The Bloodline

Following his split from The Shield and his subsequent singles career, Roman Reigns would occasionally join forces with cousins The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) in numerous tag team matches, with The Usos also occasionally becoming involved in Reigns' feuds in support of their cousin. The trio first teamed together on the November 2, 2015 episode of *Raw*, where they teamed with Ryback and Dean Ambrose in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match against Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods), in which Reigns' team was victorious.

On the May 2, 2016 episode of *Raw*, The Usos became involved in Reigns' feud with AJ Styles, as the duo had been feuding with Styles' allies, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at the time, with The Usos and Reigns facing Styles, Gallows and Anderson in a six-man tag team match. After Styles, Anderson and Gallows won the match, Anderson and Gallows wanted Styles to hit Reigns with a chair but Styles refused. When The Usos attacked Styles from behind with a chair, Styles retaliated with the chair. Ultimately, Reigns powerbombed Styles through the broadcast table. At Extreme Rules, The Usos were defeated by Gallows and Anderson in a tornado tag team match. Later that same night, after Gallows and Anderson interfered in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Reigns and Styles, The Usos interfered to assist Reigns, ultimately allowing Reigns to retain the title.

On the May 14, 2019 episode of *SmackDown*, The Usos aided Reigns from an attack by Elias, Shane McMahon, Daniel Bryan, and Rowan, and then lost to them in a handicap match. On the June 3 episode of *Raw*, The Usos saved Reigns from an attack by Drew McIntyre and The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson), but lost to them in a six-man tag team match. On the January 3, 2020 episode of *SmackDown*, The Usos returned with a new short hair look, aiding Reigns from an attack by King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. On the January 31 episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns and The Usos defeated King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode in a six-man tag team match to end their feud. Jimmy suffered a legitimate knee injury during the match at WrestleMania 36, putting him out of in-ring action indefinitely.

On the September 4 episode of *SmackDown*, after Big E was attacked and injured in storyline, Jey took Big E's place in a fatal-four-way match against Matt Riddle, King Corbin, and Sheamus, where the winner would earn a Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions against Roman Reigns, who had turned heel recently and aligned himself with Paul Heyman. Jey won by pinning Riddle to earn the first singles championship opportunity of his career. At Clash of Champions, Jey lost to Reigns by technical knockout, when Jimmy came down and threw a white towel for him. Jey was given another title shot against Reigns in a Hell in a Cell "I Quit" match at the namesake event with the added stipulation that if Jey lost, he would have to follow Reigns' orders or be kicked out of their family. At the event, Jey lost again after Reigns attacked the injured Jimmy and forced Jey to say "I quit" to save his brother.

On the October 30 episode of *SmackDown*, Jey defeated Daniel Bryan to qualify for Team *SmackDown* at Survivor Series. After the match, Jey attacked Bryan at the request of Reigns, thus turning heel and aligning with Reigns in the process, and subsequently became known as Reigns' "right-hand man" and also received the moniker "Main Event Jey Uso". On February 21, 2021 at Elimination Chamber, Jey competed in the event's eponymous match, where the winner would receive a Universal Championship with Reigns that same night. He was the last person eliminated by the winner Daniel Bryan. On the April 9 special WrestleMania edition of *SmackDown*, Jey won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by last eliminating Shinsuke Nakamura. This marked Jey's first major singles accolade in WWE.

Jimmy returned from injury on the May 7 episode of *SmackDown*, but did not approve of the alliance between Jey and Reigns, as he called Jey "Reigns' bitch" and started wearing a t-shirt that said "Nobody's Bitch". On the June 4 episode of *SmackDown*, The Usos reunited and challenged The Mysterios (Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio) for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, however, the match ended in a controversial finish in which the referee did not notice that Jimmy had his shoulder up during the pin. The Usos were granted a rematch later that same night, but during the rematch, Reigns interfered by attacking the Mysterios, not wanting The Usos to embarrass themselves again. Following the match, Reigns brutally attacked Rey's son Dominik, which Jimmy felt Reigns took too far, also furthering tensions between Reigns and Jimmy. The ensuing dissension between the two over Jey's allegiance eventually caused Jey to temporarily walk out on the June 11 episode of *SmackDown*, after which, Reigns manipulated Jimmy into feeling guilty for their recent dissension. As a result, the following week on the June 18 episode of *SmackDown*, Jimmy offered his help to Reigns during his Hell in a Cell match with Rey Mysterio, and he rose Reigns' hand after the match. The following week on *SmackDown*, Jimmy attempted to assist Reigns when Edge attacked him and speared him through the barricade.

