Hot Take: Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman Must Take Jey Uso's WWE Heavyweight Title ASAP

If WWE is smart, Jey Uso won’t have that World Heavyweight title around his waist for long—not with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman running around in a new stable, anyway. 

Whether Uso was a transitional champion or someone set up for a long, long run as a top guy was very much up for debate well before his obvious win over Gunther at WrestleMania 41. 

The sudden presence of Rollins, Heyman and Bron Breakker as a faction, though, ends it all. 

The title change needs to happen now. Meaning, the Backlash PLE at the latest. 

Some will absolutely not agree, but such a move would just be smart business on multiple levels. It’s about the company-wide outlook as much as it is about Uso’s already directionless-feeling early part of his reign. 

Zoom out and just look at the top title scene. John Cena predictably took the belt off Cody Rhodes at ‘Mania and will feud with Randy Orton going into Backlash. That entire scene is now wrapped up again with a part-time champion and doesn’t figure to change until at least the summer, but could easily go longer than that. 

Cena’s spot creates a situation where WWE could easily write a new Bloodline-like tale with the other top title—provided it’s around Rollins’ waist, not Uso’s. 

There’s an opening for a consistent, week-to-week long-form story now and Rollins’ new faction is the perfect fit. Bonus points if they add another member and give plenty of wrestlers like Drew McIntyre title shots while playing up some eventual intra-stable drama before a split down the road. 

Those who cry foul for Uso with this sort of idea might want to slow down, too. An unfair loss because Rollins’ stable plays the numbers game and wins won’t make fans cool off on him. He’ll still have the beloved entrance and big merchandise numbers. 

Consider the alternative—Uso ends up dropping the belt to someone like McIntyre, or even a Gunther rematch. Or, they stretch out his run to fit the seemingly hinted Sami Zayn heel turn. Losses in those scenarios might actually cool him off, especially if his title reign goes for too long and feels like the “B” title behind Cena (which it is, but it will matter over the long run). 

Getting Uso back in chase mode rather than overexposing him as champion makes sense. Getting him in chase mode unfairly and putting unending heat on Heyman and Co. is just smart wrestling booking. 

We all agree Rollins deserves it, too—just ask the ‘Mania crowd while he went heel with Heyman, or the Raw after ‘Mania crowd. He’s transcended heel and face stuff for the most part and is universally loved more than most simply because he spent the last two years railroaded as an afterthought while The Rock caused chaos around the ‘Mania builds. 

WWE needs a headline act and it’s very obviously positioned this new faction as such. It’s also not going to spotlight matches against CM Punk and Roman Reigns every single week, either. 

A faction that strong is going to go after gold in a big way across the roster. Rollins, the original holder of Uso’s title, by the way, should be first up to strike the reactions before it cools off. 

This would also subvert expectations in another way. By now, WWE fans well understand that the Triple H era of booking loves its long title reigns for the top spots. Slashing that expectation with a quick takedown of Jey would flip that, deepening the shock, heelish reactions for Rollins and fan desire to back Uso more as he seeks to get it back. 

Let’s not pretend this is a case of say, Brock Lesnar stripping Kofi Kingston of a title and everyone never speaking of it again, either. This is Seth, of all wrestlers, in a new faction with Heyman and Triple H at the controls, so Jey’s not going to be up and abandoned. 

Plus, for all we know, they’ll need Jey quickly back on Bloodline duty in some fashion—especially if it gets to the point that Roman’s family is the only one that can stand up to Seth’s faction. 

Not everyone would come out of this happy, of course. But Jey will always have that moment and stand as proof that Superstars can work their way up the ladder and reach the highest of spots through said work.

Now, though, the same moment and anticipation of further moments can be put to work in crafting great stories for fans. Rollins and his faction getting hands on that gold and resetting Jey to chase mode should be a matter of when, not if. 

And the when? ASAP.