Fantasy Booking Who Else WWE Could Bring Into The Bloodline
Few would argue against the idea that, in recent weeks, WWE's most consistently compelling story has been that of Sami Zayn and The Bloodline. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has secured a nearly unprecedented level of dominance over WWE, and he's done it with the help of his cousins — fellow members of the legendary Anoa'i family — Jimmy and Jey Uso, and more recently, their brother, Solo Sikoa. The final member, aside from "the Wise Man" Paul Heyman, is Zayn, who is not a member of the family, but who has been so earnest and persistent in his attempts to join the group that after months of trying, he's finally found himself accepted by Reigns and adopted as "the Honorary Uce."
On a recent episode of "The Wrestling Inc. Podcast," hosts Jimmy Korderas, Justin LaBar, and Jack Farmer spent some time digesting this long-term angle, and came up with several ideas on how it could play out going forward — perhaps the most notable one involving the "elders" that Reigns and the Bloodline have frequently invoked.
"At what point do we not get the higher powers?" LaBar asked. "I look at The Bloodline like the mob. I think of 'Goodfellas,' I think of 'Casino.' At what point do we not get Afa and Sika? ... We just heard recently Solo being introduced to the family, when do we not go to the next level of the family sitting around at the table?"
There would certainly be no shortage of family members to choose from.
Casting the elders
As LaBar implies, any conversation about portraying the elders of The Bloodline would have to start with Afa and Siki Anoa'i, who won the WWF Tag Team Championship three times as The Wild Samoans. Not only are they Reigns' uncle and father, respectively, but they appeared at Hell in a Cell 2020 to officially anoint Reigns as the Tribal Chief following his victory over his cousin, Jey Uso. But there are several other potential inclusions if WWE opted to portray an expanded group of elders — and were willing to bring back some old employees.
While WWE could theoretically hire older members of the Anoa'i family that have never appeared in wrestling, it would make more sense to make use of the slightly younger ones who have. These include Afa's son, Samula, known primarily in wrestling as Samu, and the twin sons of Afa and Sika's sister, Elevera, Samuel (remembered as Tama and The Tonga Kid) and Solofa, beloved by wrestling fans as Rikishi. The three men, who at one point teamed together as The Samoan SWAT Team, are all at least 20 years older than Reigns, and Rikishi is the father of the Usos and Sikoa. Samula was even recently signed to a "nostalgia contract" by WWE. Moreover, both Samula and Samuel have their own sons working in the wrestling business, Lance Anoa'i and Jacob Fatu, if WWE wanted additional younger family members. Both men have done notable work in recent years as part of Major League Wrestling.
Another non-Anoa'i Bloodline member?
Meanwhile, Farmer has a different idea, his related to the fact that Jey Uso, who was essentially forced into The Bloodline by Reigns back in 2020, is disgusted by Zayn, and the fact that he's been allowed to become a member.
"What if they bring in another non-Bloodline member, and another," Farmer speculated. "And that's when Jey says, 'Look, you've lost sight of what The Bloodline really is, now I need to stop you, because now it's not about family, it's about power, and you've lost your way, Roman Reigns.' And then Roman Reigns smashes him because he's Roman Reigns and he never loses."
Jey-smashing aside, are there any other current WWE stars who might make sense as candidates to join The Bloodline in this scenario? Looking over the WWE roster, there are a few potential candidates. Shinsuke Nakamura is currently without a storyline, and has been linked to Zayn in the past. Meanwhile, a character like Happy Corbin might be the kind of heel who, like Zayn, would seek to change his luck by acknowledging the Tribal Chief — he also happens to be the last person who pinned Reigns in a match, nearly three years ago. Or, if WWE's primary aim was to make The Bloodline seem even more unstoppable, they could always take a former world champion, turn him heel, and add him to the group — someone like the recently returned Braun Strowman, recent Reigns-rival Drew McIntyre, or, perhaps most compellingly, Zayn's longtime friend, Kevin Owens.
The real Tribal Chief
Of course, there's still one major name looming over all this speculation, particularly as we inch closer and closer to WrestleMania 39.
"Can you imagine the segment if The Rock finally confronts The Bloodline to try to get them straight, and Sami just bulldozes to the front of the crowd and says, 'Let me handle this, Dwayne,'" LaBar said.
Despite Reigns' massive success over the past few years, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is still the most popular and successful member of the Anoa'i family, and it's long been theorized that he will eventually get involved in the story of The Bloodline, with a Rock vs. Reigns match seen as an all-but-guaranteed future 'Mania main event. According to LaBar, the recent inclusion of Sami Zayn as a central character only makes the possibility of The Rock interacting with The Bloodline more enticing.
"Here's the first time, in over 700 days, we see Roman Reigns look concerned that The Rock has shown up, right," he mused. "Now The Rock is challenging him in his authority, and Sami just says, "'I got this.' The potential of what could transpire from that of, 'Who in the blue hell is this?'"
Of course, it was The Rock who famously provided an assist to Reigns' ascension to the top of WWE, helping Reigns win the Royal Rumble in 2015.
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