SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Before we get started, a few notable updates to go over:
•Dragon Lee is officially a father! He posted pictures of his new baby girl this week, explaining his sporadic appearances on television in the past few months. We wish Lee and his family a hearty congratulations, and look forward to seeing his high-flying prowess on our television screens again soon.
•John “Bradshaw” Layfield made a guest appearance on the Monday Night Raw commentary table last Monday. While not explicitly hinting at a narrative, JBL has recently made waves on the indy scene, showing up and randomly hitting a clothesline on various wrestlers in TNA, AAA, GCW, etc. Other than a continued alliance with Nic Nemeth (the former Dolph Ziggler), JBL’s motivations have yet to be explained. But the former WWE wrestler has claimed online there is indeed a purpose to it all. Interesting stuff.
•Following Corey Graves’s incendiary tweets voicing displeasure in WWE, Graves did not call NXT the next Tuesday night. However, Graves returned to NXT this Tuesday and his outbursts were not mentioned. Wade Keller reported last week in the VIP-exclusive Wade Keller Hotline (click here for VIP membership info) that the Graves situation was real and not manufactured for a storyline. It appears, at least to some extent, that things seem to have been smoothed over. Hopefully, Graves continues to call WWE for years to come.
January is always an exciting time for WWE fans, due to the Royal Rumble kicking off the road to Wrestlemania in earnest. And, for the first time, the titular event seems murkier than ever. Following Roman Reigns’ reign of terror, the winner of the men’s Royal Rumble feels like a true toss-up for the first time in years. Rey Mysterio’s promo last week on Smackdown (more on that below) truly acknowledged the sheer number of main-eventers that could conceivably headline the biggest WWE event of the year.
And, for newer fans, that’s incredibly exciting. For at least the last decade, the dearth of main eventers somewhat hobbled the Royal Rumble by severely narrowing down the list of probable winners. In a way, the match itself became more useful for advancing other narratives, abandoning any suspense of who would win and main-event WrestleMania. This year, it feels like a return to the Attitude Era. No one’s path is set in stone, and everyone could genuinely be worthy of their spot. Cena, Punk, Zayn, Rollins, Reigns, even the Rock??? It lends the Rumble an intrigue it’s lacked for a long time, and could be just what WWE needs in the new era of Netflix.
On the flip side, it’s almost comical how little build the second Saturday Night’s Main Event has received in comparison. While the first edition of the revival was treated as a pseudo-PPV, the second edition feels lighter on star-power and hype with only one day to go. And the few matches announced lack major storyline ramifications for the most part.
However, I actually don’t think this is a negative. Despite WWE being hotter than ever, there is still a point of oversaturation. And four PPV-level TV specials on top of actual PPVs risks neutering down the big-fight feel. Saturday Night’s Main Event seems to be settling into a similar niche as AEW’s branded TV specials: a slightly bigger stage for exhibition matches to get extra shine. Like a midseason climax of a TV show rather than a season finale.
But that midseason finale should still draw a lot of eyeballs. And with one day to go, where do things stand on Friday Night Smackdown? In advance of tonight’s go-home episode, let’s review:
CHELSEA GREEN & PIPER NIVEN vs. MICHIN
Latest Developments:
At the inaugural Saturday Night’s Main Event, Chelsea Green (with help from her ally Piper Niven) defeated Michin to become the inaugural Women’s US Champion, following a long-term rivalry between the two throughout most of 2024.
After earning a rematch several weeks later, Michin was defeated by Green yet again thanks to interference from Niven.
Last week, Piper Niven (cosplaying as Secret Service) annoyed Michin and B-Fab while clearing the way for Green, prompting B-Fab to issue a challenge against Niven. Despite putting up a good fight, Niven swiftly dispatched B-Fab. Post-match, Green began to attack B-Fab before Michin made the save.
