Back Smif-N-Wessun
The rumors of Carmelo Hayes’ departure were highly exaggerated.
A couple of weeks ago, the good folks at Cageside Seats came across a report about a new unnamed 946 member. We asked you, the Cagesider reading this, who you wanted added to this hardcore stable. Not to toot my own horn too loudly but Carmelo was the first person who came to mind. Besides his gifts in and out of the ring, I felt he’d add a different vibe to the crew.
He’s more polished on the mic, has a different look, and just carries himself in a way that sets him apart. I’m a fan if you can’t tell.
I didn’t see this coming. Not only because of what happened over the weekend, but just because I was so caught up in a tag match that evolved out of a street fight that I didn’t need any surprises. Earlier in the night, Royce Keys talked about strength in numbers and of course mentioned running a play. I rolled my eyes at the latter but shrugged off the former. Jaida Parker wouldn’t wrestle but she’s still a dangerous fourth member at ringside. She showed that when the match broke down and she did this:
Yet here we are.
I’m excited but with trepidation. Mostly because we need some explanations soon. I love 946 working outside of the lines. They have no ring music, they showed up to silence and just got busy. They still need to adhere to some aspects of pro wrestling though. Jaida joining the crew makes sense given her OTM connections. But even that only tracks for someone who watches NXT. Melo though? There’s no previous relationship with OTM, Jaida, or Royce that I know of. 946 is a mysterious group who talk when they need to but mostly let their actions speak loud enough to make everyone listen. That works for a while until it doesn’t. Why is Melo in the crew? When did he join? Is this the reason he took his leave from SmackDown for the latter part of the summer? Did Jaida recruit him?
Like I said, I love everything about this faction but I need some answers now. Even if it’s as simple as Royce grabbing people he felt WWE looked over. Or if he says he wanted a crew of Black and brown people! Whatever it is, just give me something. I want to root for them but I still need to know “why.” And “nobody is safe” is not an answer.
B-Sides
- Shoutout to whoever designed Penta’s briefcase. It looks gorgeous and wholly unique. Penta carried said briefcase to the ring in an opening segment that saw the new briefcase holder thank the crowd, thank his opponents, and briefly talk about his journey to this point. He didn’t do the babyface thing and pick a date for his championship match. He’s leaving that up to surprise, which is a smart move narratively. Penta’s whole thing is “no fear” and he expects his opponents to walk the same path. What better way to test that than to just roll up on them at any given moment?
- Je’Von Evans, or what’s left of him, hobbled to the ring during this segment. For those who don’t remember, Je’Von crashed through the top of an ambulance, broken ribs and all. I’m no doctor, but I’m sure that didn’t help his situation. He congratulated Penta like a good babyface, but all the good vibes went away when Bron Breakker somehow snuck into the ring and speared Je’Von. Seriously, how does a man that big sneak anywhere? Either way, whatever soft shoe routine he did worked because he caught Je’Von completely off guard. This thing between them aint over by a long shot.
- Big Cass isn’t a bright man. During his match with Rey Mysterio, he actually fell for Rey hiding from him. He actually lifted the ring skirt multiple times thinking he might catch Rey under the ring. Rey snuck up behind him, because of course he did, and somehow surprised the big man with a Hurricanrana into the barricade. His lack of smarts made his loss much easier to digest. That and he’s a coward who got what he deserved. I didn’t mind Dragon Lee helping Rey get the win since, like I said, Cass had it coming. I do wonder where this is going though. He beats up on them, they return fire, repeat? A Dragon Lee vs. Cass match seems like the logical spot but I don’t know how that does anything for either man.
- And now I’m torn. I love Chelsea Green. I think she deserves every good thing coming her way and possibly more. I’m not a fan of the champion vs. champion bouts at Crown Jewel (this close to calling it Crown Royal. And I don’t even drink!) but if it gets her more time in the spotlight, then let’s do it. And standing in the ring next to Liv Morgan gets certainly gives you a big platform. Chelsea made those minutes count this week with an impassioned face promo about earning respect from Liv, but making sure to get in a nice shot about Liv being Dirty Dom’s “replacement girlfriend.” This set up an eventual clash between these two but also an immediate issue with Chelsea and Roxanne Perez. This is a wrestling show so you know what happened next.