On the July 9 episode of *SmackDown*, Jey returned and both Usos solidified their alliance with Reigns, thus cementing them both as heels in the process, and properly reuniting **The Bloodline**. On the July 16 episode of *SmackDown*, The Bloodline faced Edge and The Mysterios in a six-man tag team match, in which they emerged victorious, although Edge attacked the trio after the match. At Money in the Bank, The Usos would defeat The Mysterios on the pre-show to become five time SmackDown Tag Team Champions. In the main event, Reigns would defeat Edge to retain the Universal Championship. At SummerSlam, The Usos would once again defeat The Mysterios to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and Reigns would later go on to defeat John Cena in the main event to retain the Universal Championship. At Extreme Rules, The Usos would successfully defend their titles against The Street Profits and Reigns would later go on to defeat "The Demon" Finn Balor in the main event to retain the Universal Championship. At Crown Jewel, The Usos defeated The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin) on the pre-show, while Reigns successfully defended his title against Brock Lesnar in the main event. At Survivor Series, The Usos lost to Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle), while Reigns defeated WWE Champion Big E in the main event. On December 17 episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns fired and attacked Paul Heyman. Brock Lesnar then attacked The Bloodline and saved Heyman. On January 1, 2022, The Usos successfully retained their titles against The New Day at Day 1.

At WrestleMania 38, The Usos successfully defended their SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs, while Reigns was able to capture the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar, effectively unifying the WWE Championship with the Universal Championship, becoming the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. On the following episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns ordered The Usos to go to *Raw* and challenge Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) to unify the tag team titles. The following week, it was confirmed that The Usos would face RK-Bro at WrestleMania Backlash to unify the tag team titles. However, on the April 29 episode of *SmackDown*, the contract signing for the match ended with Reigns assisting The Usos in attacking RK-Bro and tearing up the contract in the process. Drew McIntyre then came out and joined forces with RK-Bro in driving off The Bloodline from the ring. Because of what had transpired, Reigns' special counsel, Paul Heyman, then met with WWE official Adam Pearce backstage where Heyman requested that the resulting tag team championship unification match was called off and instead, a six-man tag team match featuring The Bloodline against RK-Bro and McIntyre was scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash, which the Bloodline won. Around this time, Sami Zayn, who had also been in an intense rivalry with McIntyre, started associating himself with the Bloodline acting as a lackey for the group. A Tag Team Championship Unification match between the Usos and RK-Bro was later scheduled for the May 20 episode of *SmackDown*, which the Usos subsequently won, becoming the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, thus making all members of the faction double champions. At SummerSlam on July 30, The Usos defeated The Street Profits to retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, while Reigns successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match. At Clash at the Castle on September 3, Reigns successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre following interference from Solo Sikoa, who became the newest member of The Bloodline. On the September 13 episode of *NXT*, Sikoa defeated Carmelo Hayes to win the NXT North American Championship, thus giving The Bloodline a total of five championships. However the following week, Sikoa had to vacate the North American Championship due to not being an eligible option in the fan vote that was to have originally determined Hayes' opponent. On the September 23 edition of *SmackDown*, Reigns declared Sami an official honorary uce and gave him a new shirt. At Crown Jewel on November 5, The Usos successfully retained their titles against The Brawling Brutes while Reigns successfully retained his titles against Logan Paul. Three weeks later at Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, The Bloodline defeated The Brawling Brutes, McIntyre and Owens in a WarGames match.

After losing to Owens and the returning John Cena on the final *SmackDown* of 2022, The Bloodline began a feud with Owens who would later challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. Meanwhile, The Usos, Sikoa and Zayn began wreaking havoc on *Raw* over several weeks, which led to Adam Pearce ordering The Usos to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against The Judgment Day, who had won the championship opportunity in a tag team turmoil match on the January 9, 2023 episode of *Raw*.

At *Raw is XXX* on January 23, Sami Zayn was put on trial by Reigns in "Tribal Court," in which Reigns accused Zayn of plotting against the Bloodline and being secretly in league with his longtime "frenemy" Kevin Owens. Paul Heyman acted as prosecutor, showing several videos of perceived treachery towards the Bloodline. Zayn then shot back saying that, because of what he was perceived as, he didn't have a defense. Outraged by this statement, Reigns calls for Sikoa to attack him, but Jey Uso immediately rushes to protect Zayn, offering a passionate defense of the Honorary Uce, leading to Zayn being declared innocent by Reigns, albeit grudgingly. Later that night, The Usos defended their Raw Tag Team Championships against The Judgment Day (represented by Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio), but after Jimmy suffered a mid-match injury, Zayn took his place alongside Jey and the two were victorious.

At the 2023 Royal Rumble event, Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens. Following the match, there was an in-ring segment where the Bloodline attacked Owens, handcuffing him to the ropes and beating him. Reigns asked Zayn to hit him, but then Zayn hit Reigns with the chair, turning face for the first time since 2017. The group then beat down Zayn. Meanwhile, Jey watched in disgust and left the scene. Jimmy appeared at Elimination Chamber and tried to assist Reigns in his title defense against Zayn, while Jey entered the ring and prevented Reigns from attacking Zayn with a steel chair, after the referee had been knocked unconscious. Shortly after, Zayn attempted to spear Reigns, but inadvertently speared Jey. Reigns ended up retaining his title.

