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Before we get started, a few notable updates to go over:
•WWE Smackdown officially expands to a three-hour timeslot on the USA Network beginning tonight This marks a new record for WWE, having both of its main programs be three hours long. Not counting NXT, which has increasingly been pushed as a third brand, this means WWE is airing the equivalent of six hours of primetime TV per week. To put that in perspective, WWE puts on more primetime content than a season of Game Of Thrones in just three weeks (not including ads).
•Continuing WWE’s talent exchange program with Noah from 2024, Omos made his debut for the Japanese promotion as the surprise tag partner of Jack Morris. Following their match, the two were crowned the new GHC Tag Team Champions. Omos has made increasingly few appearances on WWE television, despite his steady presence on the house show circuit. Noah executives had apparently been interested in Omos for years, and the Nigerian Giant is a self-professed lover of Japanese culture, so this partnership feels like a match made in heaven. Long may it last.
Happy 2025, everybody! Apparently Triple H’s new year’s resolution was to finally put some respect on the Friday Night Smackdown tag team division, as a huge chunk of last week’s episode was spent setting up a tangled web of rivalries (both in and out of the title scene). And the overall product felt much stronger as a result.
While the longevity of your average wrestler has increased due to better physical working conditions and reduced schedules, this has often led to a promotion’s main event scene feeling clogged up. And WWE is no exception. The vast majority of Friday Night Smackdown’s main eventers debuted with the company 6—8 years ago. While they’re not old-timers by any means, I’ve definitely noticed a glut of up-and-coming talents locked into the midcard because the established guys are nowhere near ready to be phased out. It’s the unfortunate casualty of less burnouts in the industry.
The tag team division often felt like a place for directionless talents to find themselves lost in. Just stick two underused guys together and let them put on some bangers. Last week’s episode finally made the division as a whole feel more than the sum of its parts. By quietly building individual team-based rivalries throughout 2024, the division finally feels interconnected and teeming with feuds in a way it hasn’t for years. Now all WWE needs to do is continue affording the acts enough air time to keep paying off their characters, and we’ve got ourselves a division!
With a three-hour Smackdown in the cards for tonight, I’m curious to see how WWE adjusts the pacing of the show. The extra hour feels primed to build up the undercard acts with more than a few seconds apiece, and WWE has given us enough glimpses of each act over the past year to at least garner some investment. No one really feels “cold”, per se, or if they do there’s just enough for WWE to take and build on should they decide to elevate a certain talent to the main event.
But enough speculation: where does Smackdown stand going into 2025? Let’s review…
THE INAUGURAL WOMEN’S U.S. CHAMPION
Latest Developments:
Last month, Nick Aldis announced a single-elimination tournament to crown the first ever Women’s US Champion. Across Smackdown, the women’s division competed to make it to the finals, but the most prominent rivalry was the continued beef between Chelsea Green & Piper Niven and Michin. The two made it to the finals, facing each other at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, after a quick match, Chelsea Green (with some assistance from Piper Niven) defeated Michin to become the inaugural Women’s US Champion!
Over the past few weeks, Green has been cutting promos egotistically bragging about her skills, but last week Michin interrupted her and nearly laid the champion out before Niven intervened.
Analysis:
The past few weeks have been a well-deserved victory lap for Chelsea Green. Her simple promos were instrumental in building her up as a more buffoonish heel champion in comparison to her fellow title-holders. But as we move into the year, I like that Green’s getting a more consistent feud going into Wrestlemania season.
Michin was the perfect choice for a first contender: solid history with Green, a continuous thread over the tournament that justifies a title shot, and midcard babyface fire to keep audiences hooked despite a new champion’s first contender almost always failing.
On that note, I’m almost fascinated how little I care about Green actually defending this belt. Obviously, I’m happy she’s champion, but it truly feels like she’s making the belt as opposed to the other way around. It feels like a throwback to Taz’s FTW Championship in ECW. It didn’t matter what he did, the belt belonged on him and the two raised each other up. It’s only been a few weeks but Green looks disturbingly natural as a champion in the WWE system.
With Elimination Chamber set up in Green’s hometown of Canada, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a PPV title defense on the horizon. And in the age of five-card PPVs, a women’s midcard belt even making it on PPV would be an amazing achievement and give Green yet another huge platform to shine. Could her opponent be Michin at that time, or is WWE leaning towards a shorter feud climaxing at Royal Rumble? Given WWE likely doesn’t want Michin playing situational heel after finally getting her over as a face, my guess is we get Green-Michin at Royal Rumble freeing Green up for a new opponent moving forward.
Grade: B
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
BIANCA BELAIR & NAOMI & BAYLEY vs. NIA JAX & TIFFANY STRATTON & CANDICE LERAE
Latest Developments:
Following Jade Cargill being attacked by a mysterious assailant, Naomi volunteered to take over her Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Bianca Belair. The following week, the two successfully defended against Nia Jax & Candice LeRae.
