Solo Sikoa's vision for The Bloodline was supposed to be ruthless. Instead, his empire is rapidly falling apart. Just seven days out from Backlash, WWE quietly dropped a massive bomb on the wrestling world.

JC Mateo and Tonga Loa are gone. Their profiles were shifted to the alumni section of the official roster page early this morning. There was no fanfare or heartfelt video package. It was an unceremonious exit for two men expected to be the permanent muscle of SmackDown.

As WrestlingNews.co reported, the cuts are official. The MFT faction is down two members.

We all saw Jacob Fatu dismantle them on the April 24 episode of SmackDown. Fatu hit Mateo with a vicious pop-up Samoan Drop before driving Loa through the barricade. It looked like a standard television write-off to establish Fatu’s dominance ahead of the premium live event.

It turns out, that was a permanent exit wound. Both men are out of the company.

Let’s be brutally honest about this situation. WWE completely fumbled JC Mateo.

When Jeff Cobb debuted under the Mateo moniker at Backlash 2025, the ceiling felt limitless. He is an Olympic-level athlete who moves like a cruiserweight. He should have been throwing people around the ring and racking up dominant, three-minute squash match wins.

Instead, creative strapped him to the MFT faction. They made him just another guy in a black t-shirt standing behind Solo Sikoa.

It was pure booking malpractice. You do not sign a talent with that much explosive power and reduce him to taking hot tags in throwaway six-man matches. Mateo’s final televised bout was a Tag Team Championship challenge on April 20 that barely lasted 12 minutes.

He teamed with Tama Tonga against Damian Priest and R-Truth. Mateo deserved better than being a minor footnote in their title reign. He hit a beautiful rolling gutwrench suplex in that match that popped the crowd. The athleticism was always there.

WWE just refused to showcase it properly. They kept him on a tight leash.

Tonga Loa’s exit is less surprising, but it still heavily impacts the roster. This ends his second run with the company, spanning from 2024 to 2026. He did exactly what was asked of him. He took the pins and played the veteran heavy.

The strategic nightmare for Backlash

But the timing of this news is what truly matters. Backlash is exactly one week away on May 9.

The Bloodline is bleeding out. Roman Reigns is still dealing with the massive fallout of WrestleMania 41. Solo Sikoa is desperately trying to maintain control of a fractured locker room. And now, the MFT faction is drastically reduced in size.

This puts immense, almost unfair pressure on Jacob Fatu. He is the sole enforcer now. He has to carry the physical threat of this entire group on his back.

Heading into Backlash, the tactical dynamic has completely shifted.

Opponents know Solo Sikoa’s numbers game is depleted. You do not have to worry about Mateo hitting a Tour of the Islands behind the referee’s back. You do not have to worry about Loa interfering on the ring apron or sliding a steel chair into the ring.

It is just Solo, Tama Tonga, and Fatu. That is a dangerous trio, absolutely. But it is a very beatable trio.

This brings us to the actual matchups at Backlash. We are getting the post-WrestleMania rematches. The Bloodline is heavily involved in the card.

Solo Sikoa has to prove he is still a viable leader. Fatu has to prove he can do the job of three separate men.

If Solo loses at Backlash, the entire MFT experiment might be dead in the water. You cannot lose your muscle, lose your match, and still demand respect in the locker room.

The fallout of WrestleMania 41

The Bloodline civil war has been brewing for months. We saw the tension boil over at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last month. Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 was a disaster for the faction's long-term unity.

Cody Rhodes successfully defended the WWE Championship. The match was an absolute war. When the dust settled, the cracks in the Roman Reigns empire became impossible to ignore.

Reigns looked weak. Solo looked angry. The communication broke down completely.

Solo Sikoa thought he could usurp control of the family by brute force. That was the entire point of recruiting Mateo last year and bringing back Loa. It was a numbers racket designed to overwhelm Reigns with sheer volume.

Now those numbers are gone. The strategy has evaporated.

Fatu’s attack on April 24 was visually stunning. He ripped through Mateo and Loa with a ferocity we have not seen since the prime days of Umaga. He hit superkicks that sounded like gunshots. It made Fatu look like an unstoppable monster.

But from a strategic standpoint? It was promotional suicide.

Solo essentially authorized the kneecapping of his own army. You do not win wars by shooting your own soldiers right before a major premium live event. You need bodies to take bumps. You need guys to absorb finishers.

Look at the SmackDown locker room right now. They are circling like sharks in bloody water.

Kevin Owens and Randy Orton have been waiting for this exact moment. They have taken so many beatings from the MFT numbers game over the last calendar year. Orton had his shoulder separated during a backstage assault. Owens was put through the announce desk three separate times.

Now the odds are even. The playing field is level.

This is exactly why WWE's creative direction with modern factions is so incredibly frustrating. They build these massive groups. They drag out the storylines for 18 to 24 months. And then they dismantle them via corporate budget cuts rather than satisfying narrative payoffs.

Mateo should have turned on Solo in the ring. He should have hit him with a suplex that registered on the Richter scale. We should have gotten a massive singles match between the two on a pay-per-view.

Instead, he was simply written off television and handed a pink slip. It is a massive letdown for fans who invested their time in the MFT story. We bought the merchandise, we watched the segments, and we get zero payoff.

Prediction: The end of the MFT

So what actually happens on May 9?

Backlash is going to be incredibly violent. Without the extra bodies to run interference, Solo Sikoa is going to be forced into a straight fight. He cannot hide behind a wall of Samoan and Tongan muscle anymore.

Fatu will be the ultimate wild card in the match. He moves with terrifying speed for his size. He hits a springboard moonsault cleaner than guys half his weight. He will likely be tasked with taking out multiple targets at ringside to keep Solo safe.

He is going to hit big moves. He is going to break tables. He will likely leave someone needing medical attention.

But it will not be enough to secure the win.

My prediction? Solo Sikoa’s faction gets completely dismantled at Backlash. The sheer lack of Mateo and Loa will be the deciding factor in the closing moments of the bout.

The referee will inevitably take a bump. Solo will look to the entrance ramp for backup. He will scream for help. Nobody will come.

Fatu will be neutralized on the outside. I expect him to take a combination of finishers through the Spanish announce table. He will be taken out of the equation completely.

Solo will turn around right into a finishing sequence. He will eat a Stunner or an RKO. The pinfall will be academic. The referee will count the three, and the arena will erupt.

The MFT era is over. The releases of JC Mateo and Tonga Loa were not just routine roster cuts. They were the literal death knell for Solo Sikoa's tribal ambitions.

Roman Reigns is going to watch Backlash from his living room. He is going to see Solo fail. And he is going to smile.

The original Tribal Chief knows exactly how to play the long game. Solo tried to rush the throne, and now his empire is crumbling before it even truly began.