Analysis:
Not much of substance really happened, but the goofy moments were a nice counterpoint to the more serious feuds happening elsewhere on the show. Niven cosplaying as Secret Service is such a genius way to show casual audiences the nature of Green & Niven’s relationship. Their comedic timing has only gotten sharper throughout this alliance, to the point where I never want them to break up. Given how truly random their original team-up was, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Michin still feels like the end game for this phase of Green’s reign, but it’s good to see WWE letting that fade into the background for a week or more. A long-term story is one thing, but not every narrative needs to be updated weekly. And Michin was dangerously close to growing stale with her repeated losses. In the meantime, letting B-Fab get a few minutes to show out was a great choice. After being bounced around as a valet between groups, hopefully WWE takes the hint and lets her develop as a singles wrestler while the Profits are out injured. The crowd was rockin’ for B-Fab’s brief mid-match comeback. And with the Royal Rumble on the horizon, it’s prime timing for WWE to parlay this goodwill into a bigger star-making moment.
For the first time, it’s beginning to feel like the women’s division has a proper mid and lower card. In previous years, everyone who couldn’t plausibly go for a world title felt like they were spinning their wheels. Jobbers like B-Fab now have a dynamic where they can be underdogs, but believably so. Tiered belts like this are how you build a performer up over time, and Green’s heelish antics make it easy for almost any character to stand against her. I hope she remains US Champ for a long long time, because WWE may have found a golden ticket to building new babyfaces from scratch.
Grade: A-
MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS GET A(NOTHER) REMATCH
Latest Developments:
After turning heel, DIY succeeded in their long-awaited quest to reclaim the WWE Tag Team Championship by attacking #1 contenders The Street Profits backstage and taking their place, defeating the Motor City Machine Guns later that night.
Pretty Deadly promised to help DIY retain their titles in return for a title shot. In addition to costing MCMG their rematch, they set The Profits off on a wild goose chase by claiming Los Garzas were the true attackers.
To crown the next #1 contenders to the tag belts, Nick Aldis organized a tourney. Seeking revenge against DIY, Los Garzas and MCMG faced each other in the finals last week, where MCMG won despite Pretty Deadly’s attempts to run interference.
Analysis:
It feels like the wrong team won last week. The decision to run back MCMG vs. DIY is a curious one. For example, it feels like very little has changed since their last match. MCMG vs DIY I occurred when DIY were still faces, so running back the rematches once the duo turned heel made sense and added new layers to the match (with some additional backstory involving Shelley and Gargano’s past in the indies). But what’s there to gain from yet another rematch?
Meanwhile, Los Garzas finally got some semblance of a storyline beyond being Escobar’s heaters. And, credit to them, they got some decent momentum as babyfaces. Following the hints at Escobar being dissatisfied with the two, it felt tailor-made to lead to a big moment for LDF. And then…. they lost, and immediately feel directionless again.
Unless Triple H plans to segue Los Garzas into a feud with Pretty Deadly over their tricks, this choice doesn’t suggest a long-term investment into the group. With MCMG vs DIY IV set, the match itself doesn’t offer much suspense. Likely, it’ll be a setup for a storyline beat between DIY and Pretty Deadly. But now both MCMG and Los Garzas will have to rebuild from nothing, assuming they even get the TV time to do so.
I could be wrong, and I’ll happily admit it next week if so, but this choice feels like it’s leading to nowhere. And both teams could be doing better.
Grade: C-
PRETTY DEADLY CALL THEIR SHOT
Latest Developments:
Two weeks ago, Apollo Crews told Los Garzas that Pretty Deadly set them up. The following week, Pretty Deadly came looking for revenge but Los Garzas diverted attention from Crews to kickstart a beatdown.
Following their continued help, Pretty Deadly continued to ask DIY for their promised title match but DIY kept deflecting.
Last week, Ciampa snapped at Pretty Deadly for allowing MCMG to win the tourney. Crews rolled up to warn Pretty Deadly that DIY was up to no good, prompting Gargano to beat him up.
