The FIRST TIME Wrestlers Had Their Million Dollar Idea

7. Roman Reigns Throws The One Up

Becoming increasingly aware of how to shift units of merch as well as tickets as WWE gradually moved out of the pandemic and back towards normality, Roman Reigns was around a year into his renewed dominance of WWE when he first pointed his index finger to the sky to illustrate exactly where he sat in the pecking order. 

It was during the August 27th 2021 edition of SmackDown that 'The Tribal Chief' had Paul Heyman emcee an acknowledgment ceremony following his SummerSlam victory over John Cena, unafraid as he allegedly was by the returning Brock Lesnar and imminent television "threat" Finn Bálor. With 'The Champ' despatched, out came Roman and The Usos in celebratory mood, with new shirts and a new permanent catchphrase - "We The Ones".

The insignia included the point, and so too did the in-ring celebration. 'The Head Of The Table' had landed on another missing piece of the megastar act puzzle - the hand gesture. Throwing ones to the skies quickly gave audiences their own way in to what was rapidly becoming the most credible act in the company. It also made use of the times - though The Bloodline were unapologetically heelish, and would only grow in dominance at the expense of other babyfaces, live crowds increasingly didn't care too much about the dynamics. Reigns was the biggest star the company had by miles at this point; the one guy crowds just wanted to be in the presence of regardless of who he was feuding with.

The inclusion of Sami Zayn in the group in 2022 elevated the stable to the next level, and in line with Cody Rhodes' return to WWE and Vince McMahon resigning in disgrace, the group were at last true big bads. But throwing up the Ones was established by then, giving the group the perfect pose for when they were inevitably reborn as babyfaces in the end.