"I'm an alcoholic" - Idea revealed for WWE to increase the heat on Roman Reigns using Jimmy Uso's arrest
Jimmy Uso's recent DUI arrest seemed to have had no impact on his on-screen standing as the Usos won the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Money in the Bank.
Instead of being reprimanded for his umpteenth DUI charge, WWE didn't unsettle its storyline dynamics and went ahead with the title change. Every member of The Bloodline now has gold around their waist, but a section of the fanbase is unhappy with WWE's lenient approach towards Jimmy Uso's case.
Vince Russo addressed the matter on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW with Dr. Chris Featherstone. The former WWE head writer alluded to stockholders turning a blind eye to Jimmy Uso's arrest.
As reported earlier, WWE has a lot at stake in Roman Reigns' Universal Championship reign as the promotion has a long-term plan for a match against The Rock.
The ongoing John Cena angle also has to be considered, and Vince Russo pitched a brilliant storyline idea to incorporate Jimmy Uso's real-life incident into WWE programming.
Russo stated that Jimmy Uso should come clean to Roman Reigns about his issues with alcoholism. The WWE veteran added that Roman Reigns should then beat up Jimmy Uso instead of showing sympathy.
Russo felt that an angle using Jimmy Uso's real problems would increase the heat on Roman Reigns.
"Bro, what about, and I don't even watch SmackDown. But what about Reigns reprimanding him, and then Uso breaks down and just says, 'Listen, man, you know, I've got an issue, man. I'm an addict, man. I'm an alcoholic, bro.' Like he really breaks down. 'I've tried, I've gone to rehab. I've done this, and I've done that, man. What do you want me to do? I'm sick!' Do you know what I'm saying? And then Reigns beats the crap out of him. Do you know what I'm saying? You could have actually done the angle and put more heat on Reigns for it," explained Vince Russo.
"You know, bro, it's funny because you hear about 'Oh, they are PG, because we have stockholders now, this and that.' Well, I guess the stockholders don't matter in a case like this," said Russo.
Stuff like that would make people respect the show: Vince Russo on how his booking idea could help WWE
Russo added that utilizing real-life elements in pro wrestling storytelling helps earn the respect of fans.
"Stuff like that would make people respect the show. Will respect the show, not like, 'Wait, a minute, bro, you're going to reward that guy.' It would get the complete opposite, positive reaction," concluded Russo.
Roman Reigns is heading for a big SummerSlam showdown against John Cena, and The Usos will continue to play a pivotal role in the Tribal Chief's run as WWE's premier bad guy.
However, did WWE commit a mistake by not punishing Jimmy Uso? Should the company have blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
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