SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
A few quick news items before we get started:
- Randy Orton has signed a new five-year deal with WWE. After an injury scare in 2022 nearly put him on the shelf for good, one of WWE’s longest tenured performers isn’t going anywhere. Orton has finally leaned into his real-life easygoing veteran persona, and looks to be having more fun than ever in the ring. We look forward to seeing him continue to wow audiences.
- On a related note, Orton (currently signed to Smackdown) recently appeared on Raw to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. With the title match set for Bash In Berlin, Orton is likely to remain on Raw for the next month to continue building the match.
- After several months of inactivity, Giovanni Vinci returned to Smackdown in a pre-taped vignette last week, reintroducing the Italian model gimmick he was working during NXT. Vinci has boatloads of charisma that he was unable to showcase during his time in Imperium, and this new singles run looks poised to catapult him into singles contention.
With the Original Tribal Chief back on Smackdown, the show feels more divided than ever. The Bloodline family drama, already taking up the lion’s share of screentime on Smackdown, has felt increasingly isolated from the rest of the show post-Wrestlemania. Originally, the Bloodline’s championship dominance warranted this, but having all 3 world championships play second fiddle to this one narrative is a risky strategy.
But it clearly seems to be paying off for WWE, with Roman Reigns finally cementing his role as the company’s top babyface (turns out all he had to do was be a villain first, go figure). If WWE can carry this momentum to next year’s Wrestlemania, Paul Heyman’s now-infamous “3rd inning” quote may be yet another spoiler after all.
But in the meantime, let’s recap the new feuds from last week,,,
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
Latest Developments
On last week’s episode of Smackdown, Cody Rhodes rewarded longtime ally Kevin Owens with a title shot at Bash In Berlin next month. Owens refused, citing his poor win-loss streak.
But when Rhodes & Nick Aldis floated the idea of Roman Reigns getting the shot instead, Owens became angry at the injustice of Roman being rewarded for his villainous behavior, and accepted.
Next week, Kevin Owens goes 1-on-1 against Grayson Waller as a tune up match.
Analysis
A intriguing character-driven feud, with a clunky beginning. Kevin Owens’ most consistent character trait is his righteous fury. When Kevin Owens feels slighted, his enemies are in for a beating. In recent years, that fury has been taken out on The Bloodline and other heels, but opening the feud by showcasing this element of Owens’ personality hints at Owens targeting more sympathetic characters like Roman & Cody and eventually turning heel – a welcome change after a few directionless months as Cody’s ally.
However, the beginning to this feud felt awkward and diminished Owens by allowing him to get baited by Rhodes so easily. In addition, bringing up more sports-based logic in WWE is a rocky road, as win-loss records and title shots have always been murky rules and historically more story-driven. Not to mention, despite his lack of wins, Owens is still extremely protected and rarely wins clean. Him putting himself down like this felt like an odd choice.
All in all, this was a serviceable segment that made sense in-character for both men, and it’ll be extremely intriguing to watch Cody add his trademark babyface fire to a feud against not only another babyface, but one of his closest kayfabe allies. We run the risk of Cody trying too hard to turn himself into the underdog (not very plausible 1-on-1 against Owens), but if both men can successfully tap into the different rhythms this pairing demands, we could be in for a very interesting feud leading into Survivor Series.
Owens is scheduled to face Grayson Waller next week, and judging by Waller already mocking Owens’ “pity title shot” on Twitter, this match could be a perfect setup for a more viciously annoyed heel Owens.
Grade: C+
Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa
Latest Developments
Solo Sikoa (alongside The Tongans) dared Roman Reigns to confront him in-ring and reclaim his role as tribal chief. Reigns obliged, laying out all 3 Bloodline members with ease, although Sikoa managed to escape with the ula fala as Reigns stood tall.
Analysis
Another Reigns segment light on substance, HEAVY on style. While Roman exudes aura like no other, I worry that showing Reigns as a dominating force will make it too hard to buy The New Bloodline as a credible threat. From the beginning, Solo’s Bloodline was marked by their increased savagery: Roman Reigns was a threat but he was also an intelligent leader, Solo Sikoa is an unhinged brute masquerading as a leader.
But in order to maintain that brutality, the New Bloodline has to feel more physically imposing than they currently do. Seeing Reigns outclass them physically and verbally (based off past history) doesn’t set up a plausible long-term feud going into the fall. If anything, I could see them setting a 3-on-1 handicap match more than a competitive singles bout.
HOWEVER: none of that matters that much because it’s so damn cathartic seeing Reigns finally ascend to the throne of WWE’s top babyface. Fully confident in his character, kayfabe mirrors real life as fans can finally show their appreciation to the man who carried the main event scene for years. Those cheers are for Roman’s badassery, but also for Joe Anoai’s selflessness. And after months of Solo running his mouth, seeing Roman shut him up hits every drop of serotonin in my body. It’s a credit to WWE for making me feel such intense emotions, but now they have to make me believe in a long-term plan with these people.
