SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The WWE release train couldn’t leave the station without one more passenger, let’s quickly review some updates:
•Carmella has been released from WWE. After nearly two years out of action due to pregnancy and lingering complications thereof, Carmella quietly was moved to the WWE alumni section this week. Although never a main eventer, Carmella often stole the show with her razor-sharp comedic talent, and we hope to see her in a wrestling ring again soon. This release comes several months after husband Corey Graves publicly aired his grievances with WWE on Twitter.
•Amid his return to WWE programming last Friday, The Rock announced that WrestleMania 42 would be returning to New Orleans in 2026, marking the third installment held in The Big Easy after WM 30 & 34. New Orleans always brings it and should be a raucous crowd for the 42nd installment of the biggest show in professional wrestling.
I’ve been staring at my computer for the last ten minutes trying to formulate my thoughts on last week’s Smackdown. First off, was it bad? No. In the grand scheme of things, a brand new viewer who watched Smackdown would have found enough intrigue to keep them coming back another week, thanks to the starpower of The Rock and just enough quality segments to keep the show above water.
HOWEVER:
This show was by far the worst of the past two years, simply because it accentuated the worst tendencies of the Paul Levesque Creative era.
I’m sure episodes are rewritten last-minute far more than audiences realize, but this was the first time the show really felt like it. With disjointed pacing, cancelled matches, and Rock’s segment going way too long, last week’s Smackdown was extremely flawed as an episode of television. It felt unfinished, rushed, and intended to force players into their intended WrestleMania spot.
Last week’s show highlighted the dearth of consistent storytelling beyond the top of the card, with numerous mid-card wrestlers suffering from a lack of engaging build on the road to WrestleMania. Triple H’s penchant for longer-term stories falls apart without guarantees for enough airtime to establish a long-running character and dynamic. Fans claiming that WWE is “cinema” seem to have forgotten that real cinema requires large amounts of time to flesh out character, time that four hours of weekly wrestling programming struggles to advocate.
Not to mention, the new administration’s lack of regard for kayfabe makes the problems even more evident. I’m not advocating for wrestlers to maintain character 24/7, but Levesque using insider terms on-air (see: Netflix premiere) makes it harder to buy into what’s going on. Make the product itself feel cohesive.
There’s a lot to go over, so let’s not wait another moment…
THE FINAL BOSS WANTS CODY RHODES’ SOUL
Latest Developments:
Since turning heel and feuding with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL, The Rock seemingly reconciled with Rhodes the following week, teased a future championship match, and departed WWE programming.
At the premiere of Raw On Netflix, The Rock cut a promo largely mirroring his shoot persona, putting over Rhodes as the face of WWE as the two laughed about their previous feud.
Last week, The Rock returned and faced off with Rhodes in-ring. After originally presenting himself as a babyface, The Rock abruptly transitioned to his heel Final Boss persona. He claimed Rhodes and he were friends, but then claimed he wanted Rhodes to be his champion alone. He acknowledged his newfound camaraderie with Rhodes, but said he wanted Rhodes’ soul and the two could be brothers. A befuddled Rhodes pulled away, so The Rock hinted at a confrontation at Elimination Chamber before returning.
Analysis:
What the hell was this?
Let’s begin with The Rock. Following his abrupt return to a babyface following WrestleMania XL, The Rock seemingly abandoned the Final Boss persona. Bringing it back here, but trying to oscillate between his two personas felt inconsistent and thinly-written. Normally a master at hitting emotional beats, Rock’s delivery felt overly rambling, cryptic, and unclear. You could feel him losing the crowd (this promo went nearly twenty-five minutes), and the final staredown elicited little more than polite applause. For The Rock, leaving a crowd deflated and quiet is almost impossible, a testament to how much the audience wasn’t resonating.
And speaking of which, what is this storyline? Underneath the word salad, it seems like Rock’s teasing a Mr. McMahon-esque angle where he wants Rhodes to be his corporate champion. Combined with Rock’s post-show press conference where he said “it doesn’t have to culminate in a match”, it feels like we’re heading to Rock being a puppetmaster figure in the background of WWE.
Cool in theory, but several huge problems here: Rhodes is already a shareholder’s dream as champion. He wears suits, kisses babies, represents the company in every capacity. What could Rock possibly want from him that Rhodes isn’t already? At least, with Mr. McMahon, it was clear he wanted a suit-wearing champ, someone respectable (i.e not Stone Cold Steve Austin). I have no idea what the central ideological struggle is supposed to be. Is Rhodes refusing to drink Teremana or something?
