Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso to retain the WWE Universal Championship after Jimmy Uso betrayed his twin brother.
Jey Uso was on his way to upsetting Reigns with a Spear and a splash, only for Jimmy to resurface and pull Jey out of the ring. Jimmy has not appeared on WWE television since the Tribal Court, where he was injured by Reigns and Solo Sikoa in a historically highly rated segment.
Despite Jey Uso’s renaissance throughout the entire Bloodline saga, one where some argue that he could be considered the main character, Uso remained a massive underdog against the inevitable Roman Reigns. Reigns’ historically dominant part-time reign as WWE Universal champion, coupled with a seemingly imminent rematch against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, make any challenger a tough sell to dethrone Reigns.
Rhodes’ go-home promo for WrestleMania is proving to be prophetic as the top babyface predicted every member of the Bloodline would leave Reigns. With The Usos already on the outs, WWE has been teasing tension between Solo Sikoa and the Tribal Chief. Sikoa remains on the short list for future potential challengers for Reigns’ WWE Universal Title, though it may be wiser to hold off on Sikoa vs. Reigns until after Reigns’ 1,000-day+ run, should it ever end.
WWE embraced the pageantry of Tribal Combat for the third leg of the Jey vs. Reigns trilogy. Reigns and Jey Uso had an entertaining couple of matches during the pandemic that set the iconic Bloodline storyline in motion. Instead of a rare Reigns world title defense, WWE opted to put all chips on the table by creating a symbolic championship out of Reigns’ equally elusive tribal beads.
During a contract signing branded the “Rules of Engagement,” Jey and Roman shook hands and butted heads. WWE’s go-home SmackDown drove the point home with an excellent Tribal Combat video package featuring WWE Hall of Famer—and Reigns father—Sika Anoa’i.
Jimmy Uso’s betrayal could either signal a return to the Bloodline, or the beginning of a Jimmy vs. Jey feud, one that’s 14 years in the making.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
