The battle between The Bloodline’s Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu will proceed at WWE Clash In Italy as the previous raises up his World Heavyweight Championship in Tribal Combat. Before the 2 prepare for his or her match where anything goes, though, they kept the chaos contained on “WWE Raw,” with Fatu even extending his hand for “The OTC” to shake.
For WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, that moment, in addition to the mutual brow touch that followed, particularly stood out because it helped him, and sure fans, higher understand the importance of Tribal Combat.
“I f***ing loved it because now Tribal Combat has some meaning,” Ray said on “Busted Open Radio.” “We’re family. We’re blood, but we’re about to kill one another. But before we kill one another, we’ll show one another an indication of respect for many who got here before us and set the principles for Tribal Combat. So with all of the animosity between Jacob and all the animosity with Roman and the Tongan Death Grip and every part that they said and done, how can we go into this? We go into this with a handshake, with our heads together as family. Roman together with his eyes closed, as if he was praying in that moment. That put Tribal Combat into perspective for me and what it meant.”
Reigns has competed in Tribal Combat twice before, firstly against his cousin Jey Uso at WWE SummerSlam 2023. In January 2025, Reigns then faced Solo Sikoa, one other cousin, on the Netflix premiere of “Raw” under the identical stipulation. In each cases, the winner earned the best to be called “The Head of The Table.” The identical condition will remain in effect for the upcoming one at Clash In Italy, along with Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship being at stake.
All Signs Point To Roman Reigns Defeating Jacob Fatu At Clash In Italy
Elsewhere of their encounter on “Raw,” Fatu noted that whatever the consequence on the upcoming PLE, he’d consider himself a winner. Should he defeat Reigns, he’d walk out of Clash In Italy with a world title and the status as The Bloodline’s leader. Should Reigns pin or submit him, Fatu identified that he’d still have a job with WWE, so due to this fact nothing would change.
Within the eyes of Bully Ray, Fatu’s insistence on the match being a “win-win” served as a transparent indicator that he would ultimately fall in line to Reigns on the international premium live event.
“Feels like Jacob is already making excuses for the possible loss. Hedging his bet,” Ray said. “… the story with Jacob and Roman feels that much thicker. It appears like there’s so rather more on the road. It feels more like two warriors with Jacob and Roman than it felt like with Jey and Roman. And that is why I don’t love Jacob hedging his bet.”
Given his verbiage, Fatu gave off the impression to Ray that he actually doubts himself, which in turn, led Ray to doubt Fatu as well. As such, Ray is not convinced that Fatu leaves Clash In Italy as the brand new World Heavyweight Champion.
“Return to the primary time that Jacob ever told Roman what that belt means, the family, and the food on the table. Jacob made us consider that championship was his salvation not due to the prestige, but the cash it brought in so he could maintain his seven children,” Ray said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Possibly I bit off just a little bit greater than I can chew, and if I lose, I still win because I ain’t going nowhere. At the least I’m not getting fired.'”
Earlier this month, Fatu lost to Reigns in controversial fashion at WWE Backlash. Afterward, he cinched within the Tongan Death Grip, much to the dismay of WWE officials.
For those who use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “Busted Open Radio“ with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.