The Last Real Good Guy with the Last Real Chance
Just a hunch, but I think the Last Real Good Guy may be a tad emotional.
Listen, Sami Zayn tried to do his best as special guest referee for the Cody Rhodes versus Gunther WWE title match. But a referee needs to be stoic. They have to manage combatants in the heat of the moment when they are not listening, and they need to do so with poise. But Sami, especially in his current, fragile state, is not that person.
The title match actually opened the show, which is always a bit disappointing because it telegraphs
shenanigans. And we sure did get those with the Last Real Good Guy.
Early on, we saw Sami forcefully removing the competitors from the corner after he’d hit his five count. That once led to Cody getting into Zayn’s face and sticking his finger in the referee’s chest. Sami responded by shoving Rhodes who fell right into a Ring General Sleeper. But it really escalated when Gunther would not remove that sleeper when Cody reached the rope after the five count. So Sami pulled him off by grabbing the challenger by the mouth. Gunther powerbombed the guest referee, knocking him out of the ring.
Clearly he was trying to enforce the rules, and to this point wasn’t playing favorites. But he was reacted too personally each time Cody & Gunther wouldn’t heed him.
Darryl Sharma took Sami’s place and we had a real match for a brief amount of time. But when it looked like Gunther could win with a powerbomb, Zayn pulled Sharma out of the ring. I guess you can argue he was taking his role back, but at this point it was clear he was too hot about what Gunther did to him.
Back in the ring, Cody was attempting a sunset flip powerbomb but Gunther had the ropes to prevent it. So referee Sami Zayn kicked Gunther’s hands off the rope and then fast counted the pin.
Of course, General Manager Nick Aldis was not pleased and all four had words in the back. Cody returned to the ring and insisted the match be restarted, which frustrated Zayn who argued he was the official so his decision should be final. However his protestation just put him on the bad side of a Gunther beating.
Aldis did restart the match but it wasn’t long until Zayn Helluva Kicked the challenger, knocked out the official, and also (maybe accidentally but I don’t think so) knocked Rhodes out with the title.
At that point, there can’t be much pretense that he was trying to be the good guy. He was just too angry, though still fighting himself internally.
This was some real sports entertainment and I didn’t mind it at all. I’m a ride or die for the Last Real Good Guy, who got to cut a promo on Nick Aldis later in the night insisting that he never wanted this and it was Aldis who put him in the match. So it was really Nick’s fault.
It’s a good argument. Just enough truth to believe it if you want to. But of course Sami put himself in the Gunther/Rhodes feud despite claiming otherwise. That’s what makes this version of Zayn so good. Like Drew McIntyre the last few years, Sami Zayn really thinks he’s the good guy even though we can see why he’s not. But if you’re like me and you are a fan who wants to see him get to the mountain top and aren’t into booing him, you don’t have to. You can be a Ride or Die because there’s enough there to defend. In that way, the heel turn was smart. I think some fans were going to reject a straight heel turn. But this allows all reactions no matter what they be.
At the request of the champ, we officially got the announcement for the triple threat at Night of Champion, where I can delude myself into thinking maybe this situation can actually lead to Zayn walking out with the title.
Last time they were in Saudi, I deluded myself into thinking that Sami Zayn could defeat Drew McIntyre in a venue that just loves Sami. And he was squashed to the point I was like “Sami is never sniffing that title.”
Now just four months later we’re back in Saudi, Sami is in another title match in a situation where a win isn’t out of the realm of possibility. It won’t happen, but I’m going to let myself believe it can again.
Because I’m a Ride. Or. Die.
Onto the Finals
One thing I’ve enjoyed about the majority of the King/Queen of the Ring matches is the in-ring action actually has been overall enjoyable.
Unfortunately that thread was lost tonight, especially because both matches opted to work with a pre-match injury which dictated the match, though one was more egregious than the other.
Liv Morgan defeated Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair’s knee was attacked by Jade Cargill and her Baddies (are they officially calling them that here?) as she was making her way to the ring from backstage. It was bad enough that multiple times Nick Aldis and even Alexa Bliss pleaded with Charlotte not to go through with or continue the match.
The entire bout was Liv working and Charlotte selling that knee. I don’t hate the idea per se, but with the match finish pretty much telegraphed before the bell rang and the fact the tourney had consisted of some fun matches prior to tonight, it was a let down.
The Queen kicked out of an Oblivion but had to tap to a single leg Boston crab at the conclusion of the match, a match that was 75% Flair holding the knee and occasionally shouting “My knee!” Subtle.
The angle served to show Charlotte’s resilience and further her feud with Jade as they figure out how to navigate without Rhea Ripley. (Her star power is missed.) But it didn’t serve for a good main event match.
