[Chelsea had an amazing reaction to getting a match with Bianca](https://youtu.be/qg1YmTp18Oc)
She’s hilarious, wwe social media trolled her by saying “Chelsea blue!”
Looking back at the Cena/Theory segment, Theory might have teased a return to a lighter, cockier character. He kept grinning while making his entrance and in the ring rather than scowl all the time like he used to.
He also welcomed Edge challenging him two weeks ago and has challenged Cena himself, which means he's getting more and more full of himself
As a fan of Russo I’m a little surprised you didn’t love the swerve.
You could have Sammy and jey together but jey’s loyalty has always been to his brother maybe even ahead of Roman.
Dropping jimmy for a guy he hated until 4 months ago doesn’t make total sense.
I like swerves but I dislike stuff that shuts down the creative envelope, what does this build to?
Zayn and Owens vs Usos for the tag belts at Mania, okay then what?
Instead you do Zayn/Jey vs Solo/Jimmy for the tag belts at Mania and then you have Roman/Solo/Jimmy vs Zayn/Owens/Jey, you have Roman vs Sami you have Jey vs Jimmy and Solo, you have Roman/Jimmy vs Zayn/Jey, Roman vs Jey, etc, etc.
You have a bunch of PPV matches that organically appear within the story and eventually you can have Jey turn back on Sami to freshen the Usos but at least you gave them a shot to see if they can develop further and achieve main event status without being Roman's lackeys
Now what do you have? Oh look, Zayn is with Owens again and Jey is back to being a tag guy with Jimmy like they have been since 2010, what's left for them to do?
To add to the Jey conversation, did anyone else catch him shoving Jimmy off of Sami almost immediately after tossing him into the ring?
And if you look close enough, you can clearly see that Jey's strikes *aren't touching Sami at all*!
What the hell was that new Johnny Gargano theme? It sounds like it belongs to some Joshi with a magical girl gimmick.
Man, is it me or did Bianca bust out one of her old outfits from her time on NXT? Not that I'm complaining mind because I always thought they had outstandin designs.
Cena summoning Cody after his promo with Theory just because he needed to have a heart to heart on camera with him was definitely random.
Sounds like they've totally retconed Nikki and Piper's alliance. Dunno why, it's not shameful and adds something to the story of the match.
I'm pretty sure they didn't play on Nikki vs. Piper because the goal is to team Nikki with LeRae. It makes me wonder why Indi isn't being called up though. Probably the fact that she still can't consistently do that top-rope move in big moments like in the Rumble.
Do you suppose Nikki is going to turn on Candice?
[Not sure if you saw the iron survivor buildup in nxt but it sounds like the coaches have concerns about how ready Indi is for the main roster.](https://youtu.be/wjx_j3hDNQ0)
I don't think so. I think they want to turn Nikki into a more sympathetic character, since too many people are doing the "crazy chick" gimmick. Asuka is the cool crazy chick (who apparently is still babyface, presumably because she's too cool). Rhea is the goth crazy chick. Liv is the BDSM crazy chick. Shotzi is the other goth crazy chick. Nikki needs a niche, and it seems like they're going for "misunderstood crazy chick who wants a friend," with LeRae as that friend.
As for Indi, it's possible some of those concerns were legitimate, but I wouldn't take the Iron Survivor panel too seriously as an indicator of BTS assessments of anybody there. The main reason for the panel segments were to justify and sell the Iron Survivor participants as contenders, and WWE would only mention doubts if they wanted the audience to believe there were doubts. However, the fact that all of the Way is on the main roster now except for Indi makes me wonder why she's still there. I also think the Rumble spot was a test run, and she didn't do that well, missing the rope spot, as I mentioned. She also missed the same spot in another match on NXT a while ago, but I forget which it was. However, it could just be that they don't want to call Indi up when there are already so many unestablished rehires and callups already.
Yeah I think Zoey and Alba would be up already under normal circumstances but hhh has decided to hire some of his black and gold favorites instead like Chelsea, Emma, Mia and Candice
I think that was coincidence. I don’t see jimmy turning on his brother. It would be one swerve too many. Turning on Roman though? That could work.
One thing def rebel does a lot is give a wrestler a new theme than tweak it based on feedback. Charlottes theme the first week was super slow and she asked them to speak it up.
Gargano probably asked them to tweak his theme. What they need to do is hire the girl who sang the first version of it. The best part of rebel heart was the paramore vibes. The guy signing it sounds like shit
>I think that was coincidence. I don’t see jimmy turning on his brother. It would be one swerve too many. Turning on Roman though? That could work.
I don't either. I just thought he wanted to make sure Sami wouldn't be too hurt
I didn't think Bet on Yourself was that bad, especially the altered lyrics. But this, this just isn't it.
