WWE returned last night with SmackDown in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Let’s jump in it.
A Rare First
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have done it all together. They’ve feuded when Kevin was the bad guy. They’ve feuded when Sami was a bad guy. They’ve been a babyface team. They’ve been a heel team.
But one thing they’ve never done is face each other for a top title in WWE. And it looks like we’re getting that.
It all started this week when KO interrupted Zayn as the champ was demanding respect from the crowd, claiming if
Roman can acknowledge him at Crown Jewel (I don’t know if Reigns would classify it that way), fans should respect him.
Owens gave Zayn his props for all he’s done lately. But then Owens told the champ that he needs to take that title to right some wrongs, much like Zayn is righting his perceived wrongs. Plus there was a less-than-gentle reminder that Last Real Good Guy cost KO the WWE title against CM Punk earlier this year.
Johnny Gargano, who along with Candice LeRae was at the side of the champ, interrupted and saying that he’s still waiting for his title match that Zayn has promised him. KO gave Gargano his respect but told him pretty much to stay out.
Johnny Wrestling attacked KO but in the end, the Prize Fighter got the best of him.
You all know how I feel about Sami Zayn. I’m a real Ride or Die. But it’s not just the true believers who have been noticing that Zayn has been lights out lately, cutting numerous impassioned promos and of course still bringing it in the ring.
And Kevin Owens is just consistently a great promo. He’s a wrestler that keeps it real in a way you don’t often see. He’s never trying to sell you bullshit. If there’s something that somehow doesn’t make sense, Owens makes sure we know he sees it to. I think that’s a reason so many of us gravitate towards KO.
One thing I’ve appreciated about this current KO/Sami relationship is even though they’re clearly opposite alignments, they’re still open about their friendship. To have the journey they’ve had for all these years, it would take a lot to truly derail it. Of course, that’s absolutely going to happen in the near future.
The Johnny Gargano aspect of this is an interesting inclusion. He’s been clearly manipulated by Sami with the dangling carrot of a future WWE title match that Zayn obviously never plans to deliver on. Candice is more skeptical but not enough to call it out. (Or maybe she just doesn’t want to disappointment her husband where he goes back to laying on crates.) I guess this eventually leads to a Johnny babyface turn when he’s had enough of Sami’s antics, though I doubt that payoff will light the world on fire.
KO vs. Sami for the title will though.
Another Veteran for the Classic
John Cena opened this week’s show announcing the newest participant in the John Cena Classic. Much like with Cody Rhodes on Monday, he announced a very decorated veteran in Charlotte Flair.
It ended up being an emotional moment, which to be fair, has been a staple of these announcements, including with Zilla Fatu. Charlotte did her best to make it feel real – including using the word “storyline” to peel back the curtain and even swearing twice. She credited Cena for helping find herself recently when she was back from injury and felt lost. Cena returned the kind words, telling the Queen that when he repeatedly said he won 17 titles so he could shake the hand of the person who wins 18, he was always talking about her. It was a sweet line that capped a segment that helped give emotional weight to a Classic that is mainly just an exhibition.
Let me touch on the Classic in general for just a little bit. Even though they’re still somewhat vague about how this will work, it sounds like we’re getting veteran vs. rookie exhibition matches. And then fans vote on the female & male competitor they like the most and those two win the John Cena Classic title (which you can buy for a ton of money… but hey, at least it spins). Well not all fans vote. Fans who pay $100 a month to be a WWE super fan vote because they have to try to move these Clue WWE subscriptions. We can all enjoy the matches but if we want to get the full experience, we have to help TKO line their pockets with a disappointing money grab.
It will likely go over well, but it feels like an example of the different sides of John Cena. He’s is trying to capture one time in his life (when he was up and coming and fans got behind him to save his career) but he’s capturing another even more (being an unwavering company guy).
But that’s a deeper thought about the Classic itself. I appreciated this specific segment with the raw emotion behind it.
The End of the Line?
Being a heel suits Tiffany Stratton well. I’m not sure the same is to be said with how they’re booking Chelsea Green.
I was glad to see Chelsea was not acting the victim here when she confronted the new champion tonight. We got more than enough of that pretty much her entire reign. I certainly would have appreciated more fire and anger than “I know I can sleep well at night” after last Saturday’s betrayal. However, Green at least displayed a confidence that went along with the validation she found at Crown Jewel. And I was glad she didn’t stand their bemoaning the betrayal of friendship. She knows how the game works by now.