On the March 6 episode of *Raw*, Jey showed up from the crowd during Jimmy's match against Zayn which Jimmy lost. Following the match, Jey appeared to hug Zayn before superkicking him, signaling Jey's allegiance to The Bloodline. The Usos and Sikoa assaulted Zayn before Cody Rhodes immediately rushed out to save him. On night one of WrestleMania 39, The Usos lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to Owens and Zayn. On night two of WrestleMania 39, Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Rhodes after interference from Sikoa.

On the April 17 episode of *Raw*, Heyman announced that Reigns had entered The Bloodline into a temporary alliance with The Judgment Day. Following Heyman's announcement, Sikoa beat the Latino World Order's Rey Mysterio in a singles match. Later that night, The Judgment Day and The Bloodline got into a brawl with Matt Riddle, Owens, Zayn and the Latino World Order. On the first night of the 2023 WWE Draft on the April 28 episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns and Sikoa (with Heyman) were drafted to *SmackDown* as the number one pick. Later that night, The Usos failed to capture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in their rematch against Owens and Zayn. At Backlash, The Usos and Sikoa defeated Riddle, Owens and Zayn in a six-man tag team match. However, tensions within the group further flared during the match and it escalated when Sikoa almost hit Jey with the *Samoan Spike*.

On the May 26 episode of *SmackDown*, Owens and Zayn hosted the KO Show with Reigns and Sikoa as guests, but The Usos made an appearance against Reigns' wishes. As Jimmy proclaimed himself the "Tribal Chief" after being insulted as Reigns' errand boys, Reigns entered the arena and confronted Jimmy before confronting Owens and Zayn. After The Bloodline beat the two up, Jimmy refused to hand the titles to Reigns before they were taken by Jey, further sowing dissension in The Bloodline. At the Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia on May 27, The Usos interfered in the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match between Reigns and Sikoa against Owens and Zayn. During the match, after accidentally attacking Sikoa while aiming for Zayn, Jimmy betrayed Reigns after the latter disrespected both him and Jey. Despite Jey's reluctance, The Usos abandoned Reigns and walked away, resulting in Owens and Zayn retaining the titles. On the following episode of *SmackDown* during the celebration of Reigns surpassing 1,000 days as champion, Sikoa turned on The Usos by attacking Jimmy and sided with Reigns, who officially exiled Jimmy from the group. The following week, Heyman demanded Jey reaffirm his loyalty to Reigns and arranged a United States Championship match against Austin Theory to entice him, but Jimmy inadvertently ended up costing him the match. On the June 16 episode of *SmackDown*, Jey decided to side with Jimmy and exited The Bloodline by superkicking Reigns and helping Jimmy fend off Sikoa, ending The Usos' association with Reigns in the process. This led to a match dubbed the "Bloodline Civil War" being announced for Money in the Bank pitting Reigns and Sikoa against The Usos. The Usos won the match with Jey giving Reigns his first direct pinfall loss since December 2019. At SummerSlam, a returning Jimmy, who was injured by Reigns weeks back, betrayed Jey to allow Reigns to pick up the win to stay as champion and the Tribal Chief. However, on the August 11 episode of *SmackDown*, he explained that the reason for his actions was out of fear that if Jey had become the new Tribal Chief, the power would have corrupted him. Jey responded by superkicking Reigns, Sikoa, and finally Jimmy. Afterwards, he declared that he was quitting WWE. A few weeks later, Jimmy returned on the September 1 episode of *SmackDown* with a new theme song, while Jey moved to *Raw* the next night at Payback with the remixed version of his former entrance theme.

After The Usos split up, Jimmy Uso rejoined the stable. At Fastlane on October 7, Jimmy and Sikoa lost to John Cena and LA Knight, who replaced AJ Styles after a beatdown a month prior, in a tag team match. On the October 16 episode of *Raw,* Jimmy attacked Jey, helping The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship from Jey and Cody Rhodes. At Crown Jewel in November 2023, Reigns defeated LA Knight to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after interference from The Bloodline, while Sikoa defeated Cena with nine *Samoan Spikes*. On the following episode of *SmackDown*, Knight stated that he was not done with The Bloodline until he defeated Reigns for the title. Randy Orton then returned at Survivor Series WarGames later that same month, and on the December 1 episode of *SmackDown*, he signed with the *SmackDown* brand after fending off an attack by The Bloodline, vowing to get revenge.

On the December 15 episode of *SmackDown*, Reigns named Sikoa as the "Tribal Heir" of The Bloodline while Styles returned and helped Knight and Orton fend off The Bloodline before attacking Knight. The following week, Styles explained that he attacked Knight for taking his spot in a tag team match at Fastlane. After Orton interrupted and said that he also wanted a title match against Reigns, *SmackDown* General Manager Nick Aldis announced that Orton, Styles, and Knight would compete in a triple threat match at *SmackDown* New Year's Revolution, where the winner would face Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.