The Bloodline Retrospective: The Complete Story & Timeline Of The Biggest WWE Storyline In The Last 20 Years

Zack Heydorn | 2 Hours Ago

WWE.com

When Roman Reigns returned to WWE in the summer of 2020 in front of faces on LCD screens inside the WWE Thunderdome, did he know he'd be triggering the beginning of one of the most important storylines in WWE history?

The Bloodline story was born on that August 23rd night and history was made with it. From that point forward, Reigns -- the biggest star in today's WWE -- was occupied with his family as the Tribal Chief. He feuded with family, stood alongside family, challenged members of the roster that threatened family, abused his power in the name of family, and inside all of that held onto the WWE Championship for 1,316 days.

MORE: The 10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns

The Bloodline story, which also starred Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and other supporting characters along the way, buoyed WWE through the tumultuous Pandemic Era of the company and into the boom period that the company is now enjoying.

The Bloodline story will get another major chapter at WWE Survivor Series 2024 on Saturday night. Reigns and his OG Bloodline will face Sikoa and his New Bloodline faction inside of War Games. The match is nearly a year in the making and is another point of greatness on a timeline that is stocked with them.

Let's take a look at that timeline of events for The Bloodline. After all, the story is rooted in so much viciousness, family, friendship, and betrayal that it's hard to keep track of. Here's your definitive retrospective on The Bloodline and WWE' biggest storyline of the last two decades.

The Bloodline Saga Retrospective

2020

August 23, 2020 - Roman Reigns returns at Summerslam inside of the ThunderDome, after being away from the company for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reigns hit the ring after Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman to win the WWE Universal Championship. Reigns speared Strowman too and then hit the ring for another Spear on Wyatt. Reigns then held up the championship.

August 28, 2020 - Roman Reigns returns to Smackdown and reveals that Paul Heyman is his new confidant and wiseman.

August 30, 2020 - Roman Reigns, with the help of Paul Heyman, enters himself into the WWE Universal Championship match between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Reigns wins the title and completes his heel turn -- becoming a bad guy for the first time ever as a singles star in the company.

Jey Uso lands opportunity

September 4, 2020 - Jey Uso wins a fatal four-way match against Matt Riddle, Baron Corbin, and Sheamus to earn a shot at the WWE Universal Championship at Clash of Champions. This win and the ensuing match with Roman Reigns at the PPV event, began the dissension and feud between Jey and Roman.

September 27, 2020 - Roman Reigns defeats Jey Uso to retain the WWE Universal Championship at Clash of Champions. During the match, we saw the return of Jimmy Uso -- Jey's brother and Roman's cousin. Jimmy tossed in the towel for Jey, awarding the victory to Reigns.

October 25, 2020 - Roman Reigns defeats Jey Uso in a Hell in a Cell "I Quit" rematch for the WWE Universal Championship at the Hell in a Cell PPV. The stipulation going into the match was that if Jey loses, he must acknowledge Reigns as his Tribal Chief and leader. In the match, Jey quits because of Reigns attacking his brother Jimmy.

MORE: Top 5 Hell In A Cell Matches At WWE Bad Blood

October 30, 2020 - Jey Uso acknowledges Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief of The Bloodline and viciously attacks Daniel Bryan. This officially turns Jey Uso heel and aligns him with Roman Reigns. "Main event" Jey Uso is born.

November 22, 2020 - With the help of Jey Uso, Roman Reigns defeats Drew McIntyre at WWE Survivor Series.

Jey Uso not a survivor at Survivor Series

November 27, 2020 - An angry Roman Reigns confronts Jey Uso on Smackdown and blames him for Team Smackdown losing at Survivor Series. Reigns begins a feud with Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship

December 20, 2020 - Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match at the TLC PPV. Jey Uso interfered on behalf of Reigns to help him retain the WWE Universal Championship.

December 25, 2020 - Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage Match on a special Christmas edition of Smackdown.

2021

January 31, 2021 - Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match at the Royal Rumble -- once again with the help of Jey Uso and Paul Heyman.

February 21, 2021 - Jey Uso continues to become subservient to Reigns. Jey Uso loses the men's Elimination Chamber match to Daniel Bryan, which awards Bryan a shot at Roman Reigns. Reigns defeats Daniel Bryan and retains his title.

