HIGH POWERED
The Crown Jewel Championship is always a bit hard for me to get into, so I’m thankful when the territory tries giving it a bit more emotional juice.
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins revolves around Seth’s insecurity. And in that, they might make this match worthwhile.
The show kicked off with Cody in the middle asking a bunch of people what they want to talk about. Seth thankfully interrupted that to ask some questions of his
own. Chiefly, what does Cody think of him?
On its face, that feels like a silly question from a heel. Especially Seth Rollins as a heel. But considering their complicated history, it’s apt. And even more when Seth elaborated. He wants to know what Seth thinks about him because, as always, it goes back to Seth believing he is the guy to carry the company into the future. He is the top dog. He is QB1. The fact that Cody calls himself that digs at Seth. The fact that Cody talks so glowingly about Seth and even gifted him with commemorative jewelry after WrestleMania XL eats at him further.
In Seth’s warped little mind, Cody either doesn’t mean a single word he says about Seth or Cody thinks he’s better. The jab at Cody being the consummate politician aside, it’s an interesting angle. It shows Seth’s vulnerabilities while still leading to the idea that he is the guy and anyone who disagrees needs to get out of the way. The proper way to praise Seth is to genuflect and agree with him wholeheartedly. It is very “get down or lay down” as Beanie Sigel might say, but it also typifies everything Seth’s said for at least a decade: He truly believes he is the savior of the industry.
Cody answered without directly answering by asking Seth to look at the outcomes of their previous matches. But that’s never going to be good enough for Seth. To quote Doc Holiday, a man like Seth “has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.” Unlike Johnny Ringo in Tombstone, vengeance doesn’t motivate Seth. And no, it’s not winning either; it’s power and submission. He has to defeat Cody on October 11 because it gets him one step closer to proving himself correct, and to more of that power he craves.
Cody is doing this for pride but Seth has something much deeper pushing him.
B-Sides
Go Your Own Way
The other running story throughout the night revolved around Jey Uso. I can practically see Emperor Palpatine behind him every time he’s on screen. It started with Jimmy Uso proposing to his younger brother that they take on The Brons again, only to say that he found out Jey challenged LA Knight. Jimmy wants this beef cooked but Jey can’t leave it alone. Main Event Jey blames LA for their Wrestlepalooza loss. I love these two together because they convey so much through body language. I didn’t need Jimmy to tell me he’s worried about Jey to know he’s worried. And, shocking no one, Jey threw some blame at his brother’s Air Force One’s for their loss too. If Big Jim wasn’t so eager to lend a helping hand, LA Knight doesn’t get involved in their business. Jey took that back but it was out there. That’s what Roman Reigns would say, so again, no shock.
Even Cody tried talking some sense into Jey after hearing Jimmy’s concerns. But it looked like in one ear and out the other. Jey is clearly going through some things, and they’re picking subtle (for wrestling) ways to show it.
The story culminated in his match with LA. Besides Jey looking more aggressive, he had no problem letting Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed get involved in the match. They distracted LA and Jey took advantage. That might not seem like a big deal but the Jey Uso from a few months ago would’ve attacked The Vision without hesitation. He would’ve went to war with them and fought by LA’s side.
That guy is gone.
The ending reaffirmed that. Jimmy came out while Jey walked away from an ensuing fight with The Vision. Jimmy implored his brother to join him and help the Megastar. Jey said nah. Jimmy went on his own then chased off Paul E. and the boys with a chair.
The big question is how will that affect The Usos going into next week’s big rematch against The Brons? They’re clearly not on the same page and Jey is going through changes. Jey said family is everything but Roman used to say the same thing.
How long until Jey leaves Jimmy to fend for himself?
Album Cuts
- Bayley got her revenge on Roxanne Perez and Judgment Day. But that’s not the story. The match rarely is with her right now. Even before the match, Lyra Valkyria apologized to the Role Model for busting into her locker last week…only for Bayley to act like nothing happened. Bayley was in full hugger mode. She was so happy to see Lyra and begged her to be in her corner during her match against Roxanne. Lyra didn’t know what else to say but yes. Poor woman. She’s on this emotional roller coaster (shoutout to Vivian Green) and doesn’t know if it’s more dangerous to stay on or jump off and hit the pavement running. During the match, once Raquel Rodriguez interjected her boot into Bayley’s face, a flip switched. The Role Model came out to play and let out tons of aggression on Roxanne. Bayley finished her off with a Roseplant, then shoved Lyra during what the former Intercontinental champ thought was celebration time! Bayley walked away while calling Lyra stupid and every other foul name in the book. My trepidation for this story remains but I’m still very interested. And if it means more Bayley on television, I’ll go along with the ride.
- Dissecting opponents was JD McDonagh’s calling card in NXT. The man knew every body part and often bragged about knowing how to beat someone without breaking a bone but knowing how to get said bone to the brink. It was nice watching him get back to some of that in his match against Rusev this week. JD kicked the steel steps into Rusev’s knee early in their match. That not only stopped Rusev’s domination but gave us a taste of the old JD. He went to work on The Redeemer’s knee and made this a fair fight. Of course that was a mere speed bump for the possibly future Intercontinental Champion. He found his second wind, slapped JD in The Accolade, and dared Dirty Dom to do something about it. What does Dom have to do with anything? Why did I randomly mention him? Well..
- Dom talked JD into this match with Rusev. He wanted Finn Balor to do his dirty work but Finn was “busy.” Also, Finn is still in his feelings about Dom paling around with El Grande Americano. All of them. Dom convinced JD to be his shield since Rusev made it known early in the show that he’s hunting Dom and that championship. The ending of the match showed Dom wants no part of the Bulgarian. He didn’t answer JD’s cries for help, and refused to help him after the bell rang while Rusev kept him in The Accolade. Finn came to JD’s aide and barked on Dom for being his usual chicken sh*t self. And for all that, Rusev gets his title shot at Dom next week. And it’s a good bet he’s doing it without any muscle in his corner. Not the Xanatos Gambit that Dom thought it was.
- The New Day want the Mexican Destroyer banned? Well, Penta hit an Avalanche Mexican Destroyer on Grayson Waller to end a very fun six-man tag match between New Day, Big G, and Penta & the War Raiders. Still not sure where this is going. Like I said before, digging the matches, but we’re getting so much back and forth that it’s hard getting a beat on where it’s going. Or the point right now. That said, the Tag Team Championships get mentioned more with New Day in mourning than when the actual Tag Team Champions are on screen.
- Raw ended with Asuka finally severing her relationship with IYO SKY. Rhea Ripley and Asuka got in each other’s faces earlier, which led to a well-executed main event match between two of the best. It also gave us more conflicted Kairi Sane as her interference, or lack thereof, affected the outcome that saw Rhea get the W thanks to a small package. That’s when the post match story started. Asuka blinded Rhea with the green mist. IYO ran out to stop the violence and make peace. Asuka fronted like she wanted the same thing but then struck IYO with a back first. Asuka forced Kairi to join in on her evil fun, and the two decimated IYO and Rhea as the show went off the air. This was percolating for a long time so I’m just happy we’re finally here.
- La Primera got a nice new champion promo where she shouted out her dad. Nothing mind-blowing, just a nice babyface promo from the new champ.
Raw was uneventful this week. A fine show, most definitely, but not filled with that much excitement either. This usually happens when WWE has one big show so soon after their last big show. Hopefully next week lives up to its potential as it’s also one step closer to Crown Jewel.
What say you, Cage siders?
