While Sami Zayn might not have known it in the moment, but he ultimately became the reason why The Bloodline fell apart. Roman Reigns’ treatment of Zayn made Jey Uso see the light, which led to Jimmy Uso siding with his brother, which resulted in the entire faction crumbling beneath everyone’s feet.

To put it simply, The Bloodline Saga is one of the greatest storylines in WWE history and is probably more responsible for the boom period WWE would go on to have in the 2020s than anything else (yes, even more than Vince leaving). With that said, it can’t be understated how interest in the story just dramatically dropped once Zayn was no longer a part of the plot. I’m not saying Sami Zayn is the reason for WWE’s most recent golden period, but he was the final piece of the puzzle for The Bloodline and the stories that went with it. 

Zayn would reunite with who else but Kevin Owens, who came out to make the save at the end of Elimination Chamber 2023 as The Bloodline looked to beat Zayn down even more. While there were people with genuine arguments for Zayn being the one to dethrone Reigns, Zayn did get a big moment of his own alongside Owens as they dethroned The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in the night one main event of WrestleMania 39. To this day, it’s the only time the tag straps have had the honor of closing WrestleMania, and those belts were given that platform thanks to the work Zayn and The Usos did in the months leading up to it.

Reigns controversially beat Cody Rhodes in the other WrestleMania 39 main event, but the cracks had already began to show in The Bloodline, and by Money in the Bank in July, the group had a civil war on its hands. Jey was finally able to get out from Reigns’ spell and actually handed the “Tribal Chief” his first pinfall loss in three-and-a-half years, earning him a title shot at that year’s SummerSlam. As we all know, Reigns would beat Jey at SummerSlam in another match where people thought that would have been the perfect time for Reigns to drop the titles, especially considering the entire saga would fizzle away by the end of 2023.

Fortunately, The Rock would inject some life in the saga at the start of 2024 when Cody Rhodes came back for another shot at Reigns, but that is a match spotlight for another time.