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Tag: CM Punk

  • 3/28/25 Smackdown Summary

    Friday Night Smackdown stopped in London, England this week to deliver a solid show.

    Image credit: WWE

    Cody Welcomes London to the Show

    Smackdown started with the WWE Champion making his way to the ring and was greeted by a choir of English WWE fans.

    Randy Orton came out to meet Cody and gave Cody some emotional words of encouragement. He told Cody that he was the reason that the WWE is as successful as it is today and that he was extremely proud of the superstar and the man he has become. You could see Cody holding back tears as Orton delivered his message.

    This however wasn’t the only thing Orton was out for. He let Cody know that he will be coming for his title after Cody defeats Cena at WrestleMania.

    The two were then met by Drew McIntyre. Drew came out to remind everyone that he was once again right like he is about everything. This time, he was referring to John Cena.

    He then declared that after WrestleMania, he would be coming for Cody’s title.

    This portion of the segment set up a match between Orton and McIntyre for later on in the night, which we will get to later on.

    This is the Drew McIntyre that I have been waiting to see since his Hell ina Cell match at Bad Blood. Drew should be competing for world titles, especially at WrestleMania. However, I understand that sometimes it’s just not in the cards for some people.

    Drew needs to beat Damien Priest at WrestleMania so that all of this hype doesn’t go to waste.

    Pretty Deadly vs The Street Profits

    The first match of the night was between Pretty Deadly and the Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championships.

    Before we get into the match, let me just say that Mark Nash, who was introduced before this match, did an awesome job all night. He has a real “pro-sports” vibe to his voice that I enjoyed.

    Although Pretty Deadly lost this contest, they had the backing of their hometown crowd the entire time. It was nice to see them get the love they deserve. I still think that they will win these titles in some kind of multi-team match at WrestleMania.

    The Secret Hervice vs Carter and Chance.

    Chelsea Green’s new faction, the Secret Hervice, defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance in a tag team match.

    This match was set up in a backstage segment that took place earlier in the night that also involved Zelina Vega.

    After the Hervice beat the partying duo, they proceeded to beat them down in the ring. Vega came out to make the save. She fended off Alba Fyre and Piper Niven for a bit, but eventually succumbed to the numbers game.

    It is looking more and more like Vega versus Green is the plan for WrestleMania. I’m not super excited about this match, but it’s better than another street fight against Michin I suppose. Smackdown needs more mid-carders in the women’s division.

    LA Knight vs Braun Strowman

    LA Knight and Braun Strowman had their match for the United States Championship after Strowman became the number one contender in last week’s episode.

    He defeated Jacob Fatu to qualify via disqualification. Strowman and Knight may have forgotten, but Fatu certainly didn’t. He attacked both of the two competitors shortly after the match began, and it ended in a disqualification.

    Tensions between Solo Sikoa and his enforcer grew after the match. Solo pressed Fatu about going out on his own to wreak havoc. However, Fatu clapped back by saying he could do what he wanted and he would bring the US title back to the Bloodline with or without Solo’s help.

    I have a number of questions surrounding Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, and the United States Championship for WrestleMania.

    For one, What is the plan with Fatu for mania? We know he will find his way onto the card somewhere. But will that be against Solo or LA Knight?

    If it ends up being Solo vs Jacob, what is the plan for the US title? LA Knight currently doesn’t have a feud going into WrestleMania. They seem to have been building toward Jacob Fatu, but it seems that that won’t be the match we get.

    I am already predicting a ladder match for the tag team title and wouldn’t want to see another one on this year’s card. However, that would be the easiest way to get Smackdown’s mid-carders onto the show.

    Guys like Carmelo Hayes and Braun Strowman have been getting plenty of big matches and TV time, so I believe that they should make it onto the show somewhere. I just don’t know where else to put them other than a feudless ladder match.

    Naomi’s Video Package

    Naomi was featured in an emotional video package calling out Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill while giving us a sneak peek into her new heel persona.

    She showed old photos of her and Bianca while stating that she was always there for Bianca since the very beginning while Jade wasn’t. Naomi was tired of being the third wheel. She had always done the right thing throughout her career. She attacked Jade because she knew it was what she needed to do.

    This promo was awesome. Naomi’s character work lately has been some of her best since returning to the WWE. This could be enough to cement herself as a perennial main-eventer going forward.

    I am a big fan of these “justified heels” that Triple H has been cooking up lately. Guys like Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre fall into this category as well and have been some of my favorite characters to watch since their heel turns.

    Michin vs Charlotte Flair

    You know it’s a good night when you get to see Michin lose. It’s a doubly good night when you get to see her get beat up by Naomi before the match even begins.

    Naomi attacked both Michin and B-Fab before Charlotte even made her entrance. Jade Cargill appeared to make the save.

    Of course, this match wasn’t called off though. Michin stayed to fight the Queen even after taking her beatdown. She wound up losing to the figure-eight leg lock.

    After the match, we saw Tiffany Stratton being interviewed backstage. She responded strongly to Charlotte’s onslaught from last week.

    Tiffy admitted that Flair made her look like a rookie, but she used that to her advantage. At the end of the day, if Tiffy loses to Flair it’s no big deal. She is a rookie facing the best the industry has ever seen. She is young and her career will recover. Charlotte on the other hand will never be able to live it down.

    I thought this was a solid recovery form last week, even if it still felt like she was reading from a script.

    Legends Clash

    Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre faced off toward the end of the show in a slow and methodical match. Typical Randy Orton.

    Drew would get the win off of a distraction from Kevin Owens.

