SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Before we get started, one quick update:
·Raw ring announcer Samantha Irvin has departed WWE. Irvin, a newfound favorite of the WWE audience, had provided many iconic introductions in her tenure with the company and was hyped up by Triple H as “the voice of WWE”. Her sudden departure has not been conclusively explained, but her fiancé Ricochet has claimed Irvin will not be joining him in AEW. Legendary announcer Lilian Garcia will be taking over Irvin’s spot in future.
Post-Summerslam, it feels like the patterns for Triple H’s booking have become much more apparent. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but now that the novelty has seemingly worn off, people are starting to notice the rhythm of his booking like they do with any other booker in wrestling.
That, of course, leads to the naysayers emerging. For Triple H, the biggest word thrown around is “predictable”. Which, honestly, I understand. When you have an affinity for longer-term slow-burn stories, the ending is more easily telegraphed. But sometimes that’s a good thing. A good narrative in film & TV often doesn’t rely on a twist, but a logical progression. If WWE is aiming to emulate current TV trends, then this is the way.
But wrestling is a distinct medium. It exists week-to-week and has to play to a unique live crowd for each show, and therefore wants to give each installment its own “holy sh*t” moment. In the past, a “filler” episode meant you were slumming it and letting that week’s audience down. It speaks to the evolution of WWE’s audience, that the response is still so positive to such a different booking ideology.
And speaking of, we had some feud updates for this week, so let’s not waste any more time!
KEVIN OWENS vs. RANDY ORTON (& CODY RHODES)
Latest Developments
Two weeks ago, Kevin Owens tried to explain his reasons for turning on Cody Rhodes, but the enraged Rhodes ambushed him. Mutual friend Randy Orton attempted to break up the brawl, but accidentally made an enemy out of Owens by refusing to pick a side.
Last week, Owens cut a promo from home, ranting about the unfairness about being punished for his actions while The Bloodline runs free for doing much worse. After insulting Rhodes’ actions, Owens turned his attention to Orton. He said he felt betrayed Orton chose Rhodes over him. Later that night, Orton met with Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis, itching to get his hands on Owens. After resistance from Aldis, Orton teased speaking to a higher power.
Analysis
The Kevin Owens persona works best when pointing out the hypocrisy of others. It’s a character built around self-righteous anger. When targeted at a heel, Owens becomes a fiery underdog. When targeted at a face, he becomes a petulant heel throwing a tantrum. And this promo last week was perfection, overexaggerating every little slight against him (claiming Orton chose a side simply by accidentally grazing him with a blow is hilarious).
While the rationale for focusing on Orton rather than Rhodes is a bit shaky, WWE has at least positioned Owens as a man so single-minded he can only focus on one thing in front of him. It’s basic heel work, but just enough to plant the seeds for something more.
Orton’s segment later was nothing groundbreaking, but will likely culminate tonight when Orton speaks to his mysterious higher power (most likely Triple H, and it’ll be a treat seeing those two interact almost 2 decades on from the Evolution days). Orton playing the level-headed peacekeeper still falls a bit flat. Even in the past, his babyface turns never stopped him from showing some classic Orton bloodlust. But his delivery last week came off somewhat stilted and underwhelming. Serviceable, but well below his best work.
Grade: B
CODY RHODES vs. GUNTHER
Latest Developments
Two weeks ago, Cody Rhodes and Gunther faced off on Raw, putting each other over and wishing each other good luck for their match at Crown Jewel for the inaugural Crown Jewel championship.
Last week on Smackdown, Cody Rhodes came out to hype up the Crown Jewel championship (which still looks ugly as hell). He waxed about the potential cross-brand dream matches throughout history that fans never got to see, and promised that he and Gunther would put on a champ vs champ dream match for the ages.
Tonight, Rhodes and Gunther face off in the ring, assuming Gunther accepts Rhodes’ challenge.
Analysis
Not a huge fan of this one. Many fans say Cody Rhodes would have been a great politician, and that was annoyingly evident with this promo, where Rhodes had nothing to do but hype up a championship many are aware was created solely for the Saudi monarchy forking over the money for Crown Jewel. Not even Rhodes could sell the beauty of the belt (dear lord that thing is ugly), and he came off devoid of his usual genuine relatability. Despite his polished exterior, Rhodes remains one of WWE’s hottest babyfaces because everything he says still feels real and heartfelt. This felt fake, scripted, and performative. Not fun to watch.
