Paul Heyman Refuses To Acknowledge Solo Sikoa, Goes Through Announce Table On WWE SmackDown

The new Solo Sikoa-led Bloodline bookended tonight's "WWE SmackDown," as Solo Sikoa awaited his official annointment as "The Tribal Chief," "Head of the Table," et al in an "Acknowledgment Ceremony." With WWE Undisputed World Champion Cody Rhodes and his allies Randy Orton and Kevin Owens excused early on in tonight's show, there wasn't much left to stand in the way of Sikoa accepting the ceremonial ula fala, but the Madison Square Garden crowd seemed to either anticipate a betrayal from the latest Bloodline inductee, Jacob Fatu, or perhaps a return from Roman Reigns or The Rock. Neither happened in the end, and ultimately, it was Paul Heyman as the lone resistor, with "The Wiseman" taking the beating of a lifetime as a result.

Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Heyman all hit the ring together, and the group then introduced Fatu as its latest official member with a proper introduction, TitanTron, music, graphics and all. All of Tonga, Loa, and Fatu acknowledged Sikoa as their new Tribal Chief, but when it was Heyman's turn, he hesitated, buried his head, told Sikoa that he loved him, but then admitted that he did not acknowledge him in assuming Reigns' previous position.

At that point, things only got exponentially worse for Heyman, with Sikoa nailing his former "Wiseman" with the Samoan Spike, then ordering Fatu to hammer him with a diving headbutt. As the crowd roared "We want Roman!" Fatu then led the way in a Triple Powerbomb through the announce desk, with an assist from Tonga and Loa, and down went Heyman, with The New Bloodline raising "The Ones" as the show went off the air.