March 21, 2021 - Roman Reigns successfully defends his championship against Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane. Edge - the 2021 Royal Rumble winner -- was the special enforcer for the match.

April 11, 2021 - Roman Reigns defeats both Edge and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania to retain his WWE Universal Championship. Jey Uso plays a pivotal role in the match and interferes with superkicks to both Edge and Bryan. Jey Uso's distraction allows for Reigns to stack both Bryan and Edge on top of one another to pin them and retain his championship.

Roman retires the "Yes" Movement

April 30, 2021 - Roman Reigns retires Daniel Bryan from WWE after defeating him in a championship vs. retirement match on Smackdown.

May 7, 2021 - Jimmy Uso returns to Smackdown and calls his brother Jey "Roman's bitch." Jimmy not approving of Jey's involvement with Roman Reigns not only causes friction between he and Jey, but with he and Roman as well.

June 4, 2021 - After a month of being at odds, Jimmy and Jey reunite The Usos tag team on Smackdown and challenge Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. Dominik and Rey defeat The Usos in this match. During the show, it was noticed that Jimmy was not really pinned because his shoulder was off the mat. The two teams had another match in the main event and The Usos won thanks to interference from Roman Reigns, who wanted to insure his Bloodline stayed strong.

Jey Uso walks out of WWE

June 11, 2021 - Jey Uso walks out of Smackdown after his brother and Roman Reigns refuse to get along. Jimmy questioned Reigns on whether or not his vicious attack of Dominik Mysterio was nessecary.

June 18, 2021 - Roman Reigns guilts Jimmy Uso into believing that Jey leaving was his fault. Jimmy promises to help Roman win his Hell in a Cell match against Rey Mysterio. Jimmy does just that and acknowledges Reigns by raising his hand in victory.

July 9, 2021 - Jey Uso returns to Smackdown and he, Jimmy Uso, and Roman Reigns hug. This officially creates The Bloodline faction.

Draped in gold

July 18, 2021 - The Bloodline gets draped in gold at Money in the Bank. Roman Reigns defeats Edge to retain his WWE Universal Championship. The Usos defeat Rey and Dominik Mysterio to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

August 21, 2021 - After returning at Money in the Bank, John Cena squared off against Roman Reigns at Summerslam. Reigns defeated Cena, but then was confronted by a returning, Brock Lesnar.

December 17, 2021 - Because of confusion regarding Paul Heyman's allegiance, Roman Reigns fires Heyman and attacks him during an episode of Smackdown. Blurring Heyman's allegiance even more, Heyman gets saved by his former client, Brock Lesnar.

2022

1/29/2022 - Roman Reigns costs Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Reigns realigned with Paul Heyman to screw Lesnar with the title going back to Bobby Lashley. On the same show, Lesnar enters the Royal Rumble match and wins, setting up a WrestleMania match with Reigns at WrestleMania 38.

Undisputed Champion

4/3/2022 - Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship and the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38, making him the Undisputed World Champion in WWE. On the same show, The Usos defeated Rick Boogs & Shinsuke Nakamura to retain their Smackdown Tag Team Championships.

4/22/2022 - Sami Zayn pitches Roman Reigns on helping each other out in a partnership on Smackdown. The Usos help Zayn defeat Drew McIntyre in a lumberjack match later in the show.

5/20/2022 - Like Roman Reigns, The Usos become Undisputed Tag Team Champions after winning the Raw Tag Team Championships from RK-Bro on Raw.

A new member

9/3/2022 - Roman Reigns defeats Drew McIntyre at the first Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff, Wales. Reigns won thanks to the help of fellow family member and NXT star, Solo Sikoa.

9/23/2022 - After months of working to earn the trust of Roman Reigns in The Bloodline, Sami Zayn is accepted by the group and given an Honorary Uce t-shirt on an episode of Smackdown.

10/28/2022 - Sami Zayn coins the phrase "ucey" on an episode of Smackdown, during a promo where he worked to earn Jey's trust opposite Roman Reigns.

11/26/2022 - The Bloodline defeats Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and The Brawling Brutes at Survivor Series inside of War Games. Sami Zayn sacrificed himself and openly turned on his friend, Owens, in the match and finally earned the respect and trust of Jey Uso.

