fought for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship shot at Wrestlemania, citing respect for all three males in a single of my private favourite wrestling moments ever.

Following Jimmy getting charged with a DUI, the brothers disappeared in the second half of 2019 after which once more when Jimmy suffered a knee harm in early 2020.

In September 2020, Jey Uso changed former rival Big E in a match to find out who could be the first to face then-newly topped WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Jey inexplicably received and put in movement the occasions that will develop into a three-year story arc of The Bloodline which can completely take a complete different article of evaluation to interrupt down to present justice not simply to it, however the pair of twins who are actually absolutely fleshed out particular person characters. I can promise you that, uss.