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WWE has done a solid job of keeping The Bloodline saga interesting, but the December 19 episode of Raw might have taken things too far. Roman Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn, and Solo Sikoa haven’t been overexposed like NWO was in WCW during the 90s, but similarities are starting to emerge. Wrestling fans who grew up during the Monday Night Wars probably felt right at home during the red brand’s most recent broadcast. That might be a positive thing in the short term, but WWE has a fine line to walk with The Bloodline moving forward. The faction is now at the center of all the company’s storylines and television, and everyone not involved is falling by the wayside. That’s a WCW mistake that Triple H can’t afford to make right now.
Since Vince McMahon left, WWE’s storylines have felt fresh and, at times, inventive. The slow build toward the reveal of Bray Wyatt was excellent, and the debut or re-debut of wrestlers such as Bronson Reed, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, and Johnny Gargano injected fresh blood into the company. The Game isn’t hitting all home runs as a booker, but no one does. WWE has been entertaining since late July, thanks in no small part to The Bloodline. They’ve begun to oversaturate the product, though, overshadowing everything and everyone that isn’t part of their ongoing angles.
The Bloodline Invading Raw Punked Out Too Many WWE Stars
The Bloodline is the biggest and most crucial faction in professional wrestling right now. All due respect to The Elite in AEW and Bullet Club in NJPW, but the reach of Roman Reigns and his group is second-to-none. As such, they don’t have anything to gain by attacking wrestlers like Elias or Mustafa Ali. WWE filmed these jumpings in a handheld video style, reminiscent of NWO’s backstage attacks in WCW. Andre Chase was on the receiving end of a beat down, and he still needs to make his main-roster debut (outside Main Event).
Not only did The Bloodline invade Raw to beat up midcard acts, but WWE also cut away from active in-ring action to showcase these attacks. Street Profits and Judgment Day were the first match on Raw, but that fight was shoved into a picture-in-picture so that the audience could see Solo Sikoa break Elias’ guitar over his back. Judgment Day is the top heel faction for the red brand. Seeing their show-opening bout treated like an afterthought compared to The Bloodline’s backstage assaults was jarring and concerning.
There’s nothing wrong with this invasion angle in a vacuum. It worked for a time with the NWO in WCW for a reason. Too many wrestlers were made to look foolish for virtually no gain for The Bloodline, however. Roman Reigns opened the show by stating that he’d show the powerful resources the faction has, further cementing their Mafia-lite framing. There were other ways to go about this than burying talent who was already under in the first place, though.
Anyone Not Involved In The Bloodline Angle Has Been Diminished
Until recently, WWE fans needed to tune in on Friday nights to see The Bloodline in action. SmackDown has been the Roman Reigns show since it landed on FOX, and audiences had to watch the blue brand to see him and his family in action. That’s started to shift recently, as Bloodline segments have appeared on Raw much more frequently. In this instance, Reigns sending The Usos, Sami Zayn, and Solo Sikoa to Raw to raise hell at least made sense. It was a direct retaliation for Kevin Owens’ meddling in Roman’s business on SmackDown. And that’s why those two men will wrestle at the Royal Rumble next month.
The thing is, KO is one of the few Raw wrestlers who escaped getting beat up or interfered with by The Bloodline. Even AJ Styles fell victim to Sami Zayn, who won following interference from Sikoa. That match only came about because The Bloodline interfered in The OC’s earlier bout against Alpha Academy. Anyone not directly involved in the ongoing Bloodline storyline on SmackDown was fair game, and no one besides Kevin Owens ended up looking better because of it. That left Judgment Day, Karl Andersen, Doc Gallows, The Street Profits, Dolph Ziggler, Alpha Academy, Elias, Chase Owens, and AJ Styles all looking like afterthoughts, just for The Bloodline to pick up no steam at all. The tradeoff here just wasn’t worth it. Four men tore through Raw‘s entire locker room. Where’s Omos when you need him?
Raw wasn’t a dud by any stretch. The show was filled with entertaining segments, including an intergender match, an Alexa Bliss full-blown heel turn, and the main event tied the episode together nicely. This invasion can’t be a sign of things to come for WWE’s handling of The Bloodline. Roman Reigns’ story will be at the company’s heart through WrestleMania 39, but that show isn’t until April. Multiple episodes like this would badly overexpose The Bloodline, leading to fans turning on the angle before it comes to fruition at the showcase of the immortals. Their invasion on Monday wasn’t the end of the wrestling world, but Triple H and his writing team must tread carefully with this group in the coming weeks. Other storylines need to be developed and treated with care. Otherwise, WWE is just repeating the NWO mistake that eventually doomed WCW.
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