Triple H, Roman Reigns and WWE Have Changed the Game with Long-Term Champions

After a shocking title defense at WrestleMania 39 over Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns has solidified himself as the most dominant champion of the modern era.

The Tribal Chief is on track to pass 1,000 days as universal champion. He will also overtake CM Punk at 434 days as the longest WWE titleholder of the modern era around the same time.

Along the way, he has defeated everyone in his path, from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan.

At the same time, he has built a legacy with The Bloodline, creating a dominant stable with Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa that led to The Usos becoming the longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history.

What Reigns has done, with thanks to a strong creative focus from the team now headed by Triple H, is build a story legacy that is unheard of in the company.

While there are champions who have held the WWE world title longer than The Head of the Table, none were in the modern era of the company.

WWE now puts on five hours of television between Raw and SmackDown each week, plus monthly pay-per-views. There are more eyes on the product and more expectation for regular gratification, including title changes.

The pressure is on WWE, Triple H and Reigns to tell this story with The Bloodline without losing fan investment. While things could turn sour, serious credit should be given to everyone involved for changing the way the company tells stories.

How has this tale changed WWE? It has established the concept of epic storytelling again in WWE, told through chapters of challenges and growing investment.

The depth of this angle is more TV drama than a typical WWE affair. It all began with the return of Reigns alongside Paul Heyman to capture the Universal Championship.

Chapter 1: The Breaking of Jey Uso

Roman Reigns stormed back into WWE at SummerSlam 2020, taking out then-universal champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt as well as his challenger, Braun Strowman.

Just one week later at Payback, The Head of the Table walked out late in the main event with Paul Heyman, speared The Monster of All Monsters and captured Wyatt's universal title.

While Reigns had won the world title before in WWE, this felt different. He carried himself with a different aura, followed by an all-time great manager in Heyman.

To build his title resume, many expected him to face a top name. However, after Big E suffered an injury, Jey Uso stepped up in a Fatal 4-Way that also included Sheamus, Matt Riddle and King Corbin. Jey won and earned his first-ever singles title match.

WWE had rarely played up the family dynamic of The Usos and Reigns, though many had hoped to see the Anoa'i family join forces one day. With Jimmy Uso injured, though, the entire focus was on Jey, who was finally allowed to stand out on his own.

Reigns would battle a defiant Jey at Clash of Champions, but the champion was not just looking to win; he wanted his cousin to "acknowledge" him as the head of the family.

When Jey refused, it was an injured Jimmy who ran in and threw in the towel for his brother. That was not enough for Reigns, who wanted a rematch inside Hell in a Cell in an "I Quit" match. If Jey lost, he would join The Bloodline.

Jey battled throughout the contest, but The Tribal Chief finally got what he wanted by threatening to end the career of Jimmy, forcing Jey to give in to save his brother.

Chapter 2: Kevin Owens' Never-Ending War with The Bloodline

Jey Uso committed to his role in The Bloodline, protecting Reigns in a battle with Drew McIntyre at Survivor Series 2020. However, his anger quickly got the best of him.

The Head of the Table goaded Jey into attacking Kevin Owens, and The Prizefighter saw through the stunt, challenging Reigns himself for a title shot at Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2020.

It was only thanks to the interference of Jey that KO failed to win. That continued in a steel cage rematch with KO on Christmas Day, when the Uso brother handcuffed The Prizefighter to the cage, allowing Reigns to escape to retain his title again.

The Head of the Table continued to throw his weight around on SmackDown, demanding Adam Pearce to let him choose his own opponents. When the official refused, The Bloodline tried to make him fight Reigns. Instead, KO stepped up one more time.

Owens tried to get his final revenge against The Head of the Table in a Last Man Standing match. However, Paul Heyman helped Reigns escape handcuffs, setting up The Head of the Table to choke out KO to win once more.

While the Canadian hoped to get another shot at Reigns, he was eliminated from the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match by Jey and quickly turned to a feud with his frequent friend and rival Sami Zayn.

It was not the end of Owens' rivalry with The Bloodline, but it was a delay that set the stage for new challengers to The Head of the Table.

Chapter 3: Ending Daniel Bryan's Cinderella Story

Daniel Bryan has always been a thorn in Reigns' side. When The Head of the Table was the heir apparent to John Cena in WWE, The "Yes" Man was building his own following and caused many to question why he wasn't being pushed instead.

