Last week, when Jey Uso defeated Je’Von Evans in the semi-finals of the WWE King of the Ring 2026 tournament, the crowd was amped, but some fans were not happy.
Many fans felt that the Jey Uso experiment had run its course and had not worked, so it should not continue. Others have just wanted to move on from the potential fighting between Bloodline members again. And some just wanted new, fresh blood to also be in Jey Uso’s slot.
With all of the wrestling community giving mixed reception to the result, the question begs: Who should have taken Jey Uso’s slot? Or is Jey Uso the right man to face Oba Femi in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament at Night of Champions? Let’s take a look at the other potential winners of this year’s tournament and see who would have made a great fit for the finals, and if Jey was the right choice.
LA Knight
It is well known that LA Knight is extremely over and a wrestler many fans have long wanted to see become a world champion. Knight has shown that he has the right look, character, charisma, and catchphrases to get a good push in the WWE. Ever since LA Knight became over with the crowd, people have pitched scenarios for how the Megastar could end up as a world champion. However, it has been years, and he still has not received another shot.
With Knight now feuding with The Bloodline again, many saw this as a great chance for him to finally get a world title and have it be against the first man that he received a WWE World Title shot against, which was Roman Reigns. The current storyline has a lot of fans feeling that it was a wasted opportunity for him not to make it far into the
tournament and even, potentially, win it.
Finn Balor
Balor is also in a similar situation of fans wanting him to be pushed, but it has never happened in the last couple of years. Finn Balor has had quite a year, where he had two great World Title matches against CM Punk, left the Judgment Day, and was able to defeat Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania.
Following his feud with the Judgment Day, Finn Balor was moved to Friday Night SmackDown.
This was a fresh start and a great opportunity for him to get a big push, especially since there is momentum back on the side of Balor again for the first time in quite a while.
So when he lost the King of the Ring tournament in the first round, there was also a lot of unhappiness with his first match as a member of the SmackDown brand. Many fans have felt that a win here was also a missed opportunity to give him more momentum.
Many are worried that this could have Finn Balor stuck in the same booking that he has had for years.
Balor is someone who could have benefited a lot in this tournament by going far, and even if losing in a later round, it could have shown that they are taking Balor a lot more seriously with his move to the SmackDown brand. But that has yet to be seen so far.
Je’Von Evans
Je’Von Evans is currently one of the hottest prospects in the WWE. Evans is someone who has the crowd behind him. Evans has a cool moveset and is seen as someone who can help lead the WWE brand in the future.
So when Jey Uso defeated Je’Von Evans in the semi-finals, a lot of people were unhappy. This was seen as a good opportunity to continue pushing Je’Von Evans.
A lot of people wanted Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans because it also could have been a great showcase of what is to come in the future as well. Two wrestlers who the WWE is very behind getting to the finals of the most iconic WWE tournament for a World Title match would have shown that WWE is ready for the future and is all in on both.
That is not to say that Evans isn’t over or wanted by WWE, but it would have helped and given fresh blood to the WWE main event scene.