2023

1/23/2023 - Sami Zayn enters Tribal Court with The Bloodline on the WWE Raw XXX show. Roman Reigns accused Zayn of siding with Kevin Owens ahead of his title match against him at the Royal Rumble. Reigns sentenced Zayn to an attack by Solo Sikoa because of evidence presented by Paul Heyman, but Jey Uso defended Zayn and convinced Reigns to let things be.

1/28/2023 - Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens to retain his Undisputed Championship at the Royal Rumble. When the match ends, Reigns handcuffs Owens to the ring ropes and demands that Zayn prove himself and bash Owens in the head with a steel chair. Zayn refused to do so and hit Reigns instead. This prompted a beatdown from Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Reigns, but not Jey Uso.

Sami Zayn breaks free

2/18/2023 - Sami Zayn receives his championship match against Roman Reigns in his home country of Montreal. The question going into the match was whether or not Jey would get involved and if he did, which side would he be on. Both Jey and Jimmy got involved in the match, but Zayn accidentally hit Jey with a spear, which led to Roman Reigns winning.

3/6/2023 - Jey appears on Raw and attacks Sami Zayn, finally revealing his true allegiance was to his brother and The Bloodline.

3/17/2023 - Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens align on the same page as a team after Owens stops a Bloodline attack on Zayn. This sets up a two vs. two tag team championship match at WrestleMania 39. Cody Rhodes, Reigns' challenger at WrestleMania, helped get the two men together.

4/1/2023 - Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeat The Usos to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 39.

4/2/2023 - Roman Reigns defeats Cody Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 39. Solo Sikoa and The Usos interfered to make sure Reigns won the match.

5/6/2023 - Tempers flare up at Backlash in Puerto Rico with Solo Sikoa almost hitting Jey Uso with a Samoan Spike. Despite the miscommunication, The Bloodline defeats Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn.

The turn heard around the world

5/27/2023 - Jimmy Uso turns on Roman Reigns at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. The Usos tried to help Reigns and Solo Sikoa win the tag team titles, but Jimmy hit Sikoa with a kick instead of Zayn. After the match, Reigns was livid and Jimmy responded by super kicking him the face much to the surprise of his brother Jey.

6/2/2023 - Because he attacked Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso gets kicked out of The Bloodline.

6/9/2023 - The Roman Reigns world championship title run passes 1,000 days.

"And I'm out too!"

6/16/2023 - Paul Heyman asks for Jey Uso's full loyalty to The Bloodline. After years of being Reigns' right hand man, Jey sides with his brother Jimmy because of the disrespect and turns on Reigns, leaving The Bloodline for the first time in nearly three years.

7/1/2023 - The Usos defeat Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Civil War tag team match. Jey Uso pinned Roman Reigns, giving Reigns his first pinfall loss in four years.

8/5/2023 - Jey Uso wrestles in the main event of Summerslam against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE World Championship. The back and forth match ends when a hooded figure pulls Jey Uso out of the ring as he's about to win. The hood figure reveals himself to be Jimmy Uso. Reigns uses the distraction and is victorious.

Jey vs. Jimmy

8/11/2023 - Jimmy Uso explains to Jey Uso that he didn't want Jey to become a Tribal Chief like Roman Reigns and decided to cost him his shot at the world championship. In response, Jey Uso walked out of Smackdown and quit WWE.

9/1/2023 - Jimmy Uso returns to Smackdown without his brother and aligns again with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.

9/2/2023 - Jey Uso returns to the WWE after Cody Rhodes brought him onto the Raw brand. Jey's return took place at the Payback PLE.

10/7/2023 - Jey Uso wins gold outside of The Bloodline. Jey teams with Cody Rhodes to defeat The Judgment Day to win the Undisputed Tag Team Championships.

10/16/2023 - The Judgment Day defeat Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes to win the Tag Team Championships thanks to interference from Jimmy Uso.

11/4/2023 - Solo Sikoa gets a major victory of his young career by defeating John Cena at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

2024

12/15/24 - Roman Reigns names Solo Sikoa as the Tribal Heir on an episode of Smackdown.

1/27/2024 - Cody Rhodes wins the Royal Rumble match for the second year in a row and trash talks with Roman Reigns from the middle of the ring, signaling that the rematch is on for WrestleMania 40.

Enter The Rock

2/2/2024 - The Rock confronts Roman Reigns in the ring on Smackdown signaling that a battle is on between the two after Cody Rhodes gifts his title shot to The Great One.