- Welcome to what happened next! Chelsea and Roxanne put on a pretty satisfying match. What tore me on it was the ending. On the one hand, I like Roxanne getting the win because she needs it after not getting the briefcase. And a win over a champion is a big deal. However comma but her getting a clean win over Chelsea rubs me the wrong way. I know Judgment Day distracted her several times but she overcame those distractions pretty handedly. I understand this sets up the need for Tiffany Stratton to have Chelsea’s back even though she just as soon might put a knife in it, but then let’s give The Prodigy a cheap win. She could still go to SmackDown to make her case to Nick Aldis for a title shot while still reaffirming that Chelsea needs help if she wants to defeat Liv in November. We’d just get there without the champion taking a clean pin mere weeks before she faces off against another champion. I don’t mind Chelsea losing nor do I mind her getting beat down afterwards. I just wish they protected her more when it happened.
- Speaking of the Women’s World Heavyweight Championship, Stephanie Vaquer is on crutches! I don’t know if she’s actually hurt or if this is a work, but the story is she injured her ankle at Money in the Bank. Becky Lynch approached her after she revealed the crutches to the world, and there’s still tons of heat between them. Not in the “they should just kiss and get it over with” way either. Stephanie wants Becky, Becky wants Stephanie. La Primera said she’s only on the shelf for a short while so Becky will get the butt whooping she so richly deserves sooner rather than later. My hope is they do this at Crown Jewel but I also want Raw to elevate another woman into the title picture. Liv is obviously busy at the moment but coming out of Saudi Arabia, she’ll need a new opponent. No diss to Becky or Stephanie but we need some new blood in the women’s division.
- IYO SKY will have her hands full with someone and my guess is Raquel Rodriguez. Raquel and Roxanne interrupted IYO’s conversation with the world’s worst GM, and IYO didn’t take too kindly to that. She told Adam she knows who she wants to face next, which left both women looking like someone asked them to do trigonometry in their heads. That same segment also gave us a glimpse into what’s left of Lyra Valkyria’s mind. She’s tired of Bayley and wants security. I cackled when she said Bayley threatens her at work. Lyra, you’re a wrestler. Everyone threatens you at work. You have a very high-hazard job where someone is always looking to beat you up, sometimes without warning. I think these two need to go at Survivor Series. This should be the big blow-off that puts them both in different directions, so give it the stage it deserves.
- Chad Gable and Rey Fenix did it again. I truly don’t know what else to say about them at this point. Chad successfully defended his championship in easily the match of the night, and yet another notch in their respective belts. Afterward, Ethan Page attacked Rey backstage, which promoted a swift save from the Intercontinental Champ. I thought All Ego was out of the title picture based on his recent loss, but Chad looked angry enough to give him exactly what he wants. And I’m sure that was the plan all along. I’m not mad at it because it works from a character standpoint.
- Oba Femi can cut a promo. The Ruler hit the ring triumphantly after defeating Bronson Reed and possibly putting The Vision in his rearview. And he talked some trash to Bronson. But that wasn’t the biggest moment from the segment. He also threw some not-so-subliminal shots at Roman Reigns, furthering this Cold War between them that will hopefully heat up during the winter. But the big moment came when Paul E. Heyman showed up. Paul blew a lot of smoke up Oba’s butt but the big man cut him off halfway. He put his hand on Paul’s shoulder, a move that scared Paul to the point where he politely asked the King of the Ring to not hurt him. Oba then told Paul straight up that he’s not a Paul Heyman Guy; he’s an Oba Femi Guy. And that was that. I want to see how this plays out because I don’t recall anyone ever turning down Paul. I also don’t think Oba needs Paul as part of his act. He’s a lone wolf who fills fully baked already. Obviously I don’t have the pencil though. If Paul and Oba truly won’t hook up, then I foresee Paul getting with someone else as a jilted lover. And maybe that keeps Oba busy until he finally gets his date with Akuma.
- Before Solo Sikoa joined his brothers against 946, he ran into LA Knight. Their brief interaction was just a tad awkward as Solo tried giving LA his props for his championship match while LA questioned his friend joining The Bloodline again. Solo assured him he’s not down with them and LA said he understood. Are they in deed still good as LA confirmed? We’ll find out.
Hell of a show, right? A few quibbles aside, this was a great way to enter the first stages of Survivor Series hype.
What say you, Cagesiders?
