SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
A few quick pieces of housekeeping before we get started:
- CMLL star Stephanie Vaquer and ESPN boxing sportscaster Joe Tessitore have both signed with WWE. While it has not been confirmed on which brand they will debut, both have shown huge enthusiasm for WWE in the past and are huge gets for the company.
- Tyler Bate will be out of action for the foreseeable future, following a torn pec during last week’s match at NXT. Thankfully, Bate said his surgery was a complete success, and he’s on the road to recovery. Sending our well wishes to the Big Strong Boi.
- After over two decades, John Cena has officially announced his retirement tour in WWE. Cena is expected to make several appearances in 2025, including the 1st episode of Raw on Netflix, the Royal Rumble, and Wrestlemania before wrapping up his wrestling career next year. Fingers crossed for a fitting farewell to one of the most iconic superstars in all of professional wrestling.
WWE’s Money In The Bank season has come and gone, and WWE is now fully on the road to Summerslam! With old rivals extinguished and new foes waiting in the wings, it’s an exciting time for WWE to begin sowing the seeds for the rivalries that will likely dominate the blue brand throughout the rest of 2024.
Despite the product firing on all cylinders, the holes in Triple H’s booking are starting to show themselves ever so slightly. Certain divisions and feuds feel dragged out, underserved, or even slightly boring. And judging by online chatter, the slow-burn storytelling of modern WWE starts to feel a little tedious if you can’t get into the stories.
However, the main event feuds leading into Summerslam continue to cook with gas. The women’s division is on fire, both men’s champions are in hot feuds (we don’t discuss Raw’s World Heavyweight title scene on this column, but it’s a masterclass in multi-man feuds colliding), and Summerslam looks set to be one of the hottest shows of the summer.
Tonight, we cover all the feud updates that occurred on the go-home episode of Smackdown, and the ensuing PLE that weekend. Let’s dive in…
Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa
Latest Developments
On the go-home episode of Smackdown, Sikoa aired a vignette canonically establishing that he took control of the Bloodline without Roman Reigns’s approval, and challenged Reigns to come take it back.
At Money In The Bank, the new Bloodline defeated Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens. Sikoa pinned Rhodes to achieve victory, intensifying the simmering rivalry between them
Analysis
While I haven’t been the biggest fan of this new iteration of the Bloodline, finding them largely boring and devoid of characterization, the MITB main event legitimized them to many viewers. A barn burner of a match that proved that the WWE’s newest Samoan signings could largely keep up with the vets. Jacob Fatu, unsurprisingly, was the standout. The word gets thrown around too much in wrestling nowadays, but Fatu has a badass AURA unlike anyone else.
Sikoa pinning Rhodes should only intensify their rivalry, and Cody’s growing respect to rival Roman Reigns serve as apt fuel for a one-on-one match at Summerslam. While I have doubts about Sikoa’s ability to carry a main event, the ensuing match should be filled with enough theatrics to win over the WWE fanbase.
The Bloodline story shines brightest when it highlights the family dynamics, and following Money In The Bank it really feels like Triple H is starting to put his foot on the narrative gas again. Rhodes, Orton and Owens shine as the Bloodline’s forever enemies, finding new ways to attack a well-worn rivalry at this point.
However, while Cody has both a championship title on the line and a personal stake in the Bloodline, Orton and Owens largely feel unnecessary to the story. I’ll never complain about seeing them shine as righteous babyfaces, but I can’t help but think both of them could be doing something more interesting, especially after their teased mid-match rivalry at Wrestlemania XL this April.
Grade: A
Tiffany Stratton & Nia Jax vs. the World
Latest Developments
Tiffany Stratton and Queen Nia Jax have formed a loose alliance over the past few weeks. Jax has been ringside for Stratton’s recent matches, dubbing her a princess in the rule of Queen Nia.
During Money In The Bank, Tiffany Stratton unseated 5 other superstars to become the next Ms. Money In The Bank, and shared a fiery promo with MITB host Trish Stratus, where she essentially brushed off the former Women’s Champ as old news while Tiffy Time was the here and now.
