Rikishi Reacts To Jey Uso’s Royal Rumble Win, Mark Henry Says Roxanne Perez Should Be Proud, Charlotte/Fandango React To NXT Return

Mark Henry recently took to the “Busted Open Radio” podcast to comment on Roxanne Perez’s 2025 women’s Royal Rumble performance, noting that she should be proud of herself. He said,

“Roxanne Perez at the end, her and Charlotte, Roxanne is not in that place for nothing. Roxanne is in that place because of what they see the future being.”

He added, “How awesome it is to be in that spot where the company views you as somebody that could potentially be a top, top person in the business? Roxanne should be super proud of herself.”

JDC (Fandango in WWE) made his return to the WWE NXT brand on Tuesday night’s show, and he spoke about his return to the silver and black brand in a “Digital Exclusive” following the show. He said,

“Ear to ear, genuinely heartfelt, but I just broke my Ferragamos [shoes], so it’s a bittersweet day for me. That’s just me trying to be funny, I’m sorry. NXT means the world to me, to have me back tonight. Just goosebumps, man. I can’t get over it. I’m grateful, that’s exactly what I am.”

Charlotte Flair also made her return on this week’s episode of WWE NXT.

In a “Digital Exclusive” following the show, Flair commented on her appearance on Tuesday’s show. She said,

“So I spent a year and a half here training. All my rehab was here, my first time hitting the ropes, getting in the ring, getting familiar with the girls that are on NXT. So to come back where I’m homegrown, where my first match was, where my coaches are, it’s always surreal to come back, to remember your roots. They definitely gave me a warm welcome, so I was very appreciative. But I also had the opportunity to talk about Roxanne and Giulia in the Women’s Royal Rumble because they did do an incredible job. They’re not me, but they will get there [laughs], no, but they really did impress me. They really knocked it out of the park, and I do truly believe that NXT does have the greatest women’s division in the world.”

She continued, “I do think Raw and SmackDown, when they get there, it is a different ballgame. But here is where you build the foundation, and they’re killing it, so I couldn’t have been more proud. But to give them the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I might pick you, I might pick you, I might pick you,’ that’s what it’s all about because I have picked an NXT Women’s Champion the last time I won the Women’s Royal Rumble. So who knows who I’m gonna pick? It’s on my terms. Here’s the thing. WrestleMania’s not until April, so I’ve got all the time in the world. So I’m just gonna take my time while you guys wait it out. It’s on my time. I might not even pick until the night before WrestleMania. Because I have the golden ticket.”

Rikishi has commented on his son, Jey Uso, winning the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match.

On the latest edition of his “Off The Top” podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer discussed Jey’s victory. He said,

“[Smiles] Can you tell by the look on my face? It has been like that since the weekend of the Royal Rumble, since Jey punched his ticket to headlining WrestleMania, YeetMania. You can tell my voice is just kind of hoarse from telling, screaming, having a few cocktails. The family, we’ve been celebrating. It’s been great, man. I want to say thank you all the fans, thank you to all my family, my personal friends, those that got my contact, my number. Nonstop texts, nonstop calling. I ain’t ever had so many people call me. I wasn’t even in the match [laughs]. But just because the relationship, the love and the respect that’s shown, how happy they are for my son Jey, the work has been recognized. So thank y’all. Thank the whole wrestling universe. Thank the world. WrestleMania is gonna lit. It is gonna be YeetMania [laughs]. Yeet.”

He added, “Honestly, I had no idea that this boy was gonna be the one to win the Royal Rumble. We’ve talked about it on the past podcasts, about the Yeet Man, about the opportunity, about the third time he came up against Gunther and so forth, when he won the Intercontinental Belt and he lost the Intercontinental Belt, such a short time. I mean, all that. Somebody must have heard and said, ‘Hey.’ The one thing that is definitely power is the voice of the wrestling fans. The voice of the wrestling fans, the videos tell no lie, when you see Jey hit that arena, Jey’s got that arena all lit. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hong Kong, Japan, Chicago, New York City, it does not matter. It is YeetMania. So the Yeet Man’s on fire. The Yeet Man has put in work. For us as a family that has seen personally the struggle, the hard work that the kid has went through, thank you to WWE, thank you to the WWE Universe for believing in this kid. My kids, they are not the type of kids that’s gonna quit. I always tell them, know your worth, believe in your worth, your time will come. Just keep working hard, keep working hard. Now, hey, Jey, you the man. You the man. You made us all proud. All the family members, I’m sure the fans as well. I got goosebumps talking about this, and this happened a few days ago. I got goosebumps. I’ve never, for anything huge celebration, the last time I felt like this is when we won the tag team straps for the first time, me and Samu against The Quebecers, and when I’ve seen Yokozuna win the Royal Rumble, back in the day. Years later, man, we’re talking 2025, we got a Fatu up there that’s gonna headline WrestleMania. So all I can say, without no alcohol in me, God did. God did.”

Rikishi also admitted that Jey Uso’s win was emotional for him. He said,

“This one here was [very] emotional. You see your kid…it was the type of vibe too when they both wrestled each other at WrestleMania. All I can think about is the days back home in Pensacola, all the lonely nights trying to make this thing happen for these kids and so forth, and the struggles that they’ve gone through, because of my life of a wrestler that’s trying to make it, it takes me back to thinking about my late mother. These were her grand babies. She always talked to them about the faith and the culture and be good kids, keep working hard, things will come your way. I can only wish that she was here so we could all celebrate together. I guarantee you that she would be front-row seat, [for] her grand babies at WrestleMania in Vegas. So a lot goes on, and man, it’s so much to try to unload, the joy and the happiness that the Anoa’i -Fatu clan feels. I’m just proud. I’m proud of Jey, Jimmy, Solo [Sikoa], Jacob [Fatu], Roman [Reigns], just set the pace. Rock is on a whole new…that level, conquered Hollywood and now in with the company. So it’s a good day for the family. I’m glad that the company and the world has recognized, this wasn’t given to us. This was a family that has [given] blood, sweat, and tears for 75-plus years. 75-plus years, we’ve given our heart and our soul.”