Where Does Roman Reigns, Bloodline Storyline Rank Among All-Time Great WWE Angles?

WWE history is made up of some of the most epic storytelling in pro wrestling.

It has produced years-long programs that have pitted two individuals against each other, featured best friends become sworn enemies and sibling rivalries tear families apart.

It is currently home to an engrossing program featuring the The Bloodline's Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn and the Usos. It is the best storyline of the last decade, but where does it rank among the greatest in company history?

Chris Jericho tried to tell us that Shawn Michaels would stoop to any low to win a match, but no one wanted to listen. Ol' HBK was everyone's favorite, a good man fresh off of retiring his childhood idol at WrestleMania 24. He would never deceive anyone.

And then he did, scoring an underhanded victory over Batista at Backlash 2008.

Dismayed. Jericho took it out on his own childhood hero, throwing Michaels face-first through the Jeri-Tron and igniting a rivalry that would rapidly become one of the best of the 2000s.

It became an intensely personal feud, with Jericho attempting to end the career of Michaels by damaging his eye. He would sink even lower, throwing a punch at Michaels that, instead, struck HBK's wife, Rebecca.

The depravity of his promos, the darker edge and personality that he adopted led to Jericho developing one of the great heel personas of the new Millennium and Michaels being as sympathetic as ever.

Their matches, concluding with a brilliant Ladder Match at the No Mercy pay-per-view, were appropriately physical and violent. They captivated audiences, strengthened what were already iconic careers and in the process, created one of the great stories in WWE history.

Paul Bearer's shocking betrayal of The Undertaker in 1996 set in motion a rivalry between them that would escalate the following summer with the revelation by the former that Kane, The Phenom's long-believed deceased brother, was still alive.

Flash forward to October of 1997 and Bearer proved it, leading the Big Red Machine to the squared circle. Kane ripped the door off the Hell in a Cell structure, stood face-to-face with an Undertaker in utter disbelief, and proceeded to deliver a Tombstone piledriver.

No matter how often Kane threatened Undertaker or physically provoked him, The Deadman stayed true to the promise he made his mother and father, refusing to fight his brother. After a momentary alliance, another betrayal and attempted burning of Undertaker was the proverbial final straw.

Undertaker accepted a match against Kane at WrestleMania and defeated him, both not before needing three Tombstones to do so.

The year-long storytelling was as epic a piece as anything WWE and the creative forces at work had ever accomplished. It made use of the supernatural elements of the characters while telling a very centered family feud story that was easy to understand and left fans waiting to see what would come next.

The answer? Years of messy storytelling that retconned some of what we knew and added elements we wish we never had hurt the original impact of the program and knocked it a spot or two down on this list.

Still, that original story and the execution of it by its creators and the performers themselves was simply phenomenal and really proved what can be accomplished with a little patience, forethought and investment by everyone.

Is there a more underrated storyline in WWE history than Mick Foley's journey from masked madman to heavyweight champion?

There are individual moments typically touted as some of the best and most memorable in WWE history but when one looks at the overarching story of the Hall of Famer, it is as good as any the company has ever produced.

Beginning with a series of pre-taped interviews with Jim Ross, Mankind gave fans a look behind the mask, at the man underneath the scars and scabs. He was likable, an adjective few would have used to describe the Mankind character previously. He was a misunderstood monster, the wrestling equivalent to Frankenstein.

Even as he snapped and applied the Mandible Claw to Good Ol' JR, fans felt as though they had a better understanding and respect for Mankind than ever before.

Then came the emergence of Dude Love and a partnership with Steve Austin that was, ultimately, revealed to be one-sided. Austin never cared about Mick Foley, the man behind the gimmick. He was a nuisance, at best.

Ditto Vince McMahon, who emerged as the latest associate to Foley in the summer and fall of 1998. He manipulated him, used him as a pawn in his war with Austin and dumped him the minute he got the corporate champion that he wanted in The Rock.

The people did not give up on Foley, though. They loved his passion for pro wrestling, his oddball personality (or personalities) and his willingness to put his body on the line in the name of entertaining them. More importantly, they simply loved him.

That is why his victory over the Rock on the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw was that much more special. Yes, the audience erupted for Austin's arrival and ass-kicking of The Corporation but the eruption for Foley's victory and the realization of his childhood dream was equally as special.

It was the culmination of a story that began over a year and a half earlier and gave fans one of the true feel-good moments in wrestling. Not because it was scripted or expected, but because it involved a character, and man behind it, that they genuinely cared for.

There are a lot flashier stars on this list, whose stories have been told ad nausea, but Foley's journey from those segments in the summer of 1997 through that first title victory, was special.

Take an egotistical, megalomaniacal businessman, book him opposite an anti-authority rebel with a penchant for raising hell and drinking beer, and the result is pure magic.

The Attitude Era saw the rise of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to the top of the industry, the undisputed most popular star in professional wrestling. He was a finger-flipping badass who would not be told what to do by anyone, most of whom the self-serving Chairman of the Board who did not see the bald-headed Texas Rattlesnake as the face of his company.

At the height of their rivalry, Austin and McMahon would have millions of fans tuning in to see how the former would antagonize the latter and how the the boss would respond. Their rivalry created magical moments and historic television ratings.