Secondly, I didn’t appreciate the recap of Rock’s babyface promos post-WrestleMania. It’s clear that Rock was playing to the shoot Netflix executives and appearing in front of casuals as the actor Dwayne Johnson instead of The Rock. BUT WHY is WWE trying to tell me that I was witnessing a Rock-Rhodes friendship during that time, that never happened? Just have Rock retcon those promos, why acknowledge this supposed character arc behind the scenes that never was shown on programming? It’s a messy, confusing mess. Work with what you have, don’t force a scenario when you don’t have the time to build to it properly. If we saw weeks of passive-aggressive Rock targeting Rhodes before this, it might have worked. But WWE’s trying to skip to the middle of a story while telling us the beginning already happened.
Let’s get this out of the way: Rhodes will find a way to salvage this, even make it engaging. And the intrigue of “who will Rock’s corporate champion eventually be?” is enough to mine some decent drama. But the execution of this promo was so poor, that WWE will be running uphill trying to garner hype for the next few weeks.
It’s sloppy. And when it’s not sloppy, it’s just plain uninteresting.
Grade: F
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)
CHELSEA GREEN’S NEXT CONTENDER
Latest Developments:
At the inaugural Saturday Night’s Main Event, Chelsea Green (with help from her ally Piper Niven) defeated Mia Yim to become the inaugural Women’s US Champion.
Last week, following a failed entry into Elimination Chamber, Green believed she would be added to the match following Naomi & Bianca Belair’s beatdown last week (more on that below). To her dismay, Nick Aldis told her she would instead be in action against a mystery opponent next week.
Separately, Zelina Vega received a hype package as the next big thing. Vega had been teasing a confrontation with Green over the past few weeks.
Analysis:
I’m not a huge fan of Green being so desperate to get into the Elimination Chamber while being a midcard champ herself. I understand that going for double the gold is alluring for an egotistical heel, but at least let the US Championship be established for a few months before doing so. This makes the midcard titles feel bush-league, and while Green’s character work has been sensational as champ, the belt needs a few more in-ring showstoppers to feel legitimate (no disrespect to Michin).
It looks like we’re getting Green vs. Vega next, which should be a great matchup on the mic. The women’s division lacks many wrestlers that can cut in-ring promos, and Vega’s command over the live crowd is supremely underrated. The verbal battles alone should be enough to anchor the women’s midcard for the next few weeks.
However, the booking feels very off for Vega’s character. A mystery babyface opponent often relies on a Goldbergian mystique. The payoff should be a dominant in-ring performance with Green taking much of the match before the finish, to ride the audience’s adrenaline upon the mystery opponent’s reveal. Vega, an undersized babyface, works better with an underdog build and working from the bottom. With WWE clearly dedicated to building her up (as seen by the hype package), it feels like a Green-Vega confrontation could have built Vega for their match more effectively.
Additionally, I question relegating Green to the Smackdown go-home episode rather than the PPV itself. She’s one of WWE’s most organically-built stars, a Canadian favorite, and extremely entertaining. I understand Triple H wanting to keep PPVs tighter, but when people like Green don’t make it, it just feels like top brass are telling us the women’s midcard division is inherently best suited to TV and not PPVs. If Owens-Zayn can make it on the card with three weeks of build, an inaugural hometown heel champ should be able to as well. Treat Green with more respect!
Grade: C
KEVIN OWENS vs. SAMI ZAYN
Latest Developments:
After witnessing Cody Rhodes team with longtime enemy Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens turned heel and called out Rhodes for being a hypocrite. During a lengthy feud with Rhodes, mutual friend Sami Zayn found himself caught in the middle.
At the Royal Rumble, Rhodes won a championship ladder match against Owens with Zayn at ringside. Following the match, Owens attacked Zayn for not stopping Rhodes, injuring his neck. Zayn cut a promo from home, challenging Owens to a match at Elimination Chamber and vowing revenge. Owens accepted, and due to Zayn’s injury the match was set as an Unsanctioned Match.
Last week, Owens stalked Zayn at his home, condemning him for his actions while filming his family through a window.
Analysis:
Despite the short build, WWE has done a phenomenal job at differentiating this confrontation from the two’s previous encounters. By spending several months allowing Owens to sink further and further into delusion, they’ve allowed it to feel plausible he would snap against Zayn despite their years of friendship. The writing has been top-notch, fully letting the audience into Owens’ warped sense of right vs. wrong while never going far enough as to let people sympathize with him.
