Did Strowman get moved to Smackdown or just the whole BTB invitational nonsense?
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Did Strowman get moved to Smackdown or just the whole BTB invitational nonsense?
ok so I havent watched wrestling in months. I did watch parts of the rumble (rumble matches) which was the first time I have watched since maybe last may-ish.
I've honestly just kind of got the run down from bg and now tyson who sum up everything nice and neat enough I dont feel the need to watch.
fast forward to today. The non stop hype roman has been getting final drew me in. I put on smackdown and I am sitting here thinking to myself how fucking mind blowing it is that reigns may get me back into watching at least smackdown. just unreal. dude is killing it.
I know people moan about the old timers but please.give me edge and Christian vs reigns and use at fastlane or something.
I have a feeling we’ll see Christian coming to Edge’s defense during a Roman/Jey beat down sooner rather than later...
Reigns is such a natural heel it's mind blowing that it took them this long to do it especially considering he was massively jeered for his whol face run which was like what 4/5 years.
He'll do this for a while and will then get over as a face because of how well he's working and when he turns they'll finally get what they always wanted. They could have done this years ago though and everyone would have been better off for it.
This may be petty but that jacket seems like a tight fit for Seth!
Plus keeping kayfabe alive, he stabbed a guy’s eye out so shouldn’t be forgiven.
Plus where the hell is Murphy?
Another stellar opening segment for Reigns. I don't like the idea of some having to qualify for the EC while others don't, but I thought the two that got passes made sense.
It's like Smackdown saw NXT work entertaining tag matches over the last few weeks and decided to follow that blueprint.
It's the long play, but I really do hope they eventually plan on making the Mysterios a legit tag team and give them a title run. Zayn works well with just about anyone. He hasn't been Reigns level good but he's been superb since he came back. It was a pretty good tag match but I'm somewhat disappointed with the winners. The Mysterios could have been a nice wrinkle to the Chamber match. Goodness, Dominik was lucky on that suicide dive before the break. That looked scary, going too hot outside and going right into the edge of the table.
Good on E for being a face who knows what is going on. Crews has gotten plenty of chances as of late and lost every single one of them. He needed to go to the back of the line and there was a decent person to step up to the plate. It's a shame there was a dumb finish. I get why they did it, but they really didn't need to go with that silly route for the finish because it really didn't do any favors. Nakamura got that one-week run, with the gauntlet, and it really didn't amount to much. He's cutting great promos on social media but it has yet to be realized in full form on TV.
He was there, ringside, during the Rollins segment. The Mysterios were out there too. You know...Rey had to keep an eye out for him...
They really hyped up the return of Rollins. Regardless of the motivation, it's probably a smart move to just drop the Messiah gimmick. It worked and served its purpose for that stretch of time but it probably didn't have much left in terms of momentum. Get rid of the religious undertones and still have him misguided and feel like he's the answer to everything. Works for me.
Sweet mother of everything, I hope Liv was hungry because she damn ate the guardrail. Sheesh. Another week where Bayley got to have a good match with another opponent. I'm curious to see where the story with The Riott Squad and Billie goes. The momentum as a tag team for them has kind of stalled with this but I'm thinking it's all going somewhere.
Much like the match prior, the Street Profits had a match just to be on TV but not a lot of storyline motivation behind it other than to be entertaining. I don't mind it if it actually keeps them on TV and builds up wins for a team that's actually going to get a title match.
Good on them for actually leaning into the fun with Nia and her hole. I thought it was a nice touch too when Nia and Shayna decided to strike, Nia did catch Bianca at first but Sasha (the veteran and the champ) was ready for Shayna. This segment was the first of two that ultimately didn't bode well for tag champions.
Main event was good. Probably not ideal to have the champs take an L but the right two guys are in the Chamber. Cesaro's sharpshooter is getting more menacing the more he does it. Owens coming out to stun everyone (minus Zayn) was fun to see. Not shocking anyone, I'd say Smackdown did a better job with the same amount of time given to prop up their competitors for their Chamber match.
There's two routes here for EC that seem the most likely to me. The first is just running it back with KO. The match would clearly be good but I think we've pretty much got a dry well there. The other option is Cesaro. If they are to be believed, reports indicated he was set to take the gauntlet momentum that Nakamura got but hadn't re-signed at the moment. If that's actually the case, Nakamura became collateral damage to an extent and they're continuing with the idea of Cesaro getting a push. The idea that the winner of the Chamber gets the title match that night helps mitigate any concerns creative might have with having Cesaro have to carry his end of a championship program over multiple weeks. Either that or Cesaro may get an opportunity at Fastlane. Either way, he seems like he's getting set up to get a title shot...which is awesome.
Two quick thoughts:
- Goodness, I hope they're waiting until EC is done to bring Rhea to a show. Pick a show. Any show. Please.
- With Sonya being a Co-Authority figure, you'd think she'd be pushing for a female Chamber match. Oh well.
I am certainly not sad about the Murphy/Aaliyah angle being dropped but after a big singles win over Rollins he drops off the face of the earth? Corbin/Dominik/Mysterio going round in circles as well.
Minor things at the end of the day when compared to Raw.
They finally gave us a pay off to the angle with Seth and nothing comes of it. Murphy was primed for rekindling his feud with Roman before he disappeared. Maybe it sounds crazy, but I thought he'd be the perfect next opponent for the Tribal Chief.
Liv knows how to take a bump.
https://i.imgur.com/YluLVBh.gif
Zayn looked a little too silly and insignificant for the opening segment but I enjoyed everything else. There's certainly magic there between Reigns and Edge. They're two guys in their respective grooves when it comes to promos and both of them approach the art of a promo in a unique way compared to most everyone else in WWE so that makes them dueling together quite captivating. I do like how Edge dropping breadcrumbs with the potential winners in the Chamber was a nice show-long story, too. Owens had a nice shirt.
Nakamura winning keeps him in the title mix, but I do like how Crews was booked for the most part. His story has been laid out well and something had to happen to avoid stagnancy. He's been losing way too much to E, though in competitive fashion and needed to move to the back of the line, so he had to do something to force the issue. I would say his beatdown was emphatic and the presentation of it all was solid. I am curious if the tease a few weeks back with him sitting in Reigns' locker room is something that's influencing him and it just hasn't been acknowledged yet. Basically, Reigns telling him that he can run in their crew if he gets the IC title. Motivation for Crews, potentially gets him some gold, and further adds to the stranglehold Reigns wants to have on Smackdown.
The stuff with Rollins feels disjointed right now. It just feels like a tweaked version of what Zayn is doing. The shtick comes across as Rollins believes that he's the top guy in WWE. He ultimately was that a while back but everyone turned on him along the way and he's trying to right that wrong. It's going to need a clear direct after EC, so we'll see what happens.
Keeping Billie's annoying comedy in the mix while adding hints of garnering sympathy is a nice touch but having it come at the expense of The Riott Squad might be a bit much lol. I'm not sure where it all goes but it does look like it's lacking promise.
