WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES (3/28): Randy Orton and Roman Reigns fire shots, Naomi sets up intentions, Main Event Punk, Jacob Fatu and the run-in DQ, Street Profits, more

Life meant that I couldn’t offer my Hits and Misses as quickly as usual, but that might not be a bad thing! It’s allowed me to have some space away from the episode and come to better conclusions about what worked and what didn’t. And, I hate to say, this episode just didn’t quite work. Bright spots aside, it was undercooked. As always, I’m Chris Adams, and you can reach me at cadamsowj@gmail.com if you think I’ve Missed!

HITS

RANDY AND ROMAN FIRE SHOTS: It was so satisfying to have bookend promos that essentially told the bosses at TKO and the rest of the world, “This new generation is the one to watch!” With so much emphasis on John Cena and the Final Boss surrounding the Netflix deal and this New Era, you could be forgiven for thinking that Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns were the absolute top stars of the company. But, recent history and the financial metrics show that, had Cena and The Rock not returned, the company would have been just fine. And just fine is an understatement. While I didn’t agree with everything Randy Orton and Roman Reigns said in their declarations of importance, the overall message was spot-on: the current stars are STAR enough to set the world ablaze.

NAOMI SETS HER INTENTIONS: Naomi is on fire. Speaking of setting the world ablaze, Naomi is doing character work that will keep her name on people’s lips for a long time. She is evolving before our very eyes. Or perhaps more accurately, she has finally been given the freedom to showcase what has been inside her all along. There is real substance in this turn, real depth to both her frustrations with Bianca Belair and her attack on Jade Cargill. However, what will truly resonate is if this nuance extends beyond the feud with Belair and Cargill. Positioning women to have meaningful feuds apart from a title is absolutely necessary, and it is doubly important for Black women. Representation matters even more now, and I am glad that what we are seeing in Naomi can serve as a model for future development that has two functions: achieving representation and telling the crucial ‘story’ to satisfy HHH’s metric of importance.

MAIN EVENT PUNK: How can we not be somewhat happy that CM Punk will be a WrestleMania main-eventer? The single tear in his eye represented the millions of tears shed before, his genuine emotions palpable in that ring. A long-standing feud reaches its zenith as well, although I am not in favor of the triple threat in principle. But let’s return to Punk. It’s nice to see people attain the success they both desire and deserve. Yet, I believe CM Punk will always have an asterisk next to this main event. A clause in a contract is not equivalent to earning a spot. CM Punk has undeniably earned his place through all of his work in the ring and behind the scenes. However, within the storyline, it feels weak and hollow. Still, I’m glad he got his nugget!

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

STREET PROFITS PROFIT FROM WHAT: Poor booking will ruin this title reign for the Street Profits. Poor booking will diminish their stature and influence. Poor booking will ultimately render them uninteresting in the eyes of the fans, and that is a death sentence. The silence with which they entered the arena was painful because I love the Street Profits. Individually and as a team, they are MONEY! But they are treated like afterthoughts in a division that needs them to be badass stars who refuse to be overlooked and forgotten. It’s impossible to understand the booking motivations, but it’s maddening that they are so odd and underdeveloped. They deserve so much more.

SECRET HERVICE STOMP CHANCE AND CARTER: I left this match with a feeling reminiscent of when the Street Profits were in the ring. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter had a brief rise over a year ago when they became the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Now, they have been overlooked and left behind, to the point that commentary had to remind viewers of who they were. It’s an unfortunate turn for two performers who are wildly enjoyable to watch in an industry that can sometimes take itself too seriously. Their vibe is unique, yet it is being hidden away, leaving no one able to see their glory. They, too, deserve so much more.

FATU AND THE TITLE MATCH DQ: This segment was egregious in two ways. Firstly, there have been far too many title matches ending because of outside interference in recent months. It feels too easy, as if they couldn’t find a more compelling way to achieve the desired outcome of Jacob Fatu standing tall. Secondly, they played his music as though he was a true victor deserving of celebration. Jacob Fatu is amazing and is in my top three current performers. If you read my column, you know this. But he did not deserve to have his music played, because he did nothing noteworthy and it simply added to the confusion of this segment and the title scene as a whole.

ROYAL RUMBLE MEANS LESS AND LESS: In February, Alicia Taylor announced that the winners of both Royal Rumble matches would main event WrestleMania. Even then, we knew that no women’s match would main event WrestleMania. Now, it’s clear that Main Event Jey Uso will not, in fact, be Main Event Jey Uso. I have no problem with WWE deciding to tell the stories the way they want. However, the stories need to be internally consistent if they are indeed going to remain stories that allow us to enter them without worrying whether the creative scaffolding is going to collapse. The easy fix would be to simply say that the winners of the Royal Rumble get a world title match of their choosing at WrestleMania. Then, the Rumble means something again and there is less internal confusion. In short, there has been too much slop in this year’s build to WrestleMania 41. They need to sharpen up the rough edges soon.