After watching Jimmy Uso take a relentless beating so callused that he needed to be ambulance away to the nearest hospital, Roman Reigns sat contemplatively in his private locker room in the back of Madison Square Garden, at least until a frantic Paul Heyman ran to his side to inform the “Tribal Chief” of the news Michael Cole broke on SmackDown commentary.

“My ‘Tribal Chief,' Jey Uso is back here in Maddison Square Garden. And he's looking for you!” Paul Heyman informed Reigns.

Taking a beat, Reigns gave his official response.

“Well, he's not gonna have to look long because the ‘Tribal Chief' will be in the ring waiting for him.”

With the stage officially set, Reigns had one commercial break to make it back to the ring and see what his nephew had in store, but before he could see what “Main Event Jay Uso” had planned, the once-and-still “Tribal Chief” couldn't help but to ask to be acknowledged one more time by the sold-out audience.

“I didn't like your answer the first time, so we're gonna do this one more time: Madison Square and all of New York, acknowledge me!” Reigns demanded.

Cocky? You bet, but after keeping his reign alive with a combination of deception, trickery, and the incredible power of Solo Sikoa, Reigns was ready to indulge in the glory of his title and all of the benefits that come with it… at least until The Usos' music hit and Jey made his way down through the crowd to give his uncle a piece of his mind and, shockingly enough, the final verdict of the Tribal Court trial.

Jey Uso demands to see Roman Reigns in a trial by combat.

Walking down to the ring with a certified fire in his eye and an anger maybe never before seen in the WWE Universe – which, considering just how temperamental Jey has been over the past few years, is really saying something – Uso got his hands on the microphone and cut what very well may go down as the best promo of his entire career.

“It's like that? It's like that here!?” Jey asked. “You don't take Jimmy like that, this fool took Jimmy from me! Guess what? Trial of the Tribal Chief, you're looking at the judge, the jury, and the executioner right here! Hey, now I've gotsta gets you! This right here is trial by combat now Uce! I don't give a d**m about no brothers, no Wiseman, just me and you, one-on-one. Hey man, you'd better accept my challenge so I can whop your a** one more time!”

Now granted, SmackDown went off the air before Reigns could respond, but something tells me the show could have gone on for another hour, and Reigns would have kept his tongue tied and the microphone at his side. Why? Because after years of being a loyal soldier after being put in his place at Clash of Champions 2020 and then in an I Quit Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell 2020 – technically, Leakee also once beat Jey Uso in a match at FCW 2011, but that's a seriously deep cut for the hardest of hardcore fans – it would appear the younger Uso is looking to complete the challenge by also avenging his older brother, securing the sort of win that would elevate him from the main event to the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

Will Jey Uso be the man who unseats Roman Reigns after 1,042 days with the Universal Championship and counting? Will he be the leader who gets to wear the lei and stand atop the Blue Brand indefinitely as challengers like Cody Rhodes, Edge, and LA Knight look to take the next step in their respective journeys through the WWE Universe? Or will Reigns find a way to keep his strap by hook or by crook, as there seemingly hasn't been a “Tribal Chief” match that was truly one-on-one since the man formerly known as the “Big Dog” took up the moniker in 2021? Well, after spending hundreds of hours building this story up, building up the tensions between every member of The Bloodline, and most importantly of all, building up potential challengers like Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, who felt like they had a chance but never really did, maybe the man to put Reigns down is the same one who gave him his first pinfall loss this decade; a tag team specialist who has experienced more up and downs in this storyline than anyone else and would get a payoff three years in the making with the 1-2-3.