The insinuation of Reginald crushing on Sasha really doesn't do anything for me. While I like the idea of multiple threats coming to take the titles from Nia and Shayna, having it happen via Reginald is meh. Don't get me wrong, he's entertaining but it's not really an interesting wrinkle to this specific story. Gotta give credit to Nia her character and promo work have been entertaining over the last couple of weeks across all three brands.
Considering the talent in the Mysterios/Gable and Otis match, that was a dud. Timing of it, execution, finish. Mandy starts talking to Bad Bunny and Otis goes off the deep end? I don't really see how Otis being a heel is going to click. I guess the gist is that while Gable has been coaching him up, he's also been manipulating him and planting the seed to turn.
The digs Bryan and Cesaro were taking at Owens' expense before the main event were funny. Nice nod to Jericho as well. The main event got a lot of time, which I was happy to see. Good match with lots of good work within the match. Fun twist, playing the banter of the faces prior to the match to ultimately see Owens not being tagged in. The timing did kind of hurt after the match with Graves teasing that Corbin was lurking but then they cut to a replay of the finish...then Corbin hit him haha. Finish spam to end the night (with unnecessary play-by-play from Cole lol). Edge's spear didn't look that good on Uso but he sold the one from Reigns rather well.
I like how they had it to where Bryan called Reigns out for taking the match with Bryan right after the Chamber match. Really good way to call Reigns out by saying the head of the table shouldn't be in the second match of the night and should have been the main event. As usual, Reigns and Uso were really good in their roles. Uso magic tricking Bryan and saying "ta-da" was pretty good.
The segment after was the first misstep I've seen in the big picture outline with the championship in quite some time on Smackdown. Why would Edge be so upset with Bryan and what he was wanting to happen at Fastlane? It almost comes across that he's more focused on taking Reigns out rather than being at Mania. I don't hate that idea but it doesn't really make sense. Winning the Rumble meant he got to pick his champion and be in the main event of the biggest show of the year, so being mad that someone is getting a second shot before he gets his doesn't click.
I'm a fan of seeing The Mysterios as a tag team. Just a shame they're not getting a lot of time to work together in the actual matches. Still not buying Gable/Otis as a full-fledged heel duo yet.
Crews/E is like a discount Sheamus/McIntyre story but it's playing it out better so far on Smackdown because the heel is fresh and getting a chance to develop his character. The shift in attitude in Crews and it seeping into his work in the ring is a very nice touch. Good to see they sold the beatdown on E by having him off TV. That push for Nakamura surely feels fleeting now. Doesn't look like he's getting a crack at Reigns in the short term, and he might get phased out of the IC picture somewhat quickly.
Tamina beating Liv clean? Big yikes there.
Pretty blatant negligence not to even have Io Shirai on the graphic for options Bianca could assess when it came to her Mania opponent. She obviously wouldn't pick Io but what's all this talk of NXT being a legit third brand if you're not going to acknowledge them as such? I could probably use less Reginald in all of this (though he's quickly shooed away each time), but I like what they presented with Bianca and Sasha.
Corbin lost his running mates but he might be getting a new one in Zayn. That's an oddball pairing but it's two annoying heels that probably work well off each other. I don't think either of them have a lot of upward mobility on their own at the moment so a team could work. It certainly works in a Mania sense if SD opts to have a multi-team ladder match. REALLY liked the combo by The Street Profits to finish the match. Cool Chicken Wing Neckbreaker by Dawkins and then From the Heavens is always a crowdpleaser.
I'm not sure why Bryan would doubt a babyface in Edge but they openly put that out there. That was interesting.
I'm not sure if Rollins is spoofing the former President but he did a hell of a job to really help Cesaro out in their segment. Rollins propped him up as a stud but then broke him down with all of the shortcomings Cesaro has come across. Best. Swing. Ever. That was awesome. The velocity on the swings, Rollins screaming, and the jacket coming off. It's been forever and a damn day since Cesaro has had a PPV match and it's certainly looking like we're going to get one where he faces Rollins. I hope they can stretch it to Mania.
Fun main event. Bryan and Uso have faced each other multiple times but they're always fun matches and they find subtle ways to make each one of them different. I really didn't envision a double count out being the finish. That's certainly a divisive result but it easily kicks the can down the road next week to see what happens with the match at Fastlane. I guess the doubt Bryan showed towards Edge led to Edge not wanting to come out to even the odds. Not a huge fan of that.
They're certainly light on for the idea of a triple threat emerging at Mania. They could've teased Owens/Edge as a tag team and they're teasing Bryan/Edge and neither of them sound that compelling compared to the idea of Edge/Christian. While it's kind of murky and I didn't like some of the execution, I like the fact they have different options on the table for what can happen at Fastlane.
Nobody should be losing to Tamina, especially Liv. :no:
Crews showing more character/personality in one promo than he has in the past four years. :yes: 'Bout friggin' time.
Apollo magically having an accent and going quasi-Black Panther.....I'll have to see how this pans out. He's definitely elevated his game ever since the Hurt Business feud. I think it'll be cool.
I'm digging heel Otis and I hope that his team with Gable amounts to something. SD doesn't have a terrible tag division but they still need to keep building some of these teams. Personally, I'm hoping we get Rey/Dom v. Dirty Dawgz for the titles at Mania with Rey and Dom going over.
I don't think the Dirty Dawgs deserve to have a match at Mania - even if it is spread across two nights. I am on board for a Rey/Dom title run.
To be fair, I am less opposed to Dirty Dawgs being involved at Mania if they are part of a multi-team match than if they are part of a traditional tag match.
Apollo gaining an accent is sorta like reverse Kofi. Kofi phased his out and Apollo suddenly gets one lol. Intriguing to see how the new character goes and hope he aligns with Heyman/Reigns soon.
This was 2 months ago so I don't think they're going back to it. If they were, I would imagine Crews would have said something about the advice Roman gave him back then and that's what caused his change of attitude. But he's stated that his change is due to how Big E was looking down on him. Their feud honestly feels like someone pitched the Black Panther storyline between BP and Killmonger with Big E in the role of T'Challa.
They also did a little thing with him and Heyman on Talking Smack which could have hinted at something. Maybe have them occasionally work together taking out common enemies at times if not a full-blown alliance.
Either way, curious to see where they go with him.
Wtf is with crews fake accent
Nice to see you though, was kinda wondering where you were.
Loved the Bryan promo to start the show. The fire clearly got him stammering along the way but it worked because you could tell it was an impassioned promo. It was a brief retrospective of his career and brought the real-life story of the personality test to light and helped put everything together. It felt like a transition statement but the fact that Bryan has won three Chamber matches is wild. Reigns was great with his retort, as well. Good to see that things advanced in the sense that Uso cut Bryan off at the pass again but Bryan was prepared this time.
I'm kind of surprised they didn't swap the opponents for the singles matches between the tag teams (yes, Corbin...tag teams). It was already assumed that Zayn was going to lose his match so I would have thought Ford faced him and Dawkins took an L to Corbin. I just didn't anticipate Ford taking a L but that was set to happen with him facing Corbin and Dawkins facing Zayn. Both brands have tag titles that are incredibly diminished but I'm willing to say Smackdown has the weaker tag titles at the moment. Raw seems to have champs but very few challengers, while Smackdown has challengers readily available but aren't interested in utilizing their champs. It looked like the rouge cameraman was new PC signee Blake Christian.
