Oct 15, 2022 0:10:16 GMT NATH45 said:

Sami has done something no one else over the last 15 years could... distinguish for the fans which one is Jimmy and which one is Jey.

Lmao word. 

Cody feels so shoe-horned into this storyline, cutting to him watching the TV after the hug cemented it.

I’m excited for the actual match but the build solely between Reigns and Cody has been horrible, Reigns just brushed him off like he was a side quest and that’s what it feels like. Yeah just let me sort this Cody nuisance out so I can keep back to sorting out like the bloodline and Sami Zayn.

I honestly think Reigns retaining is the best course of action as of writing, Reigns hit his 1000 days and Rhodes has to deal with failing and his redeeming himself rather than his super babyface stuff that has already started rubbing some people the wrong way.

I think you're right System, I think if it weren't for his injury Cody would have been much more involved in the title picture, particularly as it's part of his " Rhodes Legacy " arch. Instead, they've had to rush his inclusion into the mix.

I think this Monday when Rhodes & Reigns meet on RAW, The Bloodline & KO/Sami/Cody will come to blows and Cody will hit the Cross-Rhodes on Reigns and knock his ass out with it - all to sell what a threat Cody is to Reigns.

Roman has done enough as champ. He's earned a break.

I know it all ended happily but I can't help but feel that Cody and Sami didn't treat KO very well. Kevin Owens stated, repeatedly and clearly, that he wants nothing to do with Sami Zayn. Sami hurt him too much. Sami repeatedly bothered KO, getting in his business, not getting the message. And now even Cody's getting involved! Talk about violating his boundaries. The counterpoint is that KO was doing himself no favours getting bludgeoned by the Bloodline every week, and Cody/Sami were trying to save KO from himself.

So why did KO change his mind? I suppose deep down inside, he wanted to be brothers with Sami, but the betrayal was too strong and he believed Sami's intentions were selfish. Another aspect may have been that KO felt that Sami replaced him with Jey. It wasn't until Sami earnestly told him he loved him, and until it was revealed that Sami and Jey aren't tight, that KO had a change of heart.

Unfortunately the events of Smackdown put a dent in my theory that Sami and Jey were playing the long game, waiting for the right moment to turn on Roman. They do seem to be genuinely clashing, which is a real shame.

Mar 18, 2023 15:17:42 GMT System said:

Cody feels so shoe-horned into this storyline, cutting to him watching the TV after the hug cemented it.

I think they've written Cody well. From my perspective Cody is pure and really does want to help Sami and KO. But he's a smart guy and not oblivious to the fact that going against Roman Reigns alone never ends well, and he doesn't see himself as the one man who can defeat the entire Bloodline, so he's putting in the effort to neutralise the group by uniting KO and Sami. I also love how Cody wasn't the one who persuaded KO to side with Sami. Sami did that by himself, it just needed that extra nudge from Cody to give them one more reason to come together.

So I half agree, it does seem forced how Cody inserted himself into this storyline this Smackdown. On the other hand, Cody is working full time and Roman is working part time, so how else is Cody going to build the feud when his opponent is never around? It's pretty impossible to feud with Roman Reigns without the Bloodline being involved in some way. Sort of a no-win situation for Mr. Rhodes. But as I said, they've done the best they can and the story is still really good.

Mar 18, 2023 20:47:02 GMT Ed said:

Roman has done enough as champ. He's earned a break.

Roman works less than part time at the moment, his privilege as being champion is that he doesn't have to show up to work every single week. He's only been on TV twice since the Rumble. Maybe three times. Does that mean he's earned a full time vacation?

I wasn't speaking of his schedule. I was thinking in terms of storytelling. I think RR is gonna drop the title.

The thing is, if Roman retains - then who beats him and how? 

I think there's only 3 people who can beat Roman Reigns at this point, without offending the entire audience. Sami Zayn obviously, for obvious reasons. Cody. And finally, Kevin Owens. KO was fighting The Bloodline way back in 2020, clashing at TLC '20 and Royal Rumble '21. He was realistically one of the first opponents to Reigns' Bloodline. 

