Agreed.Originally Posted by Mazer
Roman can keep the Universal, but this feud against Cody is the perfect opportunity to split the titles. Cody takes the L at Mania, Roman gives him one last chance to win the WWE title for his daddy, a third person (Sami/KO/??) weasels their way into the rematch and does the job.
Cody fulfills his dream, Roman doesn’t lose any of that massive juice, the main titles get split up again.
With this talk of triple threats, I hope no one gets the idea to book a screwy, two-ref, double-pin situation where the compromise is giving one of the winners one title, the other winner gets the other title.
I'd have Cody win at Mania and then on RAW the night after, offer to spit the belts in the spirit of opportunity and loosening the stranglehold Reigns has had on the top of the card. He can keep the WWE title in honor of his pops and then the Universal can have a tourny start up that ends at Backlash.
I wouldn't hate this.
With Dexter Lumis vs. Braun Strowman in the finals?
If it means Braun gets another chance with the big belt, I’m down…
It would've been smarter for Roman to defend each title on both nights. There seemed to be a moment where they might start splitting them up when they did that tag tournament where the winner challenged for the SMACKDOWN titles a few months back.
Now it feels like we're back to that 2014 era where we're carrying around both belts but they're unified so there is no splitting anything up. They had to create a new World title i.e the Universal title. I think if they had Roman defend both he could've retained the Universal, drop the WWE, still maintaining the long reign as it started with the Universal.
I like this idea. Cody breaking the chain and restoring order to the balance would be pretty cool.
But eh... I still detest the idea of having two "rosters" and world titles. I miss when there was only one mountain top rather than two hills.
I like that the IC and US title have kind of taken over as the brand exclusive champions. You almost never see those titles on a different brand these days. I think that was what Daniel Bryan wanted to do when he won the IC strap the first time, have that be the main title on Smackdown and Lesnar or whoever can be on Raw with the undisputed title.
Having two world titles is ok if the champions are world title caliber talent and they are exclusive. It works much better when you treat like the Ruthless Aggression Era with Cena on Raw, Batista on Smackdown. The problem is when you have John Cena as WWE Champion...and Jack Swagger as World champion. I hate the "testing the waters" mentality with the World title-probably why alot of MITB cash ins never produce very many quality title reigns.
That Lesnar-Omos standoff was wild, very few people have the ability to make Brock look small in comparison.
Pretty sure Omos botched throwing Lesnar over the top rope; we might see some legitimate contact from Brock at Mania because he doesn’t like it when people actually strike him. Case in point, that one time he and Braun squared off.
I thought Brock did a really good job of putting over Omos by retreating.
I agree 100% with this. I was surprised how well both were received by the crowd. When this was first put on the card I was thinking this was not something anyone really wanted. WWE and Brcok deserve credit for getting us interested in seeing the spectacle - will Brock be able to lift the huge man?
Brock retreating was executed perfectly. Anyone who's ever watched wrestling understood this was simply a "build the anticipation" and that Brock's character of the past would never back down from anyone, let alone Omos who can't even throw a guy over the top rope on the first attempt. Brock understood that the goal of this segment was that he has to get people excited for the spectacle.
I liked the way the handshake was executed, with Omos trying to get in Brock's head by not letting go, leading to Brock having to resort to a foot stomp. Simple, old school stuff and the crowd ate it up.
We all knew that Edge/Balor was going to go down, and I like them having HITC. They hinted that Demon Balor may appear. Edge should win this as the face, but I wouldn't mind if Balor came out on top. The JD vs Gargano/Lumis was a pretty solid match. Not sure what, if anything, Priest is doing at Mania - I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the ARMBAR, while Demon Balor wins over Edge, Dom defeats his old man, and Rhea beats Charlotte, for a clean JD sweep.
Cody's promo after his match with LA Knight was fire. He is owning the crowds and making us want him to succeed.
Bronson Reed squashing Elias was filler. Reed looks like he could be a long-lost Uso cousin.
Dawkins deserves better than being a jobber. Same with Ford.
Dom interrrupting Rey's segment about his HOF induction, then challenging Rey to a match at Mania, explains why the HOF announcement was done before Rey retires. If I recall correctly, the HOF ceremony is the night before Mania, so I wonder if they wait until then for Rey to accept the Mania match?
Dom has become 10x more confident on the mic, and is eating up the hate from the crowd. Kudos to the writers who came up with the line about how his friends got Mercedes while Rey gave Dom a BMW - not even an M series. Reminded me of the heat Shane 'O Mac and the Mean Street Posse used to get.
I wish they had come up with a better story for Bianca/Asuka. Asuka helping Bianca out, and the fans cheering both, feels like a Biance heel turn may happen. WWE rarely books face vs face, and they almost never book something without knowing how the fans expected reaction.
Owens vs Solo Sikoa in a Street fight had perhaps the most obvious outcome of the night, although Rollins v Corbin was never in doubt either.