Gable is getting a moderate push by getting Otis to turn (poor Tucky) but...he lost to the younger Mysterio. Despite more of an emphasis, Gable is still Gable lol. Be that as it may, the match was pretty good despite not having a lot of time. Good to see Dominik hold his own and keep pace with Gable.
Bianca/Shayna was pretty good while it lasted. I was kind of concerned if we hit a rough patch with Shayna from Monday's match with Charlotte but she was fine the rest of the week. I guess she just has bad chemistry with Charlotte, which probably isn't ideal for her. Reginald didn't have the best episode with the ladies lol.
Man, Corbin losing his goons really took Muphy off TV for this long, didn't it? That's the only thing that makes relative sense from what we've seen weekly. Why Murphy opted to suggest he could help Rollins is beyond me. Shouldn't shock anyone but Murphy and Cesaro had a pretty fun match. Cesaro clearly has a healthy amount of momentum and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him square off with Rollins. Cesaro is getting a good push but he needs more. This story could be boiling hot if Cesaro had some meat behind him in terms of motivation. He had that promo on Talking Smack a few weeks back but we need some more character present with him.
Speaking of that, we're getting it in full now with Crews. He delivered with his promo, again. This wouldn't be stuff that many guys could pull off but he is embracing this fully. There's realism to the story so that can allow him to sink his teeth into the TV persona. We're setting up for a pretty critical juncture here between Crews and E. Retribution (not that kind) is needed for Crews taking out E, but they're clearly trying hard to get Crews over. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with this.
Teasing some dissension or mixed agendas between Pearce and Sonya. That's going to be an interesting dynamic to monitor.
Not sure what to make of Bayley's segment and what it's ultimately laying the groundwork for.
Graves setting the stage for the match seemed a little basic but I think the gist was to make the match have a bigger feel, which I think was accomplished. Lol, they put a cameraman on the corner of the cage and then just went away. While he was gone, they had some different camera angles, displaying the height of the cage. The cage wasn't higher but the angles really did a nice job of conveying the danger of battling that high up. Nice work there. Bryan and Main Event Uso mesh together really well. They don't take it easy on each other and that certainly makes their matches better. Cool spot with Uso bouncing off the cage leading to constant feeding of the Yes Kicks on the ropes. Seeing Uso just wail away at Bryan on the mat was straight up vicious. Proper finish with the rope break not stopping a submission, and great visuals by Heyman and Reigns after Uso lost.
Fresh Bryan versus Reigns at Fastlane. They had a good one at Fastlane six years ago. I imagine this will be better.
Quick hits:
-Real good promo by Bryan, who will bump his ass off for 25 minutes before doing the job to Reigns at Fastlane.
-Main Event Uso has been money since turning heel and becoming Roman’s henchman. He and Bryan have great chemistry, that cage match was PPV quality; the fallout next week will be interesting.
-Shithead heel Roman Reigns is awesome, his guilt trip on Jey pre-match was masterful. Am curious to see how Jimmy Uso fits into this storyline.
-Love the Crews character progression. I feel like E drops the IC title at Mania to Crews, probably in a triple threat/fatal four way (with Zayn and ???) so E doesn’t lose any heat.
-Belair v Baszler was actually entertaining. Either Bianca carried Shayna there or Shayna is really getting dragged down by associating with Jax.
-Another W for Cesaro, which is great. An extended Cesaro v Rollins feud, sign me the fuck up.
-Sasha Banks is absolutely stunning.
-Still haven’t figured out who this Reginald dude is, he is very athletic and has in-ring potential.
-Would really like some clarity to the tag division. The under-rated champs are getting shafted, there are some teams that would make for some great matchups (Mysterios/Alpha Academy/Street Profits).
-How much time, in the two hour broadcast, is wasted on recaps? Fifteen minutes? Twenty minutes? Unnecessary.
How can SmackDown be so much better than RAW, on such a regular basis? It’s fucking embarrassing.
I’m one of the biggest Edge marks here, but feel like Roman needs to go over Edge at Mania. With a couple additions to the table (Jimmy Uso, Samoa Joe, even Apollo Crews), Reigns really should be able to hold the Universal title until Mania 38. Picture this: Reigns uses his stable of henchmen to monopolize the Universal title through 2021, the 2022 Rumble winner Big E enlists some backup (“If you smellllllll...”), E goes over Reigns at Mania, Rock v Reigns at Mania 39 in LA. For The Rock, it’s real easy to insert him into a feud with Reigns (“How can you call yourself the Head of the Table when the show is named after me, Jabroni”).
A good one? A classic! I adore that match. Glad to hear it's happening again, although it's hard to imagine it touching the 2015 match without a crowd for me.
I like that they look to be going all in with Crews and this new gimmick. The new ring gear and "elite guard" is a nice touch. The accent and the spear? Not so sure. But his parents are Nigerian and apparently he said that he lived there for a while when he was younger before returning to the US. Hopefully he'll change his ring name to something closer to Uhaa Nation.
Heel Reigns in general deserves a live crowd!
Fuckin love Nigerian royalty Apollo. That promo was so fire. I’m gonna keep an eye out on him turning into more into Apollo Nation.
he did mention his grandpa by name in the first promo, so I’m really hoping he turns into “Apollo Uhaa” at some point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringo
If Jimmy was able to come back now, that could be an entry point to get the E&C tag match prior to Mania. Reigns doesn't wrestle tag matches often since he's been back so having The Usos do the bidding and Edge gets his friend back to help even the odds somewhat for that match makes a lot of sense. The only issue is timing, obviously. We're pretty much out of that prior to Mania if they wanted to heat that up quickly and you probably shouldn't force that since it would be a relatively big deal for that match to happen to have E&C tagging together.
I've probably become desensitized to it now but I don't really notice the lack of crowds in terms of it being a hinderance to a match. I'll acknowledge when a crowd would have taken things up a notch but I tend to see the work rate for big matches usually delivering in spite of that absence. I think the level these two are at in their respective careers, the bar is set very high for the match and I believe they'll exceed expectations.
That promo from Bryan is so fucking fire! I know it won’t go down like that but a swerve with Bryan winning at Fast Lane would be sweet.
Yeah great stuff from Bryan, felt like a callback to 2014. Miss those days.
I feel like the creation of the Thunderdome, with its (piped in?) crowd noise has been extremely beneficial to the wrestlers in the absence of live crowds.
Part of me wonders if we’ve seen the end of the house show when/if COVID ends, save for the 2-3 annual tours through random countries. I think the cast and crew will get their TV schedules for the month (ie: Anaheim week one, Portland week two, Seattle week three, Phoenix week four) and be responsible for the 1-2 days of weekly travel that it entails. But the old workweek format of the TV event plus four untaped house shows is most likely extinct.
Not sure how much backstage pull Bryan actually has, but he’s been a great addition to the booking/production staff.