I don't think it's as simple as getting the same vocalist to sing it again, CFO$ or whoever holds the rights might sue for plagiarism. He's probably gonna need to get a new one from scratch at this point
What an ending. A great way to let the audience have it's cake, and eat it too. I believed for a second we were going to see "The Ones" take on Solo and Jimmy at WM, with some sort of turn mid-match. Doing it now was the smart thing, and gave us two moments for the price of one, both of which sold the shit out of the match. Jey Uso is a cornered dog, and the fight-or-flight of the last month has been amazing. He's now got the most rounded, well developed character on the roster. Pleased to see he's also worked on his physical game too - the guy is on fire and is my current tip to take the belt off Roman down the line somewhere.
Elsewhere, it's nice to see some long term storytelling. It's possible this is me looking for it, of course - but given they *have* a long term storytelling department, the abrupt pivot on Theory to take the briefcase off him, have him go ruthless aggression, silent badass coward heel seems to have been done so as to give fuel to the Cena match (certainly, rumours of it were cropping up around the same time). Cena coming back and breaking kayfabe is having diminishing returns, but the stakes were laid out and I'm in. Ditto with Logan Paul vs Seth, which is your "workrate darling" match, with Paul obliged to do something ridiculous.
All in all, an absolute rocket of an episode. And I haven't even touched on the return to bum-ass Corbin that we're getting, maybe, just maybe, they'll use his eventual return to glorious dipshit to give him a proper push. Time will tell.
Cena saying theory has to have noise piped into his matches was some smark bait.
My local wrestling discord has always hated cena but now they’re high fiving each other about him having Vince’s clamps off of him. It’s so stupid
Eh, not really. Cena pretty much summed everything up; He’s not believable. He seems very nervous on the mic but a lot of people on the roster are.
And I think you’re right Paul is definitely trying to test him because he wants to help make him.
Theory is young and has plenty of future ahead of him. If he can figure this stuff out now he’ll be the next Randy Orton.
They’ve got everyone eating out of the palm of their hand with this Bloodline story. That ending was perfect! I think it fits Jey’s character and I like how they’re starting to involve Cody more into it.
Brings us one step closer to that Cody vs Solo match that I want to see in the build to Wrestlemania.
Picked a hell of an episode to miss. Watched the entire ending segment though. Perfect way to do the Jey turn. Cody coming out to be the hero. Such good stuff.
Is there like a raw on Hulu or whatever where it's like a condensed version of raw without all the filler and cuts the commercials? Might watch that at work seems very optimal
Roman has Jey by the balls and nothing so far has shown that Jey has broken free. Jey had no choice but to fall back in line as soon as Roman started threatening Jimmy because Jey knows he's not kidding. Some people are calling it a character regression but it makes perfect sense in the long term storytelling.
I don't think a traditional Muslim crowd would like the Man-swah gimmick. But they often are more liberal in their wrestling tastes than the stereotype of them implies. They go nuts for Goldberg and loved many of the women wrestlers, even though internet people like to assume Saudi Arabians are all too misogynist and anti-semitic for that.
Roman said if jey wasn’t back in line by Friday he was going to take it out on Jimmy.
Jey remembers that last time he didn’t fall in line Roman choked jimmy out.
He had to protect his brother.
If anything, the bloodline story has shown wrestling audiences not only can cope with layered storylines, but they crave it. For all of the nonsense around "the angle of the tassle on Tanahashi's boots is a sly nod to his match three years ago with Omega", fans have clearly wanted depth to stories for a long time, when none were given. To the extent that they invented it themselves, and sure, some wrestlers tried to give a nod to it in their work.
For as much as Bray Wyatt wants to develop some bonkers, obscure metatextual lore around himself, the Bloodline has shown you can just layer a story in a way that makes sense and trust the audience to understand it. It's the perfect middle ground between Wyatt's dull ramblings and the old WWE "tater-tots" good vs bad approach.
We really need a re-creation of that verbal beatdown Cena gave Austin Theory, but everytime Cena throws a verbal sucker punch there needs to be a Vine Boom sound effect.
Its certainly Codys time. The fans can't get enough of him, man shows up for 2 seconds and ppl are screaming his theme
But it might be later down the line Samis time as world champ too, the fans dont seem to be giving up on loving him too
Yeah definitely. Sami as a crowd favorite is definitely here to stay. Sami as a legit title contender just needs a few more building up. 2024 Rumble and a WM40 title win sounds perfectly great.
Another add on to the 'Jey did this for his brother' theory is that of course he had to be boisterous - he had to make it look like he was back to serving Roman convincingly or Roman would see right through it.
What makes the Mania Tag Match absolutely spectacular besides the story they've been telling is:
It's two teams of brothers
Brothers by Blood (The Usos) fighting Brothers by Circumstance (Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens)
The small tears cause he knows what Roman is gonna do to Jimmy for losing to sami or if he doesnt join them again, and also trying to remove the bloodline shirt like they did to Sami... genius details
"Doesn't make sense"
Jey will eventually turn on Roman thats obvious, also...
