I'm A Big WWE Fan, But As A Person Of Color, One Thing Bothers Me About The Way The Bloodline Is Talked About

When it comes to the WWE, and possibly all of pro wrestling (especially in the United States), it’s entirely likely that no story is more important or far-reaching than that of the Bloodline. What began several years ago as the dominance of now-former Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns and his cousins has turned into the tale of a family rift which has touched basically every other story in the promotion, and continues to do so.

While this has made every Raw, Smackdown and upcoming WWE event must-see viewing for fans like myself, as a person of color, there is one thing that keeps bothering me about the way the Bloodline is talked about.

First, I Am A Big WWE Fan And Love The Bloodline Story

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon the wild events of Wrestlemania 40 that I became a huge fan of sports entertainment. Now, I’ve binged so many hours of WWE content that, were I to add them all up, I’m sure it would garner me some sort of world record. Part of the reason for this obsession is definitely the story of the Bloodline.

Not only has this soap opera-like storyline touched historic former champ Reigns and others in his (actual) family like Main Event Jey Uso and “Big Jim” Jimmy Uso, but other major WWE wrestlers like current champ Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, CM Punk, the ever-fashionable Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and even Dwayne Johnson (despite The Rock’s now, somewhat confusing, position in all of this) continue to either be directly involved or deal with the effects of their proximity to the intriguing story. So, yeah, y’all. I fucking love the Bloodline and what the WWE is doing right now. I’m hooked!

However, I’m Very Bothered By How The New Bloodline Are Often Called “Savages”

The New Bloodline saw Solo Sikoa (another of Reigns’ cousins) break off from the group after Reigns lost his title, which led to him bringing in Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and the Somoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu, to back him up and help ensure he stayed feared by the roster and in power.

They’re far meaner than the OTC Bloodline, and now, with Sikoa having lost to Reigns and seemingly given up for the time being, Tonga and Fatu (especially) are running rampant and just destroying wrestlers whenever possible. I get that the whole idea is for them to be unstoppable monsters, but every time one of the commentators calls them “savages” my whole Black woman body seizes up.

Why? Mainly because there are white heels in the WWE and when they do something horrible/despicable/terrifying, the first word used to describe them is never “savage.” Plus, this is a word that white people have historically used to describe people of color as less than human and therefore worthy of being denied basic rights.

So, while Samoans and Tongans are “savage” for beating someone until they bleed from their eyeballs, a white dude can be cruel, a monster or even evil, but almost never so bad that he’s not even human. (Not to mention that the term "monster" is currently applied to a white face, Braun Strowman)

I know this idea of Samoans, in particular, who wrestle being called and/or seen like this is an idea that goes way back, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Specifically, it makes it seem that there are possibly some un-resolved racial biases at play whenever the commentary team lobs a “savage” the way of Fatu, Tonga or the others. Otherwise when McIntyre went up against Punk throughout 2024, they would have used the same word for him all the time, but they didn’t.

Listen, I don’t know what the behind-the-scenes talk about any of this might have been. For all I know Fatu and others were asked if they were OK with being called “savages” on a weekly basis and they’re fine with it. To give the commentary team some credit, I’ve never heard them refer to other heels of color this way, so it might truly have been decided as a basically New Bloodline-only thing.

All I really want is for some thought to go into things like this, and for there to be an awareness that maybe just because something is tradition, doesn’t mean that it’s the only or the best way to do things.