I feel so bad for Murphy. No idea what happened. It felt like he was on his way to bigger things. Now, after months of being off TV, he's back to sucking up to Seth? An no Aliyah? What was that whole storyline for?!
Quick hits:
-That 5+ minutes between Bryan goading Reigns into signing the contract and Bryan taking out Edge was more than enough to rate SmackDown higher than RAW for the week. Edge v Jey for ~20 minutes next week, sign me the fuck up.
-Great opening promoes by both Edge and Bryan, not sure why Edge is going uber-defensive heelish prick though.
-There was a curiosity if Big E could do the serious and intense promo, he answered that with a resounding yes.
-Apollo Crews is killing it.
-Real good eight man tag match, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this repeated at Mania but with the SmackDown tag titles on the line. That frogsplash by Ford was super impressive.
-Kevin Owens is such an under-rated performer.
-Love this Jey Uso character development, the pep talk from Edge adds another layer.
-Cesaro’s superplex from the apron was impressive, I’m so down for Rollins/Cesaro at Mania.
-So they’re turning Sasha heel over Reginald? K.
-Still don’t give a shit about Jax/Baszler.
-I took note of the time spent on recaps during the show, today’s unscientific tally was 6 minutes which was way reduced from the week before.
It seems like they're doubling down on the puzzling mental gymnastics by Edge. He was initially mad because Bryan was set to get a second crack at the title before he got his first crack at Mania. Now he's mad that Reigns is distracted by Bryan. I guess I can see why Edge is mad. Two weeks ago, Bryan said Edge wasn't up to the challenge and last week he said he was more deserving of the Mania shot than Edge. I see the line of thinking from Edge's perspective, but why does that all matter so much though? It doesn't matter what the hell happens at Fastlane, Edge is still getting his shot. Convoluted mindset aside, the promo between Edge and Bryan was fun.
Otis and Ziggler on the same tag team? If you look at those two from a year ago, that doesn't make a lick of sense. This set of teams certainly look like a workable version of a ladder match at Mania. I wouldn't be opposed to that at all.
Baszler staying uninterested during the shopping spree fit. I will say, Nia and Reginald actually work as a pairing. The acrobatic style from Reginald is a juxtaposition to her physicality and then the heat is different because he works as the manager for her.
Promising to see they don't seem to be rushing Cesaro/Rollins for Fastlane and will save that for Mania (with a nice pause created by a match between Rollins and Nakamura). That means they're going to have more time to build the match but they seem to have very little faith in Cesaro using a mic to build things on his end. Everything seems to be having him standing stoically while someone else talks, leaving him working in the ring. They've gotta give Cesaro rope to give him a chance to add personality. After the beatdown (the climax of a silly DQ), Cesaro needs to respond. The more notable 'J' in J&J Security, yet again, finds a way to calm Rollins down. Side note: Cesaro dusting off the superplex from the apron is a nice development. It feels like forever and a day since he's used that.
Reginald still being wedged in as the driving force to create angst between the Mania opponents doesn't seem like an appealing approach. Distraction or not, Tamina pinning Bianca doesn't seem like a productive advancement to stories. Whether you look at the tag title match (where Bianca/Sasha haven't really beaten anyone) or the Mania match (where now Bianca has lost unnecessarily), it's messy. It was somewhat salvaged by the backstage bickering between Sasha and Bianca. Owens said he needed time to recoup from the physical exhaustion he's endured over the last few months. He was firing on all cylinders for that feud with Reigns and now he doesn't have anything percolating for Mania. That's troubling.
Bravo, Big E. He doesn't need to be serious to be taken seriously as a big-time act but he absolutely crushed it with his promo. Corbin and Zayn feuding while both being heels actually plays and is quite entertaining. Zayn and E had a very good match together. Crews being able to do the Angle Slam as easily as he did on E is pretty impressive. They've really done a great job building this story in different phases, when you take a look at the stages. Crews was the lackey for E, then E developed into a strong champion. Crews attempted to go towards the title and then got the revamped attitude and has now leveled the playing field. This is good stuff.
Bryan had a great callback to Hell in the Cell by talking about the means of making Uso say "I Quit." Reigns had to beat up Uso's brother to get that to happen while Bryan just put him in the Yes Lock. Nice jab with that. It appears that pep talk by Edge to Uso earlier in the show worked but not how Edge originally intended. Uso hit his boiling point, throwing every piece of office equipment that was in front of him and tried to stack the deck against Bryan. Seeing Edge and Main Event Uso next week is going to be supremely fun. It feels quite inevitable now that we're headed to a three-way dance at Mania between Edge, Bryan, and Reigns.
Think Reigns is going to lose at Mania in that triple threat without getting pinned?
I’m more inclined to think at this moment that this sets the table for Edge to lose without getting pinned, so Bryan eats it. That said, it feels silly to predict the finish now because I’m sure Vince is changing his mind dozens of times before that weekend, where he’ll change it a few more times.
Well I'll be more interested in that match if Bryan is involved, whoever wins/loses, so fingers crossed.
Saw the promo from Big E. Damn good. :yes:
The competition between Bryan and Edge over who loves what they do more was giving me a headache. I get it. You're both passionate about wrestling. Can you talk about something else now?
In what universe is having your Rumble winner lose a match before getting to 'Mania? The WWE Universe I guess. Terrible, terrible idea to have Bianca take an L.
For awhile I wasn't digging the Sami Zayn vagrant look but something changed from the last few weeks and I'm in with this. It felt different when he had Cesaro and Nakamura but those two on their own makes a lot more sense. None of these guys really needed to be lumped together as a team.
Quick Hits:
-Banks/Jax was what it was, Sasha working her ass off to make Nia look good. WWE logic suggests that Bianca/Sasha “coexisting” and Shayna accidentally on purpose creating conflict means Jax/Baszler probably retain on Sunday.
-Would really like them to stop booking Baszler as this subservient lackey.
-Love me some face Shinsuke; Rollins is legit good for the business, he can and does build his opponents up. Nakamura/Rollins on Sunday will be interesting, particularly as Cesaro won’t be too far away.
-Street Profits/Mysterios was a lot of fun, it’s time to put the tag straps on the Mysterios.
-The Mysterios turn around and immediately do the job to Alpha Academy? K. Poor Tucker...
-Ziggler on the mic is money.
-Owens is awesome.
-Bryan tried his hardest to make us believe he’s actually got a shot of winning Sunday.
-Sami “Q” Zayn is boring.
-Did not like Crews hightailing it out of there on the golfcart.
-That Baszler/Belair match was unnecessary, the timing of the Natalya/Tamina run-in was questionable. Save that beatdown for post-match Sunday.
-Edge/Uso was fun albeit short, I hope Jey has something to do at Mania.
SmackDown is the cool parent post-divorce; they have all the cool toys, don’t give a shit about rules. RAW is the strict bad cop parent: chores, healthy dinner (eat your vegetables), homework, straight to bed without TV/internet/video games.
Where is Bayley? They had that segment a few weeks back where she was reading mean tweets and there was one that struck a nerve and we haven't seen her since.