Did you forget how much Jey hated Sami? He didn't get around to him until Sami proved his loyalty to the Bloodline. Jey became friends with Sami because Sami looked for the best for Jey's family. It's always been about family
Only went against them at the Tribal Court segment but
a) some of the clips that Heyman got were stupid
b) jey had to provide clips of Sami risking himself to save the bloodline
Could just be Jey is a double agent. Or feels he has to be within to break it apart. Or doesn't want to betray the family but wants Roman out. He had Sami tell him what to do and same with Roman and Jimmy. I feel this will just lead him to betraying Jimmy but revealing he wants to be his own man and not a follower.
I think he’s in it to protect Jimmy and eventually get him & Solo out, then once all of them are free, he’ll take Roman down once and for all, finishing the story where it all began
Yeah like I don't see it as this concluding with him just coming back. Not after he did all that and went AWOL for weeks. I do wonder if we get a Jimmy vs Jey match though it would be interesting to see
Was he never going to pick Sami?
Roman said if jey wasn’t back in line by Friday he was going to take it out on Jimmy.
Jey remembers that last time he didn’t fall in line Roman choked jimmy out.
He had to protect his brother
I still think Jey Uso didn't do this out of loyality to Roman, but to avoid his brother getting the shit kicked out of him by Reigns. (I would've done this Friday, but I like the angle regardless - it's interesting to note how Cody "I do this shit in a suit" Rhodes ran out to help Zayn because they built that comradority before Elimination Chamber - but Kevin Owens stayed in the back).
So Jey refused to attack Sami on multiple occasions at Romans request….only to turn around and attack Sami anyway? They have no idea where to go with this huh
Because the biggest difference is that last Friday, Roman proclaimed that if Jey doesnt get in line, Jimmy will get it.
Same with HIAC, that leaves Jey with no choice. And that's why it is only now that he - seemingly - chooses a side.
LOL right.
Precedent has already been set 2 years ago at HIAC: Jey will do whatever it takes to protect his brother from getting the wrath of Roman Reigns. Jey only moved when his brother's health was directly threatened by Roman.
LONG TERM STORYTELLING
I hate this so much. It feels like we're regressing the story back to where it was 6 months ago rather than moving forward. Jey turning on Roman and breaking up the Bloodline makes more sense and is a far more interesting story going forward.
Yeah especially not for Sami. Who only came to them asking to be part of the bloodline because he wanted to get back the respect he felt he was entitled to
Jey doesn't have to betray Jimmy.
He has to betray Roman.
He can be loyal to Jimmy but not Roman. Convince Jimmy to leave Roman's ass too. Then Solo. Then the story completes with Roman as the fallen emperor.
This story has so many damn layers. Sami and KO. The brothers Uso with their own conflict. Cody being brought into the fold seamlessly. Roman's empire collapsing with Heyman looming over everything. A total wildcard in the form of Solo.
It's not too late, Jimmy. There's still hope for you to join the good guys.
Goddamn this is great wrestling TV. The matches don't even matter.
Edit: AHHHHHHHH they got me!
This bloodline angle has been going for what 2 years+ now? Its those types of angles are what makes it soo good.. Now, trim away a bit of silliness that obviously never worked into the next great angle, and you may have a masterpiece.
Honestly we're gonna look back at this storyline as one of the best in wwe history. Just completely rejuvenated multiple careers like KO Sami Roman, showed tag guys can be more than that in Usos, and built up the future in Solo Sikoa, and likely gave the gigantic rub to a new guy Cody rhodes
I guess they figure that have a ceiling, and since they sold out with John Cena, there's no sense to book Cody in a match where he could get hurt.
A promo would be nice though.
"Underdog" Sami Zayn
"Sami/KO Show" Sami Zayn
"Artist" Sami Zayn
"Conspiracy Theorist" Sami Zayn
"Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn
"?" Sami Zayn
What should the current gimmick be proscribed as?
I wasn't planning on going but I might need to secure a ticket for SmackDown in Vegas in March 24th. I need to see my beloved American Main-Eventer and his entrance in person. Even if it's just a dark match in a shitty $25 seat
I honestly doubt Sasha would want to have a shitty stable and be in another multi-woman match at mania.
Meanwhile Sasha is a champion in a major promotion
If it was Bayley versus Trish or Lita one on one. Sure
That golf commercial reminds me that my brother is going to the Masters this year for free and I'm super jealous. Through my former life in government contracting, I've already learned to hate salesmen (who pretty much get paid a lot of money to sell a product that the client was already going to purchase) with a burning passion but the fact that they get all the great perks to waste on people who don't care really makes my blood boil.
That’s harsh. Theory is actually good in the ring with psychology and quality matches.
Sami is a fucking spot money
Both have absolute dog shit characters right now though you’re right about that
Theory is probably better on average but Sammy’s highs are much higher.
They also both suck compared to their counterparts but their bookers love them and keep them relevant no matter what.
She seems to have gotten an injury between Raw and SmackDown last week, which forced them to cancel the SD tag match of her and Shayna against Nat and Nox. And so they booked a six-woman match instead featuring legends.
