IWC Scum — They’re Really Bleeding Every Last Drop Out of The Bloodline Brand

Welcome back to the column that puts the incessant whining and complaining in IWC. I’m a jaded jerk named SkitZ who’s fighting the urge to drive a point home like an off-the-rails road rager. You know, the agitated bitter type that just keeps repeating himself. Yeah that’s me today (apologies in advance). 

Now, I realize this is nothing groundbreaking. There’s no hot take or profound wisdom to be offered here, yet I still feel compelled to talk about it. Probably because of how The Bloodline saga made us all feel at its peak. That golden era during the leadup to HollywoodMania when everyone was throwing the term ‘cinema’ around as if we’re respected members of the Oscar Committee or some shit. 

The original five-man faction with Heyman at the helm had us perpetually glued to our TV screens. Sami brought a welcomed comedic element to the group, and became a much bigger star by association, but he made The Bloodline a bit too likable. Roman’s empire was designed to be heels who handled business first and foremost; not a bunch of goofballs palling around backstage and cracking jokes between the ropes. Something had to give, and it did in dramatically epic fashion at the 2023 Royal Rumble. The biggest chapter in The Bloodline arc might’ve concluded at WrestleMania XL, but all of its greatest moments occurred the year before, and they came in abundance.

Triple H’s comments during the post-WM40 presser about Roman’s future following the title loss to Rhodes often pops into my head. Hunter hinted at Reigns veering off in a different direction creatively, as well as more of his relatives showing up in WWE sooner than later. Boy, he wasn’t kidding. This current crop of Samoans are coming out of the woodwork like the Dudley half-breeds who spammed up ECW in the ‘90s. Roman didn’t exaggerate when he spoke about keeping his cousins fed and hungry for more. Look at how many of them are currently on the company payroll, and then there’s still names like Lance Anoa’i and Zilla Fatu who are destined to join the fray eventually. They’re all part of an unmatched generational legacy that apparently has no ending in sight. 

The issue however is that all of the original Bloodline members have years and years of equity built up with WWE’s fanbase. The struggles, the triumphs, the pivotal moments. They also possess charisma, aura and individual star power; attributes this current version of The Bloodline is sorely lacking. 

After becoming the self-proclaimed Tribal Chief last spring in Roman’s absence, Solo seemed in over his head at times. Even though Sikoa doesn’t wrestle in boots or sneakers, Reigns still left behind too big of shoes to fill for a younger family member who mostly served as the silent enforcer of the family faction. Then Jacob Fatu comes along a few months later and overshadows Solo in every conceivable category, which made it practically impossible for The Samoan Werewolf to play a supporting role within a group that takes orders from Sikoa. Jacob’s popularity quickly dwarfed The Bloodline 2.0 as a collective whole, and thus WWE was forced to branch Fatu off into a lone entity. 

Nowadays Solo’s stable goes by a different name, but ya’ll know what it is. Once Roman soundly defeated the poser this past January, reclaimed his ulafala and left for RAW because the current state of The Bloodline was so beneath him, some type of change had to happen. My Family Tree might be a thing that exists, but the faction is nothing more than a knock-off attempting to profit from the massive success of its predecessor.  

Aside from Jacob, none of these newer members have shown much potential, or even been put in a position to elevate their respective stock. Rather than hitting the scene and making a splash, studs like JC Mateo have been watered down and tossed into a pool of perpetual mediocrity. Don’t let the fact that Jeff Cobb’s shaped like a Rhyno fool you. I watched a little of him in Japan and a lot of him in Lucha Underground, and the man can gooooooo. Crowds chanting “you can’t wrestle” at a dude who did so at the Olympic level further proves that fans will literally say anything just to hear themselves talk. 

And what to make of the three Tongans? Well one’s known primarily for his catchphrase, the second for botching the most basic of spots, and the third for being a generic big man who’s failed to make much of a lasting impression since the night of his debut. It’s MFT followers 1-3, with #4 bound to make his anticlimactic return at some point. The only thing WWE’s managed to accomplish lately is surrounding Sikoa with a bunch of unremarkable scrubs. Solo has been surprisingly palatable over the last few months, and I can’t tell if that’s because he’s improving, or because all these MFTs around him are just that goddamn dull.

The depth of the Anoa’i family tree is no doubt impressive, but it’s become a matter of quantity over quality in recent times. I have an obsessive collecting habit that tends to result in me buying up every related collectible within my reach, and it’s neither healthy nor beneficial. That’s exactly what it feels like we’re witnessing with Hunter and Nick Khan signing every third cousin of Roman’s who laces up a pair of wrestling boots. These Samoans aren’t Pokemon trading cards for fuck’s sake. Collecting them all doesn’t come with some guaranteed payoff. At that rate, WWE might as well bring back every talent released during the Vince administration and waste more money on contracts they’re not gonna renew in 3 years.  

I’m also tired of watching Bloodline members inevitably come to blows and battle for months on end. The matches are always a slow plodding snoozefest, as was the case with Jacob and Solo’s steel cage clash at SummerSlam. I’m not too thrilled about Sami rehashing his old beef with Sikoa over the United States Title either, but their SmackDown match in Montreal blew the cage bout out of the water. Reigns is gearing up to make Bronson Reed a much bigger monster than the second incarnation of The Bloodline ever could have, Jey Uso’s enjoying a career year on his own, and Jimmy’s more over than the entire MFT stable despite multiple character tweaks and virtually no accolades as a singles star to speak of.

Meanwhile, Solo and his posse have just been spinning their wheels. Credit however to Sikoa for injecting more of his real life personality into what he presents on television. A Solo promo used to have me immediately reaching for my remote or iPhone, but he’s leaned further into the Fatu trash talk and mannerisms as of late, and it’s served him well. I just feel there’s no long-term benefit in the reigning U.S. Champion leading a group of generic villains that constantly grows in numbers, but not value. Solo could have accomplished the same with one sole travel companion and a lot less baggage.   

I mean isn’t the MFT stable just beating a dead horse at this stage? The Bloodline’s heyday has long since passed us by. Why couldn’t WWE simply take this big beautiful thing back behind the barn and put it out of its misery, instead of dragging the poor thing along to die a miserable death? And how come it irks me so much to see what the original Bloodline’s been reduced to? Hmmm maybe because Roman & Heyman’s input on the group’s creative made it special. There were layered, interweaving storylines. Emotional struggles. Plot twists. Passionate crowd responses. Above all else, there was substance and investment; vital elements missing from Solo’s current squad.   

Compared to the heights The Bloodline reached throughout 2022-24, My Family Tree reeks of low-hanging fruit. A parody void of any redeeming qualities. Charity motivated by the excess that Roman’s historic reign brought the company post-pandemic. When even the group’s t-shirt design looks like a direct ripoff of MJF’s merch, it’s time to find a new avenue to whore out besides the Isle of Samoa. Factions such as Judgment Day and The Vision are complimentary. They take turns highlighting each member’s strengths and successes. They elevate the show. They crank out the hits. Solo’s running a one-man band, and if we’re being honest, he’s not that great of a frontman to begin with. 

Stop riding the coattails of the OG Bloodline. If you can’t measure up to what Roman, The Usos & Sami built, then spare us from all the half-assed restructuring. These newcomers aren’t the least bit capable, and neither is Road Dogg as co-lead writer of SmackDown. That much is evident to anyone who tunes in on Friday nights.