The match between Sasha and Nia told a pretty good story. The Stretch Muffler spot into the turnbuckle didn't look fun to take but it was a gnarly-looking spot. If you can get a story going with a predictable outcome, that's good enough for me.
Edge's promo discussing Bryan's attack last week and his match against Uso was efficient but I miss the intensity he had leading up to Mania last year. He was throwing high heat with those promos last year and they just feel like they're lacking...edge.
Wrap it up Rollins returned but the promo served its purpose in making him look like a douche and make you want to see Cesaro take him out. Nakamura coming out made sense based off last week and Rollins sold well for him. The match Sunday should be quite good as long as they get time. I kind of figure it's going to be a competitive match, Rollins wins and then he tries to take Nakamura out with Curb Stomps but Cesaro saves him.
Ford vs. Dominik via tag match felt like it could be the first chapter of something that could be fun 3-5 years from now. Lots of promise between those two. The pace was quick for that tag match. I was a little surprised The Mysterios got the win but it theoretically made more sense based on what happened after with the callout. Alpha Academy really doesn't do anything for me because Otis isn't clicking as a heel. The agenda was to make it that the four teams are evenly-matched so AA beat The Mysterios. Street Profits are the most over team of the bunch so them losing worked if the agenda was to lift everyone up to create a level playing field for contenders. The story isn't wowing anyone but the match between all of these teams at Mania should be a fun car crash. NO ONE asked for a six-man booth but we sadly got that between (whatever)Dogs, Cole, Graves, and Street Profits.
Woo, Bryan and Reigns delivered during the back and forth. Reigns was talking trash to Bryan's accusations that Bryan would tap him out, and Bryan just simply doubled down. He didn't need to stoop to Reigns' level, so he just further cemented that he's not scared of Reigns and fought the champ's confidence with even more.
What a voiceover in the promo package between Zayn and Corbin, haha. It absolutely buried both guys but it was hilariously refreshing. A true battle of the irritating force against the unlikeable object. Hilarious that both were given jobber entrances. The match amounted to nothing and Corbin was obviously going to win, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the direction they went with. Owens wasn't siding with Zayn after the match and that caused Zayn to snap (with a hell of a helluva kick). Owens was a huge positive on Smackdown for the last few months and the same could be said of Zayn, so pairing them up with Mania on the horizon is lovely. It's flipped versus what we've seen in the past with Owens now as the face. It's probably going to have a hint of humor in the build but I imagine it'll crank up at the right time and they'll have a great match.
I probably could have done with something different than more cliches from E in the split-screen promo with Crews but it was still good. I can't imagine it's easy for Crews to keep that accent going but kudos to him to maintaining it as much as he can. I do like that E had enough and just decided to find him. The fact that Tropicana Field is so big, it made sense for E to find a cart, though it was a tad fortunate that he found him so quickly lol. Crews hightailing it was a little odd but he's only been able to get over on E with an advantage so the fact he retreated was a little logical. I probably would have flipped last week's actions with this week's to build a little more anticipation for Sunday because there's less momentum behind Crews.
The match between Bianca and Shayna just felt like a quick rush of angles. Sasha teasing to return the favor from earlier but just returning to the back, Nia leaving Shayna behind, and then the awkward tag team ruining the match. Tamina and Natalya are just the team no one needs to see. Are they going to be the benefactors of all of this when it comes to the tag titles? Yuck. Sasha and Bianca have a really shoddy story that's being developed around them in the build to their match but the two of them seem to be doing well when jousting verbally. The stuff in the ring, with Shayna and Nia or Reginald, and Nattie/Tamina, really doesn't do anything to help them but things hopefully get better after Sunday.
Due to Edge having to sell his ribs for most of the match, it was a pretty methodical pace for the match between Edge and Uso but it was still a good one. Using that approach was certainlyy smart. Considering Edge hasn't had a real match in months, he held his own. Obviously, he had a great partner in Main Event Uso. The ribs also allowed Edge to tell a story that he could gut it out and eventually find an opening after softening up Uso to get a win. Effective stuff after with Reigns sneaking in for the Spear on Edge then calling Bryan out. Bryan was up for the challenge but Uso cut him off and allowed Reigns to stand tall at the end.
It's gotta be a triple threat at Mania now between Reigns, Bryan, and Edge. It could be fun if they did a Wrestle Kingdom approach where Reigns faced Bryan again on Night 1 and the winner faced Edge on Night 2 but that's probably not as effective versus the alternative of the triple threat. Based on the story between Bryan and Reigns, I think we see Bryan actually tap Reigns out but the ref doesn't see it or Edge might distract the ref from seeing that. The result of that allows Reigns to retain but it ultimately costs Edge by creating the triple threat.
I don’t know if they’ll pull the Mania trigger again with Bryan but I think they should. Can also see the pros with Edge climbing back up to the top after so long but also an equally compelling story if he snaps and say Bryan tries to show him love and Edge seemingly returns but doesn’t. Or Reigns frustrates them both but I think it should be Bryan.
So many possibilities and much more compelling than Raw though in fairness Lashley/McIntyre should be a banger but hope the SD main event gets priority at Mania.
I was initially opposed to the idea of Bryan being inserted in the Edge/Reigns Mania match. As I think about it a little, Bryan would fill the Sheamus role from the Lashley/McIntyre match, by taking the pinfall and allowing Edge to win the title while still protecting Roman.
I think Reigns hunting Edge through the Spring/early Summer, before winning it back at Summer Slam, while using up as many chips as possible (the Usos, Crews, Samoa Joe, Rikishi even) could really be interesting.
I haven’t yet decided which of Bobby/Drew walks out with the strap, but either way it’s Sheamus staring at the lights.
Re: Badger. With Roman Reigns officially filling the John Cena spot on the roster, I bet it’s highly likely that SmackDown gets the Sunday main event at Mania. Which would increase the probability that Edge does indeed walk out victorious.
Call me crazy but I think Bryan’s going to be inserted into the match and this is a long-term plan to get him there with Edge also going mental at him.
They could have had Edge be squeaky clean and get his Mania moment but I think this way (if I’m right) will be much more monumental.
They know the formula that works with the underdog. Maybe giving too much faith a bit but we’ll see.
Positives:
-Daniel Bryan’s opening promo, at least until Edge showed up.
-Nakamura looking good while falling short.
-Cesaro making the save and getting a Mania singles match.
-The six man tag match.
Negatives:
-Bryan allowing Edge to get into the ring without eating a couple chairshots.
-The spineless coward “authority figure”, we might as well get rid of Adam Pearce now.
-Edge’s lameass heel turn.
-Seth Rollins’ backstage hissyfit.
-Sami “Q” Zayn (Logan Paul? Fuck right off with that garbage.)
-Sasha Banks’ terrible heel turn.
-The wrong Mysterio got the W in the singles match.
-All that build for a highly predictable Mania reveal?
-No Bayley. “Hey thanks for carrying the company during the COVID pandemic, you get to stay home this WrestleMania.” Fucking garbage.
That was a bad show.