It could be argued that WWE only saw the need to turn Reigns heel because of a fans' backlash that originally stemmed from a desire from them to root for Bryan.

It was appropriate for Reigns to feud with Bryan into the first WrestleMania of his Universal Championship reign.

It began with The "Yes" Man winning the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match to earn a title shot. What Bryan did not know was that he would immediately face Reigns while still bearing the scars of the brutal six-man chamber contest.

Adam Pearce decided to give Bryan a second opportunity at Fastlane 2021, but that did not sit well with men's Royal Rumble winner Edge. He would cost Bryan the rematch but only after Bryan made Reigns tap out.

To date, this is still the closest The Head of the Table has been to a loss. It seemed to only motivate Reigns. With some more help from Jey Uso, he stacked up both Edge and Bryan to retain his title at WrestleMania 37.

He gave The "Yes" Man one last chance to fight him, but he required Bryan to put his WWE career on the line. Reigns wanted to prove it all on his own, so he did just that, ending his career by knocking him out cold.

He would follow up with one more great match against Cesaro, who wanted revenge for Bryan. Reigns defeated him with dominant focus and effectively ended The Swiss Superman's WWE career as well.

Chapter 4: The Growth of The Bloodline

Facing the possibility of losing his world title and control of WWE, Reigns decided to bring in more of his family to help him stay on top.

Jimmy Uso returned from injury to reunite with Jey. However, he was not easy to sway, knowing what his cousin had done to his brother.

With Paul Heyman in his ear, though, The Head of the Table had become more persuasive than ever. He convinced Jimmy to team up with Jey and focus on winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

They did just that by dethroning The Mysterios. The Usos would regain gold together, and Jey's devotion to Reigns began to rub off on Jimmy.

The brothers became loyal soldiers, enjoying a dominant tag team run that would lead them to breaking records and ultimately capturing the Raw Tag Team Championships from RK-Bro as well.

All that The Usos needed to do was protect Reigns when things got tricky. For a while, they were all that The Head of the Table needed until his opposition began to work together.

Chapter 5: Solidifying the Wise Man's Allegiance by Dominating Brock Lesnar

While The Usos' loyalty was set, Roman Reigns began to question his first soldier, "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman.

After defeating John Cena at SummerSlam in 2021, Brock Lesnar returned to confront the universal champion.

Given Heyman's long-time loyalty to Lesnar, The Tribal Chief questioned whether Heyman was a wise man or an advocate. While Reigns defeated The Beast Incarnate at Crown Jewel 2021, it was thanks to The Usos rather than an ambiguous assist from Heyman.

Reigns seemingly fired his special counsel on the December 17 edition of SmackDown, pushing him back to Lesnar. But Heyman proved his loyalty by turning on The Beast and costing him the WWE Championship at the 2022 Royal Rumble.

Once Heyman had solidified Reigns' trust in him, the stage was set for the final chapter in the feud with Lesnar that began at WrestleMania 31.

The two would fight two more times at WrestleMania 38 and SummerSlam 2022. Heyman and The Usos proved their worth by helping Reigns win these important matches to further solidify his title reign.

Chapter 6: Sami Zayn, the Outsider's Perspective

Reigns had always chosen the members of The Bloodline. He wanted only family backing him up, people he was comfortable controlling. But Sami Zayn threw a wrench in that plan.

The Underdog from The Underground had his share of struggles between 2021 and 2022, but his feud with Johnny Knoxville was the lowest point.

The Jackass star cost him the Intercontinental Championship in an embarrassing loss at WrestleMania 38. Zayn was at his lowest point until he had an epiphany watching the main event of the same PPV.

He fought to prove himself to Reigns and The Bloodline, helping to protect The Head of the Table when he could. His loyalty as "The Honorary Uce" was valuable, but The Tribal Chief miscalculated.

He did not realize how much Zayn's genuine love for the family, especially Jey Uso, would begin to sway the group. He showed Jey that loyalty did not need to be won with fear but love.

Reigns brought in Solo Sikoa to add another force he could use to strike fear in his enemies and even allies. Sikoa helped him defeat a motivated Drew McIntyre in a hometown environment at Clash at the Castle.

Reigns threatened to use the younger Uso brother as a weapon against Zayn many times, but Jey stayed under his dangerous thumb.

The Head of the Table tested Zayn's loyalty at Survivor Series WarGames, and he passed by helping The Bloodline win while serving up Kevin Owens for humiliation by the dual champion.

