(An expanded version of a thread previously posted on Twitter)
The constellation that’s called the Bloodline has ebbs and flows of power between all its members. Those tugs and pulls and pushes–including Paul Heyman’s torn loyalties to Roman and Brock Lesnar and Jimmy’s increasing frustration with his brother–have kept the faction energized for over two years now. But the foundation of the faction, the beating bloody heart of the Bloodline’s strength and insecurity, is the tormented tie between Jey Uso and Roman Reigns.
Jey Uso started off in 2020 defying Roman as Roman asserted his dominance over the rest of the family and began to rule with an iron fist. Roman ended up challenging him to an "I Quit" match. And if Jey quit, he had to acknowledge Roman and fall in line.
Jey fought fiercely (their Hell in a Cell match in 2020 is one of my favorite matches), but Roman weaponized family love. When Jimmy entered the Cell, Roman lured him close with feigned tears and then throttled him until Jey said "I quit" to save his twin. After the match, Roman wiped the crocodile tears away contemptuously–he’d gotten what he wanted with them.
After that match, Jey watched in helpless fury as the elders of his family acknowledged Roman and gave him their blessing. From then on he was a shattered soul, having little choice but to remake himself into Roman’s most reliable “right hand man.”
For two years Jey has supported Roman without complaint or rebellion, helping to turn the Bloodline into the juggernaut it is now. But it’s clear Roman has never forgotten or forgiven that defiance from two years ago. You can see Logan Paul’s taunt strike a nerve here as Roman struggles to keep his cool. Heyman’s apprehensive face and nervous swallow hint that he’s aware this is a weak point in Roman’s armor.
And now Sami is a spanner thrown into the smooth-running works of the Bloodline, adding some chaotic energy into a faction that had gone for a while without much inner conflict. Roman sees in him a tool he can use to remind Jey that he’s always subordinate, subject to Roman’s whims. He taunts Jey by giving Sami power.
Ironically, Jey’s seething rage has caused him to start resisting Roman’s heavy hand in a way he hasn’t for years. We see a flash of the Jey that does not respect and does not acknowledge the Tribal Chief, a Jey that Roman cannot tolerate.
In the end, Sami and Jey have a lot in common—both of them desperate for respect from a man who respects no one and sees people only as tools to be used to cement his own power. Roman is completely aware of Jey seething in the background there as Sami blithely celebrates, and he’s enjoying it.
And as Roman’s reaction to that taunt by Logan Paul proved, Roman is actually thin-skinned and insecure, and god forbid he think that a member of the Bloodline poses any threat to his total domination.
It’s an unstable situation, and it doesn’t feel like it can go on much longer without something in that charged triangle of Roman-Jey-Sami breaking down. Where the more neutral trio of Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso’s loyalties will lie when everything comes crashing down remains to be seen at the end of this wild ride (and the beginning of another).