Given Zayn’s devotion to his family, this quick segment from last week felt like the storyline impetus for Zayn to go full-intensity moving forward. Zayn’s reluctance to condemn Owens has been a fantastic dramatic hook over the past few months, but the feud needed Zayn to be full-throttle in order for the blowoff match to flow properly. And Owens crossing the line is the perfect reason for Zayn to match Owens’ intensity next week.
Fired-up underdog Zayn and deluded madman Owens are two of the greatest emotional promo orators in wrestling history, and this is the first time we’ve really seen both of them in their most intense forms face off. And with Elimination Chamber taking place in both men’s home country, the crowd should be molten-hot. This could be up there with their 2010 ROH Fight Without Honor as the greatest Zayn-Owens match yet.
(Side Note: I you’ve never seen the Zayn-Owens feud in ROH/PWG, go watch it. It’s the best the indies had to offer at that time).
Grade: A+
MELO DON’T MIZ vs. R-TRUTH & LA KNIGHT
Latest Developments:
In the past few weeks, Carmelo Hayes recently reversed his losing streak with wins against jobbers including R-Truth, increasing his ego to dangerous levels.
Meanwhile, L.A. Knight’s quest to reclaim his US Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura was derailed when The Miz intervened, wanting his shot as a long-time veteran of the roster. The Miz and LA Knight faced off in a #1 contender’s match, which Knight won. Licking his wounds, The Miz suggested to Carmelo Hayes that they team up, which Hayes refused.
Last week, R-Truth accidentally agreed to The Miz’s request of a tag team match against Miz and Hayes, much to Hayes’ displeasure. Knight appeared as Truth’s tag team partner. The newly-christened team Melo Don’t Miz managed to snag the win, with Hayes apparently reconsidering Miz’s offer to team up full-time.
Analysis:
In a vacuum, I absolutely loved this segment. It felt like a callback to the Teddy Long days. It was a fun way to intertwine two feuds, while also playing off history between Hayes & Knight, as well as Truth & Miz. It’s booking like this where long-term continuity shines, rewarding audiences for remembering feuds from earlier this year.
With Knight seemingly set for another title shot, it’s likely his inclusion with this feud is nearing its end. As an impetus for Miz to lose and consider re-allying with another act, he did his job well enough. Truth, as always, remains impenetrable on the mic, blending his truly masterful comedic timing with just enough pathos so as not to derail the segment. Truth’s idiocy being the reason Melo was forced to team with Miz is a great way to advance their storyline authentically.
My only gripe with this is Melo’s booking. It felt like his recent streak of wins was setting up a singles feud with a babyface that broke his streak. The buildup of his egotistical heel character felt like it was building to something, only to pivot to an odd-couple team where (as the more level-headed one) Melo automatically feels slotted into a more likable role compared to Miz’s buffoonery. It feels like a narrative change that isn’t building a cohesive character base. Whether due to a lack of care or ideas, it feels like WWE is merely slotting Hayes into whatever ideas they have, rather than building something for him directly using his existing character as a base.
Grade: B
TIFFANY STRATTON & TRISH STRATUS vs. NIA JAX & CANDICE LERAE
Latest Developments:
Last fall, Tiffany Stratton turned on her abusive mentor Nia Jax and won the WWE Women’s Championship off her via MITB cash-in. Jax and her stooge Candice LeRae continued feuding with Stratton over the next few months. At the Royal Rumble, WWE Legend Trish Stratus made her return to WWE, eliminating LeRae.
The following week, Stratton retained her title against Jax. Post-match, the heels attacked Stratton, and Stratus made the save. A tag match between the two was made official for Elimination Chamber.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair chose to face Stratton at Wrestlemania 41, which Stratton accepted.
Analysis:
This feud feels like it’s gone on much longer than it should have. Stratton and Jax’s title match last week felt like it should have been a much larger beat in their character arc overall. After all, their alliance began as a mentor-mentee relationship. Seeing the mentee finally triumph (albeit with chicanery) should have been a major beat, but yet the booking glossed over it in a way that Triple H’s storytelling style normally wouldn’t. It reeks of a last-minute change.