Analysis:
So it looks like the next immediate step in this feud is to run a babyface turn for Pretty Deadly. Like I said last week, that’s a bit of a weird choice given Pretty Deadly are such natural heels. Like any engaging heel nowadays, they’d probably get cheered eventually simply because audiences love their comedy shtick so much. So forcing them into a more earnest scorned babyface role feels like it’ll actually neuter their crowd response. The crowds have been loving their musical bit, despite it being pointless comedy. Why choose to pigeonhole them into a dynamic crowds haven’t seen, when we haven’t even fully explored a Pretty Deadly midcard heel run?
DIY continuing to deflect is an engaging dynamic for them, and I like that despite Gargano choosing Ciampa, the two’s responses aren’t necessarily identical. Gargano is the manipulative peacemaker, Ciampa is more direct. This is how you make an act feel cohesive, but don’t take away their individual strengths. DIY always succeeded as just two guys randomly paired together who liked each other enough to run with it. They’re the everymen, they’re not always in agreement but they’re cool with each other. It’s a Rocky-and-Mugsy style dynamic but more grounded.
I also continue to love Crews’ inclusion in the narrative. He doesn’t seem to be aligned with one particular group, he’s just calling out hypocrisy when he sees it. I don’t know who came up with the idea for Crews to be the lone singles act interacting with the tag division, but it makes him seem fearless and helps him stand out by going up against groups. They need to be careful with him though. For the past few weeks, he’s just kept getting beaten up. Let him fight back more, or his character will just become a punchline. But I’m intrigued to see if there’s an endgame for his new version of Crews, if he’ll end up allying with a tag team for a brief run.
Grade: B-
TIFFANY STRATTON vs. BAYLEY
Latest Developments:
On the premiere episode of Friday Night Smackdown in 2025, Tiffany Stratton successfully cashed in her MITB contract on WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax, after months of their relationship breaking down due to Jax’s increasing hostility and paranoia over Stratton eclipsing her.
Two weeks ago, Stratton was interviewed in-ring by Byron Saxton, but multiple other wrestlers interrupted her to make a challenge. A #1 contender’s match was set, which Bayley won.
Last week, Bayley was interviewed, building up the idea of another title reign. In the main event, after a lengthy war, Stratton defeated Bayley clean to retain her championship.
Analysis:
This build was done very well. While I’ve never been a fan of acknowledging bad booking, since it makes the audience believe that future storylines will be booked according to smark instincts (which are fickle, at best), I loved Bayley’s promo last week. It really built up the figure of a star not quite past her prime, but acknowledging the next generation coming up. Bayley’s babyface booking has been hit-or-miss, this felt like one of the first times she really had something to chew on besides “I deserve to be here”.
Stratton, meanwhile, exists in this gray area where WWE are prepping her for a massive babyface run but she’s still being portrayed somewhat as a heel. Therefore, the crowd reactions almost halt the momentum of her promos rather than add to them. Right now, when Tiffy’s hot off a legendary cash-in, that mixed signal isn’t what you want. Let Stratton play babyface, crowds will go along with it.
The main event was beautifully done, with a white-hot crowd. They were given ample time, and you could feel the crowd buzzing in the final minutes as both women really got into their final gear. You could feel Bayley’s increasing desperation while Stratton slowly did away with the heel posturing and focused on her opponent. An old school “fighting spirit” style match within the WWE canvas, and it worked perfectly. Winning clean was an emphatic statement, and cements Stratton’s place in the main event for years to come. Bayley can now segue nicely into a program with Roxanne Perez (who was in the audience, nice little tie-in to NXT), while Stratton continues building momentum. Good episode-long narrative, perfect follow-through.
Grade: A-
BIANCA BELAIR vs. NAOMI
Latest Developments:
Bianca Belair’s WWE Tag Team Championship partner Jade Cargill was attacked by a mystery assailant late last year. Following that, Naomi stepped up to take her place (perhaps a little too quickly), with the attacker never being found.
In the ensuing weeks, Naomi slowly began showing a more aggressive side during their title defenses, while also pursuing singles gold in comparison to Belair’s sole focus on the tag belts.