Additionally, not working in a single reference to Owens after beating him down in rage last week made Rhodes feel oddly disconnected this week from his ongoing storylines, further solidifying that storylines are essentially being paused for Crown Jewel. It felt choppy and illogical, a rarity in the Triple H era. And building to a face-off was a weird choice…. you know, since they ALREADY FACED OFF 2 WEEKS AGO.
Definitely not Rhodes’ best work.
Grade: D-
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NIA JAX & TIFFANY STRATTON CANDICE LERAE vs. BAYLEY & NAOMI
Latest Developments
In the past few months, Queen Nia Jax and her long-suffering protégé Ms. MITB Tiffany Stratton ran afoul of Bayley & Naomi ever since Jax won the WWE Women’s Championship from Bayley at Summerslam.
Last week on Smackdown, Jax cursed out Stratton for falling ill and being unable to make their scheduled tag match against Bayley & Naomi. Under pressure from Aldis, Jax was forced to team up with Candice LeRae instead. Despite the two bickering constantly during the match, LeRae was able to land a moonsault on Bayley and secure a win for the heels.
Analysis
Another weirdly paced booking decision. With Crown Jewel on the horizon, WWE had been setting up an interesting cross-brand rivalry with Jax and Liv Morgan, so to not even address that and return to beefing with Bayley & Naomi felt like a weird choice. Especially since last week, WWE successfully intertwined both champions’ existing rivalries and created a fun web of alliances across both brands. Switching back to solitary focusing on Bayley & Naomi (a feud which has completely run out of gas) felt weird.
If there was an audible called after Stratton was out sick, why not just ditch the Jax segment entirely and let the rest of the women’s division shine? Aldis said it himself, WWE has a deep women’s division, but especially on Smackdown it feels like so few players get prominent time.
As for the match itself, there isn’t much to say about it. No one got much characterization besides Jax, the match was competent but uneventful, and Bayley & Naomi yet again felt like one-dimensional adversaries for Jax rather than fleshed-out characters with their own narrative arcs. It was fun to see LeRae after months of stop-start booking and little narrative work, but there’s no indication this will lead to anything.
If I’m being generous, I could say this week implanted that Jax’s tag partners are more successful when she lacks control over them (LeRae getting the pin because Jax couldn’t boss her around, in comparison to Stratton struggling because of Jax’s constant domineering influence). But to be honest, that feels like a stretch.
Grade: C
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
Latest Developments
Over the past few weeks, mysterious vignettes aired on raw signaling the arrival of a mysterious new force. TNA faithfuls may have recognized signs of the new team being the famous Motor City Machine Guns.
Nick Aldis announced two triple threat matches for last week’s Smackdown. The winners face off tonight for a title shot against The Bloodline.
Following several failed title opportunities, DIY and The Street Profits were bickering when Aldis told them both they had to earn their way back to the top. The two teams faced off alongside Pretty Deadly in a phenomenal high-flying triple threat, where DIY and The Profits continued their rivalry as Pretty Deadly tried to sneak pins and stay out of the way. Eventually, DIY’s tag team experience won them the match, earning them a spot in the qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Santos Escobar grew increasingly angry that Los Garzas had not been given any opportunities, so Aldis offered them a spot in the other triple threat, alongside A-Town Down Under and the debuting MCMG. MCMG came out to little reaction despite commentary putting them over, and the ensuing match mainly existed to put them over huge to the audience. The two’s experience was evident as they circled the other teams with ease, and eventually picked up the win.
Tonight, MCMG and DIY go head-to-head for the Tag Team Championship title shot.
Analysis
The Motor City Machine Guns are here!!!!!! As a TNA fan, I’m so dang excited for this. For anyone who doesn’t know, MCMG (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) have been on the scene for nearly 2 decades, and their style has influenced many of the most prominent tag teams in the world including WWE. Like how KENTA influenced CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, MCMG has done the same for tag teams.
