Since Jimmy Uso reunited with Roman Reigns at WWE Bad Blood, fans have been on the edge of their seats, waiting to see whether or not Jey Uso would follow in his brother’s footsteps. Unfortunately, Jey wants nothing to do with Reigns or his brother.
The original Bloodline began in late 2020, but the road to its formation was anything but smooth. In September 2020, Jey Uso became Roman Reigns’ Number 1 contender for the Universal title when he won a four-way match. Two weeks later, Jey was attacked on stage by an infuriated Reigns. At the Clash of Champions in September 2020, Reigns and Jey fought for the Universal title. Reigns brutalized Jey so severely that Jimmy Uso (who was out of the ring with an ACL injury) had to “come out and throw in the towel for his brother.”
On an October 2nd episode of Smackdown, Reigns first used the phrase “Acknowledge Me” to demand that Jey submit to him. The defiant Jey refused, and Reigns challenged him to Hell in a Cell. During this Hell in a Cell match, Reigns “[beat] Jey within an inch of his life”, then proceeded to Put Jimmy in a guillotine choke. Jey was forced to say “I Quit” to protect his brother. On the October 30th episode of Smackdown, Jey finally acknowledged Reigns as Head of the Table and helped him beat Daniel Bryan. Jey aligning himself with Reigns marks the official formation of The Bloodline. Even after getting Jey on his side, Reigns continued to brutalize Jey to “place extra emphasis on making people respect his family” and “bring out even more aggression from Jey.” Reigns lashed out at Jey when Jey lost for Team Smacksown at Survivor Series. When Jey helped Reigns beat Kevin Owens in a title match, Reigns repaid Jey by beating him down with a chair.
In May 2021, Jimmy Uso joined The Bloodline after returning to the ring. According to SEScoops, Reigns getting both Usos on his side “solidified The Bloodline as a dominant faction in WWE.” Roman Reigns’ reign as the Universal Champion lasted from 2020 to 2022 (one of the longest reigns in WWE history), and the Usos winning the Smackdown Tag Team Championships “further cement[ed] the group’s dominance.”
In 2022, Sami Zayn became an honorary member of The Bloodline. Zayn’s involvement marked a period of turmoil and conflict that WWE fans have deemed “The Bloodline Civil War Era.” It started the Royal Rumble of 2023, when Zayn turned on Reigns. When The Bloodline attacked Zayn, Jey Uso walked out of the group.
The Bloodline also started losing its dominance over the WWE world as a whole. The Usos lost their Tag Team titles. All of the tension came to a head at Night of Champions 2023, when Jimmy Uso attacked Reigns, costing Reigns and Sikoa their Tag Team titles. In June 2023, Jey sided with his brother Jimmy and left The Bloodline. The Usos went up against Reigns and Simla at Money in the Bank 2023, where they “hand[ed] Reigns his first pitfall loss in over three years.” Reigns lost his Universal Title to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania XL, which led to him taking a hiatus from WWE.
During this hiatus, Solo Sikoa stepped up as The Bloodline’s new leader. Sikoa brought several new members into the group: Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu. Sikoa’s Bloodline is so vastly different from the original Bloodline that wrestling fans refer to this group as “The New Bloodline.”
The New Bloodline’s arch-enemy is none other than Roman Reigns himself. During a promotional video for SummerSlam 2024, Solo Sikora demanded that Roman Reigns “Acknowledge Me”, and declared that at SummerSlam, “The Bloodline will handle family business.” Reigns made his return to the wrestling world at SummerSlam 2024 by helping Cody Rhodes defeat Solo Sikoa, preventing Sikoa from bringing the Universal Undisputed Champion title back to the Bloodline.
This rivalry heated up in late August when Roman Reigns took the ula fala back from Solo Sikoa. His victory was short-lived, for right after he put the ula fala around his neck, Jacob Fatu stormed into the ring and “delivered a devastating attack that left Reigns stunned.” With Reigns incapacitated, the New Bloodline retrieved the ula fala and delivered a powerbomb that sent Reigns through the announcement desk.