Last week, a noticeably more serious Naomi chastised the cheery Belair for accidentally hitting her, while displaying no reaction to any updates on Jade Cargill. Later, Belair & Naomi faced off against Nia Jax & Candice LeRae, where Naomi scored a pinfall thanks to her newly aggressive behavior.
Analysis:
I’’ll be the first one to admit that Bianca Belair’s bubbly babyface persona can sometimes take away from a narrative’s serious moments, but it really added to her dynamic with Naomi last week. Seeing Belair’s relaxed vibe in comparison to Naomi’s stone-faced seriousness laid the groundwork for what their dynamic could be going forward, if the long-teased Naomi heel turn is in the works.
Naomi looked like a wild animal stalking their prey, never breaking eye contact with Belair and clearly not at ease. It was amazing non-verbal acting from Naomi, miles beyond the simple babyface run she’s been on since returning a year ago. Side note, isn’t it crazy that she’s already been back a year? Sometimes Triple H’s slow-burn booking isn’t great for wrestlers not in an active narrative. Naomi’s been back a full year and I struggle to come up with anything she did beyond her trios work with Belair & Cargill on the road to Wrestlemania 40 and Bad Blood.
The match itself was nothing to write home about. Another angle masquerading as a match, only serving to display the difference between Naomi and Belair’s attitudes in-ring. I’m always a proponent for the women getting more in-ring time, but it feels like this match could have gone to someone else. I feel like nothing new was displayed outside of the promo character-wise, and the ring work wasn’t much to write home about on its own.
Not bad, just a bit meh.
Grade: B
THE NEW BLOODLINE vs. L.A. KNIGHT & BRAUN STROWMAN
Latest Developments:
At Survivor Series, L.A. Knight lost the WWE US Championship to the returning Shinsuke Nakamura. The following week, The Bloodline laid out Knight as he confronted Nakamura, intending to make a statement to the locker room.
Last week, Knight rebuffed The Bloodline enroute to his title rematch against Nakamura. Mid-match, Knight seemed close to a win before Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu attacked Knight leading to a disqualification.
Last night, Solo Sikoa returned to Smackdown following his loss to Roman Reigns on Raw. He said nothing, then left. Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga attempted to speak up for him, but were attacked by Knight and Braun Strowman. Fatu vs. Strowman was then made official for SNME.
Analysis:
Off the back of last week’s segment, it feels like we’re transitioning to The New Bloodline slowly drifting away from the OG Bloodline. Sikoa’s promo largely mirrored Roman Reigns’ absence from TV following Wrestlemania 40. We’re seeing Sikoa have a crisis of confidence following his loss of the ula fala, but this time audiences are witnessing Jacob’s rise to fill the gaps. It’s cyclical storytelling, but somehow it’s just fresh enough to avoid being repetitive. I don’t foresee WWE splitting the New Bloodline up just yet, but it’s clear that we’re going to begin seeing Fatu’s rise as a singles star while Sikoa licks his wounds in kayfabe.
And Fatu vs. Strowman is a great way to start. Has there been much build? No. In fact, the two have only interacted a few times. But it’s a great exhibition match on a pseudo-PPV stage. Fatu will most likely win, which won’t hurt Strowman’s reputation in the slightest at this point in this career. But that’ll be a huge rub for the Samoan Werewolf. Beating Strowman catapulted Bronson Reed to the upper midcard, and it looks like luck will strike twice.
I’m still unsure what the endgame is for A Knight, but it looks like he’ll continue to feud with The Bloodline on the road to Wrestlemania and be firmly shuffled out of the US Championship scene. I only hope there’s more planned for him than meets the eye. Knight is a marquee star, and his stock has already fallen enough following his US title reign. He doesn’t need to be the fourth most important person in a New Bloodline feud.
Grade: B-
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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)
THE NEW BLOODLINE vs. JIM USO
Latest Developments:
Since returning to ally with Roman Reigns, Jim Uso found himself in the crosshairs of the New Bloodline despite making it his plan to go solo.
