Roman Reigns’ domino effect of the WWE
For four years, Roman Reigns and his Bloodline had run rough shots over the WWE, and since Reigns lost the title at WrestleMania with his epic comeback at Summerslam, his influence on WWE programming is just as strong.
A rivalry intensified
There is more fuel to the fire between Seth Rollins and CM Punk. If you keep tabs on social media, Seth Rollins and CM Punk is a self-explanatory rivalry. Rollins does not like Punk, and no, this isn’t just for a show; the former World Heavyweight Champion does not like the guy.
Punk is vice versa.
At the same time, Rollins has issues with The Tribal Chief, in which he sacrificed his body back at WrestleMania 40 for Reigns to lose the WWE title. This past weekend, Punk teamed up with the OG Bloodline, doing it as a favour for a man he calls his friend, Paul Heyman.
The rivalry between Punk and Rollins is already intense. Still, when Punk helped out to be the fifth man, it was never going to sit well with Rollins due to his dislike for Reigns and what he had to do back in April during the main event of WrestleMania, not to mention he already does not like the best in the world; it was justifyingly going to seethe Rollins even further, in which case lead to a brawl at the beginning of the December 2nd edition of Raw.
A friendship gone bitter
On October 5th at Bad Blood, following the event and after the American Nightmare teamed up with Roman Reigns in the main event, Kevin Owens greeted him in the parking lot. Many fans captured Owens attacking Cody Rhodes and launching him head-first into his tour bus.
On the following Smackdown, there was an exchange between Rhodes, Owens, and Randy Orton, who got caught by an elbow from Owens, and thus, the viper was involved. Owens had to deal with Reigns and the Bloodline when they were first on their run together, taking a lot of beatings and being screwed during championship matches.
Forwarding it back to the present, Owens trusted in Randy Orton but when stuck up for Rhodes. It hurt him, and Orton got caught in the crossfire, with him now taken out of the action due to Owens hitting a piledriver on him.
Orton is now indefinitely out of action, returning the fight to Owens and Rhodes. Owens justified all his points on the November 22nd edition of Smackdown, leaving Rhodes in a position that isn’t defensible aside from the fact that Owens didn’t take his chance at Bash In Berlin back in August.
But that whole point about how miserable Reigns made his career, nearly ending it and seeing a person he trusted in Rhodes, broke him and pushed Owens in a position where he had to go in the other direction, seeing someone he called a friend, who he helped out years ago when Rhodes was working outside of WWE, the reaction and the reasons are justifiable.
The curious case of Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has just come off a rivalry of the year contender with CM Punk, which ended inside Hell In A Cell. On the December 2nd edition of Raw, he made his first appearance on TV since then. McIntyre’s story with The Bloodline is well-known and evident.
He hates each group member, and this past Monday, he made his presence known by throwing a claymore kick at Sami Zayn and assaulting Jey Uso backstage. McIntyre is coming for payback, at the very least, for a faction that, similar to Owens, made it miserable for him; hate is on the agenda.
The domino effect
This four-year saga has introduced so many major character plots, especially within the last year, and to think it just doesn’t start from 2020. It all links back to that original breakup of The Shield when Rollins took a chair to the back of Reigns.
Rollins apologised many times, but that moment shaped who Reigns is currently; he became the tribal chief, or currently the OTC (original tribal chief), due to the ongoing battle with Solo Sikoa’s battle.
However, the people affected mainly by Bloodline have major character plots, changing who they are and what they are and abandoning their motives. Much of it has to do with Reigns, and it’s like an orbit surrounding him without him physically involved.
However, the people affected mainly by Bloodline have major character plots, changing who they are and what they are and abandoning their motives. Much of it has to do with Reigns, and it’s like an orbit surrounding him without him physically involved. It is akin to that night on June 2nd, 2014, when Rollins broke up what Reigns thought to be a brotherhood.
There is a domino effect coming from Reigns’ “babyface” turn; he’s still the same person underneath, another character arch addressed, considering he never fully apologised to Jey or Sami Zayn. He is still the same old Tribal Chief but with a Ula Fala to claim back.
Long-term storytelling, which goes back ten years, has affected the storylines about Roman and the people who have intertwined with him.
