Reigns looks back on his singles feud with Jey Uso.
As Roman Reigns was embarking on his Universal Championship run in 2020, one of his earlier opponents was fellow member of The Bloodline, Jey Uso.
The two met at Clash of Champions and inside of Hell in a Cell. While being profiled by The Ringer’s Jonathan Snowden, Reigns looked back on that story and said he’s never been so nervous for anybody he’s been in the ring with like he was for Jey.
He stated that no one has pushed him emotionally in-ring like Jey has and as a result, Jey came out a star.
I’ve never been so nervous for anybody I’ve been in the ring with. I want everybody to do good, but I’m not going to lower myself. I’m going to make everything look awesome as much as I can. So you have to keep up. At the end of the day, you have to be able to work up to this level and not seem out of place. And he didn’t, man, in so many ways.
I’m not going to dive into all the super backstage stuff, but there was no time to discuss. So there were a lot of instincts that were relied on. The fact that we have literally a brother-level connection and relationship, it made it really easy for us to just rely on our history and being comfortable with each other and also being able to push that type of emotion out of each other.
I don’t think anyone’s ever pushed me emotionally like Jey has, and I think we did that for each other and we made a star out of him. I mean, even to this day, if he doesn’t go through that process, I don’t think he’s doing what he’s doing now at the level he’s doing it at. It doesn’t happen if he doesn’t make those giant leaps he did two years ago.
Sami Zayn’s addition to The Bloodline is a move that Paul Heyman feels changed the dynamic of the entire group. Reigns touched on what Zayn has brought to the group and what they’ve been able to give him in return.
That’s one of the top responsibilities of being the top guy is we never work down. It’s only about bringing people up and making them better. Look at all the characters around me. Look at how strong this character is to be able to be the centerpiece of so many amazing talents. I mean, look at Sami. He unlocked a different door, which allows us to showcase different layers. He gives us something completely different to play off of. And vice versa, for Sami to be at the cool-kid table, in the cool clique. Being able to showcase that story, that’s what makes us next level. Who would’ve thought ‘Ucey’ would be a thing? But over 12 million people on social media made it a thing, and that’s the type of power we have. We can take anything, anything, and make it good. That’s why the Bloodline, the Tribal Chief is so special. Because we’ve taken more chicken sh*t and made chicken salad than anybody in the history of this business.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa) will be heading into WarGames this Saturday at Survivor Series to face Kevin Owens, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Butch & Ridge Holland.