To be fair they’ve had a lot of spot light, main events and promo time, it just feels very forced and like why are they together? What’s their mission statement, and results wise yes. I mean they’ve been beaten into powder at this point
One person of the three can cut a functional heel promo and all 3 are likeable. No amount of booking can save a poor mix of personalities/talent. Some people just can't be heels.
It didn't even work at NXT. Io is, at worst, a tweener face. Kota's a friggin underdog.
Props to HHH for respecting Bayley's wishes but it's not working.
Chad Gable finally got to win a match. I am happy.
[Chelsea had an amazing reaction to getting a match with Bianca](https://youtu.be/qg1YmTp18Oc) She’s hilarious, wwe social media trolled her by saying “Chelsea blue!”
Looking back at the Cena/Theory segment, Theory might have teased a return to a lighter, cockier character. He kept grinning while making his entrance and in the ring rather than scowl all the time like he used to. He also welcomed Edge challenging him two weeks ago and has challenged Cena himself, which means he's getting more and more full of himself
Isn't a much better storytelling device to keep Sammy and Jay together as a tag team?
As a fan of Russo I’m a little surprised you didn’t love the swerve. You could have Sammy and jey together but jey’s loyalty has always been to his brother maybe even ahead of Roman. Dropping jimmy for a guy he hated until 4 months ago doesn’t make total sense.
I like swerves but I dislike stuff that shuts down the creative envelope, what does this build to? Zayn and Owens vs Usos for the tag belts at Mania, okay then what? Instead you do Zayn/Jey vs Solo/Jimmy for the tag belts at Mania and then you have Roman/Solo/Jimmy vs Zayn/Owens/Jey, you have Roman vs Sami you have Jey vs Jimmy and Solo, you have Roman/Jimmy vs Zayn/Jey, Roman vs Jey, etc, etc. You have a bunch of PPV matches that organically appear within the story and eventually you can have Jey turn back on Sami to freshen the Usos but at least you gave them a shot to see if they can develop further and achieve main event status without being Roman's lackeys Now what do you have? Oh look, Zayn is with Owens again and Jey is back to being a tag guy with Jimmy like they have been since 2010, what's left for them to do?
To add to the Jey conversation, did anyone else catch him shoving Jimmy off of Sami almost immediately after tossing him into the ring? And if you look close enough, you can clearly see that Jey's strikes *aren't touching Sami at all*! What the hell was that new Johnny Gargano theme? It sounds like it belongs to some Joshi with a magical girl gimmick. Man, is it me or did Bianca bust out one of her old outfits from her time on NXT? Not that I'm complaining mind because I always thought they had outstandin designs. Cena summoning Cody after his promo with Theory just because he needed to have a heart to heart on camera with him was definitely random. Sounds like they've totally retconed Nikki and Piper's alliance. Dunno why, it's not shameful and adds something to the story of the match.
I'm pretty sure they didn't play on Nikki vs. Piper because the goal is to team Nikki with LeRae. It makes me wonder why Indi isn't being called up though. Probably the fact that she still can't consistently do that top-rope move in big moments like in the Rumble.
Do you suppose Nikki is going to turn on Candice? [Not sure if you saw the iron survivor buildup in nxt but it sounds like the coaches have concerns about how ready Indi is for the main roster.](https://youtu.be/wjx_j3hDNQ0)
I don't think so. I think they want to turn Nikki into a more sympathetic character, since too many people are doing the "crazy chick" gimmick. Asuka is the cool crazy chick (who apparently is still babyface, presumably because she's too cool). Rhea is the goth crazy chick. Liv is the BDSM crazy chick. Shotzi is the other goth crazy chick. Nikki needs a niche, and it seems like they're going for "misunderstood crazy chick who wants a friend," with LeRae as that friend. As for Indi, it's possible some of those concerns were legitimate, but I wouldn't take the Iron Survivor panel too seriously as an indicator of BTS assessments of anybody there. The main reason for the panel segments were to justify and sell the Iron Survivor participants as contenders, and WWE would only mention doubts if they wanted the audience to believe there were doubts. However, the fact that all of the Way is on the main roster now except for Indi makes me wonder why she's still there. I also think the Rumble spot was a test run, and she didn't do that well, missing the rope spot, as I mentioned. She also missed the same spot in another match on NXT a while ago, but I forget which it was. However, it could just be that they don't want to call Indi up when there are already so many unestablished rehires and callups already.
Yeah I think Zoey and Alba would be up already under normal circumstances but hhh has decided to hire some of his black and gold favorites instead like Chelsea, Emma, Mia and Candice
I think that was coincidence. I don’t see jimmy turning on his brother. It would be one swerve too many. Turning on Roman though? That could work. One thing def rebel does a lot is give a wrestler a new theme than tweak it based on feedback. Charlottes theme the first week was super slow and she asked them to speak it up. Gargano probably asked them to tweak his theme. What they need to do is hire the girl who sang the first version of it. The best part of rebel heart was the paramore vibes. The guy signing it sounds like shit
I think Sami and Jey are doing all of this to protect Jimmy and fuck with Roman.
