I don’t think it’s a lofty wager to assume the conclusion of last weekend’s SummerSlam main event featuring Roman Reigns defending against his cousin Jey Uso left many onlookers confused, puzzled and perhaps even somehow bamboozled.
Yes, bamboozled.
Without exception, where professional wrestling is concerned there hasn’t been a better story with the same longevity in recent memory than the Bloodline Saga. Over the course of the last few years the story has unfolded as organically as any tale could, beginning with Reigns returning to reclaim the Universal Championship from Bray Wyatt, followed by the early stages of his self-anointed status as the “Head of the Table” to his coronation as the Tribal Chief. His feuds with Jey before he and his brother joined him, to his defences against a list of Hall of Famers and top-shelf contenders, through the Sami Zayn storyline and through WrestleMania up to present day; the story itself has delivered even if some of the feuds have dragged or otherwise been predictable.
(There was also that time he beat Finn Balor by divine intervention, but we don’t talk about that.)
There’s no denying the matches themselves have fallen into a formula. This is a double-edged sword; while we must concede not every match has been great nor terrible outright, the formula has delivered when it’s needed to in the shape of contenders time and again coming within a hair of dethroning Reigns and ending his weeks, months, year-long and now 1000+ day reign as double champion.
We’ve watched the wrestling equivalent of a sports dynasty form, and more recently we’ve witnessed the cracks forming in the foundation of the stable that have only crept forward since Zayn’s turn on Reigns at the Royal Rumble. That fractured the group almost irreparably and since then Reigns’ grip on power has been teetering. That boiled over when Jimmy Uso superkicked Reigns, which sparked Jey’s own exodus from the group alongside his brother. We watched the legendary tag team championship duo defeat Reigns and Sikoa, but with Jimmy sidelined with a kayfabe injury, it was once again “Main Event” Jey stepping into the spotlight to challenge Reigns for the titles and leadership of the family.
And that’s why happened makes sense.
“Main Event” Jey and the Forgotten Uce
Every twist of consequence in this story seems to be facilitated using a superkick, and last weekend’s PLE was no different. After time away from television, Jimmy returned at the end of the main event to cost his brother the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, pulling him outside before superkicking him. Reigns winning the match almost became inconsequential as the distraught Jey could barely keep himself together. The turn appears very confusing and straight from the deep recesses of left field, but it really isn’t and is frankly the kind of story beat that has helped keep the Bloodline storyline alive and vibrant these last three years.
From the outset it’s been Jey that has held this entire story together. He was the principle player when Reigns first became champion, but think beyond that. At the time JImmy was out injured, but he nonetheless returned at Clash of Champions to throw in the towel to prevent a further beatdown at the hands of Reigns. Jimmy again came into play at Hell in a Cell when Reigns threatened to further injure Jimmy to force Jey into quitting per the stipulation. That resulted in Jey joining Reigns as his right hand soldier.
Months would pass by before Jimmy returned, and while he didn’t fall into line right away, it wasn’t long before he and his brother recaptured the tag team titles. And while Jey had some singles success winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royale, we think less of him being front and centre by himself and more he and his brother running the tag team division for nearly a full year as undisputed champions.
We know the rest quite well from here.
Yet throughout the journey, it was Jey who ran on his own with Jimmy away, whether for the sake of injury or legal issues. It was Jey who challenged for the world title twice, and it was Jey who was first to stand beside Reigns as the Empire expanded. Jimmy had no part in that, nor did he want a part in that. In fact what we talk about more are the story beats involving Jey than anything else.
Jey challenged Reigns in more ways than one: He was the one who sacrificed for his brother. He was the one who stepped up. He was the one second guessing Sami. He was the one who made the ultimate decision to stand by his brother again like he did when he quit to save him over winning the title. He was the one who punctuated the Usos’ split from the larger group.
It’s all about Jey. So what about Jimmy?
Jimmy has been beside his brother every step of the way, and yet all we talk about is Jey. It’s “Main Event” Jey, not Jimmy, after all. So let’s think back to when Owen Hart turned on Bret years ago. That turn was rooted in jealously that ultimately boiled over when Owen cost Bret the WWF title by having their mother throw in the towel on Bret. Jimmy is very much cast as Owen in this story, with him being every bit as talented as Jey, but it’s Jey who gets the accolades. It’s Jey who gets favour with Reigns. It’s Jey who fans arguably adore more; the crowd response to his entrance at SummerSlam makes that very clear.
On the surface, with Smackdown mere hours away, we can only speculate what Jimmy Usos’ reasons are, but I suspect it will be in a similar Hart-like vein. I think we need to believe his actions will have much more to do with himself and his brother than it does outright rejoining Reigns. I think it needs to be a matter to be settled between two brothers spiraling from Jey’s excelling every time Jimmy is injured, suspended or even just in the background. The perception of that reality needs to be injected into this story tonight.
It’s essential.
Over the last several days many comments surrounding the finale to the match have centred around Jimmy’s turn not making sense because he was the one who originally and has always stood by his twin brother more than Reigns. That quieted over time, but the narrative bread crumbs left along the way point to this being universally true nonetheless. Once again, it was Jimmy who first turned on Reigns recently. It’s critical that the explanation we get for the turn is imperative tonight; I’d argue the integrity of the saga’s foundation depends on it. Because if it’s flimsy, or it’s simply a matter of Jimmy rejoining Reigns and Sikoa “just because”, then all of the detracting comments criticizing it for not making sense or that the story as a whole has jumped the shark become valid. The action is not wrong outright, but the reason needs to make sense.
While Reigns’ matches have felt repetitious for some time (beyond the core story beats), that cannot be said for the actual storytelling which to date has had no serious holes. It’s arguably been nearly flawless. The perception now, with comments by Paul Heyman inferring the story is only just getting started, is that it’s in danger of becoming long in the tooth and overwrought. That can be prevented very easily, but that’s dictated by the logic behind the Jimmy turn whether he is or isn’t realigning with Reigns.
The Bloodline story has so many working interwoven elements that each beat affects it as a whole, it’s become that all-encompassing; even if Jey and Jimmy feud a part from Reigns, it all circles back to the bigger story and for it to have been so tightly told for so long, only to potentially have loose threads hurts the bigger picture. Tonight’s explanation is important to the story, especially if it’s to become the central piece to the shows between now and Reigns’ next championship feud.
If this were a chessboard, Reigns functions as both King and Queen; he’s the central piece that can be checkmated but also has the maneuverability to go wherever he likes. That being said, the Usos are both knights and can make or break the game if they’re the only key pieces left. While we have no reason to doubt the storytelling from precedent, Heyman’s note about this only being the third inning should at least give us pause and question whether or not the arc is going to make it to the seventh inning stretch, never mind having the steam to close out the perfect game.
There’s no assurance of how this next step in the story will play out, but perhaps the best case scenario is one where all four — Solo Sikoa included– are brought up and come out better and more important than they were even a week ago. At the heart, that’s a huge portion of what Reigns’ run has been about. Ally, enemy or otherwise.