WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded a special compilation over the weekend, recapping every major moment regarding The Bloodline since Roman Reigns first returned from hiatus at SummerSlam 2020. Clocking in at nearly two full hours, the video recaps every significant match, promo and interaction both behind the scenes and in the ring that helped establish the faction as one of the most dominant in company history. And to celebrate the occasion, we’ve watched through every minute of the video to provide a deeper look at the story, complete with timestamps so you can watch along as well.
The Bloodline will play a crucial role at next month’s WrestleMania 39 event. Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes while The Usos are expected to defend their Unified WWE Tag Team Championships against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Stay tuned for full coverage of the event!
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Roman Reigns and The Bloodline’s Full WWE Story
0:00 What’s interesting about WWE’s decision to upload the video is its timing. While it’s incredibly handy to have it available for fans who might not have been following along ahead of WrestleMania, it also feels like a misnomer to call it the “complete” story. Even if Reigns and The Usos lose all of their championships at WrestleMania, it feels incredibly foolish to think that’s the end of the story. Reigns’ attempts at winning back his titles, a Reigns vs. Jey rivalry that continues to simmer with each passing week, Solo Sikoa’s first chance at his own championship — all of these feel like story beats yet to come. But let’s work with what we have.
2:07 They went through a few tries before landing on “Acknowledge Me” as the right catchphrase. Wreck Everyone and Leave, Show Up & Win, etc., never quite clicked the same way.
2:18 Reigns’ current music is so synonymous with this run that not hearing it for the first few months felt odd. It really ties the whole presentation together.
6:15 I am not the first nor will I be the last to state this, but this entire program would not have reached the same heights without Jey Uso stepping up and playing his role to perfection.
14:00 I loved the Bandana trick. They need to pull that back out again at some point.
16:49 I do not miss the ThunderDome Era for one single, solitary moment. That being said, Reigns used it to the best of his ability with those quieter, emotional moments.
17:25 The final moments of the Hell in a Cell match are brilliant. What they didn’t quite land was Jimmy agreeing to fall in line once he was cleared to return from injury. In their defense, they were put in a bit of a tough space. Given that Jimmy and Jey are twins, there was probably a desire to not retread the same story beats with Jimmy after spending so many months having Roman bullying Jey.
29:49 Not including Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre from Survivor Series 2020 feels like a strange choice. They don’t have every successful title defense in here, but if you were to look at this storyline as a saga similar to how animes are structured, the “Reigns vs. McIntyre” arc would certainly be a noteworthy one that first started here.
34: 15 For as fun as the WrestleMania 37 main event was to watch in real-time, its only memorable aspect at this point is the final visual. Bryan Danielson’s comments about feeling “nothing” going into the match also don’t help on a rewatch.
38:49 Mid-2021 Reigns was such a strange time. He kept beating up the Mysterio family as if they owed him money!
46:07 Reigns’ ability to gaslight his family members is unmatched. It’s one of the most understated aspects of the story yet always advances it forward whenever there’s interpersonal drama.
53:23 Not including any of the John Cena program also feels like a misstep. That build and the match itself exemplified just how much Reigns had grown from their 2017 encounter.
55:41 For as monumental as the Reigns/Heyman pairing seemed when it was first unveiled, it wasn’t until Brock Lesnar’s return that Heyman finally got the chance to play a more active role in the story. The two quickly developed a dynamic where Heyman was in fearful servitude to Reigns, spending more time cowering in fear than offering “counsel.” Say what you will about WWE going to the Lesnar/Reigns well too often, but this was Heyman’s opportunity to shine.
1:00:41 I was at AT&T Stadium when Reigns defeated Lesnar in the WrestleMania 38 main event and distinctly remember the oxygen getting sucked out of the room with Reigns’ victory. Maybe it was the supposed shoulder injury, maybe it was all the speculation that The Rock might show up, but the energy didn’t match the moment WWE was trying to produce. Also, there’s no mention of their SummerSlam rematch in here, even though that’s arguably the most memorable match the two ever had.
1:02:28 And so begins the Sami Zayn arc.
1:12:01 I have talked at length about how unifying the two world championships was a mistake in the long run given how it left Raw with minimal momentum for the better part of a year. It’s been reported that there was a plan in motion to get the WWE Championship off of Reigns here and back onto McIntyre. To this day I think it was a mistake that they didn’t pull the trigger, as not even a Zayn win in Montreal could’ve matched the reaction that the Cardiff crowd would’ve generated had Drew won.
13:21 The whole “elders” line feels like it will come back into play before all of this is over.
1:13:53 2022 was a great year for pro wrestling. But this still might be the greatest moment of that year.
1:81:31 The line that launched an amazing t-shirt
1:22:25 I am hard-pressed to find a non-title TV match that meant as much as this in a long time
12:25:42 Yet another shining moment from Jey. Also, Sami needs a face-to-face confrontation with Heyman before his match with The Usos. That’s an angle to this story that still hasn’t been followed up on.
1:42:22 Proof that the story won’t be over at WrestleMania. Another Reigns vs. Jey match need to happen!
1:44:25 One hour and 44 minutes into the video and Rhodes finally arrives.
What did you think of WWE’s compilation? Should they do more like these and should we cover them like this again? Let us know in the comments!
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