>I think that was coincidence. I don’t see jimmy turning on his brother. It would be one swerve too many. Turning on Roman though? That could work. I don't either. I just thought he wanted to make sure Sami wouldn't be too hurt I didn't think Bet on Yourself was that bad, especially the altered lyrics. But this, this just isn't it. I don't think it's as simple as getting the same vocalist to sing it again, CFO$ or whoever holds the rights might sue for plagiarism. He's probably gonna need to get a new one from scratch at this point
What an ending. A great way to let the audience have it's cake, and eat it too. I believed for a second we were going to see "The Ones" take on Solo and Jimmy at WM, with some sort of turn mid-match. Doing it now was the smart thing, and gave us two moments for the price of one, both of which sold the shit out of the match. Jey Uso is a cornered dog, and the fight-or-flight of the last month has been amazing. He's now got the most rounded, well developed character on the roster. Pleased to see he's also worked on his physical game too - the guy is on fire and is my current tip to take the belt off Roman down the line somewhere. Elsewhere, it's nice to see some long term storytelling. It's possible this is me looking for it, of course - but given they *have* a long term storytelling department, the abrupt pivot on Theory to take the briefcase off him, have him go ruthless aggression, silent badass coward heel seems to have been done so as to give fuel to the Cena match (certainly, rumours of it were cropping up around the same time). Cena coming back and breaking kayfabe is having diminishing returns, but the stakes were laid out and I'm in. Ditto with Logan Paul vs Seth, which is your "workrate darling" match, with Paul obliged to do something ridiculous. All in all, an absolute rocket of an episode. And I haven't even touched on the return to bum-ass Corbin that we're getting, maybe, just maybe, they'll use his eventual return to glorious dipshit to give him a proper push. Time will tell.
Cena saying theory has to have noise piped into his matches was some smark bait. My local wrestling discord has always hated cena but now they’re high fiving each other about him having Vince’s clamps off of him. It’s so stupid
This is why I didn't want Theory vs Cena. Cena's right, Theory isn't ready because promo wise how was he supposed to defend himself?
I missed John cena. Good to always see him. Been watching him for so long it’s like seeing an old friend.
Has Theory's character changed/improved at all since losing MITB? Feels like HHH has been testing him ever since he took over creative.
He cut that really good promo when he lost mitb but he got his title back and went back to being generic heel
The conspiracy theorist in me has me thinking this whole thing is a political hit.
Eh, not really. Cena pretty much summed everything up; He’s not believable. He seems very nervous on the mic but a lot of people on the roster are. And I think you’re right Paul is definitely trying to test him because he wants to help make him. Theory is young and has plenty of future ahead of him. If he can figure this stuff out now he’ll be the next Randy Orton.
I wish him the best of luck.
[Mustache Vince](https://i.redd.it/g23py18mgama1.jpg), if y'all are curious. **Edit**: This may be fake. Ah well.
Burt Reynolds, eat your heart out.
Omni-Vince “Think marks, Think!”
Vince Danger part time spy full time latin lover
They’ve got everyone eating out of the palm of their hand with this Bloodline story. That ending was perfect! I think it fits Jey’s character and I like how they’re starting to involve Cody more into it. Brings us one step closer to that Cody vs Solo match that I want to see in the build to Wrestlemania.
Picked a hell of an episode to miss. Watched the entire ending segment though. Perfect way to do the Jey turn. Cody coming out to be the hero. Such good stuff.
Is there like a raw on Hulu or whatever where it's like a condensed version of raw without all the filler and cuts the commercials? Might watch that at work seems very optimal
If you have Hulu with no ads they condense it to 90 minutes If you have Hulu with ads it will still take you 2 hours or so to get thru
[The Mega Hurt Business. Meme becomes reality](https://www.instagram.com/p/CpeVu1DOQLw/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=)
Melo getting a main event match in his hometown is super cool.
That would be fucking lit. Plus Omos.
After tonight I just gotta say one thing: LET TRIPS BOOK
He’s been booking for months. What are you on about.
I think it’s a play on the “let Russ cook” line people used for Russell Wilson when he was with the Seahawks.
I think this started with Jey and it ends with Jey. Jey may purposefully throw the match at mania like midway in it tbh
Roman has Jey by the balls and nothing so far has shown that Jey has broken free. Jey had no choice but to fall back in line as soon as Roman started threatening Jimmy because Jey knows he's not kidding. Some people are calling it a character regression but it makes perfect sense in the long term storytelling.
Watching Raw Talk. I think an underrated part of why Maximum Male Models works is that all 3 of them are genuinely gorgeous human beings
Mansaur is a truly beautiful man. Hope he gets on the Saudi show again lol they been leaving him off it lately
I don't think a traditional Muslim crowd would like the Man-swah gimmick. But they often are more liberal in their wrestling tastes than the stereotype of them implies. They go nuts for Goldberg and loved many of the women wrestlers, even though internet people like to assume Saudi Arabians are all too misogynist and anti-semitic for that.
