Michael Cole praises The Bloodline.
Since Roman Reigns returned to WWE at SummerSlam 2020, his subsequent alliance with Paul Heyman led to the formation of The Bloodline, as Reigns reunited with The Usos, and the trio has dominated WWE ever since. Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa later joined the group at different points, though Zayn turned on the stable at WWE Royal Rumble 2023 to start a feud with his former allies. All the while, the storyline has been praised as one of the best programs in all of wrestling, and every member of it has been praused for their remarkble character work.
Speaking with Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media Podcast, Cole discussed the storyline and shared his belief that it deserves to win an Emmy, or at least be nominated for one. He stated that everyone involved deserved to be recognized given the unique accomplishment of producing a compelling storyline every week for nearly three years.
“It’s incredible. This story is the best story that I’ve been involved in for 26 years. Bar none, by far, for so many different reasons. When I made that comment about the story should win an Emmy, I got laughed at by a lot of people. I’ll say it again today, that this story deserves an Emmy, or at least a nomination. We’re wrestling, we’re sports entertainment. We’re a joke to a lot of people within the Hollywood world. But it’s about time that the work that we do in our company is recognized in that level. We’re doing live episodic television 52 weeks a year. We’re not doing a nine-episode ‘Last of Us’, which now goes on hiatus for a year-and-half or two years until they do their next nine episodes. We’re doing compelling episodic television every single week. So every one from Paul Levesque to the people on the creative writing team to the superstars/actors who are involved, they all deserve recognition for this because this has be an incredible story that’s been going on for almost three years. That’s 52 weeks a year for three years we have delivered compelling television that hasn’t gotten boring, that has had twists and turns that you can put up with any television show on the planet right now," Cole said.
Cole continued by turning his attention to WrestleMania 39 and noting that no one knows how the story will end. He then praised every member of the storyline, as he stated that Reigns is operating at a level that he has never seen before. Cole also highlighted The Usos by calling them two of the best actors in the world, and he stated that the storyline has elevated Owens and Zayn.
"People to this day, come Sunday night, still don’t know how this is going to end. They don’t. You can make an argument for both Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes to win that match on Sunday. So we still don’t know how it’s going to end. Then you look at the players involved. Roman Reigns is operating on a level that I’ve never seen anyone in the history of the company operate at, from a standpoint of his in-ring work to his acting ability. Paul Heyman is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, not only in our business but in entertainment in general. The Bloodline, Jimmy and Jey Uso, have come out of their shells and become two of the best actors in the world today. Solo Sikoa, the new part of the family, is playing the stoic enforcer perfectly. Then you’ve got Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who have been on the peripheral and now they’re moving into the main event of this Bloodline story. Those guys’ careers have just taken off to a new level. Everyone that’s involved in this program has played their part to an absolute T, and I don’t know how you could do it any better," Cole said.
In the same interview, Cole described how he intends to step away from commentary before he slips. Check out his comments here.
Kevin Owens recently praised Sami Zayn and The Usos. Click here to see what he had to say.
Paul Heyman previously detailed the creative process of The Bloodline storyline. Check out his comments here.
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