I acknowledge you My Tribal Chief!
On April 7th, 2024, Roman Reigns’ 1316 Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship reign came to an unfortunate end in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 40 to the ‘American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes.
Throughout his incredible reign, we got to see typically underrated superstars become elevated and brought to new heights. This includes the likes of Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn, and ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso through the incredibly cinematic Bloodline Story Arc.
But, what managed to capture the audience’s attention the most was the dedication and connection that Roman Reigns, as The Tribal Chief, could bring to the big screen.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, Roman stepped away from the WWE and his Universal Championship Match with Goldberg at Wrestlemania 36 due to him being immunocompromised with Leukemia. This left WWE without as strong of a stage presence like Roman Reigns and what he brought to the table. As such, they had no choice but to replace him with the ‘Next Big Thing’, and that was Braun Strowman.
During the five month period while Roman Reigns was gone, many fans wondered when we would get to see him again.
Well, thankfully, we would not have to wait long.
This is because in the closing moments of Summerslam 2020, after ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt (Rest In Peace) defeated Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Roman Reigns came and wreaked havoc on both Braun and Bray. You could tell he had a different attitude and a different look.
This wasn’t confirmed until on the Smackdown following his return, he aligned himself with the Advocate, now known as the Wiseman, Paul Heyman. This started his first heel turn in WWE as a singles competitor, something many people wanted, especially in 2017.
A triple threat match between Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Bray Wyatt was set for August 30, 2020 for Payback. However, before the match, as most wrestlers do, a contract had to be signed.
Roman didn’t sign his contract at a contract signing like Braun and Bray did. Instead, he treated the contract signing as a Money In The Bank cash-in, and signed it at the top of the entrance ramp with his Wiseman when both Wyatt and Braun were down and heavily exhausted from their match.
Then, Roman hit a spear on his opponents, and pinned Braun for a successful three count to reclaim the championship he never lost and to cement his name in the history books as The Greatest Of This Generation.
When it was time to name a number one contender for Roman Reigns’ first title defense, Jey Uso was the one who managed to successfully do so by beating the likes of Matt Riddle and Sheamus, just to name a few.
However, this wouldn’t be an easy battle for Jey, as Roman would manage to psychologically play with Jey’s mind to convince him to join his faction, known as The Bloodline.
Jey was hesitant at first, which ultimately led to two incredibly emotional matches filled with an immense amount of storytelling at both Clash of Champions and Hell In The Cell.
However, at Survivor Series 2020, Jey Uso officially joined the Bloodline, falling victim to Roman’s well-placed and strategic mind games.
When Jimmy Uso returned from injury in 2021, he tried to convince his twin brother Jey that Roman is a manipulative liar who doesn’t care about Jey at all, citing his actions done at both Hell In The Cell and Clash of Champions for proof.
Eventually, with enough convincing from Jey, Jimmy finally played into Roman’s mind games and joined the Bloodline – creating an incredibly dominant faction that ruled the WWE for four years.
When Jimmy and Jey pair up together, you know that you are going to see some great action within the ring.
This was truly the case because at Money In The Bank 2021, the first PLE in front of a live crowd as well as the first Bloodline appearance in front of a live crowd (excluding Smackdown the night prior), The Usos went head-to-head with The Mysterios for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships.
After an incredibly hard fought match between the two wrestling families, The Usos beat the Mysterios and their 622 day title reign officially began.
Throughout their work as champions in The Bloodline, many people tuned into Smackdown every week to see what the Samoan Dynasty would do next. This includes new title defenses, storytelling with Paul Heyman/Brock Lesnar, or even simple backstage segments. But, what was certain was that every week’s show managed to be better than the last.
However, following the fallout of Wrestlemania 38, people began to complain about the Bloodline and started to say that they were “tedious”. This sentiment all started to change when Sami Zayn was brought into The Bloodline as the “Honorary Uce”.
During his time in the faction, Sami Zayn brought a breath of fresh air to The Bloodline. He did so by providing comedic relief to the group in a way that everyone could relate to and understand – trying to fit in a group where deep down, you know you don’t belong in.
Eventually, as time went on, Sami Zayn realized that he should turn on the group before they turned on him, and he hit Roman Reigns in the back with a steel chair at the end of the Royal Rumble.
This led to a strong and tense blood feud between Roman and Sami. However, even though their feud was short, people were still on the edge of their seats during their match at Elimination Chamber 2023.
This is because many wrestling fans thought that Sami would win his first World Championship, especially in his hometown and because of the level of fame he had at the time. However, even though he unfortunately did not win, he still managed to succeed in a different way. This is because, Sami and his friend for over 15 years, Kevin Owens, dethroned The Usos and ended their 622 day title reign in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 39 Night One.
Nevertheless, on Romans side, many people thought his title reign would end the next night because of how strongly the WWE represented Cody Rhodes ever since he returned from Pectoral Surgery. However, when Roman beat Cody Rhodes, it’s safe to say that many people were shocked at what just happened. Some “fans” went to the extent of even boycotting the WWE and some sent death threats. That is the IWC summed up for you.
After this occurred, many people were confused with what would happen next in the Bloodline. This is the case as many people believed that there was nothing left to do. But, wrestling fans would all be proven wrong because following Wrestlemania, The Bloodline storyline began to heat up.
This is because on the day that Roman reached 1000 days of being Universal Champion, after months of teasing and speculation, Jimmy Uso finally superkicked Roman in the head, costing Solo and Roman the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.
Unlike previously, Jimmy struck first and Jey was conflicted about whose side he should align with: his twin brother or his cousin.
A couple weeks later, Jey followed suit with his twin brother and superkicked Roman Reigns. But, what followed his superkick would be a summer filled with Bloodline drama, known to most as the start of The Bloodline Civil War and split between families.
At Money In The Bank, in the Main Event, it was Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. This match, alongside the incredibly entertaining British crowd, was quite the in-ring spectacle, which most people fail to see.
But, what was most noteworthy about this night was when Jey Uso pinned Roman Reigns and broke his undefeated streak of 1294 days.
This led to the two of them having a match at Summerslam, contested under Bloodline Rules. Almost everyone was looking forward to their match, because if it was anything like their previous matches in 2020, you knew that it was going to be something worth watching.
However, after Jey Uso hit a frog splash on Roman and covered him for the pin, before the referee could count to three, a mysterious man in a black hoodie pulled Jey Uso out of the ring. This was none other than Jey Uso’s twin brother: Jimmy Uso.
Jimmy Uso then proceeded to hit his twin brother with a superkick, costing Jey the opportunity to become a single’s champion for the first time in his career.
This led to long term storytelling to take place between the two twin brothers because over the course between August 2023 to April 2024, they remained separated from each other on different brands until Wrestlemania, where they had a match one-on-one for the very first time. Jey was the man left standing and following his defeat, Jimmy got brutally kicked out of The Bloodline where he was replaced by Tama Tonga.
In conclusion, throughout the entirety of The Bloodline saga, Roman Reigns stood as the epitome of success. Whether working the ring with unparalleled athleticism, furthering story-lines with his facial expressions, or delivering electrifying promos, Roman consistently captivated the WWE universe. As the countdown to his return continues, one can only anticipate how his presence will reshape the landscape of WWE. Thus, we must ask ourselves, how will The Bloodline 2.0 react to his return and what should we expect to follow?