Maybe could have been presented better but fine with the Edge heel turn as they were going that way anyway. Bryan losing and being beaten up for months but having the last laugh is one of those formulas that’s going to work here if they have him win at Mania.
Daniel Bryan promo
Bryan is a babyface you really can get behind in 2021. He has the old-school fire that you really loved back in the day but he's sharp enough to make himself a compelling and sympathetic character, who can turn into a badass at the drop of a hat. He's just someone who really gets it. On top of that, he might be the ultimate utility player in WWE. The guy can lose to no end and put people over in the process but the switch can be flipped and then he's pushed and you want to believe.
Well...the idea was at least acknowledged the general idea lol. I think they stumbled into the right lane with Edge. We love having Edge back but his bread was buttered in his peak when he was a heel. It took a while and some bad luck but this fits. When he came back last year at the Rumble, everyone was stunned and happy to see their guy come back. He got the comeback feud with Orton and showed he could have a damn good match (not the Greatest Match Ever but quite good) but then he got sidelined. They created the narrative that he's back but life is forcing his hand as he tries to pursue what he never truly lost. Edge wanted that and earned it but someone also earned a chance to get that moment and now it's crystalized that Edge is driven to get what he wants. He's driven and doesn't want to get passed over and he'll show hints of his opportunistic ways to make sure he gets what he wants, no matter the cost.
Rollins vs. Nakamura
I'm not sure why we needed a rematch from Sunday but these two had a pretty good match. The result tonight ultimately played out how I thought it would Sunday: Nakamura was hanging tough but ultimately lost then Rollins tried to be a prick with a post-match attack to see Cesaro come out for the save. We're running out of time to add more context to Cesaro and give his rebuttal to all of the trash Rollins has been saying about it. It kind of feels like the Mania match can survive without that but it would do an abundance of favors to see Cesaro deliver a fiery promo. One thing is certain: these two will have a banger and Rollins is going to sell like a champ.
Street Profits/E vs. Alpha Academy/Crews
Pretty fun six-man tag here. Shoutout to Ford for sliding down the ramp and then "swimming" the way he did. That was totally unexpected but hilarious. Not a surprise considering the two but a pretty fantastic spot between Gable and Ford: Ford was on the apron and attempted a slingshot back into the ring, but Gable countered into a northern light suplex for a near fall. That could have gone wrong and or just fall flat but they nailed it. Given the fact E/Crews continues, it made sense to see that Crews was able to get the win for his team by pinning E. With Gable in the match, it feels even more odd that Crews used The Angle Slam as his finish.
The KO Show, with special guest Sami Zayn
I'm fairly surprised that they're going to be able to get Logan Paul involved in this but Zayn deserves that kind of rub due to how he's performed since he returned. It's going to get clunky if Paul tries to babyface his appearance but maybe it could work where the popular nuisance can't even handle Zayn's petulance. Both guys handled their roles really well here. An Owens win would be cool but this feels like an instance where Zayn probably needs to get the win.
Bianca vs. Natalya
Bianca really had a solid promo prior to the match. The reasoning was a little less than desirable as to why she didn't fight back when Sasha hit her at the PPV but I can buy it. I didn't get the reference to Mary Had a Little Lamb, though lol. This match made sense to where you want to play it safe and see Bianca have a good match against a good worker and that's what we got. I guess it inadvertently helped that Natalya and Tamina have been a pest as a duo that has gotten some wins, which helps when you see Bianca get a desperately-needed win. Bianca slapped the hell out of Sasha lol. It's fairly rushed to see Sasha turn but it was the natural end game. I think they could have told a story where they were cautiously respectful and Sasha turned at Mania to keep it going and add a fresh chapter. Rushing aside, things are in gear/motion for this match so they've got to keep heading towards a solid peak. Side note: it is sad that the only Bayley reference came via commentary as Sasha said Michael Cole must be hanging around her and creating rumors about Sasha getting jealous about Bianca's rise on Smackdown. Where is Bayley?
Ziggler vs. R. Mysterio
Who figured we'd see this as the main event match two weeks prior to a Mania? I do like how we got an insert promo by the patriarch, stating how a new goal in his career is to be tag champions with his son. Nice two-for-one combo by Ziggler to powerbomb his opponent over the barricade and then superkick the kid as he was checking on his father. Wasn't totally clean but really neat-looking spot as Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on Mysterio as Mysterio was trying to slingshot outside onto Roode. I love that we saw two cool moves tonight and commentary flipped out for both of them. Mysterio didn't drop the dime after the 619 (though Cole called that) but the splash was cool. Pretty fun match and continues to establish there's tag teams aplenty on the blue brand for a Mania match.
Adam Pearce makes his decision on the Mania Universal Championship Match
Nice pull to bust out You_Tapped_Out.mp3 when Reigns came out. Good on Reigns to sell that in a seething way. As expected, we get a Triple-Threat Match at Mania. Once Bryan got what he wanted, he made a bee-line to Edge, which is what you want to see. Good sequence for the brawl between the three opponents, with a sprinkling of Main Event Uso.
All the pieces are in place and you can tell the motivations for each of the key characters.
- Reigns wants more than anything to stay at the top.
- Edge is trying to make up for lost time and experience glory again before the door officially closes on him and will do so by any means necessary.
- Bryan wanting one last taste of the main event at Mania, telling Edge’s story but from a babyface stance.
I think there's a thinly-veiled story being told, with respect being paid to Bryan. Point blank: Edge and Reigns don't want to face Bryan at all, which came across when Edge talked to Reigns about Bryan. They're making their agendas clear but they're ultimately trying to keep him out of the way because they both know he can make them this year's Orton and Batista from seven years ago.
This is going to be good.
Basically Bryan’s probably gonna win but BG was far more than eloquent and articulate than I ever could hope to be. Lotta respect!
I feel like the triple threat is the only match on the card with a build that's made me actively want to see the match more rather than less. Great dynamic between Reigns, Edge and Bryan that harks back to Wrestlemania XXX. I'm glad they've realised that Edge is infinitely better as a heel and that 47 year old super babyface Edge is even worse than super babyface Edge from back in the day. Almost all the other matches on the card get less and less appealing to me with each passing week of programming. That said, Banks/Belair and Asuka/Ripley are still the biggest draws. But my interest piqued with the Rumble finish and has gradually been eroded. Happy that Cesaro's getting a singles matches and we're finally getting Zayn/Owens at WM too - the match that probably should've taken place 5 years ago at Wrestlemania 32.
I was sorta looking forward to Lashley/Drew until they went the route of Lashley being cowardly recruiting 24/7 jobbers to protect him. They’re slowly botching that title match but making the other title match slowly more awesome.
However also kinda intrigued as to how they’ll work Miz/Bad Bunny. And Cesaro of course is going to be a good time.
I’m going to hit on the Bayley thing in detail, because this really pisses me off.
From the company’s side, fine, you pick Bianca to win the Rumble and see her versus Sasha at Mania; I get that, you’re going to strap the SmackDown rocket to Bianca. Once Lacey announced her pregnancy, you could have easily had Bayley show up on RAW (because the brand split clearly doesn’t mean shit) and say she’s coming after Asuka’s strap.