Last week, Belair & Naomi teamed up with frequent ally Bayley to take on Jax, LeRae and Ms. MITB Tiffany Stratton in a six-woman tag match. Following Stratton teasing a MITB cash-in, the heels devolved into an argument allowing Naomi to sneak a win against LeRae.
Tonight, Naomi earned herself a title shot against Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship.
Analysis:
The theme of this week’s Smackdown seemed to be the intertwining of various rivalries in an effort to re-establish as many acts as possible before the premiere of Smackdown’s new three hour format tonight. And frankly, I’m into it. WWE is at its most engaging when multiple feuds intersect, thanks to the sheer number of directions the story could go down.
Last week, the insertion of Bayley into the narrative felt quietly seamless thanks to her prolonged feuds with Jax & Stratton earlier this year. There’s a fine line between past feuds informing a wrestler’s character and simply rehashing an old rivalry, but I think WWE’s storytelling has gotten nuanced enough that they can pull off another Bayley-Jax sequence without seeming like they’re beating a dead horse.
I personally loved the low-key reconciliation between Bayley & Belair. Even though we’re quite far removed from Bayley’s heel run, acknowledging their past friction is yet another way to make the product feel more continuous and realistic. In the build to Survivor Series, there was a bit too much of this to the point where it felt unnatural. But in small doses, it helps.
Naomi being set up for a title shot felt slightly unearned thanks to the lack of one-on-one mic time Jax and Naomi have had, but I don’t particularly mind. One, it sets up a marquee match for next week (always a plus to get a TV defense in), and it also could be the segue for Naomi’s character to continue focusing on herself rather than the Women’s Tag Team Championship. Given that Naomi’s self-insertion to Belair’s reign felt a bit too sudden, this would lend credence to the theory of Naomi being Cargill’s attacker (which would make storyline sense for all three women).
The heel team didn’t get much love, but their constant bickering continues to impress. Stratton shines like a true main event star, and I love the detail that Stratton’s MITB teases have progressively gotten shorter and shorter before Jax & LeRae try to intervene. We’re hitting a boiling point before Stratton’s face turn, and based on crowd reactions they’ll be molten hot for a face Tiffy.
Given the MITB runs out in May, could we be in line for another Wrestlemania cash-in? It certainly feels like WWE brass would trust Tiffy in a top spot, and it doesn’t feel like that’s become a cliché quite yet.
Grade: B+
SMACKDOWN’S TAG TEAM DIVISION
Latest Developments:
Last week, WWE mashed together multiple intertwining feuds in the tag team division. So I decided to analyze them all together.
Following a growing obsession with reclaiming the WWE Tag Team Championships, DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) turned heel and forced a title shot against reigning champs MCMG (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) by secretly taking out the rightful contenders The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins).
DIY regained the champs, solidifying their heel turn by fighting dirty in a singles match between Gargano & Shelley the following week.
Meanwhile, The Profits returned with a vengeance last week, intent on finding their attackers after months growing frustrated at their lack of progress in WWE. Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) claimed that the attacker was Angel Garza, and the Profits immediately made a match against Los Garzas that night. Alongside B-Fab, The Profits displayed noticeably more aggression and swiftly dispatched Los Garzas.
Following the match, The Profits tried to get a title shot but MCMG returned and wanted a rematch first.
In a twist, Pretty Deadly was covering for the real attackers: DIY. The two teams deviously shook hands and departed. To end the segment, The Profits were tipped off that DIY attacked them and they had been tricked.
Analysis:
WHOA.
Triple H, have you been reading my column? After last week’s discussion about underused midcard tag teams sitting in catering, the tag team division’s storylines took several massive leaps forward last week. WWE’s penchant for slow-burn storytelling means we never get so many plot points in one week, not even for The Bloodline. Multiple teams got moments to shine, built up new rivalries, and felt reinvigorated. Let’s go through it:
First off, The Street Profits. I was befuddled at teases of The Profits turning heel again due to frustrations over their careers. Not only did this mirror the much-more-engaging DIY turn happening concurrently, it felt like a disservice to the duo. No offense, but their specific charisma is just tailor-made for a babyface. This week was phenomenal, setting up The Profits as the main protagonists of the division, turning their resentment into a righteous fury that they can now turn to DIY. Their characters feel focused, the more brutal in-ring work (Tez’s crazed stare was disturbing when brutalizing Garza) actually informs the characters now, and The Profits feel poised for a huge hero moment down the line.
DIY. The past few weeks have been used to solidify DIY’s weaselly self-absorbed heel personas. This week, the two got to let loose and move in a more comedic rhythm, but still felt menacing and cutthroat. Narratively, the two are positioned as the division’s end bosses, setting up an incredibly engaging chase as The Profits hunt them down. Like other teams, DIY’s position on the card felt too fluid for its own good, as if WWE couldn’t decide how much legitimacy they wanted to give the Black & Gold team. Finally, the two are presented as upper-card guys, with the big-fight feel presentation to do it.
