SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NEWS & NOTES
• Kevin Owens’ mother is reportedly doing much better, following her health scare several months ago. The Prizefighter cut an emotional promo before Money in the Bank about his mother’s real-life health, but recently updated the public that she’s now on the mend. Keep fighting, Mama Owens. We stand behind you!
• After months of speculation, former WWE wrestler Ricochet debuted at AEW All In last Saturday. Ricochet had last appeared on WWE programming being written off thanks to a Bron Breakker attack.
• Humberto Carrillo has signed a new three-year deal with WWE. While the LDF wrestler has largely been relegated to the undercard as of late, he’s always been a treat to watch onscreen. We look forward to seeing Berto in the future.
Last week’s Smackdown didn’t have many splashy moments, but nearly every feud handled its transitional beats very well. On the surface, it was a filler episode in every sense of the word. But it’s so interesting that WWE can hold up a “filler” show with nuanced feud development without relying on sheer goofiness and chaos like The Attitude Era.
Because, to be honest, much of the Attitude Era’s success came from the sheer outlandishness of it all (was there any need for a milk truck during the “Stone Cold” Steve Austin-Kurt Angle feud? NO! Was it way more awesome than a simple beatdown? HELL YEAH!)
Seeing WWE still make a watchable product without relying on those chaotic moments speaks volumes to the quality of their writing across the board. If you don’t believe me, let’s recap all the feuds from last week!
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
Latest Developments
Last week, Cody Rhodes appeared on The Grayson Waller Effect, where resident shit-stirrer Grayson Waller attempted to convince him that Kevin Owens would betray him at Bash In Berlin.
Owens appeared to shoot down Waller’s accusations, and a fight broke out. Owens picked up the title, but accidentally clocked Rhodes. The two later had a frank conversation, where Rhodes acknowledged Owens’ past betrayals but believed in his growth.
In the main event, the two defeated A-Town Down Under in a tag match. After a fakeout Owens betrayal, the two embraced to end the show.
Analysis
This build is quickly becoming one of my favorite feuds since WrestleMania, because it isn’t insulting the audience’s intelligence. Many can spot an Owens heel turn coming, due to his extensive history of obsession with titles. Traditional booking would have Cody choose to believe Owens had changed, and continue to blindly trust him until the eventual betrayal. Having Cody instead acknowledge Owens’ past was a much better choice. Letting him remain the underdog with a positive goal without feeling overly naïve.
Additionally, it lends a tragic backdrop to Owens’ character. It’s like we’re seeing a character try to resist their natural urges, like an alcoholic trying to not relapse. And when the turn happens, it allows for a much deeper story to be told between Cody and Kevin moving forward, as Cody will have to look upon a monster that he will be fully responsible for. Yet, the storytelling dynamic has been perfectly orchestrated so the WWE universe won’t turn on Cody for doing so.
It’s not as flashy as The Bloodline story, but this may be the most engaging feud on Smackdown. The peak of The Bloodline story came from Sami and Jey’s relationship, where the audience wanted both men to find peace yet understood why they remained enemies. If WWE can pull that off with Cody and Owens, we may be looking at a generational rivalry going into the fall. We’re certainly seeing the screentime being invested, with this plotline being the main thread throughout last week’s episode.
This week’s segment also highlighted the difference between repeating and deepening an emotional beat. In prior weeks, the seed had already been sown for Owens’ turn (in a great detail, Owens won the main event using the pop-up powerbomb rather than his usual stunner). This week, Cody took the time to openly acknowledge it which made the fakeout at the show’s end even more suspenseful. Little moments that build on character dynamics are what make Triple H’s slow-burn approach tick, rather than simply prolonging a feud to make it to the big PLE climax.
Also, bonus points for Waller’s heel antics during the talk show segment. Cutting off Cody’s entrance and the Kevin Owens betrayal compilation are some old-school heel shenanigans. So damn funny.
Grade: A+
Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller
Latest Developments
Theory and Waller primarily served as the antagonists of the week in the Rhodes-Owens storyline. Waller, possibly attempting to deflect from his own toxic relationship, attempted to convince Rhodes in Owens’ villainy. Rhodes instead focused on Theory, telling him to grow a pair and leave Waller behind.
In the main event, A-Town Down Under lost to Rhodes & Owens yet again, and were left laid out by the babyface team.
Analysis
In contrast to the above, this feud seems to be stuck in a holding pattern. Devoting consistent segments each week for new babyfaces to out-and-out tell Theory “You are a good man. Grayson Waller is holding you down,” feels like the type of “tell, don’t show” storytelling that WWE has proven themselves to be above lately. Not to mention, the feud’s premise already rings hollow given that the fanbase has largely found Theory’s work in A-Town Down Under more interesting than any of his solo excursions on the main roster.
However, WWE has subtly shown the degradation of the tag team in a different way: by positioning them as Smackdown’s resident antagonists. Following WrestleMania, the two were tag team champions and were the implicit stars of their segments. In recent months, their primary function has been to instigate a challenge against a babyface and face the consequences. Similar to Judgement Day in 2023, the subtle meta-repositioning of A-Town Down Under into the show’s go-to heels hints to the audience that Theory and Waller have, essentially, made each other worse people. They feel more pathetic as 2024 goes on, but it feels intentional.