Mansoor for King of the Ring 2023??? I wouldn't mind that lol they'd have to build him up considerably though
Roman said if jey wasn’t back in line by Friday he was going to take it out on Jimmy. Jey remembers that last time he didn’t fall in line Roman choked jimmy out. He had to protect his brother.
Good point!
Jey is the real Tribal Chief putting it all on the line for his brother
I feel like that hug was Jey’s way of 1) telling Sami goodbye and 2) Sami’s right but Jey can’t do it.
If anything, the bloodline story has shown wrestling audiences not only can cope with layered storylines, but they crave it. For all of the nonsense around "the angle of the tassle on Tanahashi's boots is a sly nod to his match three years ago with Omega", fans have clearly wanted depth to stories for a long time, when none were given. To the extent that they invented it themselves, and sure, some wrestlers tried to give a nod to it in their work. For as much as Bray Wyatt wants to develop some bonkers, obscure metatextual lore around himself, the Bloodline has shown you can just layer a story in a way that makes sense and trust the audience to understand it. It's the perfect middle ground between Wyatt's dull ramblings and the old WWE "tater-tots" good vs bad approach.
Yeah, main event Jey Uso will find another way
Jeys face made it clear that it wasnt easy to drop Sami
Gut wrenching stuff. Even if he’s a double agent, it had to be done to convince Roman. There really wasn’t any other way in any scenario.
I bet Vince was there to hear that reaction live
“Good shit pal, now where’s that egg”
We really need a re-creation of that verbal beatdown Cena gave Austin Theory, but everytime Cena throws a verbal sucker punch there needs to be a Vine Boom sound effect.
Its certainly Codys time. The fans can't get enough of him, man shows up for 2 seconds and ppl are screaming his theme But it might be later down the line Samis time as world champ too, the fans dont seem to be giving up on loving him too
Sami will need some rehab. He’s a loveable loser unlike Cody but I could see him as a 2024 rumble candidate.
Yeah definitely. Sami as a crowd favorite is definitely here to stay. Sami as a legit title contender just needs a few more building up. 2024 Rumble and a WM40 title win sounds perfectly great.
Another add on to the 'Jey did this for his brother' theory is that of course he had to be boisterous - he had to make it look like he was back to serving Roman convincingly or Roman would see right through it.
That would imply Roman is an idiot though
Roman isn't an idiot - but he's blinded by things that stroke his ego.
HHH digging into his Ciampa/Gargano playbook at the end there. Was just missing the fakeout trademark.
What makes the Mania Tag Match absolutely spectacular besides the story they've been telling is: It's two teams of brothers Brothers by Blood (The Usos) fighting Brothers by Circumstance (Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens)
More of Blood Brothers vs Bond Brothers, with some Good Brothers down the line maybe?
The small tears cause he knows what Roman is gonna do to Jimmy for losing to sami or if he doesnt join them again, and also trying to remove the bloodline shirt like they did to Sami... genius details
"Doesn't make sense" Jey will eventually turn on Roman thats obvious, also... Did you forget how much Jey hated Sami? He didn't get around to him until Sami proved his loyalty to the Bloodline. Jey became friends with Sami because Sami looked for the best for Jey's family. It's always been about family
Yup I’ll also add while jey tried to help Sami. He never fought Roman or his brother to protect him
Only went against them at the Tribal Court segment but a) some of the clips that Heyman got were stupid b) jey had to provide clips of Sami risking himself to save the bloodline
Could just be Jey is a double agent. Or feels he has to be within to break it apart. Or doesn't want to betray the family but wants Roman out. He had Sami tell him what to do and same with Roman and Jimmy. I feel this will just lead him to betraying Jimmy but revealing he wants to be his own man and not a follower.
I think he’s in it to protect Jimmy and eventually get him & Solo out, then once all of them are free, he’ll take Roman down once and for all, finishing the story where it all began
Yeah like I don't see it as this concluding with him just coming back. Not after he did all that and went AWOL for weeks. I do wonder if we get a Jimmy vs Jey match though it would be interesting to see
Cody is the realest white dude of all time, man saw samoans jumping someone and pulled up in a suit to save him
I was shocked and then shocked AGAIN! Also, Jey now has Dominik Mysterio heat.
If he was never gonna pick Sami why did he wait so long to not pick Sami that doesn’t make any sense.
Was he never going to pick Sami? Roman said if jey wasn’t back in line by Friday he was going to take it out on Jimmy. Jey remembers that last time he didn’t fall in line Roman choked jimmy out. He had to protect his brother
I was just going off of his words but that probably is the story
Damn KO didnt show up but Cody did
I still think Jey Uso didn't do this out of loyality to Roman, but to avoid his brother getting the shit kicked out of him by Reigns. (I would've done this Friday, but I like the angle regardless - it's interesting to note how Cody "I do this shit in a suit" Rhodes ran out to help Zayn because they built that comradority before Elimination Chamber - but Kevin Owens stayed in the back).