Pretty Deadly: no one does comedy like these two. Yes, the musical teases are overplayed at this point, but swapping Gargano’s name for Garza was such an ingenious bit of comedic writing that felt like a throwback to Ruthless Aggression-style comedy. In other hands, Pretty Deadly would be a one-joke undercard act. But by tying them back into the DIY betrayal, WWE managed to re-legitimize them as a genuine heel threat. Very well paced booking, setting up Pretty Deadly as the first hurdle for The Profits. In a very fun detail, I loved how PD was openly cowering at the sight of Angelo Dawkins. A super realistic moment that worked only because of PD’s absurdity and comedic chops, while also establishing power levels between the teams.
Los Garzas and MCMG didn’t get to do much beyond serve as foils this week, but their simple inclusion was noteworthy. It would have been so easy to contain the narrative to just one or two acts, but purposefully including these other teams and setting up distinct rivalries suggests a more concerted effort to build the division as a division rather than random rivalries between teams. Los Garzas’ narratives have been put on the back burner but they’ve managed to carve out a niche as a simple heel team perfect for babyfaces to get some fire. Meanwhile, MCMG now has beef with both DIY and The Profits which could make for an interesting wild-card factor in the two teams’ beef.
All in all, last week was an emphatic statement that the tag division is a storytelling priority. Every single story beat was executed to perfection, character dynamics feel fresh and alive, and anticipation is high. GIVE ME MORE.
Grade: A++++
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. ANDRADE
Latest Developments:
Following his return to WWE programming, Shinsuke Nakamura violently beat Andrade in a tune-up match en route to capturing the US Championship from LA Knight. The following week, Andrade interrupted Knight & Nakamura’s confrontation before both babyfaces were laid out by The Bloodline.
After briefly tussling with The Bloodline, Andrade refocused on Nakamura. Last week, Andrade cut a promo vowing to take Nakamura down. Tonight, Nakamura and Andrade clash in a US Champion title match.
Analysis:
Underwhelming. That’s all I really gotta say. I honestly don’t have an issue with this match’s build on paper. Despite his lack of recent wins, Andrade is as credible a US Championship contender as any other midcard singles star, and the following match should be a barn-burner.
However, the build-up on TV has felt so…. lackluster. Nakamura’s focus has continued to be on LA Knight, while Andrade was sidetracked with The Bloodline. I honestly don’t think Andrade and Nakamura have even had a one-on-one faceoff before their match tonight, and last week’s bland pre-taped promo didn’t do Andrade any favors. Despite how badass and charming he feels, it’s hilarious how boring he comes across on the mic.
And that would be fine for a filler TV defense, but for the first three-hour Smackdown? It feels like a match suffering due to the timeline it’s forced to be in. With a decent build of both men mowing through each other on TV, this match would have made a respectable entry into Saturday Night’s Main Event at the end of January. But as of now, it feels destined to be the least memorable part of next week’s card. And for a title shot, that’s not where you want to be.
Grade: C
THE BLOODLINE WAR
Latest Developments:
Roman Reigns cut a promo vowing to take back the ula fala and the title of Tribal Chief, challenging Sikoa to Tribal Combat on the Raw Netflix premiere next week. In response, Sikoa cut a furious promo in response, vowing to not back down and ending The OG Bloodline once and for all.
Last week, Sami Zayn returned to Smackdown due to the ongoing transfer window. After asking for a shot at the New Bloodline, Zayn found himself sidetracked by a whiny Carmelo Hayes.
That night, Zayn and Hayes’ match was cut short by The New Bloodline interfering. Despite an assist from Hayes’ enemy Braun Strowman, Zayn was overwhelmed by The New Bloodline.
Analysis:
The Bloodline’s filler weeks were always entertaining as they allowed us some random dream matches due to the contstant brand-hopping of several major stars. Last week’s episode felt like a throwback to that, with Zayn showing up and immediately getting sidetracked by Carmelo Hayes forcing himself into the picture.
Zayn and Hayes had surprisingly great chemistry together, and no one plays a corny face like Zayn. Despite being part of WWE for years, his puppy-dog babyface charm still rings true, and he played the babyface eager to get the match over with to perfection. Interestingly, I noted that Zayn’s inclusion on Smackdown was directly preceding Kevin Owens’ segment. WWE tends to be quite intentional with its TV structure, so we could be looking at the first subtle tease of Zayn vs Owens.
Such a match could be a PPV main event, and Zayn’s match was a subtly great way to highlight how strong of a babyface he still is in comparison to Owens’ heelish progression. A beautifully subtle booking trick, but one that works wonders.
