For the first time since his championship loss at WrestleMania XL, Roman Reigns finally made his long-awaited return at WWE SummerSlam! But now the question is: what lies in store for the prodigal Tribal Chief now that he’s back?

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Arrival Of The Tribal Chief

Although he’s been on WWE’s main roster for well over a decade now, Roman Reigns truly rose to prominence in the summer of 2020 when he returned from a lengthy hiatus and won the WWE Universal Championship in concise fashion. However, this was not the affable and heroic Roman Reigns that fans were familiar with. This version of Roman was much more ruthless, and it was clear he had a massive chip on his shoulder.

Upon winning the Universal championship, Roman Reigns declared himself as head of his family table. The Anoa’i family has roots that are deeply interwoven with the history of professional wrestling, and now Roman Reigns had officially become its paterfamilias, the head of the table — the Tribal Chief.

For the next four years, WWE would be under the iron grip of Roman Reigns and his Bloodline faction, consisting of his real-life cousins Jimmy and Jey Uso. The group would later add the Usos’ little brother, Solo Sikoa, as their enforcer. And always in Roman’s ear was his wiseman, Paul Heyman, who provided council to the Tribal Chief whenever necessary.

Fall Of The Roman Empire

From mid-2020 all the way to early 2024, Roman faced a who’s who of top superstars all vying to beat him for the title and end his tyrannical rule over WWE. But stunningly, through whatever means he could muster, Roman would always stand at the end of the match with his golden hand held high.

But all empires fall eventually. And for Roman, his fall from grace came at the main event of WrestleMania XL, when the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes pinned him in a Bloodline Rules match for the WWE Championship.

It was a moment that will live on as one of the all-time greatest moments in WWE history. Not only had Cody Rhodes managed to win the title that eluded his family for generations, but Roman Reigns had finally been knocked off his perch as the head of the table.

The Bloodline Splinters

Roman Reigns disappeared from all WWE television following his WrestleMania loss, leaving the future of the Bloodline in question. With the state of the Bloodline in disrepair, the group’s enforcer and Tribal Prince Solo Sikoa quickly seized his opportunity and declared himself the new Tribal Chief.

With this new leadership came an entirely new regime. Adopting an out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new mindset, Solo coldly dispatched Paul Heyman and his own brother Jimmy Uso from the Bloodline. The next few months would see the addition of Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and the Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu to the family stable.

As the self-anointed Tribal Chief, Solo led his new gang of Bloodline mercenaries to victory against Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, and the WWE Champion himself Cody Rhodes at Money In The Bank. This put Solo in the frontrunning for a shot at the gold at WWE SummerSlam.

Roman Reigns Returns

In the main event of SummerSlam, when all hope looked lost for the defending Rhodes, a familiar chorus rang out through the Cleveland Browns Stadium. Both Cody and Solo looked on in exasperated disbelief as Roman Reigns emerged for the first time in four months.

Adorned in a t-shirt imprinted with the acronym “OTC” (presumably standing for Original Tribal Chief), it was clear what Roman’s intentions were upon his triumphant return. Any remaining ambiguity was squashed when Roman rushed into the ring to deliver an emphatic Superman punch to Solo that would help secure the win for Cody.

And in an arguably more shocking moment, before leaving the ring Reigns exchanged a subtle nod of respect with the very man who beat him for the championship.

What’s Next For Roman?

Now that the OTC is no longer MIA, what does the future hold for Roman Reigns? Will we see a new, more humble version of the Tribal Chief character? Will he immediately declare war on the new Bloodline? Will old familial wounds be healed?

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WWE has confirmed that Roman Reigns will appear on this week’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown, so there’s no doubt we’ll see a clear picture of what lies ahead for the larger-than-life megastar. But before anything is revealed, I wanted to share a few thoughts of my own as to how Roman’s story will proceed from here.

• 1. Reuniting With Jimmy And Jey

  Roman’s long and complicated history with his cousins, Jimmy and Jey Uso, traces back to the early days of his Tribal Chief moniker. After all, Jey is arguably Roman’s first true victim of his brutal and overbearing form of leadership.

