Roman Reigns is slowly creeping back to WWE TV and sources indicate that he is not going to come back as the Tribal Chief. According to WrestleVotes, WWE is planning to rebrand him as OTC1 Original Tribal Chief One or Tribal Chief One when he returns through the curtain.
It is a clever step. Because Reigns has been out of action since April, the day after WrestleMania 41, Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Paul Heyman, and Bronson Reed have been running amok and even managed to ambush Reigns in a backstage attack. Renaming him with a more precise, theme-based name will remind the viewers that Reigns is not just a competitor; he is the man who created the Bloodline.
Reigniting the power dynamic
With Solo Sikoa now in charge of the Bloodline in the absence of Reigns, WWE has left behind a power vacuum that can be filled by a grand entrance. Not only is OTC1 re-entry a name change but it is an expression. It is an indication that he is not only going back to wrestling but also to take back what he had begun with. And since SummerSlam is scheduled to take place on August 2-3 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, it all leads to that being the venue of his comeback.
The point here is that what WWE would like to make clear is that Solo is not the boss; he is merely another offshoot in the tribe. Reigns with his new character will become the focus of all that the Bloodline was all about, and it is important to note that he started it all.
It is not just a swagger adjustment, but a storytelling upgrade. The OTC and the 1 that got added to it make him feel like he was an original and not a version of many. It is in tandem with how fans have been chanting OTC throughout the year. Not only does it make Reigns a returning champion, but it is also the unquestionable source of all the Bloodline is.
And when WWE smartly writes this, the rebrand gives more substance to the eventual confrontation of Reigns and the group led by Rollins, as Heyman has already changed sides. It is to be expected that there will be tension, betrayal and possibly even a reformed Bloodline that answers to the command of Reigns.