Over the past few weeks, Uso found himself back in the crosshairs of the Bloodline, and was mocked by Carmelo Hayes for it. Last week, Uso defeated Hayes on Smackdown by disqualification when Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu intervened and beat him down.
Analysis:
Jimmy Uso continues to feel like the biggest casualty of the Bloodline vs. Bloodline feud. With Reigns off of television, Uso continues to be the fall guy so The New Bloodline could look dominant. Normally I wouldn’t mind that, but he’s been filling the same rolefor several years now and audiences have come to crave something different. He feels like the sole original member that the Bloodline narrative has held back, especially off his solo promo several weeks ago pledging to go his own way.
My prediction last week came true: Uso vs. Hayes was just a vehicle for Uso to get some babyface heat before The Bloodline beat him down again. Unfortunately, the crowd felt unusually quiet and disinterested. And when they’re white-hot for almost every other segment, you REALLY felt the silence for this one. While the match itself was good (specifically Uso stealing Hayes’s sunglasses mid-match; Jimmy Uso is so good at being charmingly goofy), the ending felt predictable and the match itself never kicked into high gear to compensate.
Hopefully, despite being dragged back into The Bloodline feud, this week’s opportunity to show out means that Jimmy will become more than a pin eater on the road to Wrestlemania 41.
Grade: C+
CODY RHODES vs. KEVIN OWENS
Latest Developments:
Since returning to ally with Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes was betrayed by longtime ally Kevin Owens due to his supposed hypocrisy in teaming with the enemy. After a long violent feud, Rhodes and Owens faced off for the WWE Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event where Rhodes won.
In the following weeks, Owens made it clear their feud was not over, challenging Rhodes to a ladder match at Royal Rumble. Over the next few weeks, the two brawled on sight.
Last week, Rey Mysterio (on loan from Raw) addressed his hometown crowd before a vengeful Owens interrupted him. Mysterio tried calming him down and helping him see reason, but Owens wasn’t having it. Later that night, Owens narrowly defeated Mysterio. Post-match, Rhodes made the save.
Nick Aldis interrupted the two, annoyed with their constant brawling. He announced that both men would relinquish their title belts before the Royal Rumble, and Shawn Michaels would moderate a contract signing between them at SNME.
Analysis:
Last week, I spoke about how this feud was starting to drag on weekly television due to the constant brawls. I like that WWE’s mixing upthe feud by allowing Owens to air his grievances with other members of the roster. It’s beyond hilarious seeing people’s reaction to him screaming his lungs out in anger. No one else rides the line between intense and cartoonish like Kevin Owens.
Rey Mysterio, as expected, played the perfect babyface in his hometown. Mysterio doesn’t often do in-ring promos addressing the audience, so it was nice to see him soak up the crowd love and interact with his people. The man’s a true legend in the game, and feels so much more comfortable on the mic than his early years in the WWE. It’s amazing to see. The match between him and Owens was incredible. Despite both being older, Owens played an amazing base to Mysterio’s high-flying antics. The crowd was nuclear for this, popping for Mysterio’s athleticism far beyond most crowds would. It made for an absolutely amazing mid-episode segment.
I loved the little details explained in the narrative, such as Rhodes being cleared by doctors and therefore being unable to make the save in time. It’s those little details that elevate WWE’s storytelling. Ironically, it’s little moments that bring WWE closer to “cinema” than any splashy Bloodline moments. I hate fans using the word “cinema” for wrestling, because the acting is still so subpar compared to scripted content. But the quality of the writing and characters are undeniably much more clear and layered than previous eras.
The contract signing at SNME is a welcome break for the Saturday special, another flourish that harkens back to old PPVs featuring a non-wrestling segment or two between matches. I used to love this, because it provided a nice break for audiences and added some variety to the in-ring proceedings beyond simple backstage promos. If SNME is committed to having a different presentation than PPVs, this is a great way to do so.
Grade: A
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.