WWE WrestleMania 39: How a Samoan dynasty became the greatest wrestling family of all time

ROMAN REIGNS WAS 4 years old, playing on the side of his family's home in Pensacola, Florida. It was a sunny day in 1989.

Unexpectedly, at least to Reigns, a giant RV pulled up in front of the house. From the vehicle came Reigns' first cousin, Solofa Fatu Jr., who would become better known as Rikishi. Following Fatu were two twin boys, around the same age as Reigns.

Reigns was immediately suspicious. So he did the first thing that popped into his 4-year-old mind. He extended his arm, flexed his wrist and gave them the middle finger.

«I flipped them off,» Reigns told ESPN with a laugh. «I was like, 'I'm so much smarter than these guys, they don't even know what this means.'»

Perhaps it's no surprise to anyone following WWE for the past three years that Reigns' first reaction to the sight of his cousins, who perform under the names Jey and Jimmy Uso, was passive aggression.

Since 2020, the three of them — dubbed The Bloodline — have been involved in one of the most compelling storylines in the history of professional wrestling, one that has made a mark in television ratings and at the box office. Reigns, in his role as Undisputed WWE Universal champion and «Tribal Chief» of the family, has ruled with an iron fist, mixing feigned affection for The Usos with a steady diet of manipulation and gaslighting.

The 37-year-old Reigns, closing in on 1,000 days with the pair of belts, will headline his third consecutive WrestleMania on Sunday in Los Angeles, defending his titles against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39. The Usos, the undisputed WWE tag team champions, will put their titles up against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens this weekend at SoFi Stadium.

There is no Bloodline story, however, without the real-life Anoa'i, Fatu and