Tonight, Nia Jax takes on longstanding enemy Michin, while Tiffany is set to appear presumably to celebrate her win.
Analysis
This pairing has been both intensely annoying and oddly wholesome. Both Jax and Stratton have been on some of their most memorable runs in recent history, and pairing them together dials up the annoying factor in the most hilarious way.
Stratton’s in-ring work has leveled up. During both her qualifier, and at Money In The Bank, she meshed her fluid athleticism with hard-hitting impact that stands out in the WWE women’s division. When she hits a cartwheel into an elbow, you can FEEL the elbow from the nosebleeds. Out of all the goofy characters from the early NXT 2.0 days, Stratton has been one of the best at blending her over-the-top character with serious wrestling capability.
Jax, meanwhile, has successfully transformed her go-away heat with the WWE universe into an amazing hateable heel character. Having finally found a monster in-ring style that works to her strengths, Jax is no longer the botchy Ryback ripoff so many of us wrote her off as. The Queen gimmick is firing on all cylinders, rivaling Booker T and Baron Corbin for the most annoying King/Queen’s crown interpretation in WWE history. Tonight, Jax takes on Michin in a grudge match, which should be the perfect outlet to cement her as a monster threat going into Summerslam, where she’s guaranteed a world title shot.
Stratton and Jax are a pair of egos, both of whom have a ticket to the Women’s World Championship. An inevitable betrayal could set up a massive face turn for one of them, while also cementing a world title rivalry between two of WWE’s newest stars. Tiffy’s MITB briefcase could prove to be a looming spectre over Queen Nia, and with both of them highlighted in tonight’s Smackdown, jealousy could definitely be brewing on the horizon.
Grade: A-
DIY vs. A-Town Down Under
Latest Developments
On the go-home episode of Smackdown, DIY became the new WWE Tag Team Champions, unseating A-Town Down Under.
Analysis
DIY’s ability to get over in their matches is nothing short of magic. This feud suffered greatly from a severe lack of build up, with the Theory-Waller conflict seemingly arising out of nowhere after 8-9 months of flawless teamwork. And Gargano’s insertion back into Theory’s story felt forced, given that their NXT history has largely been written off following a rebuffed team-up at Elimination Chamber 2023.
While the premise of Gargano trying to make his wrestling son see the light was interesting on paper, the in-ring promos have been met with a muted crowd response.
Until…. the match. Wow. With references to DIY’s NXT underdog history, hilarious comedic spots of Waller continually using Theory as a shield, and a hot crowd gasping at every near fall, DIY laid it all on the line and finally claimed tag team glory.
As two of the best in-ring workers on the WWE roster, I hope the Smackdown tag team division gets more attention moving forward with DIY at the helm. While A-Town Down Under is supremely entertaining, their tag title reign was subpar, with only 2 defenses and no long-running feuds to speak of.
With Theory finally showing some skepticism toward Waller’s gaslighting, hopefully this leads to a face turn down the line. A-Town Down Under has fully exposed just how subpar Theory is on the mic next to Waller, and a return to his NXT face character could be just the change of scenery to make him stand out once again.
Grade: A-
LA Knight vs. Logan Paul
Latest Developments:
LA Knight lost the MITB men’s ladder match, allowing him to focus solely on part-time US Champ (and full-time weasel) Logan Paul.
Analysis:
This feud has been simmering for several months now, with many theorizing that Knight is in line to challenge for the US title at Summerslam. In recent weeks, Knight shifted his focus to the MITB briefcase, but now that that opportunity has slipped through his fingers, he’s turned his attention back to Paul.
The two have briefly crossed paths in the ring, with Knight winning a qualifier match over Paul and Santos Escobar, but by and large this beef has existed on social media and a single (albeit hilarious) home invasion vignette.