Overall, this gets a solid B-.
Grade: B-
Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax
Latest Developments
Tiffany Stratton excitedly prepared for Nia Jax’s title celebration, while Chelsea Green & Piper Niven tried to sow discord between them both. Stratton wasn’t having it, ordering away Niven & Green.
Next week, Nia Jax’s celebration for winning the WWE Women’s Championship commences.
Analysis
Nothing much to say this week. Despite the teased cash-in at Summerslam, Tiffany Stratton is firmly behind Nia Jax on closed doors. This lends credence to multiple theories that Nia Jax’s paranoia is baseless.
Now the story lies in Nia’s championship celebration. Like the famed breakup of Steve Austin & Brian Pillman in ’97, it’s easy to imagine Nia pre-emptively cutting off ties with Stratton to protect herself, which could create an enemy that Nia thought already existed.
The theme for heel turns in 2024 seems to be obsession (AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre, Carmelo Hayes). Having Stratton be the pursuer as a babyface is an interesting inversion on the trope, while cementing the young NXT callup as a threat to a bonafide main eventer.
Oh, and Chelsea Green makes the most of her few minutes yet again, with some classic zingers. Tiffany vs Chelsea is 100% on the horizon, and could lead to some of the most entertaining promos in the women’s division. Credit to Triple H for taking two similar character archetypes and making them feel so distinct. In years past, it’s easy to imagine these two being carbon copies of each other, which speaks volumes to the character depth in the 2024 women’s division.
Grade: A-
Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller
Latest Developments
A-Town Down Under complained to Nick Aldis in his office about the way they’ve been treated recently. Austin Theory accidentally got Grayson Waller a match against Kevin Owens and reassures him that he’s got his back and he shouldn’t worry about it.
Analysis
This week provided a curious change in rhythm, with Theory now accidentally landing Grayson Waller in trouble. The segment was short but could prove very important in future. This is largely conjecture, but hear me out:
Theory has largely given Waller the benefit of the doubt, and forgiven him despite being his fall guy repeatedly. Next week, Waller will have to do the same. But given his character, that doesn’t seem likely. More than likely, Waller will blame Theory for any misfortunes that come his way from Kevin Owens. This could be the final push for Theory to realize that Waller doesn’t have his back.
On its own, this brief segment did little than set up next week’s match and prove yet again that Nick Aldis can teleport (seriously, how did he just disappear like that?), but simply for the promise of the eventual turn, I’m knocking it up a few points.
Grade: B+
L.A. Knight vs. Santos Escobar (and Andrade)
Latest Developments
LA Knight made his first grand speech as champion, before being interrupted by Santos Escobar. The two squared off in the ring before Escobar made his intentions clear to take the US Championship off LA.
Later that night, Escobar won an incredible #1 contender’s match against Andrade (thanks to an assist from Andrade’s rival Carmelo Hayes), earning him a shot at the US belt.
Analysis
An underrated part of Triple H’s booking is his tendency to intertwine journeys of up-and-coming superstars in the midcard. Often, a big money feud begins to develop, and without realizing it, you realize the two superstars already share a history in the ring at various different points in their career.
Case in point: Knight and Escobar. The two had several brief interactions with the face-heel dynamics swapped in 2023, including some memorable spots in the 2023 MITB ladder match. As they separately turned face and heel, respectively, they shared a brief promo now and then, staying in each other’s orbit. Due to this booking pattern, the roster feels more integrated than ever, and a seemingly random midcard feud can be plucked from thin air and automatically have some juice to it.
Escobar, having recently been unimpressed with stablemates Angel & Berto, continues to take matters into his own hands by re-entering singles competition (a nice character beat there). Andrade was the perfect opponent, with both luchas getting the chance to show out like two matched blades. Both men have main-evented PPV cards in the world of lucha, and allowing them to bring their trademark aerial offense on full display helps solidify them as genuine threats in the midcard, especially compared to Knight’s more brawl-heavy offense.
Grade: A-
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Unholy Union & Blair Davenport
Latest Developments
Two weeks ago, Blair Davenport cost Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill their title rematch against the Unholy Union. Last week, Jade Cargill defeated Alba Fyre in a squash match, before Blair and Naomi joined the fray, respectively. In the end, the babyface trio stood tall.
This week, Davenport takes on Naomi one-on-one.
Analysis
The match itself achieved little other than reminding us how much more powerful Belair & Cargill are, compared to the Women’s Tag champs. In all honesty, the power difference is beginning to get a bit ridiculous. If anything, every tag team should be targeting the Unholy Union if they’re this easy to beat.
