Samu Explains How WWE Raw XXX Plans Fell Apart

As the story between The Bloodline and Sami Zayn continues to roll on, there have been some audibles called along the way with how things have unfolded. For example, at "Raw XXX," the initial plan lined up called for members of the Bloodline extended family to acknowledge the "Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns. However, the segment was changed, reportedly due to travel issues for members Afa and Sika, and health concerns regarding former WWE star Rikishi.

In an interview with the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast, former WWE star Samu — who was also scheduled to be involved — confirmed the reasons things were scrapped, as well as who else was supposed to participate. "From what I know, Rikishi, myself, my dad [Afa], my uncle [Sika], to name a few [were supposed to be on the show]," Samu said. "My dad couldn't fly at the time, and Rikishi had pneumonia at the time. So everything got put on the backburner."

While those developments were surely unfortunate for Samu and other members of his family, what replaced it – Tribal Court being held for Sami Zayn –  proved to be very successful in its own right, helping "Raw" draw its strongest ratings in years.

The storyline has only picked up steam since, with Zayn officially being booted from The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble after rejecting a demand from Roman Reigns via chair shot. He then attacked Reigns last week on "SmackDown," setting up a fight between them for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber – in Zayn's hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

To quote this article, please credit Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription