Great break down by bleacher report
Zayn stopped The Bloodline from exiting and acknowledged Reigns as his Tribal Chief, to which the top dog in WWE responded by asking why the lovable loser continued to tag along with the faction and why he was wearing a Bloodline shirt.
Despite being a great heel, there is a certain appreciation and equity that Zayn has created with fans and their fear for the suddenly serious, potentially dangerous situation he put himself in manifested itself in a tenseness we do not typically see on WWE programming.
By the time Jey Uso ripped said shirt off the man he has spent the last month despising, it appeared as though Zayn was about to catch a beatdown. Instead, Reigns presented him his own shirt, much to the dismay of the tag team champion, and the group left the ring together to close the segment.
This was great character work and an even better example of why Reigns has been among the most compelling of any performers in wrestling. He is condescending, sarcastic and disingenuous at times but always dangerous and capable of punishing anyone before him. It works so well with Zayn's "just wants to fit in" persona and the fans ate it up.
They popped for his inclusion, a sign that the storytellers have the audience in the palm of their hands. As long as the story is not drawn out for too long, this is going to be a hell of a payoff and one that makes Zayn as big a star as he has ever been in WWE.
A great television segment to start the show.
Grade
A+