  Now due to his constant manipulations and mind games, Roman’s actions have fractured not only his relationship with his cousins, but the Usos’ relationship with each other. Jey and Jimmy faced off at WrestleMania XL to cap off a heated rivalry, leaving their brotherly relationship in tatters.

  These three have a LOT of familial trauma to unpack, and Roman must be the one to initiate it.It seems like Roman will be treated as more of a sympathetic character upon his return. If WWE wants fans to buy into that, we need to see clear and irrefutable evidence that Reigns is a changed man. And the first step to achieving that is having him atone for all the abuse he put the Usos (and Jey especially) through.

• 2. Bloodline Wargames

  It’s pretty clear right now that Roman Reigns does intend to challenge Solo’s status as Tribal Chief at some point down the road. And what would be a better salvo in the impending Bloodline wars than a WarGames Match at this year’s WWE Survivor Series?

  This would especially make sense if Roman does manage to mend his relationship with Jimmy and Jey Uso. This would give the OG Bloodline the numbers needed to face off against the new version of the bloodthirsty family faction in what’s sure to be a hellacious WarGames match.

  And if the match was declared a 4-on-4, Roman could even recruit any of his past opponents to add an even deeper layer to the story. Former honorary Bloodline member Sami Zayn perhaps? Or maybe Roman’s oldest frenemy Seth “Freakin” Rollins? Or maybe he’ll call in the big guns and ask for assistance from the American Nightmare himself Cody Rhodes. Speaking of Cody…

• 3. Championship Rematch

  This prediction doesn’t feel like as much of a guarantee as the two above, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. After all, if anyone has proven themselves worthy of a championship rematch, it should be the person who held said championship for four dominant years right?

  And the story practically tells itself. Rhodes and Reigns now both hold victories against each other in championship faceoffs. A rubber match for the belt between the two longtime rivals seems like a layup for WWE. Whether that match should happen immediately or further down the road is anyone’s guess, but don’t write it off immediately just because Roman’s supposedly a good guy now.

• 4. Tagging With Cena

  At last month’s Money In The Bank event, WWE megastar John Cena made a shocking announcement that 2025 would be the year of lasts for his legendary wrestling career. The 16-time WWE Champion confirmed that he will be stepping away from in-ring action permanently at some point next year, but has promised to compete as much as he can in the lead-up to WrestleMania 41.

  Cena’s beef with Roman Reigns harkens back to even before the Tribal Chief days. The two pulled no punches in their verbal and physical battles over the years, with Cena oftentimes questioning Roman’s ability to carry the torch he left for him.

  If WWE really wants to make full use of Cena’s last big run, they would be smart to capitalize on his relationship with the man who, for all intents and purposes, “replaced” him as the face of the company. Roman However, Reigns is now 2-0 against Cena in one-on-one matches, so a third match between the two doesn’t seem as compelling.

  Instead, I think the two stars should unite in tag team action against a common enemy. That level of combined star power fighting on the same side will feed families for generations. And who knows? If Cena is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year, Roman Reigns certainly has a case to be the one to induct him. A GOAT inducting a GOAT, you love to see it.

• 5. Roman vs. The Rock

  Ah, the WrestleMania XL match that never was. According to the WWE mini-doc WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain, Roman was originally intended to face off against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in one of the most highly-anticipated matches of this generation.

  Fans had speculated this match would happen at some point during Roman’s lengthy championship run. And, were it not for overwhelming fan backlash forcing WWE’s hand, it almost happened. The vocal fan disapproval toward this match was more about the timing than the match itself. Unfortunately for The Rock, fans wanted to see Cody Rhodes finally finish his story and win the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XL. So the plans for Roman vs. Rocky were put on the backburner.

  But the higher ups at WWE are no fools. It’s obvious that even without the title, Roman vs. Rock is still a big money match. I have no doubt that we will see the Tribal Chief go head-to-head against WWE’s Final Boss at some point. It’s even been speculated that Rock is the one behind the coup that led to Solo seizing control of the Bloodline. If that’s true, The Rock will surely be in Roman’s crosshairs sooner rather than later.