WWE Universe voices outrage on YouTube after Jey Uso's win in KOTR first round on SmackDown (June 12, 2026)
(Courtesy : WWE.com)
Jey Uso pinned LA Knight to advance into the semi-finals.
The June 12 edition of Friday Night SmackDown aired live from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. The main event of the show featured the final first-round match in the 2026 King of the Ring tournament.
LA Knight, Jey Uso, Royce Keys, and Finn Balor battled to secure the final semi-final spot against Je’Von Evans. Just when it seemed like Keys was going to take home the victory after a spinebuster on Knight, Jey came in flying with a splash and pinned Knight to secure the spot.
Following the show, WWE, as usual, uploaded the videos, including the full main event match. Fans quickly bombarded the dislike button on the video, voicing their opinions regarding Jey’s win.
Also Read: Top five most disliked videos on WWE’s YouTube channel in history ft. Cody Rhodes & The Rock
The video continues to be flooded with dislikes
As of the writing of this article, Jey Uso winning the match has amassed 554K views, but when you take a closer look, the like-to-dislike ratio explains the backlash, as the video has accumulated 68k dislikes as opposed to 14k likes.
The majority of fans are calling out WWE for poor booking decisions, especially when the match featured Knight and Balor, who many fans believed had not received their well-deserved push and deserved the win. Notably, while Balor has had a very short World title reign as he had to vacate due to injury, Knight has not even held any other title in WWE other than the United States title.
Fans in the comments section have also hailed Jey as the face of the ‘ruthless depression era,’ a term coined by fans to describe the current state of WWE.
With the win, Jey is now set to face Je’Von Evans, with the winner advancing into the final of the tournament, which will be held at Night of Champions on June 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, Oba Femi and Dominik Mysterio will battle in the first semi-final on the June 15 edition of Raw.
Notably, all four of the semi-final participants are from the Monday Night Raw roster, while in the QOTR semi-finals, Charlotte Flair remains the only star from SmackDown.
The winners of the King and Queen tournaments will earn world title opportunities at WWE SummerSlam, similar to how the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber format works regarding WrestleMania.
When and where will the KOTR semi-final between Jey Uso and Je’Von Evans take place?
WWE has yet to confirm when the second King of the Ring semi-final will take place. The first semi-final is scheduled for the June 15 edition of Raw, where Oba Femi will face Dominik Mysterio. Meanwhile, the Queen of the Ring tournament semi-finals will continue this week, with one match set for Raw and the other for SmackDown.
When and where will the finals of the tournament take place?
The finals will be contested at the 2026 edition of Night of Champions. The winners of the King and Queen tournaments earned world title opportunities at SummerSlam.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Wrestling on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram & Whatsapp.
Abhijit Singh is a budding sports journalist with over three years of experience in the field, and a photographer capturing stories through his lens since 2018. With a background in philosophy and political science, he brings a thoughtful, analytical edge to his reporting where every word is guided by curiosity and intent. Whether he's capturing the emotion of a moment or unpacking the deeper narratives within the game, Abhijit’s work is rooted in insight and passion. When he’s not covering sports, he’s often exploring new ideas through reading, traveling or just procrastinating.