In this match, Evans sold the spear he took from Bron Breakker on Monday Night Raw the entire match, giving Main Event Jey Uso a target. Unlike the prior match, it wasn’t overly egregious and in this case, I appreciated them selling a spear from Monday’s Raw.
Je’Von is still a treat to watch and still had some fun sequences in this match. Also, he’s showing a bit more attitude than at his initial debut which gives him some depth. He’s going to be a star.
It took two ugly-looking spears (especially compared to Breakker’s spear that was looming over this entire match) and an Uso splash to allow Jey to advance.
I’m not entirely sure how they want me to feel about Jey Uso.
They want fans to dance to his entrance, probably because that moves merch. But his actions, including how he treats Jacob, within the Bloodline are obnoxious, and that feels intentional. Then there’s my own issues that I’m still bitter because I believe WWE’s one big title win due to a wave of popularity went to him and not LA Knight. (And I’m sorry, I don’t buy that he’s significantly better in the ring than Knight in singles matches.)
This could be leading to some interesting things regarding Jey’s place in the Bloodline, but I also worry they don’t want to push the story too far because they still want another interactive entrance that moves merch.
Bloodline Drama Lite
Talla & Tonga Loa were unsuccessful in their attempt to capture the tag team titles against R-Truth & Damian Priest. And it’s kind of the Bloodline’s fault?
The Bloodline, for some inexplicable reason, is sending Jacob Fatu to recruit Solo Sikoa back into the fold. Again, not clear why because Solo has been playing a loser for many moons now. But that distraction was something that the Loas didn’t want during their tag team match so they firmly requested Solo wait in the back instead of accompany them to the ring.
Of course, Solo eventually came out to attempt to assist his guys, but his presence distracted Talla. (To be fair, Talla was way too easily distracted there.) While Sikoa would take a Damian Priest bullet for his tall MFT brother, it also was all distracting enough that it allowed Priest & Truth retain.
I don’t mind this story but it’s not really moving me either. You’ve got questions of the Bloodline trying to get Solo back. (Again… why?) You have Solo trying to recruit Royce Keyes. It’s a lot of midcard drama, which isn’t a bad thing. It would be worse if it bleeds into a main event story, such as anything Roman Reigns is doing. And unfortunately, it’s possible it could be heading that way given Solo is threatening to mess with Reigns’s family business.
Fair Game
Ricky Saints became the #1 contender for the United States title when he won the rubber match against Carmelo Hayes tonight. Hayes lost because he hit an exposed turnbuckle twice — once on his crotch and another on the back of his head. The turnbuckle wasn’t purposely exposed so Saints really didn’t cheat to win but it did help protect Hayes a little. It’s not the narrative that WWE is pushing given their video above says that “Saints cheats” to win the match, but it was pretty clear that turnbuckle pad was not ripped off intentionally. And after it is off, it is what it is.
I find it interesting the way they use Hayes. He is a guy the powers that be know is very talented in the ring so they’ll book him in series of matches with guys with whom he has good chemistry. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t end well long term for that opponent. He did it in Andrade (released and back in AEW). He did it with Ilya Dragunov (not being used). And now he’s done it with Saints, who hopefully for his sake doesn’t get released or end up chilling in catering.
That’s entertaining because Hayes is really good in the ring. So were all those other guys we mentioned. But it isn’t how this company typically books guys they have big plans for.
As for Ricky, I’m still not buying him yet. He’s a fine promo and is strong in the ring, but I don’t see it otherwise. It’s probably intentional that he comes off as a smaller guy who wants to pretend he’s bigger than he is. That’s a good way for a heel to act. But right now, none of it is clicking for me.
Quick Hits
- I’m a bit tired of “Blake Monroe coming soon.” It’s time for her to debut.
- Is Danhausen (pronounced dan-HAUSEN if you’re Stephen A. Smith) going to bring back Zack Ryder?
- We got a quick backstage promo from Fatal Influence. I really like Jacy Jayne but the group really feels like three random women grouped together and not a true faction.
- My girlfriend finds it unfortunate that Wade Barrett is greying in such a way that his beard is half grey and half brown. But outside dying it in one color or the other or shaving it off, I don’t think there’s much he can do about it.
I’m going to go a little behind the scenes in my recap approach here. I find the hardest shows to recap are mediocre ones. Great shows leave you feeling energized with a bunch of aspects you want to praise and little details you want to point out. Terrible shows are fun to just rip apart because they’re just so bad. But mediocre shows leave you with little really tear open but nothing that made you excited to talk about that because they’re just there. Meh doesn’t inspire either way.
And that’s what we got here. A mediocre episode of television. I enjoyed the WWE title stuff enough, especially with the great character work Sami Zayn is doing. While that didn’t light the world on fire, it was enjoyable and probably the best part of the show. The King of the Ring matches, especially the main event, left some to be desired. The rest of the show was kind of forgettable.
Grade: C
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