It was only 2 months ago I wrote of how Sami Zayn had finally won the full approval of Roman Reigns and his Bloodline and earned a spot on the Island of Relevancy. However it seems I may have spoke too soon as it feels just as soon as they were at their strongest, the Bloodline is now more fractured than ever. This is due to Sami realising he was only being taken advantage of in the Bloodline and breaking free of their clutches.
This came in what ended up being the Main Event of WWE’s Royal Rumble even after the final bout of the night where Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens, who again as I mentioned a few months ago has a long and complicated history with Sami. And it showed during the match with Sami growing more unsure of himself as the match continued and Kevin refused to stay down no matter what Roman did. At one point even showing hesitation when Roman ordered him to get a chair while the ref was unconcious (though he eventually complied).
This came to a head post match, where the rest of the Bloodline brutalised Owens whilst he was handcuffed to the ropes unable to defend himself and Roman just made Sami watch. Before eventually ordering Sami to strike Kevin with the steel chair himself and prove his loyalty again. Sami again hesitated and was loudly berated by Roman yellign about how Kevin never cared for Sami and Roman did. This was enough to finally break Sami who struck Roman with a chair shot almost identical to the one which destroyed The Shield in 2014. This led to Sami also being destroyed by The Bloodline for his defiance of Roman, well everyone in The Bloodline apart from Jey Uso, who walked out on his Family dissilusioned by their actions almost as if Sami’s courage to stick up to Roman awoke something long dormant in his spirit.
Jey of course took a long time to fully be convinced by Sami’s loyalty, only accepting him following their victory at Survivor Series, but after this, Jey was closer to Sami than anyone in the Bloodline. Infact it was Jey of all people who stood up for Sami during the Tribal Court on RAW’s 30th Anniversary and convinced Roman that Sami was loyal to the Bloodline enough for Roman to give him a chance to prove himself… at the Royal Rumble and as we know, that didn’t exactly happen.
And looking back to the era of the Thunderdome in 2020, you’ll remember that Jey himself initially defied Roman at every turn and refused to join him, even challenging for his Universal Title on multiple occasions. And even when he joined the Bloodline he only gave in for his brother Jimmy’s sake as Roman was refusing to let go of his Guillotine Chokehold on Jimmy which forced Jey to quit and fall in line. Knowing this, it’s highly possible that his anguish of Sami turning his back on The Bloodline finally awoke that long dormant Spirit of Rebellion in Jey who saw Sami stick up for himself while Jey gave up and fell in line. And this awakening made him remember that he never truly agreed with Roman and he just alligned with The Bloodline to protect what mattered to him, and seeing Sami basically in the exact same position he himself was in years ago was enough to get him to walk out.
Roman may still be Undisputed Champion and The Usos still technically Undisputed Tag Champions (as of writing this), however The Bloodline is fractured in a way it never has been before. And with Sami Zayn imminently facing Roman for his titles At Elimination Chamber (in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec. And the looming threat of Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania following his victory in the Men’s Royal Rumble. It seems that The Bloodline’s period of dominance may soon finally come to an end potentially even as soon as next week (again, as of writing) if Sami Zayn can succeed where Drew McIntyre failed in Cardiff, and dethrone Roman in his home country with a ravounous local crowd behin him.
