Who are the "Elders" of The Bloodline? Why have they made Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso a Tribal Combat

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for SummerSlam 2023 is the final step in The Bloodline Saga. It started with Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell 2020, and has come a full circle.

For SummerSlam 2023, the bout will not be a standard WWE match. The Anoa’i Family members have settled on a Tribal Combat as the stipulation for the cousins' singles match.

One of the first rules of a Tribal Combat is to get permission from the Elders of the family. For Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, the Elders in question are Afa and Sika. The pair made up the infamous WWE tag team, The Wild Samoans. They took the promotion by storm during their time in WWE, especially in the late 70s and early 80s. Together, Afa and Sika held the World Tag Team Championship thrice in their careers.

Leati "Sika" Anoa'i is Roman Reigns’ father and Jey Uso’s grand uncle. Arthur "Afa" Anoa'i is Sika’s brother and Roman Reigns’ uncle. Jey and Jimmy are Roman’s first cousins, once removed.

Furthermore, Rikishi has also shown his support for Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso at SummerSlam 2023!

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Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso using Tribal Combat was the Elders’ suggestion

On the July 21st, 2023, edition of WWE SmackDown, Jey Uso revealed the stipulation of Tribal Combat. Roman Reigns, completely taken aback, asked if the Elders knew about it and Uso revealed it was their suggestion!

It so happens that the most crucial component in a Tribal Combat is honor. While the chances of interference would be high with any other type of WWE match for Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, this stpiulation will ensure there is no external interference from any other family member.

The only way to settle the dispute between Reigns and Uso is taking the honorable route within the Samoan Wrestling Legacy.

WWE hasn’t confirmed if any of the Elders or even WWE veteran Rikishi (Jey Uso’s father and Roman Reigns’ first cousin) will be present at the event or not. However, some are hopeful that the Hall of Famers will attend the event to provide a proper closure to the The Bloodline story, especially since Afa and Sika were the ones to crown Roman Reigns as The Tribal Chief at Hell in a Cell in 2020!

Furthermore, Afa, Sika, and Rikishi were supposed to be present for RAW is XXX for Roman Reigns’ Acknowledgement segment, but none of them could make the trip. WWE changed the segment to Sami Zayn’s Tribal Court trial due to their absence.