Backstage drama, Inevitable doom? - 5 current concerns with The Bloodline story in WWE
The Bloodline Storyline has been WWE's biggest and most compelling story for much of the past four years. From Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Jey Uso running roughshod over the roster to the additions of Jimmy Uso, Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa and The Rock it has continued to grow and evolve whilst staying arguably the most compelling angle in the business.
The iconic faction is going through its latest evolution with Sikoa at the helm, having brought in Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa after WrestleMania XL. With Jacob Fatu reportedly having signed with the company, it's just a matter of time until he brings his chaotic persona to the fray. Considering this and the inevitable returns of The Tribal Chief and Final Boss, there seems to be no end in sight to the faction.
Due to the complexity and continuity of the storyline, issues and fears have inevitably emerged about the group's direction. Here are five of the biggest current concerns about The Bloodline storyline with regards to the WWE product
#5: WWE's rumored Solo Sikoa worry with Jacob Fatu
In the post-WrestleMania XL absences of Roman Reigns and The Rock, Solo Sikoa has staged a hostile takeover of The Bloodline. The Tribal Heir has laid claim to the mantle of Tribal Chief, bringing in Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to do his bidding. He has so far found success, putting Jimmy Uso on the shelf and defeating Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in tag action alongside Tonga.
Despite Sikoa's success, WWE management is reportedly worried that Jacob Fatu's impending arrival might overshadow the former and derail his momentum. Fatu is arguably the hottest free agent in the business and fans expect his widely-lauded main event work in MLW to translate explosively on the biggest stage. This could leave The Enforcer in his shadow, torpedoing plans to elevate the latter.
It remains to be seen if the creative team will solve this with their booking, or if Sikoa will be thrown in the deep end to sink or swim. Whether the reports are true or not, it's a very real concern.
#4: The Bloodline is arguably WWE's biggest injury risk
The problem with a machine having many moving parts is that the more parts there are, the more points of failure can bring it down. The Bloodline storyline has so far involved nine main members, with one more soon to follow. Most of these stars continue to be linked to the stable and will most likely have a role to play in future stages of the story.
What happens when one big player gets injured? What happens to Roman Reigns vs The Rock if The Final Boss suffers a long-term layoff on a movie set or in a match with Cody Rhodes? How does the company pivot if Tama Tonga or Tanga Loa suffer injuries? What happens to Jimmy Uso's return plans if Jey Uso gets hurt? Is the company facing inevitable doom with this storyline?
The Bloodline has been fortunate with injuries thus far, but one badly-timed layoff in the future could derail the momentum of the entire story, wasting four or more years of buildup.
#3: WWE could be facing naming issues with its newest additions to The Bloodline
Tanga Loa announced his WWE arrival at Backlash by helping Tama Tonga and Solo Sikoa defeat Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Soon after his debut, the company filed to trademark both "Tanga Loa" and "Tonga Loa", which raised a few eyebrows. The rumor mill went wild with speculation as to why "Tama Tonga" wasn't trademarked, and what it could mean going forward.
Could Tonga be in for a name change soon? Could the promotion get in trouble for using his current ring name? Could a name change affect the momentum he has established since debuting? It's hardly a world-ending problem, but this naming situation could provide an unnecessary legal and booking headache to Triple H and co.
#2: WWE needs to figure out how to present The Rock and Roman Reigns without overshadowing the rest of The Bloodline
The Bloodline was initially set up, in storyline, to serve Roman Reigns' interests as Undisputed WWE Champion. Behind the scenes, its main purpose was to elevate multiple talents around The Tribal Chief, creating a number of new main event stars for the company. This has partly been realized with Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, who are among the most "over" stars on Monday Night RAW.
However, the rest of the group is still making the climb, benefitting from the absence of The Rock and Roman Reigns to make a name. Upon the eventual returns of the two megastars, however, the current crop could find themselves overshadowed. It's especially relevant to The Great One, who at times overshadowed even The Tribal Chief on the road to WrestleMania XL.
The creative team didn't seem to have an answer to it then, raising speculation that it was done on purpose to eventually play into Rock vs Roman. Whether this is true or not, fans are still rightly concerned about the two iconic stars' tall shadows dimming the shine of the rest.
#1: The rest of the WWE roster has often been overshadowed by the Bloodline story
For nearly four years, The Bloodline has been the top storyline in WWE. It has dominated SmackDown, sometimes RAW, and even once or twice extended to NXT. By its nature, given the number of people involved and the creative freedom they receive, it takes up a good chunk of shows and often feels different from the rest of the product. In other words, no one is doing it like The Bloodline.
This has had the unintentional side effect of overshadowing other parts of the product, making them feel secondary. Segments have been cut to give the story more time, and it has even headlined shows where other champions would have arguably benefitted more from going on last.
With the new arrivals, the impending debut of Jacob Fatu, and The Rock and Roman Reigns' eventual returns, the stable could get bigger than ever. There is a real danger that it could once again overshadow the rest of the roster, including Cody Rhodes himself. How will WWE make sure this doesn't happen? We'll have to wait and see.