Jey Uso began his singles run in 2023 after leaving SmackDown and moving to RAW, where he introduced his “Yeet” catchphrase. It has become synonymous with his character and it’s helped him sell a ton of merchandise as well. Jey Uso has now revealed how he came up with the popular catchphrase and whether he expected it would become so popular.
While speaking on Night Cap, Jey Uso explained how he came up with his “Yeet” catchphrase, stating that he and his brothers and Roman Reigns had been using the term for a long time. He pointed out that if fans go back and watch old promos, they might notice them saying it. According to him, “Yeet” has roots in West Coast slang and existed long before it became a meme.
Uso mentioned that younger fans often see it as just a viral catchphrase, but for him, it had been part of everyday slang. Originally, the word didn’t even have the “T” at the end—it was simply “Ye,” drawn out in pronunciation.
“If you really pay attention, like, um, man, my brothers, Roman—we’ve kind of been saying that from the jump, right? Right. Uh, uh, uh, if you look at, like, old promos or whatever, you’ll hear him. You know, it’s also a West Coast slang, right? It’s been a slang before ‘Yeet’ became a meme.
Like, I’m a little older than, you know, the little homies who are like, ‘Oh, that’s just a meme, a catchphrase where you’re yeeting people.’ But it’s—it’s been slang. The ‘T’ wasn’t even on there. It used to be ‘Ye,’ like, ‘ye e e e e e,’ you know? You said it a little too hard, though—you gotta pull it back.”
Uso admitted he never expected “Yeet” to take off the way it did. He felt the turning point came during a press conference, where even Cody Rhodes started saying it. From that moment, the catchphrase gained momentum and became a defining part of his character.
“But, uh, man, man—man, I didn’t expect it to take off like that. Oh, man, it just—it just took off. And I feel like it kind of took off at the press conference. If you watch the press conference, like, you know, if you watch—you know—and then, uh, I had Cody saying ‘Ye,’ and then it just took off, man. Like, I think that was a turning point. But I never thought it would take off the way it did.”
There was also a trademark dispute over the “Yeet” catchphrase, but it was ultimately resolved and WWE has continued to sell Jey Uso’s merchandise like hotcakes since then. Nonetheless, the “Yeet” movement is in full force as Jey Uso won the Royal Rumble, so the sky is truly the limit for him right now.
Did you know “Yeet” had such deep roots before it became a meme? What do you think about WWE turning it into a major catchphrase for Jey Uso? Let us know in the comments!
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