While Stratus remains as dynamic as ever, the last few weeks have really highlighted Tiffy’s weakness cutting in-ring promos. In NXT, she did more unscripted pre-tapes, which allowed her to talk more off the cuff. It feels like she hasn’t translated that to live crowd interactions quite yet, which is why putting her with Stratus feels like a good move for a few weeks. It also gives Stratus a hometown match at Elimination Chamber, which will go over well with the live crowd. Despite the stilted booking, Jax and LeRae still make entertaining heels, and the tag match should be a barn burner.
It feels like WWE has consciously pulled back on Charlotte Flair & Stratton’s interactions over the past few weeks. Whether due to awkward chemistry on the mic, or Flair simply needing more time to prepare and shake off ring rust, it’s strange to see a supposed marquee feud being pushed more to the background on the road to Wrestlemania. And it’s frustrating, because there’s a really interesting ideological battle there, between the “mean girl who’s been around” and the “hot new talent”. In theory, that feels like it would do much more for Stratton right now than a rudderless feud that’s been running with no defined end date.
Grade: B-
DREW MCINTYRE: CORPORATE CHAMP????
Latest Developments:
Following the Bloodline Civil War, Jimmy Uso claimed he would be going his own way and establishing himself as a solo star, but struggled to win matches and lost his chance to be in the Elimination Chamber to Drew McIntyre.
Meanwhile, McIntyre had been coming off back-to-back losses in WWE and had successfully punched his ticket to the Chamber, intending to challenge Cody Rhodes for not giving him his flowers.
Last week, McIntyre mocked Uso for his failed solo efforts. Uso challenged him to a match that night, which he won due to McIntyre’s showboating.
Analysis:
A simple match that furthered both men’s mindset and character going into Elimination Chamber. Jimmy Uso’s slowly getting his mojo back, and Drew McIntyre’s dedicated to finding glory but (as shown by this loss) he may be being set up for the denial of his dreams.
I loved the pacing of this segment. A single backstage promo, quickly transitioning to the match. The simple, concicse in-ring storytelling of McIntyre’s ego distracting him now that he has a ticket to glory. Thematically, it feels like McIntyre is being set up to lose at Elimination Chamber.
While McIntyre’s brief interactions with Cody Rhodes last week simply felt like Rhodes building McIntyre as a plausible rival for Wrestlemania, The Rock’s tease of a confrontation at the PPV could be a hint that that will be the stage that Rock crowns his new corporate champion. With Rhodes likely to deny Rock’s request, McIntyre could be a sleeper pick to ally with The Rock to finally achieve glory.
WWE has subtly built up McIntyre’s increasing desperation to be at the top of the mountain, and allying with The Final Boss could be a very interesting apex of his heel character. It would certainly be a more fresh dynamic than Rock-Rhodes or even Rock-Punk.
Grade: A-
BIANCA BELAIR & NAOMI vs. THE JUDGEMENT DAY
Latest Developments:
Bianca Belair & Naomi were shown footage by Nick Aldis seemingly incriminating The Judgement Day (Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez) in the backstage attack of Jade Cargill last fall that took her out of action and led to Naomi taking her place as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Belair. Belair and Naomi were enthusiastic to paint The Judgement Day as guilty (despite the shoddy evidence).
Last week, Belair & Naomi were set to face off, but The Judgement Day attacked them mid-entrance and the match was called off. Nick Aldis confirmed both women would return for Elimination Chamber.
Analysis:
So this was the match cut for The Rock’s spiel, I’m guessing.
Nothing to cover, really, beyond it being teased more and more heavily that The Judgement Day was NOT in fact Cargill’s true attackers. Logically, Naomi still makes the most sense, as she had the most to gain with Cargill gone and she’s been increasingly ruthless in her pursuit of solo aspirations. But there’s always the option of WWE going with an out-of-nowhere choice to raise the profile of someone else.
In any case, putting both tag champs in the Elimination Chamber feels like it’s setting up for some kind of storyline beat. I’m curious if we get a teased Naomi betrayal by letting Belair and Naomi openly fight in the Chamber.
Simply because this was a nothing segment, I have to rate it poorly. Waste of time, and the only reason this made the show at all was because WWE advertised it last week and had to cut it last-minute.
Grade: D
DIY vs. PRETTY DEADLY vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS vs. THE STREET PROFITS
Latest Developments:
After turning heel, DIY succeeded in their long-awaited quest to reclaim the WWE Tag Team Championship by defeating the Motor City Machine Guns. However, in order to do so, they attacked The Street Profits and stole their title shot.
