Dethroning top champion, Reclaiming the 'Ula Fala' - 6 major Bloodline issues Roman Reigns needs to address following WWE SmackDown return
On the latest edition of WWE SmackDown, Roman Reigns made it crystal clear that he'll make Solo Sikoa pay for his hostile takeover of The Bloodline. However, this journey won't be easy.
Following his triumphant return at WWE SummerSlam 2020, Roman Reigns left no stone unturned in making sure that The Bloodline emerged as the top faction in the industry. From his record-setting reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion to The Usos dominating the tag division for over a year-and-a-half, The Bloodline achieved success that will be nearly impossible for future groups to replicate.
But along the way, The Head of the Table made glaring mistakes too, such as mistreating the ones loyal to him and blindly trusting his enforcer, Solo Sikoa. These issues ultimately led to the collapse of the 'Roman Empire.'
Thus, there are a lot of issues that The OTC needs to resolve first before he can dedicate his focus to avenging Solo's betrayal. Here are six of those.
#6 Regaining possession of the 'Ula Fala'
For years, fans have believed that the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was the thing dearest to The Original Tribal Chief. However, it wasn't until last Friday that fans learned that there's something even more valuable to Reigns.
The item in question is the 'Ula Fala,' which Reigns' late father Sika honored him with following his son's impactful victory against Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell 2020. Since then, The Head of the Table made it a habit to wear the prestigious necklace every time he showed up for an important match or segment.
In his absence, Solo Sikoa claimed the 'Ula Fala,' and he seemingly has no plans of giving it up anytime soon. During Reigns' altercation with the new Bloodline on the August 9, 2024, edition of WWE SmackDown, The 'Needle Mover' got to hold the tribal necklace in his hands, only for it to be snatched from him right away.
Thus, regaining the 'Ula Fala' has to be among The Big Dog's top priorities if he is to emerge victorious in the battle he has waged against his former enforcer.
#5 Avenging the heinous attacks on Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso
A major part of Roman Reigns' run as the villainous Tribal Chief revolved around him keeping his family in check.
There's no denying that he hasn't been the kindest faction leader to grace the professional wrestling business. Despite that, he fulfilled his promise to bring those who acknowledged him to the island of relevancy. Furthermore, the bond he developed with his Wiseman, Paul Heyman, should be the blueprint for future wrestler/manager associations.
Hence, Solo attacking Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman, when Roman Reigns wasn't around, was a direct insult to everything that The Original Tribal Chief built in the last four years.
That said, the nine-time WWE WrestleMania main-eventer must not hesitate to express that a driving force behind his comeback was to avenge the attacks done on the people he trusted the most.
#4 Acknowledging that The Tongans will never allow Reigns to level the playing field
For years, Roman Reigns has been running roughshod over the many credible WWE names, demanding that they acknowledge him. But now, it's time for him to do some acknowledging.
On the post-SummerSlam 2024 edition of SmackDown, The 2015 Royal Rumble winner singlehandedly took care of The Tongans. But in doing so, he failed to recapture the 'Ula Fala' as Solo Sikoa took advantage of a distracted Reigns and ran away with the prized necklace.
Now, it's true that the WWE Tag Team Champions are no match for The Tribal Chief. However, they proved that they can be enough of a nuisance to prevent The Head of the Table from reigning supreme over Solo Sikoa. Add Jacob Fatu and possibly The Tongans' real-life brother, Hikuleo, to the mix, and the deck is egregiously stacked against The OTC.
Therefore, the six-time world champion must realize that he can't win this battle alone and start planning his revenge tour accordingly.
#3 Make peace with Jey Uso and Sami Zayn
Speaking of Roman Reigns needing help with countering the insane numbers disadvantage he will soon be presented with, it looks like there isn't a lengthy list of WWE Superstars hopping in excitement at the thought of assisting the former Big Dog who was their worst nightmare during the last four years.
Now, of course, he and Jimmy Uso didn't have any falling out before Reigns went away in April 2024. So, convincing Jimmy to join him in the ongoing storyline wouldn't be an uphill task.
However, only Reigns and Jimmy won't be enough to weather the storm that Solo Sikoa and his army will rain down on them. The Original Tribal Chief will need more allies, and for that, he would have to master the art of apologizing.
That's correct. The only way for The Head of the Table to get even with Solo Sikoa without having to worry about The Tongans and Jacob is by getting the original band back together. That would be possible if he made amends with Jey Uso and the 'Honorary Uce' Sami Zayn.
#2 Winning back the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes
At SummerSlam 2024, Reigns left fans stunned when he helped Cody Rhodes against Solo Sikoa, allowing him to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Now, it might be true that Reigns was more keen on ensuring that Solo didn't walk out with championship gold around his waist than aiding his two-time WrestleMania opponent. That would indicate that settling the family feud is more critical to him than reclaiming the championship.
But given that Reigns had the title for over 1300 days, it might occur to him that he would be at his best when he's the defending champion. So, it's not out of the realm of possibility for The Needle Mover to take a brief detour from The Bloodline story and put his mind to regaining the Undisputed WWE Championship.
After all, with the illustrious gold around his waist, Solo might be more tempted to face his former Tribal Chief rather than run away from him at the first sign of trouble.
#1 Make sure that The Rock isn't the mastermind behind the new Bloodline
If the history of professional wrestling is any indication, it's that one can't even fully trust his family.
It's true that the WWE WrestleMania XL season was all about The Rock blending in The Bloodline and taking it upon himself to ensure that Roman Reigns' reign didn't end at The Show of Shows.
Despite The Final Boss' efforts, Cody Rhodes ended up finishing the story and put an end to The Bloodline's dominance. Since then, The Original Tribal Chief and The Final Boss haven't been on WWE TV together. Granted that The Rock is currently entangled in his filming commitments, but who's to say that he didn't have enough time on his hands to orchestrate a plan to topple The Roman Empire right after WrestleMania XL?
In case The Brahma Bull is in cahoots with Solo Sikoa, the stakes are bound to get tremendously higher. Roman Reigns, of all people, should understand that. So, he should promptly investigate The Rock's potential involvement in the ongoing Bloodline saga.