Jey Uso is WWE's Biggest Wild Card For WrestleMania Season

Following the WWE Royal Rumble, all eyes are on an unexpected Superstar. Fans are firmly invested in Sami Zayn and The Bloodline, but Jey Uso garnered attention as an integral part of this ongoing storyline.

WWE capped off Saturday's pay-per-view with a major cliffhanger featuring the hottest stable in the company. The closing moments of the show were the culmination of months of storytelling and character development.

It's safe to say most fans expected Roman Reigns to turn on Zayn and excommunicate him from The Island of Relevancy. So much so that the Canadian stunned the Alamodome crowd when he stood up to The Tribal Chief and blasted him across the back with a steel chair.

The resounding reaction to his act of defiance was one of the most memorable notes from the segment. As the audience let out a deafening gasp, Jey berated his newfound friend for forcing him to choose between his family and allegiance to Reigns and the hard-earned relationship the former rivals have developed.

Most of us expected a traumatic betrayal where the Samoan members revealed they never truly accepted The Honorary Uce and cast him out. Instead, Zayn chose longtime friend Kevin Owens over them, creating dissension among their ranks. As a result, it was much more heartbreaking to see Jey appear so distraught over his decision.

The first member of The Bloodline looked conflicted as he watched the events unfold, but his uncertainty gradually drifted into contempt as he exited the ring. Surprisingly, the fans were just as delighted as he refused to attack the man he called his brother and went backstage.

So, what's next for the 2021 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner?

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Photo credit: WWE.com

Main Character or Impostor Syndrome

Zayn was undeniably the breakout star of 2022, but this all started with Jey Uso. After all, his 2020 feud with Reigns for the Universal Championship led to the inception of The Bloodline as we know it today.

More to the point, his contentious relationship with The Tribal Chief caused his jealousy towards The Honorary Uce. He was never really angry at the newest member of the stable. No, he was upset that his own flesh and blood literally put him through hell, but he accepted an outsider so effortlessly.

The Head of the Table forced his cousin to stand in his shadow during the height of his success as a singles competitor and admonished him for every misstep. He lorded over him, manipulated him and made him feel guilty for even questioning him.

After all that, how could Reigns just readily trust Zayn and allow him to stand among them? He hadn't earned the right. No, he never forced him to endure the ruthless path to initiation that Uso had.

This dynamic reignited tension between The Tribal Chief and Jey. With every breakthrough for The Honorary Uce, the undisputed tag team champion stewed in the corner and grew more and more insecure.

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Hurt People Hurt People

The fact that Zayn chipped away at Reigns' own insecurities and allowed him to be more vulnerable must have eaten away at him. It was all business with everyone else, but his new friend allowed him to laugh and have fun again.

That's likely because The Head of the Table believed he was harmless. In fact, he didn't see him as a threat to the empire he built until Owens reentered the title picture.

Go back and watch the lead-in to Survivor Series WarGames and the aftermath of the event. It marked a clear shift in their relationship because his friendship with The Prizefighter became a problem.

Moreover, the look of disbelief on Reigns' face after Zayn struck him in the back said it all. He seemed embarrassed that he let someone that close to him again. As a matter of fact, it was poetic that the former intercontinental champion seemingly betrayed him in the exact same way Seth Rollins did because he had never truly gotten over that.

The demise of The Shield shaped The Bloodline. It was a union Reigns intentionally built in his own image and turned to his family so that such a betrayal would never happen again. However, no one expected his glorified court jester to leave such a profound impact on him or Jey.

Surely, his cousin didn't plan to embrace the interloper or vouch for the man who would ultimately humiliate Reigns. Nevertheless, his insubordination made Jey question months of unbridled aggression and notice the parallels between them.

He didn't see The Honorary Uce as his enemy anymore. No, he saw someone exhibit the courage to do what he wished would have done, and he walked away.

One could even argue Zayn's courage and love for Owens mirrored what Jimmy Uso tried to do for his brother at Hell in a Cell in 2020. This realization caused an about-face that marred his devotion to his family and officially put him and The Tribal Chief at odds again.

Even if he wanted to simply fall in line again, he would undoubtedly take some heat for defending Zayn during the Jan. 23, 2023 episode of Raw. The Head of the Table was ready to find him guilty and cast him out until Jey intervened. So, he allowed an outsider to reopen a rift between them no matter how you slice it.

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Photo credit: WWE.com

The Beginning of the End

This scenario raises so many questions ahead of WrestleMania 39. It's easy to wonder what this all means for Owens and Zayn, but Main Event Uso is the biggest wild card here.

Expect to see him play his part and rejoin his family as one-half of the undisputed tag team champions, but this story is far from over. His actions for the past two weeks will likely deal irreparable damage to his uneasy alliance with Reigns, and the tension between them is bound to boil over.

The Bloodline have been running like a well-oiled machine. Just as it all started with Jey, it could easily all end because of him.

The Usos and Solo Sikoa helped The Tribal Chief remain on top, and this strife could lead to an uncharacteristic loss at The Showcase of the Immortals. His affinity for Zayn could also undermine his precise tandem with Jimmy and pave the way for the end of their historic tag title reign.

It's genius because Reigns' manipulations ultimately could lead to his undoing, rechristening his first challenger for the universal championship as a popular babyface.

The Honorary Uce's search for acceptance was merely the catalyst for the true main conflict brewing within The Bloodline.