Sami Zayn's story with the Bloodline began shortly after WrestleMania 38 when he went to Roman Reigns, The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso), and Paul Heyman looking to earn back the respect of the locker room after losing to Johnny Knoxville.
For a year, Zayn had his ups and downs with the Bloodline that included earning their trust, becoming an Honorary Uce, being pushed too far, eventually turning on Reigns, failing to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, reuniting with Kevin Owens, and much more.
Speaking at the WrestleMania 39 press conference, Zayn reflected on the storytelling that went into the storyline.
"There are hall of famers, world champions multiple times over, I'm talking some of the best ever that have never got to tell a story like this, over this course of time, with this level of depth, with this many talented individuals in front and in back of the camera, especially on the performance side of it. I feel so lucky to have been a part of it. This feels like the culmination of it, but it's a long timeline with WWE, so even if you think you've put a nice bow on it, we can unravel that at any time and call back to it. That's been the beauty of this story, the number of callbacks. So much of it would not have worked with any other individuals. It had to be the Usos and Roman because that is a legitimate, lifelong relationship. It had to be Kevin because that is a legitimate 20-year friendship. Without that level of reality bleeding into the story, it just wouldn't work. One of the things that I take a lot of pride in with this story over the past year is...I do think it transcended the classical wrestling storyline. It's a glimpse into, because of its effectiveness, it could be a glimpse of what storylines going forward, if not achieve, will at least aspire to, in my opinion. Much like you saw with television, how it kind of evolved with the golden age of television in the 2000s with HBO and things like that, and more complex and layered characters. To do this story, if I may be so bold to offer a comparison, it's almost like the Sopranos. It is, to WWE, what the Sopranos was to television. If I may be so bold to make that comparison," said Zayn.
The screen did not go black on Owens & Zayn at night one of WrestleMania 39 as they defeated The Usos to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of WrestleMania 39 by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the show by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
