A picture is worth a thousand words, but not all words speak truth. Roman Reigns and The Bloodline stood tall in the final moments of WWE SmackDown, but the reality is that Reigns has never been more alone.
The Night of Champions go-home show closed with Reigns raising all four tag team championship belts over his head. It was a dominant display from WWE's most dominant champion. In truth, Reigns is more and more becoming The Bloodline's weak link with each passing week.
SmackDown also featured a United States championship match between Austin Theory and Sheamus, plus one final test for AJ Styles ahead of his world heavyweight championship tournament finals against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Thompson-Boling Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Bloodline stands tall on shaky legs
The entirety of The Bloodline convened for a meeting in their locker room. Special counsel Paul Heyman, at Reigns' behest, informed The Usos that although they won't be at Night of Champions, the twins are invited to Reigns' 1000-day celebration as universal champion. It was expressed by Heyman that Reigns' especially wanted Jey Uso in attendance.
Jimmy Uso scoffed, wondering why Reigns had such an attitude. Jimmy Uso stood up, informing the family that he was hungry and going to get something to eat. Reigns' demanded that Jimmy Uso sit down. The former tag team champion silently refused, remaining upright. Reigns got in Jimmy Uso's face and provoked him to "do something." Reigns promised he would whoop Jimmy Uso as he did when they were children. Reigns insisted that Jimmy Uso would acknowledge, obey and respect the head of the family. Jey Uso intervened, walking off with his brother and telling Reigns they'd see him next week.
The evening's closing segment was billed as an edition of "The KO Show" starring Owens and Zayn with guests Reigns and Sikoa. The Usos went into business for themselves and hit the ring. Owens praised the decision, informing The Usos that they were who he really wanted to speak to. Owens said that Zayn still cares about The Usos despite everything that has happened between the two parties. Owen dubbed The Usos as the greatest tag team in history and said that Reigns may claim to be the "Head of the Table," but The Usos are the heart. A fired-up Jimmy Uso proclaimed they are still the greatest tag team and anointed himself "The Tribal Chief."
Queue a pissed-off Reigns, who entered the ring and whacked microphones out of the brothers' hands. Zayn chuckled, informing Reigns that his family was crumbling and that it was Reigns' fault. Reigns shoved Zayn and was handed a receipt in the form of an Owens' stunner. A brawl broke out with the tag champions getting the better of The Usos. Solo Sikoa emerged as the great equalizer and laid out both of his foes with Samoan Spikes. Jey Uso handed Sikoa one pair of tag team titles, a spiritual acknowledgment of their impending victory. Jimmy Uso could not part with the other pair and refused to hand them over to Reigns. Jey Uso talked his brother down, took the titles, and handed them to Reigns. SmackDown went off the air with Reigns hoisting all four tag team championships overhead.
Another week, another great episode anchored by The Bloodline. Jimmy Uso has largely been a secondary character in The Bloodline story so it's great to see him front and center. Jimmy Uso was the family's grounding force, its peacekeeper, its glue. Reigns has lost his grip on Jimmy Uso and that will precede a death blow for the tribe. Owens and Zayn played the mind games phenomenally. Owens is presented as gruff and unfriendly. Owens advocating for The Usos bears weight and that was reflected in Jimmy Uso dubbing himself "The Tribal Chief," a statement that drew audible gasps from the audience. Words carry tremendous weight in this story. There were some other nice wrinkles in the closing segment. Sikoa continued to be the great equalizer and it's beginning to look like he may be an even greater in-ring threat than his leader. Reigns' closing the show by holding all four tag titles was the perfect snapshot of his inflated ego. WWE is not phoning in these pre-taped shows in the Triple H era. Grade: A+
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- United States Championship -- Theory def. Sheamus via pinfall with a schoolboy pin following interference by Pretty Deadly.
- Raquel Rodriguez and Bayley def. Damage CTLR (Bayley and Iyo Sky) via pinfall after Rodriguez hit a folding slam on Bayley.
- Cameron Grimes def. Ashante "Thee" Adonis via pinfall after driving him into the mat with a Cave-In.
- Asuka blindsided Bianca Belair, latching on an armbar ahead of their Raw women's title match. Belair tried to deliver a KOD to Asuka, but interfering personnel caught the challenger.
- LA Knight def. Rick Boogs via pinfall after planting him with BFT. He confronted the Street Profits post-match, who were on guest commentary duty.
- Styles def. Kross via pinfall after cracking him with a Phenomenal Forearm.