To be fair, the suit is an extension of Cody's body at this point. Except when he wrestles, of course.
Good wrestling is the best thing on the planet
So Jey refused to attack Sami on multiple occasions at Romans request….only to turn around and attack Sami anyway? They have no idea where to go with this huh
Nope it's because Jimmy's on the line here. Jey has always cared about Jimmy above all else.
Because the biggest difference is that last Friday, Roman proclaimed that if Jey doesnt get in line, Jimmy will get it. Same with HIAC, that leaves Jey with no choice. And that's why it is only now that he - seemingly - chooses a side.
LOL right. Precedent has already been set 2 years ago at HIAC: Jey will do whatever it takes to protect his brother from getting the wrath of Roman Reigns. Jey only moved when his brother's health was directly threatened by Roman. LONG TERM STORYTELLING
It’s to prevent his brother from getting his ass kicked by Roman
Blood is thicker than beard hair
World Wrestling Entertainment IS ON FIRE RIGHT NOW
FUCKING WHAAAAATT?!?!?!
As a fellow identical twin, I don't care what happens, I have my twin's back 100/100. Jey is doing what is necessary.
They’re fraternal, but I get you
Are you sure? [This article from CBS says that they are identical.](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/jey-uso-wiki-wwe-facts-bio/)
My bad
No worries. They just look so similar that I find it near impossible for them to be fraternal.
I hate this so much. It feels like we're regressing the story back to where it was 6 months ago rather than moving forward. Jey turning on Roman and breaking up the Bloodline makes more sense and is a far more interesting story going forward.
Jey was begging Jimmy to join the BL he feels incomplete without his brother
Yeah he was, and now he broke free of Roman's shackles and now it should be him convincing JImmy to **leave** Roman. Not join back in.
Jey is still conflicted. There was no reason to trick Sami momentarily or leave for weeks if he wasnt, its gonna happen
Jey and jimmy are loyal to each other that’s been this whole story. Doesn’t make since for jey to betray jimmy after the hell in a cell match
Yeah especially not for Sami. Who only came to them asking to be part of the bloodline because he wanted to get back the respect he felt he was entitled to
Jey doesn't have to betray Jimmy. He has to betray Roman. He can be loyal to Jimmy but not Roman. Convince Jimmy to leave Roman's ass too. Then Solo. Then the story completes with Roman as the fallen emperor.
This is the path they should have chosen.
That was great
There it is
I swear LaVeck is booking for you lately
He saw how much shit I talked weeks ago
This story has so many damn layers. Sami and KO. The brothers Uso with their own conflict. Cody being brought into the fold seamlessly. Roman's empire collapsing with Heyman looming over everything. A total wildcard in the form of Solo.
Super Cody to the rescue.
We saw that coming a mile away the moment he stuck his finger up.
Fuck it. Bring out Kevin!
Six man tag next week. Just watch
Cody Rhodes is a wild and crazy motherfucker. He saw a three on one beatdown and came running out in a suit.
He's a real one
10 years in wwe and the USOs have never broken up.
AAAAHAAAA HAAAAA I KNEW IT BLOOD ALWAYS PREVAILS
😆 that was fucking amazing. Cody the hero!
I could tell Jey was going to betray Sami based on his facial expressions before the hug.
I was too caught up in being pissed at Jey 😅
Also them just standing around
OH SHIT HE PICKED SAMI
Lmao y’all fell for that shit
Saw that coming.
YES!!! ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD!
THANK GOD!! Jey has come to his senses!!!
They got me. Oh shit
It's not too late, Jimmy. There's still hope for you to join the good guys. Goddamn this is great wrestling TV. The matches don't even matter. Edit: AHHHHHHHH they got me!
I knew I didn't trust this.
YESSSSSSSS
What an ending. Hope it’s not a swerve. Edit: it was a swerve.
Wow. No matter how this ends, this is the kind of storytelling that people will be talking about 20 years from now.
This bloodline angle has been going for what 2 years+ now? Its those types of angles are what makes it soo good.. Now, trim away a bit of silliness that obviously never worked into the next great angle, and you may have a masterpiece.
Ah shit. This bloodline stuff always has me emotional. Ever since Roman cried...
That was like a louder pop than Cena got lmao
😮
Jey WHY!?!?!??!?!?
THE ROOF HAS EXPLODED OFF OF TD GARDEN.
BULLSHIT. I’m legit mad at Jey right now. How you gonna do Jimmy like that
this storyline is a work of art
Did Jey get even more tattoos?
NO
No
Jey come on now
Jey is absolutely helping Sami on the down low with that distraction assist
OH SHIT JEY
At least Jimmy Uso doesn't have to worry about getting murdered by Roman Reigns friday. He found his brother.
