The Bloodline has reigned dominant over WWE in recent history, with Roman Reigns’ record-breaking Universal Championship reign lasting well over two years in addition to having held the WWE Championship since last year’s WrestleMania. The Usos also hold all the tag team gold on WWE’s main roster, and the faction has continued to evolve with the additions of Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa to their ranks.
Ahead of the 30th anniversary celebration of WWE Raw, it was announced that every generation of The Bloodline would be in attendance for an Acknowledgment Ceremony. While this pointed to legends such as Rikishi, Afa, and Sika appearing alongside their family to celebrate their historic accomplishments, fans also began to speculate whether the January 23rd extravaganza would finally bring about the return of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to WWE to set up a WrestleMania clash with Roman Reigns.
However, just days ahead of the event, the segment was reportedly scrapped in favor of holding a trial of Sami Zayn. Many fans speculated that the change may have had something to do with The Rock, especially with the potential of his participation in WrestleMania heavily in doubt. Rumors also swirled that Vince McMahon made the change last minute after returning to the company a few weeks ago.
Despite Rumors, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Wasn’t Scheduled To Participate Alongside Roman Reigns In The Bloodline Segment
However, according to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, neither Dwayne Johnson nor Vince McMahon had anything to do with the Acknowledgment Ceremony being scrapped from Raw is XXX. Instead, the segment was changed because Afa, Sika, and Rikishi were all unable to attend for various reasons.
“Regarding the questions on the changing of the Bloodline segment from an Acknowledgment ceremony with the family of Roman Reigns to the trial of Sami Zayn, rumors regarding this had to do with The Rock pulling out or Vince McMahon changing things are both false. Rock was never booked for the segment.
“The change was made because Afa & Sika & Rikishi were all not going to be able to be there. They were to be the key people but Afa & Sika were not ready for the trip and Rikishi got sick this week so the idea basically fell apart. Creative was changed with The Bloodline story on Friday to reflect the change in Raw, a what happened was not what was originally scripted to happen.”
On the most recent episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn once again tried to prove his loyalty to Reigns and The Bloodline, despite having a disagreement with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. After Reigns and Zayn looked to have cleared the air, the show proceeded to its closing segment which was the contract signing for Reigns’ title defense against Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble.
But what was supposed to be a straightforward contract signing turned into a chaotic mess as Owens attacked the Usos, Solo Sikoa, and then finally Roman Reigns himself, leaving all of them lying and humiliated.
It wasn’t until after Owens had completed his rampage that Sami Zayn finally appeared in the ring area. He was left holding the contract as the Bloodline tried to recover.