Most importantly, the storyline has proven timeless, with Austin and McMahon rekindling their rivalry as late as WrestleMania 38, when Stone Cold delivered an ugly stunner to the Chairman.

The chemistry was there, the simplicity of the story captivated fans and the understanding of what the audience wanted (and still does) helped establish their feud as one of the best in the history of pro wrestling, not just WWE.

In 1988, Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage formed a team known as The Mega Powers. Together, they would combat heels like "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Andre the Giant, Big Boss Man and Akeem. They were immensely popular, a seemingly unbeatable tandem of mega stars the likes of which that era of WWE would never see again.

Until ego and paranoia got in the way.

Savage repeatedly accused Hogan of having lust in his eyes for Miss Elizabeth, taking exception to how close The Hulkster and his manager had become. When Hogan tended to a fallen Elizabeth, leaving Savage to fend for himself against the massive Boss Man and Akeem, the team reached its breaking point.

Savage confronted Hogan backstage, than sneak attacked him, setting up a massive WrestleMania V main event.

The storyline began a year earlier with Hogan saving Savage from a beatdown and culminated a year later on the grandest stage known to wrestling. It was the first truly great example of long-term storytelling in WWE and a program that helped elevate Savage to the top of the industry.

It gripped professional wrestling and further established the company as the preeminent in the industry.

We have seen friends become enemies (Jericho and Kevin Owens, I'm looking at you) but few have done it on the scale or to the success of The Mega Powers.

"Under no circumstances will I ever, absolutely not ever, fight my brother."

It was as definitive a statement as Bret Hart could make when faced with the prospect of battling younger brother Owen in late 1993 amid a jealous outburst by the youngest of the Hart kids.

Owen had been dismayed at the 1993 Survivor Series, the only of the Hart brothers to be eliminated from their tag team match. He took out of his frustrations on Bret, claiming he was tired of living in the shadow of his older brother. The Hitman was, after all, a former world champion and the best there is, was and ever will be.

A reunion over the holidays and an opportunity to dethrone The Quebecers for the tag titles brought the siblings back together, until perceived selfishness on Bret's part as he gutted through a knee injury en route to a referee stoppage infuriated Owen.

The shocking betrayal of Bret led to Owen becoming the biggest heel in the company and set up a showdown between the brothers at WrestleMania X, won by the younger sibling. Bret had the last laugh, though, celebrating another WWE Championship victory by night's end as his brother watched from the aisle.

The two would feud over the rest of 1994, with Owen recruiting Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart as support. In November, he tearfully convinced his mother, Martha, to throw the towel in on behalf of Bret, ending his title reign.

They would battle countless times, their matches often the best thing on any show by far.

The believability of it all and, again, the simplicity of it helped the audience invest emotionally in what played out before them. It strengthened Bret's status as the most beloved babyface in the company and established Owen as a bona fide main event star at a time when WWE desperately needed one.

It also netted some of the best matches of the decade.

There have been others with bigger stars but one would be hard-pressed to find a story that ran as long as it, produced the in-ring content to go along with the storytelling, and made both men involved better than they were before it.

Pro wrestling is oftentimes confused for being a male soap opera but the drama involved in the Hart family feud fit the bill, in the best way imaginable, and remains some of the best work of either Bret or Owen's acclaimed careers.

The Bloodline storyline is the greatest storyline in WWE history.

That is saying a lot given the others on this list, not to mention those that were left off of it. There have been icons and legends of bygone eras who have been responsible for gripping the audience, but few stories have encompassed the time and featured the intricate details that the ongoing Bloodline saga has.

From Reigns returning with a new attitude as The Tribal Chief in August 2020, to an intensely personal feud that saw him establish himself as the unquestioned Head of the Table during a feud with cousin Jey Uso, it started hot and featured some of the best work of either man's careers.

Jey's "which one are you?" line in regards to fans' reactions to him and brother Jimmy was as impactful a line as any.

Jimmy's return and the dominance over WWE that Reigns and The Usos, led by the great Paul Heyman, established helped create an all-time-great heel faction that rivals those of the past.

Few could have imagined the impact that the seemingly short-term addition of Sami Zayn would have. What started as a few silly backstage segments transformed into a sprawling, epic second chapter that saw him win over Jimmy and Jey, potentially loosening the iron grip Reigns had on them.

Zayn, intentionally or not, sowed division within the group that became apparent when Jey walked out rather than participate in the beatdown of his friend at the conclusion of the Royal Rumble.

Sprinkle in some Kevin Owens here, Drew McIntyre there and even a little Solo Sikoa to really heighten the personality and you have a story that built around the ongoing feuds that had been crafted for Reigns since last summer.

And it is not over.

Perhaps that is the biggest testament to all involved. The story will write its latest chapter on Saturday at Elimination Chamber but there is infinite potential for it to extend beyond that, with the continuation of Zayn's plight, the uncertainty surrounding Jey and the ultimate downfall of The Tribal Chief.

Modern times suggest and shorter attention span but fans have welcomed the epic tale of the dominant empire, fractured by the ultimate outsider.