Reigns was not satisfied, though, and continued to test his loyalty all the way to the Royal Rumble in January 2023.

Once more, The Prizefighter had emerged as a threat to The Bloodline, and Reigns wanted to eliminate him. He pushed Zayn to not only cause KO to lose but also end his career in a brutal post-match attack.

The Honorary Uce refused and instead struck The Head of the Table with a steel chair. This set the stage for Zayn to challenge Reigns while hoping to turn Jey against his cousin.

He could not pull that off, but that was only because every member of The Bloodline interfered to save the champion.

Chapter 7: Testing the Will of Cody Rhodes, Possible Redemption?

After losing his title match with Reigns at Elimination Chamber in February, Zayn realized he could not defeat The Head of the Table without undermining the foundations around him.

He tried to turn Jey Uso, but Jey has always been committed to his brother. Since Jimmy Uso was still committed to The Bloodline, he could not break away no matter how much he had begun to remember all of Reigns' abuses.

Zayn was forced to turn to his longtime friend and recent enemy, Owens, to challenge The Usos, leaving someone else to fight Reigns. That would be the 2023 men's Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.

The American Nightmare came in as the most dangerous threat to The Head of the Table yet. He had returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 and was a man on a mission.

He defeated Seth Rollins three times, including in the WWE Match of the Year at Hell in a Cell with a completely torn pectoral muscle. He walked into his match with Reigns at 'Mania undefeated.

Zayn and KO had worked together to take the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships off The Usos the previous night, but after seeing off the brothers' interference in the Reigns-Rhodes title fight, they couldn't stop Sikoa helping The Tribal Chief retain.

Chapter 8: The End of The Bloodline? Jey Uso's Revenge?

Many expected Cody Rhodes to dethrone Reigns at WrestleMania 39. He is the biggest star WWE has built in recent years, but The Bloodline story had not reached its conclusion yet.

The Head of the Table has built a dominant stable to protect him no matter what. With each title defense, he wears down.

However, Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and so many more have learned that The Bloodline cannot be taken down by eliminating the leader first.

After losing the tag team titles, The Usos are scrambling. They could begin to question whether staying with Reigns is the right move, remembering all they have suffered for success that is always fleeting.

The American Nightmare will try to rebuild himself by defeating top names, eventually earning another world title shot. However, he will not be the only one going after The Head of the Table.

Zayn deserves his own second chance. Matt Riddle has made his case since returning to action. Other men defeated by Reigns, including Drew McIntyre, Edge, Logan Paul and Seth Rollins, could want one more chance.

Bobby Lashley and Gunther are dominant forces Reigns has avoided to date. He also has to reckon with the eventual retribution of The Usos.

The man to ultimately dethrone Reigns will only do so once The Head of the Table is out of safety nets. That could take multiple remaining chapters and challenges, but the end result is that the moment this ends, it must feel cathartic.

Future Stories to Play Out in Year-Long Chapters

While Reigns has set the template, WWE does not need to look at The Bloodline as a one-and-done opportunity.

These are a few immediate options that could replace or supplement the story.

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Gunther's Reign of Terror

The Ring General is already the longest reigning intercontinental champion of the modern era at over 300 days, and he should pass both Don Muraco and Honky Tonk Man before losing. But what if he just kept going?

No one has been able to stop him, and he seems to be wrapping up his story with Sheamus. If The Celtic Warrior cannot beat the champion, WWE should take its time building new challengers who get close but cannot overcome him and Imperium.

By the time his reign is over, Gunther would have elevated the Intercontinental Championship to new heights and can go right after the world title.

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Rhea Ripley's Judgment Day Takeover

Mami has captured the hearts and minds of the WWE Universe, becoming a dominant force as SmackDown women's champion who will not fall easily. WWE can set her up to topple much of the women's division.

The Eradicator could even unify the women's titles by defeating Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 40.

Her dynamic with The Judgment Day can also evolve, with her eventually becoming the true leader. She might even choose to add or remove members along the way.

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Bray Wyatt's Rebuilding FunHouse

Bray Wyatt has always been better served by storytelling that is planned out months, even years, in advance. When he is back in action, WWE should start kicking things up a notch.

Alexa Bliss has teased either joining or feuding with Wyatt and Uncle Howdy. Other wrestlers could find themselves integrated into the Firefly FunHouse, building a dominant force that can help Wyatt rise back to the world title scene and much more.