Debuting MCMG in a multi-man match was a mixed bag. On one hand, the two’s golden era was their TNA multi-man clusterf*ck-style matches, so evoking the same rhythm here made sense. However, even in their 40s, the Guns are just too darn smooth compared to the majority of WWE, and so it felt like they were having to slow down and didn’t have the zip that made them stand out against the pack outside of WWE. It was sobering to see the Guns have such a muted reaction, proving that a legacy on the indie circuit still doesn’t register to a mass-market audience as much as Triple H expects.
Not much else to say about this match: Los Garzas will likely further their story against Escobar, while it looks like A-Town Down Under’s internal feuds have definitively been kiboshed. The two appear to be perfectly on the same page again. Hopefully that gets revisited some day, but I’m not a fan of feuds being dropped in a promotion that prides itself on story as much as WWE.
Meanwhile, the other triple threat was much more cohesively paced. DIY and The Profits perfectly built a face vs. face rivalry entirely on their frustration at coming up short against The Bloodline. This rings true for many people: when your team loses over and over, you eventually begin lashing out even at your allies. Pretty Deadly trying everything in their power to sneak out an easy win only added to the fun, and DIY winning on their teamwork and synergy alone made for an amazing arc.
Tonight, we get MCMG vs DIY. Not only is this the clash between WWE’s finest and TNA’s former finest tag team, but the PWG-influenced style both teams pioneered in different promotions finally co-existing will make for a legitimately amazing dream match for old-school TNA fans. The hype is only growing, and with The Bloodline on the horizon the fresh matchup possibilities are endless.
Grade: B+
CARMELO HAYES vs. L.A. KNIGHT (vs. ANDRADE)
Latest Developments
Amidst the acclaimed ongoing best-of-seven series between Andrade and Carmelo Hayes, both of them became entangled with US Champion LA Knight. After both losing title shots to Knight, Nick Aldis offered the winner of the best-of-seven another title shot.
This week, the two got into a fight backstage. Aldis broke them up, and installed Knight as the special referee for the two’s grudge tiebreaker match.
Later that night, Knight cut a promo promising to be fair in his duties as referee, before pinning the winner and retaining the US title.
Analysis
Something about this feud feels so fun and freewheeling compared to everything else on Smackdown. It’s telling a great story, but moving at a more chaotic pace that really shakes up the often slow-moving pace on Smackdown weekly television.
This segment was short and to-the-point. At this point, WWE has done such a great job building these two up that audiences are conditioned to believe it’s on-sight 24/7. I previously complained about Knight’s inclusion in the feud, but they’ve finally found the perfect dynamic: having him dangle the MacGuffin (US title) like a cocky SOB while they fight to the death. Knight has swagger for days, and can get away with heelish moves but still remain beloved by the audience.
Hayes and Andrade are so fun to watch, and watching them be blinded by bloodlust while Knight trolls them both as referee (because any ref who pledges to be impartial is never impartial, and Knight specifically showed Andrade respect but denied the same to Hayes), will be insanely fun. We might be staring down a banger on free TV, folks.
And if the blowoff title shot doesn’t make it onto a PPV, it’ll be a travesty. They’ve earned it, Triple H!
Grade: A-
WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHALLENGERS
Latest Developments
Two weeks ago, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defended their titles against NXT’s Meta-Four (Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend), with Chelsea Green & Piper Niven jawing at them ringside. After a quick squash, the champs retained.
Last week on Smackdown, Piper Niven took on Lash Legend in a quick hoss right with Belair & Cargill watching on. To the surprise of the crowd, Legend managed to decisively beat Niven and secure the win!
Analysis
This segment was a blatant attempt to rehabilitate Meta-Four from last week. From getting entrance cut for Kevin Owens’ rant, to the abysmal squash loss they had, the promotion did everything they could to undercut Legend & Jackson in their debut. Which, if they were pushing the narrative that Meta-Four is too inexperienced for the main roster, or incomplete without Noam Dar? Fine. But they weren’t, and as a result the air was out of their sails immediately.
