WWE Rumors on Jey Uso's Future, Kevin Owens' Status and Carlito's Return

Source: WWE.com

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Jey Uso Set for Singles Push

After main-eventing SummerSlam and now being traded to Raw, Jey Uso is poised for a singles run on the red brand.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE officials are optimistic about Uso's potential to be a solo star going forward.

Jey made a surprise return at Payback on Saturday when Cody Rhodes revealed he used his influence to get the former Bloodline member traded to Raw.

It was the first time Uso has been on television since he quit WWE on the Aug. 11 episode of SmackDown in the wake of Jimmy Uso turning on him at SummerSlam.

Jey is in the midst of the biggest push of his career. He pinned Roman Reigns in the Bloodline Civil War at Money in the Bank, leading to him challenging the Tribal Chief for the undisputed WWE universal title at SummerSlam.

Moving him off of SmackDown allows Uso to work on his own without having to confront the Bloodline, at least for the time being. It also provides him with a chance to showcase what he can do as a solo act after spending his entire career in a tag team with Jimmy.

Kevin Owens Pulled from Raw

On the heels of losing the undisputed tag team titles at Payback, Kevin Owens was noticeably absent from Raw.

Per Mike Johnson of PW Insider, Owens was backstage at the arena on Monday night and at one point slated to wrestle JD McDonagh before being removed from the show.

Sami Zayn did address his partner's absence during the opening promo segment when he told Jey Uso there are a lot of superstars in the locker room holding a grudge against him for what he did during his time in the Bloodline.

"Even Kevin Owens and I haven't always seen eye to eye when it comes to this whole situation," Zayn said. "But it's fine. Kevin Owens isn't even here tonight."

McDonagh, who interfered on behalf of the Judgment Day at Payback to help Damian Priest and Finn Balor win the tag titles, wrestled Zayn on Monday night. McDonagh got the win with an assist from Dominik Mysterio.

It's unclear why Owens wasn't on the show.

There was a spot in Saturday's tag title match when Owens hit Mysterio with a senton off the balcony in the stands that looked like he overshot the target and landed hard on the ground.

Owens had a legit rib injury that kept him out of action for several weeks before he worked a series of dark matches and house show events recently leading up to Payback.

Latest on Carlito's WWE Return

Nearly three months after reportedly signing a contract with WWE, Carlito has yet to do anything on television with the company.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Upton), Carlito is under contract but WWE has no plan in place to use him.

After Carlito's surprise appearance at Backlash in Puerto Rico, Meltzer reported in June (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News) the former intercontinental champion told a promoter from an independent show he was scheduled to work he had to cancel because he signed a deal with WWE.

There's been no indication at this point there is anything in the works for Carlito. His most recent matches were against Matt Cardona for the House of Glory heavyweight title on June 16 and a tag match with Chase Oliver against Jack Verville and Louis Lyndon on June 17.

Carlito worked for WWE from 2003 to '10 before being released. He won the intercontinental title, United States title and tag team titles with Primo. He was a surprise entrant in the 2021 Royal Rumble when he was eliminated from the match by Elias.

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