Your mileage may vary on storytelling this subtle. While it signifies to the audience that A-Town Down Under are heels slowly losing their mojo following a championship loss, the execution has been too slow overall. And in comparison to the Cody-Owens feud, it feels like there are layers to this character dynamic that are being ignored. Theory’s unhappiness over Waller’s disrespect feels no more advanced than the first time he displayed it. And when you hold on an emotional beat for that long, you run the risk of the character feeling hollow.
Grade: B
Check out the latest episode of “Acknowledging WWE” with Kevin Duncan and Javier Machado, 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)
Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
Latest Developments
Carmelo Hayes cut another gloating promo on Andrade from his barbershop following his 1st win in their match series, but El Idolo busted in and confronted him. Hayes, now on the backfoot, tried and failed to stop Andrade.
Andrade set up a rematch for tonight. As a reminder, their matches currently stand at 2-1 in Andrade’s favor.
Analysis
This promo was simple, but established the changing character dynamics and provided a plausible setup for the proposed fourth match. Carmelo’s promo in his typical barbershop i.e his home turf, signalled his newfound confidence following a single win over Andrade. Despite Andrade still beating him 2-1, seeing Hayes feed his ego to astronomical levels is beyond hilarious while fleshing out his insecure heel character.
The barbershop has become so entwined with Hayes that seeing Andrade crash the setting was genuinely shocking, and showed how Andrade has become the aggressor following his recent loss. Angry El Idolo is a marked departure from his almost condescending calmness at the beginning of this feud, and WWE keeps finding new and dynamic ways to deepen their character dynamics without relying on long promos (which have never been Andrade’s strength). This might be the closest to a successful character Andrade has achieved since NXT Black & Gold. Watching him grow obsessed with whooping Andrade’s ass due to his lack of respect, is a storyline straight out of the territories, and this feud’s old-school feel highlights that.
Overall, a solid segment that keeps things moving along, and perfectly lays out the dynamic of Andrade-Hayes IV for tonight. If these two wind up going on a Best Of Seven, you won’t hear me complaining.
Grade: A
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. The Unholy Union & Blair Davenport
Latest Developments
Last week, the siz women faced off in a tag match for the first time. After a hard-fought battle, Naomi scored the pin on Blair Davenport while the remaining participants brawled on the outside.
Analysis
Feuds in pro wrestling should either have a compelling journey or a compelling endgame. For example, Roman Reigns’ title reign dragged at times, but we all knew it was culminating at WrestleMania XL so we let it play out. Andrade and Carmelo Hayes’ feud, in comparison, has no clear endgame but the matches are so entertaining it’s easy to get invested.
This six-woman feud has neither. The babyfaces have overpowered the heels too often to buy into the prolonged matches, but the heels also haven’t been weaselly or evaded justice explicitly enough for me to want them to continue losing. It’s just one-sided matches repeatedly, with no clear climax on the horizon. The Unholy Union continues to be the weakest champs in the women’s division, and while they got more offense in this week, there hasn’t been enough of an in-ring story told for viewers to care.
At this point, the heat’s been sucked dry from this feud. While relative newcomers Cargill and Davenport unquestionably are improving in the ring (specifically Cargill, who no longer feels clunky and slow compared to Belair), that isn’t enough to make me care.
With a Tag Title rematch finally announced for Bash In Berlin, hopefully tonight Belair, Cargill & The Unholy Union can finally begin building to a concrete climax to finally give this feud some more creative focus.
Grade: C+
L.A. Knight vs. Legado Del Fantasma
Latest Developments
Last week, L.A. Knight defended his title against Santos Escobar (with Angel and Berto). LDF jumped Knight before the bell, but the ref ejected them to Santos’ anger. After a fiery one-on-one match, Knight secured a clean win and escaped with the US Championship.
Later, L.A. Knight signified his intent to move on from Escobar, offering an open challenge this week on the go-home edition of Smackdown.
Meanwhile, Santos Escobar raged at Angel & Berto for getting ejected. Recent rivals Apollo Crews & Baron Corbin rolled up to mock the heels, and Escobar set up a tag match for tonight in retaliation.
Analysis
A phenomenal title match that allowed Knight to flex his babyface muscles. Outside of the cool catchphrases, seeing Knight as a more traditional underdog reiterated to the audience that he’s a babyface through and through, and cemented him as the midcard champ.
However, the final segments tonight seemed to hint that this rivalry has wrapped up and both Knight & Escobar are moving on. I can’t help but feel like we breezed through Knight’s most engaging feuding option too quick. More so than any other faction, LDF was perfectly positioned to be a counterpoint to Knight: a heel faction bogged down by infighting in comparison to a confident lone warrior. In a sense, LDF could have been Knight’s Bloodline for several PLE cycles, and splitting them feels slightly disappointing.
Knight issued an open challenge for tonight’s episode of Smackdown. Given the international location, this feels tailor-made for a local hero to get a massive ovation. But doing so without neutering Knight’s babyface energy seems like a tough sell. Given Knight’s penchant to disrespect his heel opponents, having him show more outward respect to his opponent tonight may be a good way to offset situational heel heat. With respect as an underlying theme, Ilja Dragunov would make sense.