This week fixed that pretty decisively. The rivalry felt pretty accelerated. From Green & Niven simply watching last week to a singles match this week feels jarring, normally WWE’s promo-focused programming would at least allow the teams to interact once backstage beforehand. But in any case, the match was a quick squash that made Legend look… well, like a legend. Niven has built herself up as a genuine hoss, so seeing Legend win clean did wonders to make her look formidable. I could have done with a more explicit tease for the future, but it looks like WWE is setting up multiple challengers in Belair & Cargill’s orbit.
Consider me intrigued for the future.
Grade: B+
WHERE THE HELL IS VINCI?
Latest Developments:
After his two losses to Apollo Crews due to his own vanity, and eventual win, Giovanni Vinci’s new gimmick has largely disappeared from Smackdown programming in recent months.
Analysis:
I was one of the ones championing the booking of this new gimmick. It looked like they were building to something interesting by building a guy growing increasingly frustrated that others kept taking advantage of him and denying him a spotlight.
Aaaaaaaand then he disappears off programming. I don’t get it, it could be so easy to dedicate two minutes to a squash every other week. If anything, it’ll now be even harder to build him back up when he eventually makes it back onto TV. To sell a gimmick based on losses, the wrestler has to at least be a constant presence or he’ll become the very thing his character is parodying: a failed act. Triple H’s biggest strength previously was finding everyone something to do. It’s frustrating to see certain players slip through the cracks recently. Justice for Vinci!
Grade: F
THE BLOODLINE CIVIL WAR
Latest Developments
Over the past weeks, Jimmy Uso begged Roman Reigns and Jey Uso to reunite against the Bloodline, but both were unwilling to team up with the other. Reigns tried apologizing to Jey, but Jey rebuffed him.
Last week on Smackdown, Jey made an unannounced appearance, facing off against Solo Sikoa’s group for the first time. Despite proclaiming himself out of the fight, Jey implored Sikoa not to divide the family in his pursuit of power. If his goal was to unite the family, why bring in someone as insane as Jacob Fatu? Sikoa refused to listen, ordering Jey to bow to him or else. Jey refused and left.
Later that night, Reigns tried acknowledging Sikoa but refused to kowtow to his growing ego. In response, Sikoa had the Tongans beat up Jimmy. Enraged, Reigns attacked Sikoa, but The Bloodline overpowered him and stood tall.
Later on Raw, as punishment for his disrespect, The Bloodline appeared during Jey Uso’s title defense for the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker. Jey managed to successfully fend off his family and Breakker at the same time, but Fatu eventually ambushed him, allowing Breakker to win the match and reclaim the title.
Analysis
A traditional booking pattern from Triple H, but an extremely effective one: Jey Uso allowed himself to get sucked back into his family’s business, and paid the price with The Bloodline leaking into his personal rivalry against Breakker and costing him his solo title. We saw it with his tag title reign last year, and the same thing happened again. I love how the WWE treats Jey’s Bloodline interactions like a relapse. He’s happy on his own, but just can’t help himself but jaw against Solo. Speaking of, every single interaction feels custom-built to build Jacob Fatu as an unpredictable beast. Establishing him as too insane even for Roman is a crazy descriptor, and truly puts him over as one of the most terrifying performers in WWE.
Additionally, last week may have been Sikoa’s best work on the mic yet. After months of sounding like a pale imitation of Reigns, they’ve finally found their rhythm in showing Sikoa as a less effective leader but intimidating in his own right. I understand the thought process behind the “Temu Bloodline” vibe, but WWE has finally found out how to make the pale imitation still feel like killers.
Reigns also excelled, showing a level of humility we haven’t seen from him before. He seemed to genuinely respect Sikoa’s abilities as a leader, but watching the old authority come out when Sikoa grew an ego was a great way to remind viewers that despite his slenderer frame, no one can outmatch Reigns’ presence. The man felt like a giant despite being smaller than half his opponents, a true testament to his skill. All the pieces are coming together for an epic clash.
Most likely, Jey (now with nothing left to lose) has no other choice but to confront Roman man-to-man, which should make for some exciting television tonight. It’s Bloodline season again, boys! They’re cooking!
Grade: A+
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: TNA Bound For Glory lineup (live coverage Saturday): The updated card for TNA’s biggest event of the year
(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com.)
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