Finish What Ya Started
I’m going to be honest: I don’t have much to say here. That’s not a bad thing either. It’s indicative of how efficiently the territory built this match between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu in short order.
Their contract signing this week didn’t really change anything or add any new wrinkles to their tale. Roman, always a bit hypocritical, still takes issue with Jacob putting hands on him and using
the Tongan Death Grip. Jacob, always consistent, says he’s hungry for more and will go through anyone to get it. Including Roman.
The most notable aspect is Jacob, again, left Roman lying on his back and gasping for air. Michael Cole said Jacob has no more surprises for Roman but that works in the reverse as well. Jacob knows Roman’s tricks. He knows Roman will talk and talk and talk. Once again, he shut all of that down and went for the punchline.
Curiously, The Usos didn’t involve themselves. They popped up a few times but vanished during the main event segment. Are they possibly turning on their big cousin after seeing Jacob in action? They didn’t sound like two cats prepping a knife to stab in someone’s back, but their absence stood out to me.
I’m not picking against Roman at Backlash. I’m curious about what happens after the match. And how Roman eventually wins. That’s the norm for any Bloodline bout. Or maybe they switch it up. Roman famously said he’s got the formula to get WWE back to where they were a a couple years ago. This is the first big moment to see if that recipe still satiates.
B-Sides
- I wanted a bit more fire from Finn Balor and JD McDongah. Besides their current issues as former stablemates, these two have what they call, a “storied history.” This is more than personal and it started as a regular wrestling match. HOWEVER, this match was never really about these two; it was about the Roxanne Perez intrigue. Prior to the match, Liv Morgan utilized her gift of being very threatening. Seriously, Liv is deceptively evil and intimidating. It helps that Roxy sells fear well enough too. Plus, I always appreciate when WWE acknowledges there’s footage of things that anyone can watch. Of course Liv saw Finn step in their clubhouse. Of course she questioned Roxy’s loyalty based on the conversation between The Prince and The Prodigy Duh.
- Like I said, the match was about all of that. Roxanne made her way ringside first, followed shortly by the rest of The Judgment Day. After the ref kicked Dirty Dom to the back because of his dirty deeds, that put the spotlight the former NXT Women’s champ. She looked pained the entire time; like someone conflicted because they knew what they had to do even if it’s not what they wanted to do. Do I think she wanted to hit Finn with the timekeeper hammer? Not at all. I think she did what she had to do to survive. One consistent thing about Roxanne’s character, at least as a heel, is she always picks the thing that keeps her alive. She looked sad during the move, she looked sad after the move, and looked even worse during the post match interview. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
- From one match with a lot of moving narrative parts to another that’s very straightforward: Three men want Penta’s Intercontinental Championship. Since Penta and Je’Von Evans have a competitive but friendly relationship, they teamed up against Ethan Page & Rusev. It’s funny watching Ethan play a similar role he recently played in NXT, and in a similar circumstance. Rusev, rightly, doesn’t trust All Ego, while Ethan is doing his best to assure the big man that he will be his best friend. That Ethan pinned Penta will surely become a sticking point in the near future.
- Sol Ruca snatched Becky Lynch’s soul in her true Raw debut. It wasn’t the smoothest snatching of one’s soul as the timing was a tad off thanks to Sol not getting her footing on the rope, but it happened nonetheless. That’s a big deal for Sol to put Becky in her place so early. Sol also made me chuckle when she responded with fire as Becky interrupted her contract signing. She flipped Becky’s “everyone says it” shtick into a negative: it’s not just Sol that says Becky is a rude, big-headed bitch, but the New York Times said it too. Big moment for Sol and I’m happy seeing her back on her feet after that nasty spill she took on her last night in NXT.
- The Vision got busy! And by that, I mean they put themselves into several spots this week that hopefully reassert the group as worthwhile. Bron Breakker being back helps, but it’s also clear how much they miss Bronson Reed. Hey, they’re trying! And this week felt like a few good steps forward.
- We got Bron spearing Seth Rollins multiple times at different junctures.
- Logan Paul got his hands on Joe Hendry during the latter’s match with Austin Theory, which resulted in a DQ win for the man who surely popped up somewhere in my house since I said his name.
- Furthered their beef with The Street Profits, who once again showed how their interests align with Seth’s.
- And then there’s Seth. Montez Ford kept it real with the former WWE champ: No one trusts him because, well, duh. Seth realizes that. Seth doesn’t even trust himself. If my closet looked like Seth’s, I wouldn’t trust me either. Seth’s larger point is right though: they have shared enemies. They don’t need to trust Seth to use him as a resource and help them get what they want. That’s not where they are now since Seth accepted there’s no camaraderie so he’ll stay out of their way, but eventually the Profits have to see, well, profit from a convenient alliance. Seth’s in a bad spot before Backlash; Brock clearly has his number and it looks like an uphill battle to lay even a finger on him. I love this mode for Seth, and what it portends for their match. I want a fight from these two, not a wrestling match.
- We ran a poll on Oba Femi’s first victim. I was right! The territory swerved us for a few seconds with the idea that Akira Tozawa might step up and take on The Ruler. Turns out it was always Otis. While I want Oba to do more right now, and I went over all those reasons last week, I’m down for this if all the “matches” are this entertaining. Otis made Oba look even better than he already does. Oba’s power moves, like his flying European uppercut, look that much more powerful against someone like Otis. The Fall From Grace via the top turnbuckle was a nice touch.
- IYO SKY and Asuka’s sit-down interview went from passionate words to straight up violence. They didn’t say anything new here (IYO loved Asuka, Asuka feels IYO is disrespectful) but Asuka spitting poison mist in IYO’s face took it to another level. At least for this very intimate setting. It also adds more intrigue to the match as it relates to IYO’s health. Asuka has a clear advantage now, so how does IYO deal with that without any backup?
- OG El Grande Americano and El Grande Americano have a no contact deal that doesn’t extend to the Midwest. Funny. This inserted the Creeds into this story as Los Hermanos Americano. This was a fun six-man featuring all the Americanos, but I’m really more interested in the two lead Americanos as opposed to their teammates. Original recipe got the W for his team thanks to pinning Bravo.
Efficient is the word that comes to mind for this go home show. It was about two hours and eighteen minutes of meaningful matches and build towards Backlash. There’s nothing more I can ask for on Star Wars day. They got me more interested in Backlash, which means mission accomplished.
What say you, Cagesiders? Does Jacob have a shot at dethroning Roman?