Knight has lost a little steam due to directionless booking post-Wrestlemania, and despite his excellent work on the mic, his old-school promo style contrasts so sharply with Paul’s new-age smarm that their promo battles haven’t flowed together that smoothly. Additionally, the feud’s limited TV time means that Knight can’t fully establish his goals in targeting Paul beyond “You don’t show up to work, I’m the real wrestling star”. And yes, that’s a valid motive to hate someone, but with Knight’s mic skills it feels like this rivalry should be about something more interesting.
Overall, this feud has shown glimpses of gold, but suffered from stop-start attention and wobbly writing. Hopefully Triple H can afford this one some more TV time, because Knight is well overdue to capture championship gold in WWE, and the pop at Summerslam could be earth-shattering with the right build.
Grade: B
Bayley vs Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Latest Developments
Bayley was ambushed by Chelsea Green & Piper Niven mid-interview on the go-home ep of Smackdown, with Green pledging to capture the WWE Women’s Championship following her win at MITB. However, Green would eventually lose in the women’s MITB ladder match despite a superb showing.
Analysis
Bayley’s reign has been the weakest out of the post-Wrestlemania title reigns, due to a lack of long-term feuds and a slightly stale babyface character with little for the former hugger to sink her teeth into. Like Blair Davenport before her, Chelsea Green felt like the next person to make a veiled threat at Bayley only to suffer from a lack of follow-up.
However, her standout performance at MITB (that table bump off a ladder may be the most violent moment on WWE programming since Jeff Hardy’s departure) definitely feels like WWE are positioning Green as a more serious contender moving forward.
They really need to add some juice to Bayley’s reign, and pairing her with Green on the mic might be just enough fuel for Bayley to deliver the fire we all know she’s capable of. Having faced Niven at Clash At The Castle, Bayley has plenty of history with the duo, and Green feels like the natural next challenger. And there’s also precedent for a Green-Niven breakup, following Niven’s annoyance at Green hogging the spotlight earlier this year at Clash At The Castle.
If WWE could just add some more follow-through to this story, it could be a great filler feud for both parties. However, with Nia Jax guaranteed the title shot at Summerslam, it looks more likely that we’re destined for this one to simmer on the back burner a little longer.
Grade: B-
Pretty Deadly vs The Street Profits
Latest Developments
The Street Profits picked up the win against Pretty Deadly on the go-home episode of Smackdown.
Analysis
The Smackdown Tag Division remains one of the weaker points of Triple H’s booking, but both teams proved they belong here with some dynamite in-ring performances. Montez Ford continues to up his aerial work, fueling fan support for a long-awaited solo run, but Pretty Deadly were the real standouts.
Despite a surprising lack of TV time (a true headscratcher given their penchant for hilarious promos), Pretty Deadly offers some of the best tag fluidity in the game. Their psychology is first-rate, and they’re one of the only tag teams that genuinely seem to think as one continuous being in the ring.
The polar-opposite presentation of the teams only added to the match’s fever pitch, and if the show’s writers can follow up, we could be looking at a much healthier tag scene on the blue brand.
Grade: B
Legado Del Fantasma vs. Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews
Latest Developments
Both Corbin & Crews have tussled with LDF leader Santos Escobarv over the past few weeks, and were seen voicing their pleasure that Escobar lost his MITB qualifier several weeks ago. This week, the two have been booked for a tag team match against Angel & Berto of Legado Del Fantasma.
Analysis
On paper, this looks to be a jobber squash to further legitimize the LDF, and nothing more. Corbin, following his surprisingly hot babyface run in NXT, has done little of note following his recent callup. Crews is in a similar boat, mostly making appearances on WWE Speed.
This booking feels like a bad throwback to WWE’s penchant of using babyface jobbers to get easy heel heat for a stable. It works, but there’s more elegant ways to do this, guys.
The best thing about this feud is Santos Escobar’s heel character, but even that has declined from a genuinely revenge-filled psychopath to a more bland smarmy bully that can’t rise above generic heel tropes.
Grade: C
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