As the resident Street Profits mark, I don’t feel the need to be overly concerned.
Neither of them have had much experience as singles wrestlers, they’re being used as vehicles to build up “The Future” of the company heading into the biggest match of his career against one of the GOATs.
I’m confident that post-Mania, one/both of Ford/Dawkins will be in the US title mix with Theory, potentially even taking the title from Austin as he moves up the pecking order.
Street Profits, individually, are fine. I think they're toast as a team but they've done nearly all they can as a unit that makes sense. As for now, they're not jobbers. They're being properly utilized to help cook up a talent in preparation for Mania.
I anticipate big things for LA Knight and Bronson Reed after Mania. I can see Reed eventually being a contender for Cody at some point this year. Definitely doesn't win when he challenges Cody, but that will speak well to how he's booked by the time that happens.
I don’t get the hype at all about Bronson Reed.
I can get behind LA Knight because his mic skills are top-notch, his charisma and blend of Ric Flair meets The Rock freaking works. I’m kind of worried that he’s already in his 40s, as he’s ~20 years in there might already be too many miles on that smaller frame. His mic skills are definitely conducive to him in a MVP-mouthpiece type role into his 50s and beyond.
Any of us who grew up watching the Hart Foundation's slow split knows that sometimes you just have to see how things go with tag-teams. $treet Profits are no different. Personally think they both have main event potential.
LA Knight has grown on me but I'm still waiting for that awesome Bronson Reed moment. He's cool but there's not much to him. I thought he was a lot taller than what he is but he still looks beastly. Top rope splash is a boring finisher when Usos are already doing it and doing it much better.
And then you got Montez Ford, who looks like he’s flying every single time…
I even think Tamina has a better top rope splash than Brodus Reed.
That Rhodes/Reigns promo was amazing.
Fun Raw. This time of year we get lots of promos and squash matches, but we got some really good stuff.
Smart opening with Sami/KO and Uso's. The storyline just works, from the challenge, to Jimmy saying they don't deserve a title shot, to Jey saying its their chance to put the KO and Sami problem in the dirt. The minimal physicality interrupted by Roman's late arrival gave us the match we have been expecting, but they've delayed it, for weeks if not months, making it that much sweeter.
Roman's discussion with the bloodline put more pieces together. Jimmy shared frustration about how he blames Sami for everything. Roman got his answer from Jey - but does he believe him? Everything leading up to the closing promo was terrific, and that topped off another chapter in this great story. Roman delivered as always, and Cody continues to match him. I loved how Cody's prediction that Jey will leave Roman, Jimmy will follow, and Solo is just not ready - so Roman will be a Chief without a Tribe - got into Roman's head enough for Roman to walk away without physicality. Solo stepping up in Cody's face, backing off to go follow Roman until Cody repeats that Solo is not ready - until Cody blocked the spike with a superkick - was probably a set up for Cody to hand Solo his first loss on the main roster next week, and perhaps give a reason for Solo to not be able to help Roman at Mania.
Austin Theory and Montez Ford delivered. Theory is really smooth in the ring, and Ford in singles matches makes me not so sad about the rumored breakup of him and Dawkins. Both guys came away looking better after this match.
Chelsea Green is making the best of her "Karen" complainer gimmick. I don't know how long they can keep doing it before it gets too stale, but she is getting heat for it, and Pearce is playing his part very well.
It was clear that Mustafa Ali was jobbing to Omos quickly, but I chuckled from his "positivity" comments to Omos, saying he will beat him with his smile. Ali flips around and sells better than most. Dolph's watching backstage likely means he gets to job to Omos next week.
Logan Paul giving Miz the hard pass almost got him a face pop, but by the time he came out to the ring to insult the local team it was clear he was a heel. I liked how they leaned into Paul saying he can hang with any of them, but and even though the crowd doesn't appreciate him, he doesn't care. He understands what he has to do to keep the crowd from liking him. Seth turning off Paul's mic wasn't particularly clever, but the long walk from the time "Burn it Down" started, with the crowd singing his theme until he got in the ring to attack Paul, seemed to be a good way to prevent the crowd singing over stuff we wanted to hear. I think they really wanted to lean into the "one lucky right hand" is all Paul needs. I thought Rollins looked bad jumping well after Paul had skipped away, but the dive was impressive. Rollins seems to be channellng Macho Man's gimmick of extravagant costumes and shades, but I think that works better as a heel.
Gargano/Dominik was way better than we have come to expect from any Dom match. Priest accompanying Dom makes more sense as Mami is getting face pops. Dom getting the clean win was expected, but this was another match where both guys come away looking good. Dom telling us that he will ask his mother for permission for Rey to face in at Mania is more storyline progression that works well and keeps us interested in the week-to-week stuff.
Edge's promo with the candles bored me.
Rhea on her own seems far more of a face than when she's with Dom. This was just her promo, well before Bayley interrupted her. I am not sure it was a full face turn, but I can not be the only fan expecting a huge face pop for her when she defeats Charlotte.
