6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 2)

2. No Roman Reigns?

The Bloodline Sami Zayn Usos Solo Sikoa
WWE.com

Survivor Series: WarGames was a landmark moment for The Bloodline. Sami Zayn proved his worth to the group, and he got in Jey Uso's good books for the first time. In short, the pay-per-view represented arguably the most vital story beat for the faction in a while.

So, why wasn't Roman Reigns on SmackDown to hammer it home?

Nobody's saying that Roman must be on TV every single week; he won't be, and everyone knows it. However, this was one of those episodes that needed the 'Tribal Chief' on it to put across harmony in The Bloodline and reiterate the stable's plans for dominance throughout 2023.

It's a bit of a shocker that Reigns didn't show up at all following such a banner win for him and his troops. Whomever's in charge of scheduling his TV dates made a total arse of that one, because this felt pretty essential to The Bloodline story's development.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.