During Bad Blood in early October, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes teamed up to take down Solo Sikoa’s bloodline. This match promised to be riveting and high-stakes from the moment it was announced. Reigns and Rhodes were initially reluctant to sign the contract making the Tag Match official. They taunted each other on Smackdown about the contract and almost started fighting right there! In the end, Reigns and Rhodes reluctantly signed the contract, officially putting their rivalry on hiatus.
The Tag Match certainly did not disappoint. During the match, The Bloodline did everything in their power to prevent Rhodes from tagging Reigns in, going as far as to have Jacob Fatu drag Reigns away from the ring so Rhodes physically couldn’t reach him to tag him in. When Rhodes was finally able to tag Reigns in, Reigns went up against Sikoa “for the first time since [his] return.” Fatu and Rhodes’ attempts at helping their respective partners put them both out of commission after Rhodes “hit a huge splash that smashed Fatu through the table.”
As Reigns prepared to finish Sikoa with a spear, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa entered the ring. They distracted Reigns and allowed Sikoa to hit a spear and try to pin Reigns. Reigns escaped the pin, but he couldn’t escape Sikoa’s taunting. As he taunted Reigns, Sikoa “spotted someone standing at the ringside in all black.” That person entered the ring, took out Tonga and Loa, and revealed himself to be Jimmy Uso. Jimmy’s assistance allowed Reigns to pin Sikoa, securing the win for him and Rhodes.
Reigns and Jimmy hugged, sending the crowd into a frenzy at the sight of two original Bloodline members reuniting. As they left the ring, Rhodes was attacked by Tonga, Loa, and Sikoa. Reigns initially claimed that his partnership with Rhodes was “a one-time thing”, but eventually he and Jimmy re-entered the ring to help Rhodes, “clearing out The Bloodline.”
Given how much the Uso brothers defended each other during their time in the original Bloodline, fans wondered how Jey Uso would react to Jimmy’s reunion with Reigns. On the October 11th episode of Smackdown, Jimmy discussed his return at Bad Blood. He said that “he witnessed Reigns requiring help and decided to come back.” He referred to Reigns as “a chief without a tribe” and insisted that he and Reigns would need more help to take on Sikoa’s Bloodline. The crowd immediately started chanting “Yeet”, but Reigns “nodded his disapproval.” Jimmy insisted “‘Yo, we need help. I know one person, one person, that we can get some help from Uce.” Reigns’ response was “‘No Yeet.’”
Despite Reigns’ reluctance, there was still a glimmer of hope that Jey Uso would return to the Bloodline. On that same episode of Smackdown, Reigns demanded that his fans acknowledge Jimmy Uso. This gesture completed the full circle of Reigns’ character arc- last year he refused to acknowledge Jimmy Uso- and allowed Reigns to pay his dues to the Usos.
Jimmy Uso came face-to-face with Jey Uso backstage on October 14th’s episode of WWE Raw. Jimmy tried to convince his brother to join forces with him and Reigns, to defeat Sikoa’s Bloodline. Jey responded by saying “no” and walking away from his brother. Later that night, the Uso brothers ran into each other in the hallway. Jey officially rejected his brother’s invitation, snapping “‘I said no. Get out of my face, man!’”
Despite Joey’s blatant refusal to help Reigns and his brother, many fans remain hopeful that he will have a change of heart over the remaining few weeks of Survivor Series. They expect Jey to rejoin the Bloodline and go up against Sikoa’s New Bloodline at WarGames.
Other fans support Jey’s decision. They believe that, given how Reigns treated him in the early days of the Original Bloodline, Jey has every right not to want to help him.
Regardless of what happens with Jey Uso, the fact that Reigns now has Jimmy on his side and had fans acknowledge Jimmy, is a step in the right direction. Reigns has a history of burning bridges and hurting other wrestlers. Many fans cite this history as the reason nobody came to Reigns’ aid in August, when Jacob Fatu ambushed Reigns and made him lose the ula fala. The fact that Reigns is willing to reconnect with people from his past, and make amends, for his actions proves that he is learning from his mistakes and moving in the right direction.
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