Rikishi blasts WWE for wasting Jacob Fatu’s momentum

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In the last few months, Rikishi has been very active in the wrestling scene, mainly giving his opinion on the management of Samoan wrestlers inside and outside of WWE. Figures like Zilla Fatu or Jey Uso have been some of the topics Rikishi has addressed on his podcast. His comments about his son Jey are especially remembered, praising his quality during his lowest months of this year 2025 and harshly criticizing his defeat against Gunther for the Heavyweight World Championship. 

This time, the Hall of Famer has spoken about the situation of Jacob Fatu. The former US champion returned last week to the programming during the WWE SmackDown episode. Fatu, who had been missing for almost two months, attacked Drew McIntyre. Despite how appealing it may be to see a clash between these two, the reality is that Fatu is not meeting the expectations that were set for him a few months ago, when some assumed he would soon rise to the top ranks of the company.

One of those disappointed is Rikishi himself, who on his podcast criticized WWE for putting the brakes on that stage of the wrestler's rise. "Jacob came out — he was on fire. They had everything behind him. They were lighting a fire with this kid. Everything they threw at him, he responded. He was doing his thing, and suddenly, poof, like a Houdini trick," he argued on the podcast Rikishi Fatu off the top. 

Furthermore, he argued that the only one to blame for Fatu not becoming a star is solely and exclusively the company. "Because the things he does in the ring, man — to this day, I still think they haven't put him with the right opponents or lit him up with gasoline to really propel him and make it work. You know what I mean? It's just been a little teaser. We see Jacob's skills. We see his talent. We see how his popularity is rising. It's like we can see the top of the hill, but we haven't reached it yet", reflected Rikishi. 

Nevertheless, the former Intercontinental champion expressed confidence that this new rivalry with Drew McIntyre could revive the great momentum Fatu had a few months ago. Fatu's downturn probably came as a result of his split from Solo Sikoa. After becoming the US champion, Fatu parted ways with his cousin Sikoa, and since then he engaged in a feud with his family that lasted for several months, which ended up wearing out a large part of the fans.