Big Name In WWE's Bloodline Story Reportedly Backstage At SmackDown Following Hiatus

One of the key creative figures in the Bloodline storyline has reportedly returned to "WWE SmackDown" after a brief hiatus for personal reasons, just in time to take the "Original Bloodline vs. New Bloodline" angle to fruition on Friday's double taping.

The main producer of the Bloodline storyline, Michael "P.S." Hayes, reportedly took a leave of absence from the company back at the beginning of November, but according to Fightful Select, Hayes is now back in the fold ahead of Survivor Series: WarGames. Fightful reports Hayes immediately resumed work on the Bloodline story and has a "heavy number of producer assignments" for the tapings. While he was absent, Bronson Reed was added to the new Bloodline's WarGames team, while the original Bloodline reunited with each other and "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn but are still hunting for a fifth member for their team. The OG Bloodline had been attempting to add former World Heavyweight Champion — and Roman Reigns' former SHIELD stablemate Seth Rollins — to their team, but Rollins has thus far shot them down. Last week's "SmackDown" ended with Reigns attempting to get in contact with "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman, but Heyman's phone appeared to be disconnected.

In addition to Hayes being on a leave of absence from the company for a few weeks, WWE official Bruce Prichard is also absent from the company and is said to be dealing with a family emergency. WWE higher-ups said the absences did not represent anything changing behind the scenes.