Your first option on the RAW side (Lacey) takes a step back, your second option (Charlotte) also takes a step back, now you’re panicking and in late-March trying to (belatedly) capitalize on whatever steam Rhea had left two months after you squandered that hot Rumble finish. Just over two weeks to build a storyline that should have been whitehot coming out of the Rumble: Bianca on the blue side, Rhea on the red side.
If you didn’t want to pull the trigger on Ripley/Asuka in early February, you really should have tapped your 2020 MVP on the shoulder and said “Pitter patter”. Your corporate laziness and lack of planning resulted in Bayley, who until very recently was the top heel in your company not named Roman Reigns, sitting on her ass for damn near two months. It’s almost like Vince’s fly-by-night method of booking is bad for business, because the build for Mania has been utter shit; other than Edge and Bianca, the other storylines have been haphazardly thrown together. How many matches just got finalized this past week?
Bayley can win the Women's Battle royal thingie if they still do one? At least it'd give her another thing to add to her stacked resume. :dunno: Better idea: Bayley attacks Hulk Hogan and steals his hosting spot...
I've become way more interested in Edge vs Bryan than Edge vs Roman. I hope that Edge wins the title and then Bryan chases him over the summer to get the big win at SummerSlam.
Both of these should happen.
But Bayley is currently a heel, and attacking Hulk Hogan would make her a HUGE face. The crowd and the entire WWE Universe knows how Bayley was the best thing on WWE television all of 2020, and many are furious that she does not have a Mania match. So when she shows up, she's gonna get a huge pop. And ridding the WWE of Hogan would do it.
Positives:
-Edge with the mic, holy shit. For those who forgot (like me) or didn’t know how good of a heel Edge really was.
-That eight man tag match.
-Cesaro getting time on the mic, looking like a badass confident face.
-The post-match chaos between the women’s tag teams.
-Main Event Uso v Bryan.
-Daniel Bryan going off.
Negatives:
-Poor Tucker. I actually enjoyed Heavy Machinery.
-That Natalya/Shayna “match”.
-That Sami Zayn trailer and Logan Paul appearance.
-Carmella randomly receiving a singles match against Bianca.
-Sasha’s chickenshit heel act.
-Still no Bayley.
A pretty good show, definitely better than this week’s RAW.
The Sami Zayn trailer was great.
Edge Promo
I've noted that Edge lost the fastball that he had compared to his promos prior to last year's Mania. I think the promos since he won the Rumble haven't been as compelling as those backstage, staring into the camera ones from a year ago. I think the commonality between this one and the ones from earlier is that he came across unhinged and got to use his acting chops. Good stuff by him.
Ziggler, Roode, Gable & Otis vs. The Street Profits & The Mysterios
Pretty fun eight-man tag and I get why the heels won. I only have interest in one of these four tag teams at the moment (The Mysterios) and there's probably been too much in terms of interacting between all four teams over the last several weeks. They've certainly done their share of 50/50 booking along the way, as well. That's not always ideal but I've got to say this has been better than how Raw has handled their tag title situation over the last several months. I'd prefer that this fatal four-way was going to be a ladder match next week but I'm sure the match will be entertainment.
Face-to-Face with Rollins and Cesaro
Seth Drippin' Rollins is wonderful. They're clearly building to Cesaro going for some kind of record with swings within the match at Mania. Rollins did a really nice job delivering his stuff throughout the course of this segment. Cesaro flubbed his lines a bit early but I really liked how he handled Rollins' last tirade. "Take a swing" was a fitting response and it was a nice pun. With the Mania cards not being bloated each night, this match better get a lot of time because it could definitely steal the show.
Natalya (w/Tamina) vs. Shayna (w/Nia & Reginald)
Yikes. This didn't have a lot of time and Nia wasn't much of a positive on commentary. Shayna can't seem to buy a win at this point. The nicest way possible to outline this whole situation with the women's tag titles is that it's a mess. There's challengers, I guess, but they've all been beaten and they're just recycling them and now the champs are losing a lot. With the Raw tag teams of Dana/Mandy and Lana/Naomi showing up, I guess the idea is that those two teams with The Riott Squad and Natalya/Tamina are squaring off in their own fatal four-way with the winner of that challenging the champs. That can be the setup for both nights at Mania. Woo hoo?
Zayn's Red Carpet Premiere, with Logan Paul
I had my doubts with cheesy or bad this could have been but I should have had more faith in Zayn and Owens being able to steer the ship. Paul didn't take himself too seriously here and didn't seem like he was just going through the motions. Zayn's dancing to Paul's theme was unexpectedly good, haha. If you're playing a conspiracy theorist, you have to be incredibly committed to the act and be extremely over the top and Zayn is pulling it off wonderfully. The 'Justice for Sami' trailer was good and comprehensive while still being silly. Owens sneaking up just to stun Zayn was good. I was curious how the interaction between Owens and Paul was going to go and the subtle just brushing off Paul to the side was nice. Zayn jumping Owens mid-interview in the back was fitting. Quick build here for the Mania match but it's been fun.
Bianca vs. Carmella
Nice promo by Bianca prior to the match. Carmella jumping Bianca prior to the match seemed to be done to put Bianca at a disadvantage but she didn't seem to sell arm injury that too much during the match. I do like that Bianca teased the hair whip but didn't do it. Might as well save that for Mania. The match was a little clunky in spots but it really didn't overstay its welcome. Sasha tried to jump Bianca after the challenger got the win but wasn't successful. It just led to a staredown between the Mania foes. I thought this was a step back from last week and the build, as a whole, has been very underwhelming. It's going to need a lot of help during the go-home. This certainly doesn't feel like a match that could potential close the show on night one at Mania.
Two Quick Promos
Corbin said he felt disrespected with how he's been handled on Smackdown. He heard Lashley's offer about taking out McIntyre and felt that was his opportunity to make people finally respect him as he becomes the champ at Mania. Okay. The second promo saw Crews challenge E to a Nigerian Drum Fight. It sounds like a Street Fight, basically. Disrespect was the theme of these promos because Crews also literally talked about being disrespected by E at Fastlane. Your guess is as good as mine as to what was so disrespectful lol.
Bryan vs. Uso: Street Fight
These two are so good together. I like how Bryan came out and didn't spend a lot of time getting to the ring to start the brawling early. Edge was on commentary for the match and always came off as annoyed when the rest of the commentary team kept talking about Bryan and his opportunity, coming off as bitter and wanting to establish himself and his opportunity. That was a nice touch to keep him harping on in a negative way. It was conveyed through commentary but we also saw it displayed over the course with the match: Bryan was pretty feisty and aggressive throughout the street fight. Great sequence and visual to see Bryan grab the chain, wrapping it around his arm, and beating the ever-loving crap out of Uso with elbows. Uso hasn't won a single match since November, losing his last 10 singles matches (sheesh), but the man always delivers in his matches. Last week saw Edge stand tall (by sitting in a chair) and this week saw Bryan stand tall. He caught Edge with a running knee (and delivered FOUR post shots), evaded an attack from Reigns and gave the champ a running knee, as well. The visual of seeing a determined Bryan walking towards Reigns was pretty awesome. I imagine we see the champ getting standing tall next week, which should be interesting in regards to what the actual result will be on that following Sunday.