As heels, DIY recruited Pretty Deadly to assist them in retaining their belts, promising them a title shot in return (although they continued deflecting attempts to set the match). After failing to stop MCMG from getting another title shot, Pretty Deadly grew tired of Ciampa’s verbal abuse and rebelled.
After retaining their belts against MCMG at the Royal Rumble, DIY was laid out by the returning Street Profits, who swore that no one would dethrone DIY but them.
Last week, Pretty Deadly faced off against DIY in a title match, but The Street Profits interfered leading to a DQ. Post-match, Motor City Machine Guns came out to confront the Profits, but they were laid out too.
Analysis:
Some good ol’ fashioned tag team warfare, like the Ruthless Aggression days. I love it. I was prepared to be underwhelmed by Pretty Deadly vs. DIY II following a decent buildup for Pretty Deadly as the underdog babyfaces finally beating the cheating heels at their own game. Especially considering this aired after The Rock’s segment, the crowd was completely unenthused.
However, the DQ finish actually made sense and smoothly integrated The Profits into a conflict with both teams. While I’m still not convinced of The Profits’ ability to make this new Goldberg-esque babyface run work (they lack the raw intensity to be believably running through everyone like this), this feels like the most plausible build to a triple threat in quite some time. The Profits have a legitimate reason to target PD, wanting to dethrone DIY themselves as payback. Very clever booking, where no one feels extraneous.
Well…. except the Motor City Machine Guns. Their appearance didn’t just receive no pop, it actively made the crowd quieter. It may be time for WWE to invest in their characters beyond just “seasoned veterans” because, despite their in-ring storytelling being top-notch, the WWE promo-heavy structure hasn’t served them well and they come across more bland and vanilla than the competition.
Extra points for unpredictability, as each of DIY’s challengers could conceivably take the belts off them, and the match builds have provided each failed challenger enough ammunition to continue their character arc with another team following the inevitable title transfer. Often, multi-team feuds feel like extra bodies are being thrown in simply to up the chaos. Despite MCMG being somewhat unnecessary, the build to the inevitable four-way match feels head-and-shoulders above the norm.
Grade: B+
JACOB FATU vs. …… SOLO SIKOA?
Latest Developments:
Following his loss to Roman Reigns at Raw On Netflix in January, Solo Sikoa abruptly vanished from WWE programming. In his absence, Jacob Fatu notably began taking on more of an active role and blossoming into a leader.
Sikoa returned several weeks ago, admitting a crisis of confidence but swearing to Fatu that the Bloodline would soon get back on top. Two weeks ago, Fatu faced Braun Strowman and Damian Priest for a shot at the Elimination Chamber. Sikoa attempted to intervene, but wound up being prevented by Cody Rhodes. This distracted Fatu, allowing Priest to get the win.
With Rhodes occupied with The Rock, Fatu & Sikoa faced Priest & Strowman in a tag team match last week. Pre-match, Sikoa began cutting a promo en route to the ring, but Fatu took over and Sikoa meekly stayed in the background. During the match, Fatu was noticeably less subservient to Sikoa, and wound up kicking Sikoa by accident in the match’s closing moments (although displaying no remorse), thus allowing the babyfaces to steal the win.
Analysis:
A bit of a nothing match in service of an angle. The WWE weekly TV special. However, I do appreciate that WWE at least built to the main event throughout the night by letting the babyfaces build camaraderie. Priest talking to Cody Rhodes backstage was also surprisingly effective. Following his removal from the Judgement Day vortex, Priest’s style has become much more effortless and relaxed, fitting his natural swagger. He’s sneakily become one of the better promos on the roster.
Meanwhile, I love the story beats of Fatu naturally beginning to assert dominance over Sikoa. From being less-than-impressed with his behavior over the past few weeks to more subtle signs of disrespect as time goes on, it’s clear that WWE isn’t just building to a match between them, but also a coherent emotional dynamic. Fatu, the warrior, is dismissive of his former hero’s weakness and insecurity. The first ever “I hate you Solo!” will hit like crack, and WWE is doing everything they can to make those words RESONATE.
The match itself didn’t wow me with its in-ring storytelling, and this time it feels like more of a missed opportunity than usual. There could have been some more subtle moments of Fatu disrespecting Sikoa’s orders, tagging himself in, etc. I know WWE often treats matches as filler beats to make it to the next promo, but the matches themselves can deepen the stories if you allow them to and train the audience to look.
But overall, the beginning of a slow-burn build that feels like it could climax putting over Fatu as the next big thing in WWE.
Grade: A-
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