The Roman Reigns Feud WWE Must Book to save Jey Uso

WWE needs a way to keep guys like Roman Reigns and Jey Uso interesting while some bigger items above them clear out of the way. 

Right now, the company’s top title scenes feature heavyweights like Seth Rollins and CM Punk, plus the final leg of the John Cena farewell tour, if not others. 

Luckily for all involved, the Bloodline saga is always right there as a fallback plan for the lean months. 

There’s some extremely compelling things going on around Reigns and Jey right now that wouldn’t feel like much of a rehash of old topics, either, not with the way both guys have changed so much since the original saga. 

Look at Jey, he’s a bona fide solo Superstar now, at least in the sense he moves big merchandise numbers and gets big fan reactions. He’s got every character justification possible for thinking he can stand on his own with the top dogs, which could make him combative while sitting in Reigns’ shadow. 

Then there’s Reigns, whose heinous gaslighting acts as Tribal Chief never fully got made right. He’s on the same side as Jey, sure, but has there been an official apology? Does Jey feel the sting of live crowds adoring Reigns, even though things have never really fully been made right? 

The seeds are already right there for a compelling tale. A guy by the name of Paul Heyman, though, is like the world’s finest fertilizer. 

WWE has already loosely leaned into this on a recent weekly broadcast by having Heyman point out that it was Solo Sikoa, not Jey, who Reigns chose as his successor. 

The seeds can bear fruit quickly if this keeps up. 

As the Bloodline showed at its peak, the best storytelling has organic motivations and follows fan wants. Right now, audiences want to see these two together. It’s not Reigns-Seth Rollins OG Shield compelling, but it’s right there as worthwhile. 

That Shield comparison is rapt, too. It feels like part of the reason Reigns is hesitant to just apologize and go full-blown babyface is because he’s been stabbed in the back so many times. Rollins did it with the Shield, Heyman has done it, etc. Jey might be family, but so were they. 

And Reigns frankly will never get the credit he deserves for evolving his character into a traumatized, bitter Tribal Chief who morphed into a monster in response to some of these things. 

But it works here. It’s hard to suggest this idea would turn Jey heel because frankly, that might cool him off dramatically as he gets viewed as nothing more than a Reigns-lite. Store-brand Reigns, even. But a tweener character who is still big on entrances and with younger audiences who also makes some good points about his treatment and standing? There’s money in that.

Not to discredit Jey, but he needs the help from someone like Reigns. WWE rewarded him with his big moment, but now he’s spinning in that L.A. Knight zone that one might suggest is purgatory. With Lesnar coming back to get with Cena, Jey bumps even farther down the list of guys in the pecking order for top titles. 

This isn’t even meant to discredit Jey, but he’s in a weird spot where he’s too good to simply be a tag-team wrestler, but not good enough to be anything more than match-filler in a No. 1 contender bracket right now.

Good news for Uso, though: Few in his position have rarely ever had something as compelling as this ongoing story with Reigns. 

Even if it's not Jey straight-up ripping off old scabs to address them, it could boil down to something as simply as his costing Roman a match at Clash in Paris.

If WWE really wanted it to, the ordeal could be a slow burn all the way to next year’s WrestleMania. It would certainly be a nice way to prevent any speculation that The Rock might return and get involved in stuff (or at least shove him into Rhodes’ orbit). 

It’s also worth noting that this feud idea could bring along guys like Sikoa, too. There’s the blurred lines aspect going on here: Reigns was a terror while at the top, while harming his family, but he also elevated them to new heights. Get Jacob Fatu and the others involved, too.

Supposed Bloodline fatigue (doubtful, given the so-so stuff and part-timer-ruined stuff since it ended) or not, a Reigns-Jey story right now would have show-stealing potential on a nightly basis.