Fuck Sami lol.Jey better not betray Jimmy
Jey "Sting" Uso
I still believe there's a possibility that Jimmy and Solo freebird the tag titles at Mania vs Sami & KO - & Jey Uso will be the special guest referee
Honestly we're gonna look back at this storyline as one of the best in wwe history. Just completely rejuvenated multiple careers like KO Sami Roman, showed tag guys can be more than that in Usos, and built up the future in Solo Sikoa, and likely gave the gigantic rub to a new guy Cody rhodes
I still can’t get over the fact trish seems to have found the fountain of youth
Trish and lita look pretty good for their age
Trish, Lita, and Torrie Wilson are all still gorgeous.
As someone in his mid 40s, hearing ladies around the same age still look good “for their age” cuts me very deep
Lol ain't mean it like that 😭 at the end of the day sometimes age is a mindset, you got time left to enjoy still
Did they really fuck with Sami's pop when he came out? The volume was all over the place.
It's more split than you'd think here. Plus Zayn already came out at the beginning. The little girl behind me absolutely hates Sami.
I’ve hit a little bit of Sami fatigue myself. He was fun as a heel. Not sure I love the babyface character as much
They really decided to not book Cody after that fire SD segment. He could make a save with KO I guess but I don't see it
He worked double time last week. It’s not a big deal imo. You also don’t want people to get sick of him
They have Sami working both shows and doing like 20 promos and matches 🤷♂️
Eh I guess hes doing some dark match tonight ?
I guess they figure that have a ceiling, and since they sold out with John Cena, there's no sense to book Cody in a match where he could get hurt. A promo would be nice though.
Precious time before Mania. Maybe he's on SD again?
"Underdog" Sami Zayn "Sami/KO Show" Sami Zayn "Artist" Sami Zayn "Conspiracy Theorist" Sami Zayn "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn "?" Sami Zayn What should the current gimmick be proscribed as?
“Bloodline Killer”
Backstabbing piece of Shit Sami. I'll never forgive him for abandoning his family
He reminds me so much of Mick Foley at times, not just the beard and voice breaks but the reaction to him.
James Uso.
Main Event ~~Jey~~ Jimmy Uso
I wasn't planning on going but I might need to secure a ticket for SmackDown in Vegas in March 24th. I need to see my beloved American Main-Eventer and his entrance in person. Even if it's just a dark match in a shitty $25 seat
So I guess I didn’t dream it and Cody really did just come out and wave. I wonder if there is a dark match
Bayley getting to live out Sasha’s dream is funny for me personally
I honestly doubt Sasha would want to have a shitty stable and be in another multi-woman match at mania. Meanwhile Sasha is a champion in a major promotion If it was Bayley versus Trish or Lita one on one. Sure
That golf commercial reminds me that my brother is going to the Masters this year for free and I'm super jealous. Through my former life in government contracting, I've already learned to hate salesmen (who pretty much get paid a lot of money to sell a product that the client was already going to purchase) with a burning passion but the fact that they get all the great perks to waste on people who don't care really makes my blood boil.
Austin Theory is probably like "I'm just going to go to AEW... at least I don't have to cut promos there."
He can stay here he’s just Sammy with better PR they don’t need that
That’s harsh. Theory is actually good in the ring with psychology and quality matches. Sami is a fucking spot money Both have absolute dog shit characters right now though you’re right about that
Theory is probably better on average but Sammy’s highs are much higher. They also both suck compared to their counterparts but their bookers love them and keep them relevant no matter what.
You straight hate wwe right now huh?
Let’s just say I had much higher expectations for a HHH WWE.
I'm glad Dakota and Io at least get one mania tbh
So, uh, is Ronda Rousey vs Shayna Baszler happening at Mania or after? Does WWE creative care about Ronda Rousey anymore?
She seems to have gotten an injury between Raw and SmackDown last week, which forced them to cancel the SD tag match of her and Shayna against Nat and Nox. And so they booked a six-woman match instead featuring legends.
I think Ronda and Shayna will beat Becky and Lita at Saudi
I see mentions of a matchup with Shayna and Ronda, but the never indicated that on either show.
Make it a tlc trios match
They’re probably gonna dethrone Team Redhead.
I have no clue. She might have pissed off HHH or HHH is hitting the panic button on her after that last title reign
She was wearing a sling on SD & they had to change a match. It’s most likely an injury, not some conspiracy theory.
It really boggles the mind that ppl keep blaming Damage Control for their abysmal booking
Iyo fell off hard in the ring and they took the mic away from Dakota
Kota's mic opportunities died off as soon as the feud turned to Becky/Bayley, sadly.
I think they both aren’t that good/feel lost on the main roster
To be fair they’ve had a lot of spot light, main events and promo time, it just feels very forced and like why are they together? What’s their mission statement, and results wise yes. I mean they’ve been beaten into powder at this point
One person of the three can cut a functional heel promo and all 3 are likeable. No amount of booking can save a poor mix of personalities/talent. Some people just can't be heels.
There's a reason why Japanese bookers were always iffy about making Io a heel.
It didn't even work at NXT. Io is, at worst, a tweener face. Kota's a friggin underdog. Props to HHH for respecting Bayley's wishes but it's not working.
Becky fans complaining about booking will never sit right with me either lol