The end of Roman Reigns’ historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship run at WrestleMania 40 may have concluded that chapter of the Bloodline saga, but if the events that have unfolded since are any indication, it is a story with many more to write.
That includes an epic babyface turn for The Tribal Chief.
“Thank you Roman” chants at the RAW After Mania
The chants of “Thank you, Roman” at the Raw after WrestleMania in response to Cody Rhodes acknowledging his reign atop WWE for the better part of four years showed that the fans are ready and willing to accept him as a babyface.
Reigns is not currently advertised for any upcoming WWE premium live events, which begs the question: When will The Head of the Table return to television and what is the best way to continue his pro wrestling epic?
When Does The Tribal Chief Return?
The most obvious return date for Reigns would seem to be SummerSlam, the second biggest pay-per-view of the year, yet he is not featured on any of the early promotional material.
The card for August 3 will be subject to change, but WWE would likely want him front and center on any marketing materials as it attempts to keep its hot streak of PPVs going.
Survivor Series in November would be another option and after last year’s show featured memorable returns from CM Punk and Randy Orton, it would establish the year-ending PPV as one of major comebacks.
The best option, though, is the Royal Rumble in January as it serves as the start of the Road to WrestleMania. The return of Reigns then would kick things off with great excitement.
The Bloodline Civil War
The endgame for WWE is undoubtedly a match with The Rock, as was originally the case for this year’s WrestleMania.
To get there, one must look no further than the seeds already planted on the first SmackDown after The Showcase of the Immortals.
Solo Sikoa appeared to initiate a hostile takeover of The Bloodline on Friday, employing Tama Tonga as its newest member.
With Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Fernando Quiles Jr. of MMA Knockout) reporting that Jacob Fatu is also incoming, the faction appears poised to rebuild itself in the coming weeks and months.
When asked about his actions, Tonga said “by orders of The Tribal Chief.”
“By orders of the Tribal Chief” – Tama Tonga
Except Reigns was nowhere to be found and special counsellor Paul Heyman knew nothing of Tonga’s arrival and the beatdown of Jimmy Uso that occurred, suggesting the “tribal chief” in question was not the one who has been established to this point.
Jimmy will look for revenge for the beatdown that appeared to leave him excommunicated from the family, first going it alone and suffering a similar fate. That will bring in Jey Uso, who will fight for The Bloodline for the first time in over a year.
There is potential to run singles matches before a big tag team bout pits The Usos against Sikoa and Tonga. That’s when Fatu can make his first appearance, perhaps at Money in the Bank in July or SummerSlam.
Undisputed WWE universal champion Cody Rhodes steps up to help his friend, Jey, partnering with him and Jimmy to battle the new Bloodline at Survivor Series.
Enter The Rock, who reveals himself as the architect behind the revitalized group.
The Final Boss interferes in the match and beats down The American Nightmare while the others pummel Jimmy and Jey. Then, the announcement of Rock vs. Rhodes for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble is made official, setting up the January PPV to be one of the biggest in recent memory.
“Our story has just begun.” – The Rock to Cody Rhodes
Before that, Sikoa and Co. take exception to Heyman’s apparent loyalty to Reigns and his constant attempts to contact him. They threaten him and, on the SmackDown prior to the Royal Rumble, even put hands on him as a reminder of who he works for.
Like Jey, John Cena and The Undertaker did for Rhodes at this year’s Showcase of the Immortals, Reigns returns to counter The Bloodline’s interference in the match, ironically enough acknowledging The American Nightmare as champion by helping him to defeat The Great One.
In this scenario, we get the teased Rhodes-Rock match at a big-time premium live event and the WrestleMania 41 main event between The Tribal Chief and The Final Boss.
On his first night back, Reigns reunites with Heyman, echoing his words from this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony, where he declared that there “is no Tribal Chief without The Wise Man.”
On the grandest stage, Reigns defeats Rock and gets that marquee victory over an all-time great that WWE believed it would have this year.
In this case, though, The Tribal Chief does so as the returning hero and conquering babyface, a role fans will likely demand for him when he returns to the squared circle.
Along the way, he can team with The Usos to defeat Fatu, Tonga and Sikoa or hold off on that match until after WrestleMania.
How long we have Reigns for beyond that is the question.
The Tribal Chief established himself in the pantheon of WWE greats with his historic run as champion. He elevated business and helped make stars of everyone who came into contact with The Bloodline story.
He has nothing left to prove outside of that one WrestleMania showdown with The Rock. Considering Heyman told Raj Prashad of Uproxx that The Tribal Chief considered himself retired as early as 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of stepping away from the squared circle has crossed his mind.
Perhaps the battle of the Bloodline and one major blockbuster showdown with The Final Boss would be enough for him to consider walking away from an industry that he has left better than he found it.
Either way, the most satisfying way to bring Reigns back into the mix is for everything to culminate with a reunion with Jimmy and Jey and a showdown against The Rock, which would seemingly prove Heyman’s assertion after WrestleMania 39 that The Bloodline story was only in the bottom of the third inning at that point.