2/8/2024 - At the first-ever WrestleMania kickoff event in Las Vegas, Cody Rhodes takes his title shot back from The Rock, which prompts Rock to join Roman Reigns and The Bloodline. The Rock slaps Rhodes across the face because of the disrespect shown to himself, Reigns, and their family lineage.

3/1/2024 - During an episode of Smackdown, The Rock officially joins The Bloodline and verbally acknowledges Roman Reigns as his Tribal Chief.

3/11/2024 - After months of Jimmy Uso getting involved in and costing his brother Jey matches, Jey challenges Jimmy to brother vs. brother match at WrestleMania 40.

Dream team

4/6/2024 - The Rock and Roman Reigns team up to defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins during the night one main event of WrestleMania 40. The Rock pinned Cody Rhodes, making Roman's night two title defense against Rhodes a Bloodline Rules Match.

4/7/2024 - The historic 1,316 world championship Reign of the Tribal Chief ends at WrestleMania 40 when Cody Rhodes pins him in the night two main event to win the title. Jey Uso, John Cena, and The Undertaker helped Rhodes fend off The Bloodline to win the match. On this night, Jey Uso defeated Jimmy Uso in a brother vs. brother match.

4/12/2024 - Solo Sikoa assumes control of The Bloodline with Roman Reigns no longer champion and kicks Jimmy Uso out of the group. Tama Tonga also made his debut on this episode of Smackdown and joined Sikoa's new Bloodline faction.

5/4/2024 - The New Bloodline defeats Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in a Street Fight at Backlash. Tonga Loa makes his WWE debut during the match and costs Orton and Owens the win.

6/21/2024 - Jacob Fatu, another member of The Bloodline lineage, debuts on Smackdown alongside the New Bloodline leader Solo Sikoa.

Bye, Paul

6/28/2024 - After months of emotional torture at the hands of Solo Sikoa and The New Bloodline, Paul Heyman stands up to Solo Sikoa when Sikoa asks him to acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief. Heyman declines to do so and gets assaulted by Sikoa and the New Bloodline. The group puts Heyman through the announce table to end the episode of Smackdown.

8/3/2024 - Solo Sikoa wrestles Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of Summerslam. He comes up short and loses the match thanks to a returning Roman Reigns. Reigns returned to loud cheers as he helped Rhodes fend off New Bloodline interference.

10/5/2024 - Roman Reigns wrestles his old Bloodline brethern and teams with former rival, Cody Rhodes, to do so. Reigns and Cody Rhodes defeat Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu in the Bad Blood main event. After the match, The Rock makes a surprise appearances and stares at both Cody and Roman from the entrance ramp.

10/20/2024 - The New Bloodline attack Jey Uso and cost him his WWE Intercontinental Championship. Because of the attack, Jey reconsiders whether or not to rejoin his brother Jimmy and Reigns in The OG Bloodline.

10/25/2024 - After nearly a year apart, Jimmy and Jey reunite on Smackdown

Family reunites

11/1/2024 - Roman Reigns reunites with both Usos on Smackdown after Jimmy is able to bridge the gap between Roman and Jey. Jey told Roman he wanted to be his own man and that he wouldn't be a sidekick any longer. Reigns, though visibly frustrated, agrees.

11/2/2024 - The New Bloodline battles Roman Reigns and The Usos in a six-man tag team match and win at WWE Crown Jewel.

11/8/2024 - Sami Zayn returns to Smackdown and rejoins The OG Bloodline after weeks of being pitched by Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. In the main event segment, Zayn has the option to hit Roman in the face, but attacks Sikoa instead. At the end of the show, the OG Bloodline stands tall with their 1's in the air. On this episode, Solo Sikoa also laid down a War Games challenge to the OG Bloodline at Survivor Series.

11/22/2024 - Paul Heyman returns to Smackdown as the OG Bloodline is about to brawl with the New Bloodline four against five. The OG Bloodline couldn't find a fifth man to join their team, but the returning Heyman brought in CM Punk for them. Punk and the OG Bloodline battle off Sikoa and the New Bloodline and stand tall in the ring as the show goes off the air.

Survivor Series: WarGames

11/30/2024 - The OG Bloodline takes on The New Bloodline in a War Games Match at WWE Survivor Series 2024.

MORE: WWE Survivor Series 2024: Date, Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & More