A huge announcement was made on SmackDown this week

Roman Reigns has withdrawn from a major WWE event at the last second and Paul Heyman was there to announce it on WWE SmackDown. In a huge announcement, Heyman explained the reasoning behind the decision.

Before the WWE Draft officially began, Kayla Braxton caught up backstage with Paul Heyman, asking him about the rumors surrounding The Tribal Chief and his status in the WWE Draft.

In a surprising move, Paul Heyman revealed that Reigns voluntarily withdrew from the WWE Draft and explained why:

“Let me clarify that for you. These are not rumors regarding your Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Tribal Chief has voluntarily withdrawn from eligibility for the WWE Draft. This is not a negative, this is a positive. Who built SmackDown since the pandemic? Roman Reigns. Who is the biggest star in the entire industry? Why would he hog the Number One draft pick spotlight when he is not returning in the immediate future? Read into my words, Kayla. That is not what a real Tribal Chief would do.”

This only leads to further speculation about where he might be going next. Reigns has been a SmackDown Superstar for a whopping 5 years now – which is a significant part of his career.

It’s possible that WWE is simply undecided on where to send him. Since the big $500 Million/Year Netflix deal will be kicking off in January 2025, it’s also possible that there is a big consideration to put Reigns back on WWE RAW.

It’s going to be interesting to see where he lands when he makes his big return.

Roman Reigns kicked out of the Bloodline; WWE appears to confirm it

The star has been absent on WWE TV for some time now

Roman Reigns may no longer be a part of The Bloodline, or so it appears after this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown.

At WrestleMania 40, Roman Reigns finally lost his Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes, after the main event on Night Two. It was the loss that fans had been waiting for, but no one saw coming. He has since stepped away from regular appearances in the company and has put out an update saying that he was getting ready and training to return.

When he will return is anyone’s guess.

Kicking off WWE SmackDown, Paul Heyman announced that Roman Reigns was no longer a part of the Draft. He was not eligible to be drafted and would be one of the protected picks, meaning he stays on SmackDown at this time.

However, it was what was said during The Bloodline being drafted that appeared to confirm that WWE was no longer a part of the group. When Solo Sikoa, MFT Tama Tonga, and Paul Heyman were drafted to SmackDown during the show, Reigns was not mentioned. However, instead of only mentioning their names, they were called The Bloodline. As a group, they have been led so far by Reigns.

The way WWE mentioned The Bloodline while leaving out Reigns, appears to confirm that they are thinking of the group without him in it. It seems that he has been kicked out of the group. Sikoa, Tonga, and Heyman as a group are being referred to as The Bloodline, completely leaving out Roman Reigns.

Fans will have to wait and see what this means for the time being, as Reigns will likely address it when he returns.

Roman Reigns had already been kicked out as the Tribal Chief from The Bloodline

While Paul Heyman appears to be living in denial and still addresses Reigns as The Tribal Chief, Tama Tonga has been referring to Solo Sikoa by that name since arriving.

Sikoa took that name up and while he’s not come out and said it, Reigns is no longer recognized as the chief by either of them.

Again, Reigns has not addressed this yet and his response will be interesting for when he finally returns to WWE.