The important thing is it's clearly mapped out, it's all building to Wrestlemania. We are in " the endgame " now. It would make absolutely no sense for Roman to retain then drop it almost out of context to say, a returning John Cena as an example, or WWE suddenly deciding Drew is a contender and with a month of build, Reigns drops it a few days after hitting his 1000 days. It doesn't make any sense. 

I'm convinced Cody wins it now. But the match itself will be booked with all sorts of shenanigans. The Usos will be involved ( after likely losing the titles to KO/Sami ) KO/Sami will be involved to brawl with them, and I wouldn't be surprised if Orton returns just to RKO Solo - as The Bloodline took RKOBro out, and Orton has history with Cody... 

If RR beats Cody, there's nobody else that can make him feel the ramifications of choices from a professional perspective. The family fallout will be Jey's turn to humble Roman.

I love Cody and would love to see him win.

But if the long game is for Jey to beat Roman after the 1000 days… sign me up.

Loving the story that for years no one in WWE could beat Roman then a second tier champ from AEW comes over and beats him first try.

Bloodline should force the DQ <.<  

I know what I’m doing tonight. I’m not ready for this emotional roller coaster but I’m going to do it anyways.

Edit: I need to find this link later so posting it here.

I did propose they make this into a feature length movie, and they did it!

However the final chapters still need to be written...

Mar 20, 2023 22:01:35 GMT jTjohncenaGOAT said:

I know what I’m doing tonight. I’m not ready for this emotional roller coaster but I’m going to do it anyways.

Edit: I need to find this link later so posting it here.

Thanks.

*moves upstairs to big TV and sound*

This is the only thing I feel I am missing right now by not watching. Talk about a slow burn and great story telling. With huge payoff I hope.

Considering they've made DX and nWo documentaries, they need to make a Bloodline documentary, with interviews out of character talking about the storyline and character development.

Part of me thinks, a lot of what has been achieved as been some masterful improv or reacting very quickly to the ebbs and flows and the unpredictablity of wrestling fans, surely 9 months ago not a single person in WWE, nor the fans thought Sami Zayn would be on this level, nor would he be this important to the storyline, or capable of being essentially the heart and soul of what began as a " Roman Reigns " storyline. I'd bet the house in 2020, Sami's name wasn't even in the conversation.. I think he was still sitting out those early pandemic days.

Mar 20, 2023 10:01:22 GMT NATH45 said:

Growing up in the attitude era during the time before the internet, you can never have a storyline like this to watch anytime that you want to. I find that pretty amazing.

Tempted to move the recent Bloodline discussion to the dedicated thread, but that thread hasn't seen activity since October, so maybe it's best to keep it in this general Smackdown thread?

pwcom.proboards.com/thread/5395/honorary-uce-sami-zayn-bloodline

I'm opening the floor to PW. Whaddya say?

Mar 21, 2023 19:08:24 GMT Emperor said:

Tempted to move the recent Bloodline discussion to the dedicated thread, but that thread hasn't seen activity since October, so maybe it's best to keep it in this general Smackdown thread?

pwcom.proboards.com/thread/5395/honorary-uce-sami-zayn-bloodline

I'm opening the floor to PW. Whaddya say?

I made an executive decision and did it for you.

Actually while I'm doing some spring cleaning - the current RAW, SmackDown and NXT threads will be LOCKED after Wrestlemania and will begin anew after the show.

The storyline has certainly cooled after Wrestlemania. Sami and KO are pushing the narrative that the Bloodline is crumbling, but there's no evidence of that.

The Sami vs Jey segment that closed Smackdown kept a little bit of the angle going. The interesting moment was when Jey grabbed Solo's arm to stop him delivering a Samoan Spike, only to hit a superkick and beat on Sami anyway. That could be interpreted in two ways. Either it's a standard heel dick move for the sake of a heel dick move, or Jey's inner turmoil is still continuing, he's struggling to agree with these mercenary beatdowns of the one guy who is still truly loyal to him.

Also interesting is that we haven't seen Reigns react to The Usos' title loss. The way that goes down could prove pivotal going forward.

Apr 10, 2023 20:21:18 GMT Emperor said:

The storyline has certainly cooled after Wrestlemania. Sami and KO are pushing the narrative that the Bloodline is crumbling, but there's no evidence of that.