I enjoyed how Gable got Otis back on board - temporarily. I chuckled when Otis ate the cucumber. The Gable/Ricochet match was terrific, and I would not mind seeing more from those two.
Ridge Holland getting chest hair removed was stupid fun. If we hadn't seen Ridge shirtless recently, it might have seemed less fake, but I think they had fun with it.
Belair lifting Piper again is still impressive. Of all the matches at Mania, Belair v Asuka has had the worst build. Two faces usually doesn't work.
When the main event is a promo, I usually don't mind falling asleep early. Happy that I used the DVR because that was amazing.
Depending on how you present it. Macho Man's over the top outfits worked almost better as a babyface especially in the early 90's when he was rocking those neon colors. People want to dress up in all that gear, that's why it was so hard to boo Savage. He had to dumb it all down, go all black and white with the nWo. I think this is what turned Seth babyface. Those over the top suits, his persona was just impossible to boo because it was so ridiculous.
I had to go back and rewatch that Rhodes/Reigns confrontation from last night. So freaking good.
-Cody and Roman went toe-to-toe on the microphone and Rhodes absolutely held his own.
-Was that the first hint of doubt we’ve seen from the Tribal Chief?
-Joe Anoa’i’s acting lessons are paying immense dividends because I swear his delivery and mannerisms are infinitely better than his SHIELD days.
-“…and this man becomes an advocate again.” :mic drop:
-I need an explanation why Roman had Solo came to the ring with his proverbial work boots on, then called the dog off. A chance to soften up his opponent less than two weeks out and he punted? Curious move and a very rare mistake, that.
What is the next step for Solo, I wonder. Does he become the second half of the tag team after Main Event Jey super kicks Jimmy and costs them the tag titles? Can Solo work a 20 minute singles match and go for the US title after Austin Theory drops it?
Nash, I think Seth became babyface because of the crowd singing along to his theme, but mostly because Riddle got himself suspended. I don't think the suits made a difference.
Not completely sure, but I was thinking that Roman called Solo off because once he (Roman) had left the ring, he realized that he needed to reassert himself as the Tribal Chief. I think Cody's remarks started to get into Roman's head, which is why Roman left the ring, but when he heard Cody continue on to dress down Solo, a member of the Bloodline, Roman quickly got back into his Head of the Table role.
I wholeheartedly agree that Roman's acting class have paid off big time. Working with Heyman also helps. In his Shield days, Roman was pretty much a strong, silent type, but his mannerisms now are so much better. Just look at his 1-1 moment earlier with Jey - how he questioned if Jey was really back in the family - and then gave him the "I love you" at the end. I am not the only one wondering if Roman believes Jey or not, and the reason why comes down to how great a job they are doing telling the story.
Cody certainly held his own this time. He gets the often-missed, but important idea that guys should never diminish their opponents, else it doesn't mean much when you defeat them. I found this interesting especially in contrast to how Cena made a point that Theory is just not ready. Cena's comments stung Theory (and the crowd), in part because we've seen Theory deliver for pretty much most of a year now (since his loss to McAfee last year), so we don't really believe Cena. But Cody's comments about Solo not being ready felt fair to many of us, especially since Cody has talked about being Randy's protege and he knows now that he wasn't ready himself back then.
But when Cody mentioned that Solo is not ready, he talked about it from his own experience. I liked how Cody said he doesn't want to hear about Dusty of family because "this match is about me", but also I loved him talking about how his Cuban mom told him to take that boy down.
When I went back to re-watch it, a couple other points I almost overlooked but wanted to mention. Heyman's facial expressions are always fantastic. I also wanted to acknowledge how Solo has really delivered. They haven't asked much, if anything of Solo on the mic, but I think his facial expressions were spot on for this situation - look as his anger when Cody repeated that he wasn't ready, but also how he conveyed the shock when Cody's superkick blocked the spike. And as Roman talked him down, he got back in his role of doing whatever Roman wants. Some segments he's pretty much just been along for the ride. I like that they are finally making him more of the story, and look forward to what else they have in mind for him. I still think Solo will end up getting banned from Ringside after attempted interference, because it will pop the crowd, and will give Cody and Roman a momentary breath in what I think may be a really long match.
I don’t think Theory is ready.
Running rampant through the midcard for a year does not deserve a W over one of the GOATs at the premiere event on the pro wrestling calendar. I’m not sure I put the US title on Cena, given his extremely limited schedule; maybe have Theory freak out and get DQ’d because he can’t finish the job. The old coaching adage of “You have to lose one before you can win one”. Have Austin drop the title over the Summer so he can move up the ladder; revisit this angle in 2-3 years when John is ready to put his career on the line in a retirement match.
Agreed. Solo has been very good when required.
The Wise Man is absolute money, like always. If you were to look in the dictionary next to “Salesman”, Paul E’s photo would be right next to the definition; his WWE Hall-of-Fame induction needs to happen sooner than later.
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