This segment revolved around Chelsea getting the Crown Jewel Championship ring back from Tiffany. And I understand that within the story being told. Winning that Crown Jewel match and winning that ring was when Green finally believed in herself. It’s rightfully hers and she should want it back. But at the same time, it’s the damn Crown Jewel title. Who really cares? I know fans don’t. We care about the WWE title. So while the desire to get the Crown Jewel ring back fits the story, Green should be make a claim for getting her WWE title back. Yet somehow the actual title wasn’t a focus of this segment.
Which all points to a still bumpy ride to Chelsea’s babyface run. I’m glad she didn’t come out all puppy dog eyed and finally showed some confidence. But she should still be pissed that Tiffany took what was hers after playing her.
It’ll be interesting to see how they book Green from here on out. I didn’t love the build with the Tiffy/Chelsea friendship because it never felt like something worth investing in. But their angle at Crown Jewel still very well done and created a lot of sympathy for Green. There’s a story they can tell where she continues to climb and regains that title. I’m just not sure if they really see Chelsea that way. It’s possible Michael Hayes was speaking for all of them. If so, this is the end of the line for her.
Going Low
Our main event was Gunther vs. Finn Bálor. The Career Killer earned the win when he landed a low blow kick after a ref bump. I guess Gunther isn’t in the dog house for not traveling to Saudi after all.
It was a good match, as you’d expect with these two. And it clearly sets up more. Likely we get the Demon again since that side of Bálor has already been part of the story. Honestly, I think they should retire the Demon, but I don’t think that’s happening given the ending tonight.
WarGames for the Hell of it
We continue to get a build to a very random WarGames match because we’re weeks out from the WarGames show and the women need a match.
I commend WWE for doing a good job making Bloodline/946 WarGames worth. A dude got hit by a car. It’s worthy of the stip. But there’s nothing about this women’s story that earned WarGames, which you can probably say about most of WarGames matches the last few years. (I won’t delve into how I think the match is overrated right now.)
This week, a match between Charlotte Flair & Jacy Jayne broke down when the other members of Fatal Influence and the Baddies brawled with Tatum Paxley & Alexa Bliss and eventually Bayley. These are the wrestlers already established in this random program. Eventually Stephanie Vaquer joined the fray (on the side of the good guys, which I bet you guessed but if you didn’t, I wouldn’t blame you). Her addition is so random that even Michael Cole wonder what she was doing here.
I’m sure the match will be fun enough. But there’s no disputing that this is not worthy of the stipulation at all.
No Contest
The tag team title match between Bakusai & the MFTs ended in a no contest when the War Raiders attacked Shinsuke Nakamura, who looked to have the match won.
While this is always a disappointing finish, to be honest, I did not care.
I think that WWE has been extremely lazy rolling out Kyoki & Nakamura’s team. It’s pretty much been “here are two eccentric Japanese guys.” You’d be shocked to know that such a tactic did not resonate and it felt like it’s been silence when Bakusai has been out there in the past weeks.
The MFTs are pretty much a charisma vacuum. Tama Tonga has his moments but Talla Tonga is super wooden. Haku hasn’t really added anything to that.
So a title change here would not have met much of anything given how little these two teams are resonating. To their credit, they put on an entertaining enough match tonight that did have the fans engaged. Maybe that could serve as the start of some investment in these teams, or at least Bakusai
Plus the War Raiders are a good team so should help spice up this rivalry.
The Rest:
- Damien Priest’s heel run continues with a win over Axiom. The masked man held his own for a bit but was put to bed with a Razor’s Edge. After the match, Priest attacked Nathan Frazier with a chokeslam that got some height.
- Fatal Influence talked some shit to John Cena backstage, and he liked their moxie so they got an invite into the Classic. Is that one of them? All three of them?
- Rey Fenix joined Team Mexico for Survivor Series. CM Punk and Cody need to fill out their team but no movement on that front tonight. Punk does have a list of suggestions though.
- I’d like to note one thing that didn’t happen: Any real follow up from the Cody/Randy Orton Last Man Standing match. The was a pretty serious feud and to get zero follow up from Orton and to move Cody right to captaining Team USA is a miss opportunity to explore any fallout from that rivalry.
I’d call this show solid but not spectacular. I obviously enjoy what Sami Zayn and now Kevin Owens are doing. Cena’s moment with Flair was impactful. The main event was what you’d expect from those guys, though just likely a chapter in the middle of the larger story. I still think they’re missing the mark with Chelsea Green, the women’s WarGames build is super random (but the match should be fun), and if they don’t care about the tag team division, why should we?
As for a grade, I dunno. C+? B-?
Let’s say C+. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great. But it always wasn’t terribly impactful.
Grade: C+
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