The Sami vs Jey segment that closed Smackdown kept a little bit of the angle going. The interesting moment was when Jey grabbed Solo's arm to stop him delivering a Samoan Spike, only to hit a superkick and beat on Sami anyway. That could be interpreted in two ways. Either it's a standard heel dick move for the sake of a heel dick move, or Jey's inner turmoil is still continuing, he's struggling to agree with these mercenary beatdowns of the one guy who is still truly loyal to him.

Also interesting is that we haven't seen Reigns react to The Usos' title loss. The way that goes down could prove pivotal going forward.

Well, what do you expect, now that Roman's still the champ?  It's gonna be rough trying to keep it relevant for another year.  WrestleMania season's done.  You're gonna see some ebb tides for a while.

It certainly feels like the MCU after Endgame. The story is still going, but it's lost momentum.

Likely, what kills The Bloodline is The Draft.

After weeks of treading water, there's some intrigue back in the storyline.

The Usos lost their rematch, Roman and Paul had a plan with Solo that probably won't come to light, and in both matches Sami Zayn pinned Jey Uso. I reckon Jey is singled out as the weak link, and maybe Roman's plan was for Solo to take him out? Maybe The Usos will be split on the next draft. Jimmy to Smackdown, Jey to Raw. Lots of possibilities.

An interesting sidenote is Kevin Owens. Watch his face on Smackdown when Sami was talking. Clearly he's sick of Sami trying to talk sense into The Usos. He just wants to fight. Which created the possibility of KO turning on Sami. A very remote possibility, but it was still on the table.

Look.. I don’t mind if Sami and KO split. But please don’t have them turn on each other. Let it just be a split. And from time to time when one needs help and is getting beat down they have an ally that returns to help the other.

I’m thinking Roman pulls Jay from the tag team and Solo/Jimmy are able to get at least one set of tag titles off of KO/Sami. Jay is banished to Raw. Let Jay wins the MITB and from Raw challenge Roman for the titles and for Head of the Table and Tribal Chief at Summer Slam. He fails. Jay and Sami can finish their story and form a tag team after KO and Sami amicably split to win the tag titles together.

Or better yet. He wins MITB and doesn’t cash in right away. From Raw he holds it. But from time to time when Roman is in trouble in a match Jays music hits and he comes out with the briefcase only to end up aiding his cousin instead of cashing in. Roman is always cautious of him because of it.

This part of the story is called Solo runs shit! this guy has been on top of his game.

I think it would be great if they built Solo up over this year, massive undefeated streak and him starting to get annoyed at being Romans muscle. Have him win the Rumble, and Roman tries manipulating him to go to Raw and challenge for the WHC before he turns and challenges Roman. Shades of Batista turning on Evolution

May 9, 2023 22:13:10 GMT daveymolz said:

I think it would be great if they built Solo up over this year, massive undefeated streak and him starting to get annoyed at being Romans muscle. Have him win the Rumble, and Roman tries manipulating him to go to Raw and challenge for the WHC before he turns and challenges Roman. Shades of Batista turning on Evolution

Well. He lost to Cody in the build to Mania, so it won’t be an undefeated streak. And I’m not wild about undefeated streaks in general. But with some very protected losses, I’m still down with that storyline.

Wow, that was an intense segment on Smackdown. Reigns really laying into the Usos.

Jey falling in line and proverbially bending the knee to the Tribal Chief to, once more, protect Jimmy. This ain't gonna last forever. One of the Usos is going to step up to Reigns at some point. Maybe it will be Jimmy first, Reigns defeats him and takes him out of action, then Jey steps up and beats him.

Reigns and Solo challenging for the tag team championships is even more interesting. Between them both men have only been pinned once in many many years. I still think KO and Sami retain with Solo taking the fall. Or, more likely, some schmoz finish.

I wanna be teased more before The Usos turn.

Simply turning to the side, lining up a superkick can do so much to tease the crowd.

For Jimmy, he stood by Roman when Sami and KO were beatdown. Jey is the conflicted one and likely breaks rank first to protect his brother - I can see Roman bullying Jey into the corner with Jimmy on the otherside of the ring being torn apart emotionally, before eventually snapping and superkicking Reigns head off.

Roman and Solo are definitely losing because one of the USOs inadvertently Superkick one of them when Sami or KO move out of the way, right?