Davenport’s continued assistance still feels slightly random, a means to an end to bring longtime rival Naomi back into the orbit of Belair & Cargill. Logically, we still don’t know Davenport’s reason for helping the Scottish Witches. Commentary plays it up like she hates Naomi’s allies, but Naomi had largely drifted away from Belair & Cargill until returning to even the odds against Davenport herself.
Especially compared to other match-based feuds (Andrade vs Hayes), it feels like WWE is telling me I’m watching a blood feud, when it feels like Naomi & Davenport have continued to tussle for little reason. Remember, Davenport only began disliking Naomi because Naomi sided with her actual focus at the time, Bayley. There’s a lot of stretching disbelief in the character dynamics here, which makes the babyfaces look overpushed and the heels look slightly pathetic.
Grade: C-
DIY vs The Street Profits vs The Bloodline
Latest Developments
On the go-home episode of Smackdown, The Bloodline won the WWE Tag Team Championship from hometown champs DIY. While the Bloodline has been busy dealing with Cody Rhodes, new tag team challengers emerged this week.
DIY were determined to earn their rematch against The Bloodline, and won a qualifying match against Pretty Deadly. Meanwhile, The Street Profits have been calling out the Bloodline over the past few weeks, and last week defeated A-Town Down Under to also qualify.
Next week, DIY take on The Street Profits to determine the #1 contender to The Bloodline.
Analysis
The Bloodline has largely been focused on the tag team titles, which felt like a necessary prop to sell the effectiveness of Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline. But now, with Jacob Fatu injured and The Bloodline on the backfoot, the once-invincible Samoans look much more mortal than usual going into the upcoming weeks. The time could be right to pull an upset and return the tag belts to new champions.
DIY got over HUGE with the audience following their loss in Cleveland, and maintained their underdog status with a quick win against Pretty Deadly. DIY is unique in that the majority of their signature moves are team-based. The team truly cannot exist without these two working together, which sells them as a team operating at the highest level.
The Profits have been openly calling their shot for the tag belts, having been multi-time champions before. However, they stand as very different characters in 2024 following a failed heel turn and alliance with Bobby Lashley. While many pray for Montez Ford to go solo, the narrative suggests The Profits have one more tag run in them.
This storyline gets extra points for its air of unpredictability (a rarity in the slow-burn, widely-telegraphed Triple H WWE). The Bloodline should have a legitimate reign to put over its new members (specifically Fatu) as legitimate main event players. However, both challenging teams have legitimate gripes with The Bloodline, and would stand to elevate the division equally. Ultimately, it all comes down to who the most appealing chasers would be in the future. But, if all 3 seem plausible, the creative team has done their job. Consider me excited for next week.
Grade: A
Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
Latest Developments
Last week, Carmelo Hayes cost Andrade a #1 US Championship contender’s match against Santos Escobar, before walking away with a shit-eating grin. On social media, Hayes confirmed that Hayes-Andrade III would be happening tonight on Smackdown.
Analysis
Andrade showed off his strengths and weaknesses working a lucha-style match against Santos Escobar. When slipping back into his aerial offense, the former La Sombra slowly but surely worked the crowd into a frenzy, using his natural swagger. Credit where credit’s due, the man can smolder.
However, when Hayes interfered and walked away, it was apparent how outclassed Andrade has become at the WWE-style in-ring acting component. Compared to both Hayes and Escobar, Andrade looked quite monotone and disaffected. While the tranquilo gimmick works to a degree, it still proves tough tobuy into Andrade’s face character if he still can’t nail the vulnerability aspect in a promotion that favors emotional underdogs.
However, the setup for Hayes-Andrade III proves the worth of a match-based midcard feud. Fans were as hot for this as anything, despite the limited face-to-face promos. With Andrade still setting his sights on the US title, Melo’s obsession could make him sink to new lows while giving them both opposing narrative goals that could fuel this feud for a long time.
Grade: B+
The Pretty Deadly Musical
Latest Developments
Pretty Deadly again popped in to discuss their upcoming musical with Tiffany Stratton being shooed away, before losing a Tag Team #1 Contender’s match to DIY later that night.
Analysis
I mean…. This has to be leading somewhere, right? Triple H doesn’t plant seeds this blatantly without a payoff. Give us the Pretty Deadly musical stylings we demand! I will pay anything to see that happen.
Or give Pretty Deadly a meaningful win, I’d take that too. But definitely the musical thing.
Grade: A++++
Check out the latest episode of “Acknowledging WWE,” part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
RECOMMENDED NEXT: WWE RAW RESULTS (8/12): Pomarez’s alt-perspective report on Breakker defending against Sami, Priest vs. Carlito, plus Orton, New Judgment Day, Odyssey
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn in a best of three falls match for the Intercontinental Title, Damage CTRL vs. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Titles
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