In addition, we got a tantalizing glimpse of Strowman vs. Fatu, which would be a hoss match for the ages. Can we make “Last Monster Standing” a recurring match stipulation? Seeing these two together would feed families.
Overall, a perfunctory segment that laid the groundwork for a more interesting future.
Grade: B
BRAUN STROWMAN vs. CARMELO HAYES & A-TOWN DOWN UNDER
Latest Developments:
Several weeks ago, with the transfer window looming, Carmelo Hayes tried to threaten Nick Aldis for better opportunities by claiming he’d jump ship to Raw. Aldis called his bluff, claiming he had a special opponent in mind for him.
Hayes’ opponent was revealed to be a returning Braun Strowman, who quickly and brutally stomped Hayes into another dimension. Last week, Hayes interrupted Strowman’s appearance on The Grayson Waller Effect, causing Strowman to destroy the set and defeat Hayes.
Last week, a pissy Grayson Waller inadvertently got Austin Theory booked against Braun Strowman, who promptly destroyed him by throwing him around the ring like a child. Later that night, Strowman proved he hadn’t forgotten about Hayes by aiding Hayes’ opponent Sami Zayn following their match.
Analysis:
Braun Strowman, while not being the most athletic of WWE’s big men, has an undeniable presence about him. He just feels like a genial guy would could beat up anyone in the room without breaking a sweat. So pairing him up against midcards with the most punchable faces was a brilliant idea. Theory has perfected the art of flop selling, and played the perfect ragdoll to Strowman’s strength. Alongside Waller, Theory’s comedic chops have improved leaps and bounds, riding the line between himbo buffoon and in-ring technician.
Meanwhile, I love that Strowman hadn’t forgotten about Hayes. Just another long-term booking practice that elevated the product subtly by making even a random run-in feel earned from a character standpoint.
I love when WWE books intersecting feuds and happens upon a dream match tease. It’s a classic storytelling move, but it pops me every time. When you see a face off between two disparate characters, you’re not just excited. You’re immediately wondering how you never thought of the same thing, and you immediately become invested. Case in point, I want Strowman vs. Fatu injected into my veins now, please. These little teases get amazing reactions and do wonders in setting up for the future. Now this tantalizing prospect is in people’s minds, and when WWE wants to kick this feud into high-gear they’ve already got a base of people ready to buy in. Very smart, WWE, very smart.
Grade: A
CODY RHODES vs. KEVIN OWENS
Latest Developments:
Since turning heel, Kevin Owens set his sights on Cody Rhodes for his supposed hypocrisy in allying with The Bloodline. After several brawls that left a trail of destruction, Rhodes challenged Owens to a title match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, while Owens was suspended from WWE due to excessive violence (having put Rhodes’ ally Randy Orton indefinitely on the shelf with a banned piledriver).
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Rhodes walked out with the famed “Winged Eagle” championship belt as an ode to the retro presentation. Despite eking out a win, Rhodes was brutally attacked by Owens post-match and forced out of action. Meanwhile, Owens stole the Winged Eagle belt and proclaimed himself the true champion.
Last week, Nick Aldis demanded Owens return the belt, but Owens refused. A still-wounded Rhodes appeared, telling Owens he refused to let him win and condemning his actions. Growing in anger at Owens’ disrespect, Rhodes got Aldis to greenlight a ladder match for both championship belts at the Royal Rumble.
Analysis:
I touched on this last week, but Owens’ heel character was built on logic. He was the only one who didn’t forget years of Roman Reigns’ treachery and couldn’t let go. In a sense, he was “the rational one” that was infuriated with everyone else. But post-SNME, Owens’ pivot to caring only about the Winged Eagle feels like the character tipped a little too far into delusion. If Owens had been allowed a few months to develop his righteous anger until it gave way to delusion, that’d be one thing. But this happened too fast, to the point where it semi-flanderized the Owens character into just a deluded heel.
However, Rhodes’ promo last week was incredible. Despite my dislike for longer promo segments, no one is better at telling an emotional arc than Cody Rhodes. He can take you on an emotional wave sentence by sentence, and you’ll feel the entire gamut of emotion along the way. And watching Rhodes finally grow in anger during this feud provided a much-needed growth to his often poised babyface persona.
The stipulation set up felt a little strange. After specifically teasing he didn’t want a ref interfering, a ladder match felt less expected than perhaps a No-DQ match or a cage match. It made me wonder, on a wider scale, how much say Rhodes has in booking his own angles. Any AEW fans may remember that Rhodes’ final match there was also a title unification ladder match for a world champ belt and its interim counterpart. A weird similarity that made me wonder if Rhodes had a say in the match’s build. I’m not judging, I’m just observing.
Anyway, a decent promo segment that had to stretch a little far to cover the feud’s booking. But solid, and kept the anticipation up for next week.
Grade: B
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