Escobar plays the egotistical leader to perfection, and while his character pivot to being unsatisfied with his lackeys feels slightly out of nowhere, it’s easy to buy into. I can’t help but feel like they’re repeating the Chad Gable-Alpha Academy dynamic from earlier this year, but Angel & Berto aren’t Otis-levels of lovable so the emotional beats feel much more muted.
Next week’s tag match feels tailor-made for LDF to build back some cred. Several weeks ago, I spoke about how Corbin & Crews managed to get a babyface feel-good moment against the LDF after teaming up. Contrasting that with a more brutal beatdown tonight would be a nuanced way to show Escobar’s increasing brutality and iron fist over his stable.
Grade: B+
Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin & Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Latest Developments
All setup this week. WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax was understandably enraged this week at her growing enemies. In order to comfort her, lackey Tiffany Stratton helped by fixing her crown at Jax’s demand.
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven continued mocking Stratton for doing Jax’s bidding, planting seeds for a cash-in this week.
Michin got a vignette hyping her as an underdog tired of falling through the cracks, finally getting her shot at a main event against Jax. This week, Jax & Michin go one-on-one for the title in a Street Fight.
Analysis
Michin emerged as a star last week. Her vignette perfectly encapsulated her frustrations as an underdog who should be at the top of the mountain. Compared to Nia’s pomposity and repeated championship celebrations, Michin’s scrappy rage just catapulted her into one of Smackdown’s top babyfaces.
Meanwhile, Queen Nia continues upping her self-centeredness, taking out her aggression on poor Tiffany Stratton. Again, Nia proves herself to be such a beautifully hateable villain, planting seeds for a Stratton face turn simply by continuing to walk all over her. With Pretty Deadly by her side, Stratton looks poised to make a huge splash in the main event scene during her eventual turn.
Jax and Michin’s street fight tonight feels tailor-made for Stratton & PD interference, which will likely continue deepen the discord between Jax and Stratton while simultaneously giving Michin some huge “overcome the odds” moments by booking her in (essentially) a four-on-one. Will she walk away with the title? Probably not. But this is definitely an opportunity for Michin to walk away looking like a massive underdog star.
However, Green & Niven have begun to feel like they’re treading water. Weeks of needling Stratton haven’t led to much, and combined with supposed teases of their faction fizzling out, the duo’s luster has been lost since MITB and they’d likely be better served re-entering the tag division (imagine Green & Niven vs Stark & Baszler, the MEAT matches would be legendary).
Grade: B
DIY vs. The Street Profits vs. The Bloodline
Latest Developments
The Bloodline took the ring, where Solo Sikoa ordered Jacob Fatu to relinquish his WWE Tag Team Title to Tonga Loa, and instead become his personal enforcer. Fatu looked noticeably annoyed, but complied.
Later, #1 contenders The Street Profits faced off against The Tongans (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) for the Tag Titles. After a close match, Fatu intervened and secured the win for The Tongans.
During the post-match beatdown, DIY appeared to save The Street Profits, but The Bloodline’s power was still too much for both teams. The segment ended with The Bloodline standing tall.
Analysis
The new Bloodline has finally settled into a match rhythm, relying less on mid-match interference but playing up that Jacob Fatu is Sikoa’s true ace in the hole. In comparison to the Usos, the Tongans spend much more time on the defensive, truly depicting how B-tier they are compared to the OGs (in a good way). Fatu’s open annoyance with Sikoa mirrored Sikoa’s own discontent with Roman Reigns, and for the first time Fatu truly felt like the dangerous animal he claims to be.
Before, Fatu felt like Solo’s unwieldy weapon, but still in Solo’s pocket. This was the first time Fatu felt like an unpredictable third party that could be a threat to ANYONE, even his teammates. It’s a subtle moment, but it goes a long way in maintaining his aura and making his position in the upcoming Bloodline wars more intriguing.
The Street Profits reached a level of babyface fire that has eluded them since 2022. Following a year of lackluster booking, there’s some meta catharsis seeing Dawkins & Ford claw their way back to the Tag Title scene main event, and employing the Shatter Machine mid-match was a great way to signify their unquestionable babyface energy. Combined with the DIY team-up, The Profits look better than ever, while The Bloodline gathers new enemies at an alarming rate. While I don’t see either team joining The Bloodline civil war, it could be interesting seeing them aid Roman Reigns post-beatdown as a one-off. The old Bloodline’s undoing was their disparate enemies teaming up. Watching history repeat itself could be a fun story beat proving Sikoa is no better than Roman Reigns as a leader.
Additionally, points for B-Fab finally matching the Profits’ energy. It took months, but I finally bought into her relationship with Dawkins & Ford, and she found a connection with the audience. Hopefully WWE can continue the bond between the 3, as they have serious potential as a trio.
Surprise Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell appearance! Not much to report, but combined with DIY’s alliance with The Profits, this is an intriguing interaction to keep an eye on for the future.
Grade: A
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