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Roman Reigns Says Sami Zayn Has Been Taken In By The Anoa'i Family In Real Life

Sami Zayn's on-screen role as 'Honorary Uce' is no longer just a nickname, as Roman Reigns has revealed Zayn is treated as family outside of the ring too.
Joe Baiamonte|
WWE.com

Sami Zayn's role as an 'Honorary Uce' in the OG Bloodline is now no longer just an on-screen nickname, but a real life situation as well.

The Underdog from the Underground earned the moniker after several months working to prove himself to Roman Reigns in 2022.

Despite not being an actual member of the Anoa'i family, Zayn was eventually welcomed as an 'Honorary Uce' by Reigns and The Usos after taking out Kevin Owens to ensure The Bloodline emerged victorious from War Games at Survivor Series '22.

Of course, a couple of months later, Zayn would rejoin Owens' side at the 2023 Royal Rumble in one of the most memorable angles in recent years. This would lead to a failed WWE Title shot against Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Montreal and a historic main event against The Usos at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.

Fast forward two years, however, and Zayn is again onside with The OG Bloodline, feeling Ucey once more after Reigns returned in the summer of 2024 to wage war against Solo Sikoa's new Bloodline. In fact, Zayn is even featured as part of the family in the latest episode of Stephanie McMahon's 'Stephanie's Places'.

Aboard a yacht with Reigns, The Usos, Solo 'Yokozuna' Sikoa (how can you not always mention his middle name when it's YOKOZUNA?), Jacob Fatu et al, Stephanie poses the question to Sami as to how the storyline came to be with him becoming involved with The Bloodline saga.

"We'd traveled the roads together for many years, Roman and then the twins. Since I came to WWE, so that would be 2013, 2014. We got along famously from the jump and I had this idea for a story where I kinda asked like 'hey what if you let me hang around, y'know? I can be part of the team.'"
Sami Zayn

Reigns then steps in to explain that, after creating so much magic on WWE television and riding the roads together, Zayn has now been taken in by the Anoa'i family in real life.

"My dad and my uncle, a lot of our family consider them to be like shepherds. They always had a flock, they always had people that they mentoring or helping or becoming chosen family and we've kind of done that with you."

No, YOU'RE crying.

The Original Bloodline
WWE.com

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Joe Baiamonte
JOE BAIAMONTE

Joe Baiamonte is a contributing writer for The Takedown On SI, joining the team in April, 2025. Joe has been covering professional wrestling, sports and entertainment for over a decade, serving as editor at SPORTbible between 2014 and 2018 - where he helped the team to three consecutive Football Blogging Awards - and as head of sport at Unilad. Joe has written for numerous outlets in the United Kingdom and United States, including The Sportsman, Sporf, Pubity, GiveMeSport and The Sportster, interviewing the likes of Neymar, Harry Kane, Ruud Gullit, Triple H, Ric Flair, Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, Rey Mysterio, Aaron Boone, Alex Cora, Chris Sale and Chase Uttley. He has a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism and Broadcasting from the University of Salford and currently resides in Manchester, England, having been raised just down the road in Burnley. He briefly moved to Croatia with his family after the birth of his son, where he spent an entire summer writing on the beach and eating squid.

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