Has any wrestling storyline ever continued to engross, entertain and deliver as much as The Bloodline narrative? Even if you're tired of Roman Reigns' seemingly never-ending title run, the twists and turns involving Jimmy and Jey Uso and Sami Zayn have been amazing.
With a pair of crowd-pleasing chair shots by Jimmy Uso on Reigns at Night of Champions, the dissolution of The Bloodline is now in motion. Jey Uso is once again the guy in the middle; he and his twin have always been more loyal to each other than their cousin, and sometimes their loyalty was because of protecting each other. But Roman is such a master manipulator, you have to wonder what he has up his sleeve yet.
It's not insignificant that Jimmy teed off on Roman while he was pushing around Jey. And while Jey remained torn and kind of wanted to stop Jimmy, it might have been moreso out of concern for what Roman or even their brother Solo might want to do to Jimmy.
Is Solo a wildcard? He didn't look too happy when Roman bumped shoulders with him recently, but he also took the accidental double superkick from his brothers. And as Reigns' chosen enforcer, he's in a position of power more than if he were to leave with his brothers. Whatever he chooses, you can expect the lead up to it to be very well done.
And that's the one problem with whenever the story ends: Everything along the way has been so well done and compelling that you can't wait to see what happens next. Maybe Roman finds others in the family or elsewhere to form an alliance but Jimmy, Jey and Sami have all played their role perfectly. If we see Roman and Solo take on The Usos in the future, we'll see some awesome in-ring action and promos, but at some point, when the group goes its separate ways, it's hard to fathom how WWE will produce anything as compelling.
The good news is that Friday's 1000-day celebration feels like appointment viewing and there's still a lot of life left in this story. Knowing it has to wrap up should only make us appreciate it more.
The following Tag Team Power Rankings take into account wins, power and placement of segments, recentness of appearances, creative direction and momentum for teams and factions.
WWE Tag Team Power Rankings through May 28:
1. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (last week: 1)
Pro: Retained their titles in a main event match that included a rare pin of Solo Sikoa, the unwinding of The Bloodline and Zayn getting to gloat over Roman. Also won a six-man tag over Imperium on Raw.
Con: Whew! How can any other set of rivals even compare?
2. Judgment Day (2)
Pro: Rhea Ripley retained in a surprising squash. Finn Balor defeated Shinsuke Nakamura while Dominik Mysterio continued his win streak by defeating Apollo Crews.
Con: When will the rest of the stable get a shot at gold?
3. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (3)
Pro: Still the NXT women's tag champions. Still getting promos on their team.
Con: But what are they doing with the titles?
4. Gallus (5)
Pro: Still the NXT tag champs. Retained against the Creed Brothers.
Con: The rather awkward distraction finish took away from a physical match.
5. Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi (not ranked)
Pro: Raquel picked up an ally in Shotzi after defeating Sonya Deville on Raw, then they teamed up to beat Damage CTRL on SmackDown.
Con: Despite the momentum, does it really seem like Raquel will retake the gold so soon?
6. The OC (10)
Pro: AJ Styles defeated Karrion Kross on SmackDown with Mia Yim providing an assist.
Con: Couldn't top Seth Rollins on Night of Champions, despite a phenomenal effort.
7. Alpha Academy (not ranked)
Pro: Defeated The Viking Raiders with a bit of help from Maxxine Dupri.
Con: Maxxine and Chad Gable are likely to keep competing for Otis' affection.
8. Pretty Deadly (8)
Pro: Stayed on the screens and in a story by attacking Brawling Brutes to result in Sheamus losing the US Title match to Austin Theory.
Con: Do you really want to make the Brutes angry?
9. Diamond Mine (9)
Pro: The Creed Brothers, especially Julius in his hot tag, looked great once again as worthy contenders in a title match.
Con: Couldn't come away with the win.
10. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger (not ranked)
Pro: Getting a match against each other shows that NXT is working on their story.
Con: Only half the team can win when they are wrestling one another.
Best tag segment of the week: If there's a major story beat in The Bloodline story, that's the biggest part of any week, so Jimmy Uso superkicking Roman Reigns as well as Solo Sikoa taking a rare loss against the tag champs make this a huge segment.
Grade: A-
Some good title matches and set ups, plus another spellbinding chapter in The Bloodline story, keep the momentum going.
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