Roman Reigns returned to WWE SmackDown to bring order to The Bloodline. Instead, cracks continued to emerge between the members of WWE’s most dominant faction.

Friction between Jey Uso and Sami Zayn has escalated week after week. Reigns had seen enough entering Friday night and demanded the two parties settle their differences inside the ring. What fans witnessed, however, was increased divisiveness between the family and bold political moves by WWE’s master strategist. 

The latest edition of SmackDown also featured the surprise return of Emma, who accepted Ronda Rousey’s open challenge for the SmackDown women’s championship. Killer Kross, Shinsuke Nakamura and more superstars were in action on the penultimate episode of SmackDown before Crown Jewel.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Enterprise Center in St Louis, Missouri. 

Bad blood boils over in The Bloodline

Brawling Brutes (Butch and Ridge Holland) def. Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa via pinfall after Butch rolled up Zayn. The two teams fought a competitive match over the course of 15 minutes. Holland and Sikoa exchanged heavy blows while Butch and Zayn delivered a more technical showcase. In the closing moments, Butch set up for a moonsault, but Zayn was obviously playing possum. Jey yanked Zayn out of the ring and claimed to have protected him. An argument ensued with Zayn insisting that he was employing a strategy and Jey yelling that it didn’t appear that way. Sikoa tried to calm Jey down, but left the pair open to a bulldozing strike by Holland. Zayn slid back into the ring and fell directly into a roll-up by Butch for the three-count.

Jey continued to shout out at Zayn post-match with Sikoa standing in between them to protect Zayn. The typically composed Jimmy turned Jey around and got into his brother’s face, visibly frustrated. Reigns made his entrance before tensions could escalate further between the brothers. 

Reigns ordered Zayn and Jey to sort things out in the ring. Zayn took the pacifist route, insisting that he has no problem with Jey and apologizing if he did anything wrong. Jey was fired up, accusing Zayn of being a fake and a fraud. Jey said this was The Bloodline and there was no room for outsiders. Zayn insisted he was trying to make peace like “The Tribal Chief” demanded. Jey proclaimed, “I don’t give a damn what ‘The Tribal Chief’ says.”

Reigns was clearly unhappy by Jey undermining his authority. The hotheaded Jey postured up to his leader before Zayn interjected. Zayn attempted to protect Jey and help him out of hot water with the world champion. Reigns warned Jey that if he did not get his act together, Reigns would graduate Zayn from “Honorary Uce” to full-blooded Uce and christen him Sami Uso.

Backstage, Heyman advised Jey not to enter Reigns’ locker room and offered to speak with Reigns on Jey’s behalf. Later in the evening, Heyman found himself getting on Reigns’ bad side after suggesting that Paul could land a lucky punch on Reigns. Heyman promptly exited the room.

An A for effort. WWE creative continues to unravel The Bloodline storyline with patience and care. They clearly have a big payoff in mind and are adding subtle elements to misdirect viewers. Jimmy has been the stoic presence of the group so it was great to see him finally snap. Zayn continued to show his strategic brilliance by coming to Jey’s defense. Jey stood up to his boss and was promptly put back in his place. Sikoa continued to stand by Zayn. Reigns is startling to unravel with frustration. Really great stuff and a solid tag team match to open the show. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Maximum Male Models (Mace and Mansoor) via pinfall after landing the Midnight Hour on Mansoor.
• Liv Morgan blindsided Sonya Deville backstage leading to a pull-apart brawl.
• Braun Strowman cut a promo backstage hyping up his match against Omos at Crown Jewel.
• SmackDown women’s championship – Ronda Rousey (c) def. Emma via submission in an open challenge after locking in the armbar following an eye rake. This marked Emma’s return to WWE following her release in 2017.
• Shayna Bazler assaulted Natalya backstage after Natalya talked trash to Rousey.
• Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis) and Shinsuke Nakamura def. Legado del Fantasma (Cruz del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, & Santos Escobar) via pinfall after Nakamura landed the Kinshasa on del Toro.
• LA Knight proclaimed himself God’s gift to SmackDown following a tense interaction with Ricochet.
• Killer Kross def. Madcap Moss via pinfall after bludgeoning him with an elbow to the back of the head. Kross choked out Moss afterwards while calling McIntyre a coward and hypocrite.
• GUNTHER, aided by Imperium, blasted Rey Mysterio with a chop to the chest.
• Bray Wyatt promised the best version of himself before his terrifying alter-ego, Uncle Howdy, accused him of being a fraud.