From the FB pics:
Seth’s suit = delightfully garish.
Cesaro’s suit = delightful. Up there with Batista in the suit game.
I am loving Seth's suit game right now. Always eager to see what wild suit he's rocking next.
Sasha attempts to attack Bianca from behind and her reaction is to turn and point to the sign? :lol:
That feud has been garbage.
Loving everything with Edge/Bryan/Roman/Heyman.
The only part of the Edge-Bryan-Reigns situation that I don't get is why was Edge so scared to wrestle Daniel Bryan? He had the winner at Mania for the title no matter what so who cares if it was Bryan?
The winner of the battle royal should surely get a match. Can see Jimmy helping out Jay and shifting on to the Uso's challenging for the tag titles at 'Mania. Jimmy takes the fall and you have Roman trying to turn Jay against the weak link for the good of the family. Otherwise I see no sense in not just having these matches on the pre show.
Watching Edge right now, and he is spitting straight truth and facts. I can't dispute anything he's saying. He really is the babyface in this situation. Bryan is a weasel and should get roundly destroyed at Mania. Then Edge and Samoan Edge can have a proper match :p
The go-home to Mania.
Positives:
-Daniel Bryan’s promo
-that four way tag match
-Edge talking (Samoan Edge, LOL), that was one of the best promoes in a long time.
-the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
-Main Event Uso with the W
-Roman Reigns’ promo. Dude is killing it.
Negatives:
-Bianca Belair’s promo
-three lengthy RAW recaps
-Nia Jax, a member of the Raw roster, in a singles match
-Nia v Tamina
-Sasha Banks’ promo
Decent show...
DB, Edge, and Roman's promos were hot fire. This is by far the most interesting match on any of the two nights. I'm leaning towards Edge taking the title, but anyone could win at this point. I'd love to see Bryan win and then lose the belt to Edge at the next PPV setting up a long term singles feud.
Smackdown was actually a decent watch. Great promos from DB, Edge & Reigns, a couple of solid "pre-show" matches and some nice hype packages.
Sami Zayn interrupting the Pauls' sparring session and getting locked out was terrific, as was Reigns coming to the ring and stealing Jey's thunder as soon as he won the battle royal. The 4-way tag was alright and I think the champs retaining is the right decision. I want to see the Mysterios win the belts but I want to see that happen in front of a crowd. Looked like Montez Ford absolutely wrecked Gable on that frog splash. As is typical for the Andre battle royals, this one included a few nice spots to give the lower card wrestlers a little moment. The early Hurt Business run and eliminations, the lucha house party reunion, Ali eliminating the former Retribution members and Jey Uso capping off a breakout year of sorts with the win only to have his moment stolen by Reigns.
BIG TONY
They’re going to just overexpose the shit out of Cesaro’s UFO I see.
Positives:
-Pat McAfee
-Roman Reigns completely owning and thriving in his heel heat.
-Go on Cesaro!!
-Owens v Zayn
-Bianca’s promo
-Montez Ford being the very proud husband.
-Bayley’s shirt. Fucking amazing.
-the tag match
-Cesaro v Uso, the match at least.
Negatives:
-The wrong Mysterio getting wins in singles matches.
-The name Commander Azeez. Fuck’s sakes...
-Natalya v Shayna
-Seth Rollins’ interruption.
The "fallaht" from Mania for "Smackdahn"
Not sure why they needed to change Babatunde's ring name yet again or why it is what it is now...
Weird that they'd think we forgot he was on RAW Underground and in a heavily promoted match with Strowman last year...
I did check and the dude's dad is actually Nigerian so I guess it works in that regard. Whatevs. I like him and I like that he's using the spike. Love that move.
Looks like Slapjack could be in danger of getting shelved/exiled. The other members of Retribution are still on Raw but he was formally moved to Smackdown.
Mia Yim was moved there, as well.
McAfee talked about his first go round on Smackdahn Friday. He basically said Friday's appearance was probably the most apprehensive version of him that is likely going to be presented for the role he's in. McAfee essentially said he knows that he "stunk" Friday but he had a lot of fun. He said: “I do not think I was anywhere near what I can get to as a commentator for professional wrestling. I used a lot of words over and over. I was scared to have too much bass in my voice because I didn’t want people to think I was trying to dominate the calls. Sometimes I sounded too soft."
He was pretty much left out of the loop in regards to what was going on prior to the show and he enjoyed that and hopes that continues to be the trend. He's heard about the reports that he's not going to be overly-produced and he is very open to "coaching" in terms of what he needs to do or say for commentary. He's usually not responsive to people in an authoritative position but he's clearly in a role where people around him are going to have insight that will help him so he's open to it. McMahon wasn't present at Friday's show so McAfee is looking forward getting to gathering insight for him. He joked that he had some people in his ear and they told him to ease up a few times but it wasn't that bad. He also joked about how he didn't know how to communicate to the people in the back during the show or the dump button for when he needed water until Michael Cole finally showed him.
He's good and has a nice look once you ditch all the silly Retribution gear. Thorne always looked like he had promise in NXT but never really got a lot of momentum. Certainly needs a character that can stand out in order to survive. I don't have high hopes that they'll create a compelling character.
Think the bigger issue with Thorne is he never seemed to get a proper chance for his singles run to really start. Not once his partner went home to Australia (whose name currently escapes me)
Right. Thanks BG.
TBF, I don’t think they had much time to initially plan for him being a singles wrestler. If I am remembering correctly, didnt Miller go home to when his kid was born, and then he went..... “umm, yeah guys, I’m not coming back.”
More or less, yeah.
After a long absence, Thorne eventually was presented as a guy who was cocky and didn't like the new wave of guys who came in and subsequently lost to Lumis and Reed. He did that for a bit and then they did the tag team with Vink, did some stuff on Raw and Vink disappeared...then our beloved Retribution was formed.
Yup. Recall all that..... they did something similar with Keith Lee, except Lee was less cocky and they eventually shot to titles
Mia Yim isn't too bad. She's part of that group of women like Sienna, Mercedes Martinez, Jessika Havok, MsChif, women who never really got the love they deserved on the big big stage. Yeah they had good runs in TNA, Shimmer, but I always hoped at the very least Sienna would have made her way into the WWE beyond the MYC.
Slapnuts.....I guess they could try to make him the disgruntled heel who has all the potential but the company is holding him down. It works, especially when so many fans who watch WWE seem to hate WWE management lol.
Mia Yim isn't hard to get right. She had a bad ass theme song and she's good at playing that bad ass. Just have her go back to that, like Finlay or Sheamus where she just wants to fight everyone.
I am wondering if Seth, Roman and Cesaro will all be intertwined. Maybe Shinsuke to tag.
Shield (2/3s) vs Cesaro/Shinsuke.