Photo credit: WWE.comRoman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens by pinfall at the 2023 Royal Rumble on Saturday to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The post-match saw The Usos come out and punish KO further while Sami Zayn watched.
After being handcuffed to the ropes and being on the receiving end of a superkick party by The Usos, Reigns attempted to hit Owens with a chair before Zayn stepped in to stop him.
The leader of The Bloodline responded by handing the chair to The Honorary Uce and telling him to hit Owens. He resisted before eventually hitting The Tribal Chief in the back, prompting Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa to attack him.
WWE @WWEAN HONORARY UCE NO MORE!<a href="https://twitter.com/SamiZayn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SamiZayn</a> has just betrayed <a href="https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWERomanReigns</a> and the entire Bloodline at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoyalRumble?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoyalRumble</a>! <a href="https://t.co/ZtzAF1xGGD">pic.twitter.com/ZtzAF1xGGD</a>
Jey, who called Sami his brother on Monday's episode of Raw, didn't get involved in the beating and walked out on his family.
Owens has long been a thorn in Reigns' side, dating back to the 2021 Royal Rumble when he nearly beat The Tribal Chief for the Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing match.
Over the past few months, though, The Tribal Chief has grown increasingly frustrated with KO due to the belief that he was trying to turn Zayn against The Bloodline.
At Survivor Series in November, the group defeated an Owens-led team in a WarGames match due in large part to Zayn declaring his loyalty to the heel faction and hitting KO with a low blow.
Despite the loss, The Prizefighter continued to stick his nose in The Bloodline's affairs, and there were times when Zayn seemed conflicted, which didn't sit well with Reigns.
In an effort to eradicate KO's threat once and for all, the group leader set up a tag team match for the final SmackDown of 2022, pitting him and Zayn against Owens and a partner of his choice, which ended up being John Cena.
Zayn took the pinfall loss for his team, which infuriated Reigns since The Honorary Uce had guaranteed victory going into the match.
The Tribal Chief eventually apologized for his reaction and gave Zayn an opportunity to redeem himself by having him face Owens on the Jan. 13 edition of SmackDown.
The Master Strategist seemed to be on the verge of defeating Owens when The Usos and Sikoa interfered by attacking KO. Zayn looked confused and possibly even upset by the turn of events as he watched while his former friend was put through the announce table.
While Reigns entered the Royal Rumble PPV as the favorite to beat Owens and extend his nearly 900-day title run, questions about Zayn's allegiances created at least some doubt.
The Tribal Chief did manage to retain, but the post-match events have left many more chapters of the Reigns-Zayn-Owens story to be told.
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