    Afterward, Owens and Orton would duke it out outside of the ring, and we got yet another punt kick tease before Kevin made his escape.

    Distraction or not, this is a big win for Drew. He needed this momentum heading into WrestleMania. I can’t remember the last time Drew was in a singles match on Smackdown that didn’t end in him losing to a rollup from a Bloodline member.

    Big Jim vs The Miz

    Jimmy Uso defeated The Miz easily in the final match of the night.

    This match was short and predictable but did its job. That being to give Jimmy Uso some momentum heading into his match against Gunther on Monday.

    I am not quite sure what exactly, but I feel like we will get a big story advancement for Gunther versus Jey Uso from this match on Raw.

    Priest Attacks McIntyre

    As Drew McIntyre prepared to head off to the pub to celebrate his victory, he was attacked in the parking lot by Damien Priest.

    Drew had been getting the one-up on Priest in recent weeks, but tonight was Priest’s night. The brawl led the two to fight on top of a car. Damien Priest gauged Drew’s eyes and put him through a windshield with a South of Heaven choke slam.

    I know I clowned on this feud a while ago, but I have really come around to it. I do think that this match needs a stipulation though. A street fight between these two at WrestleMania would go hard.

    The Contract Signing

    This segment was very interesting. It answered one of the biggest questions heading into WrestleMania, but also left us with another one that is just as big. Let’s get right into it.

    Roman Reigns made his entrance and was greeted by an electric crowd. They sang his name so loud that even Paul Heyman joined in!

    Next, Seth Rollins made his way to the ring. He reminisced on the past that he and Roman have, especially in that building. Seth said that he and Roman are the reason that the business is in the position that it is today, but Roman disagreed.

    Roman said that there “is no we.” He has done everything over the past 10 years on his own while Seth sat second fiddle.

    CM Punk finally made his entrance and was greeted with a karaoke party. London sang his song as he stormed to the ring to sign the contract. Before he would sign it though, he spent a minute searching through its pages.

    This is where we got one of our questions answered. Paul Heyman confirmed that the triple-threat will be main eventing night one of WrestleMania.

    Punk got emotional as Seth crashed out and Roman asked for a thank you. His life-long dream was finally coming true.

    Sarcastically, Punk thanked his tribal chief for letting him main event but confirmed to us that this was not his favor from Paul as the show faded to black.

    Wow. Just wow. What a way to end the show. I have a few predictions as to what the favor might be, and one of them I hope isn’t the case.

    First, I think it could be Paul Heyman rejoining CM Punk after WrestleMania. If you recall, Roman Reigns had promised Paul that he wouldn’t harm CM Punk after Survivor Series. This promise was broken when he attacked Punk after the steel cage match on Raw a few weeks ago. Heyman could be upset with Roman and end up leaving him.

    Secondly, and the one I hope isn’t the case, the favor could be to be added to the WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes and John Cena.

    I don’t want this at all. I get that he has historic entanglements with both of these guys, but there are so many multi-man matches on the card already. We don’t need or want another one, do we?

    CM Punk needs no excuse to go after either of these guys following mania regardless of who walks out the champ. Come back to it later. A one-on-one feud between Cena and Punk one final time would be so much more fun to watch.

  • 3/24/25 Raw Rundown

    Monday Night Raw in Glasgow, Scottland was a night full of surprises. Let’s get right into today’s review of the show.

    Photo credit: WWE

    Cena Scolds The Audience

    For the second week in a row, John Cena started tonight’s show with another promo directed toward us, the viewers. He gave us an even deeper look into how he is feeling and what his plans are for his WWE Championship run.

    Although it seemed obvious, I didn’t see this coming to start the show for some reason. It was a nice surprise to hear Cena’s music hit to kick things off.

    The biggest takeaway from this promo is that John Cena plans to take the title away from not just Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania but from us as well. He made reference to the hate he received for converting the old, respected title belt into the spinner belt that was widely hated among WWE fans and superstars alike.

    Just like he did all of those years ago, John Cena plans to take away the prestigious WWE Championship once again. This time he will retire with it at the end of the year.

    Cody came out to confront Cena again. He said that if he wants to take the title away from us, he has to get through Cody first.

    Many people online have been complaining about the Cody Rhodes and John Cena promos. Everyone seems upset that John Cena is yet to respond to Cody face-to-face. To that, I say let them cook.

    Are we forgetting that there is still a month until WrestleMania? Do you really think we’re not going to get a Cody Rhodes and John Cena promo battle before then? Well, we are. It’s called suspense people. Let it build up. This has the potential to be one of the greatest wars of words in the history of the WWE. Of course they aren’t going to give it to us three weeks into the Cena heel turn. You’re upset because you’re impatient.

    The Usos Reunite

    The second big surprise of the night was the reunion of one of the greatest tag teams of all time, The Usos.

    A mystery partner for Jey was teased last week. Usually, when this happens, it’s the most obvious person you could think of as the surprise entrant. Except for that one time when we got Ricky. I miss Ricky…

    There was buzz online that it could be Joe Hendry, but I honestly didn’t know who it would be. When I saw Jimmy Uso I freaked out. The Usos haven’t teamed up in over a year. This was sick.

    Of course, The Usos defeated A-Town Down Under in an awesomely nostalgic match. It was great to see a one-d for the first time in a while.

    Jey Uso looked like he had his swagger back from last week with his brother by his side. He looked confident, which he needed after last week’s botch.

    Gunther attacked Jimmy and Jey after the match ended. Jey got the jump on him early, carrying his confidence from the match over to this retaliation. That was until he slipped up while attempting a spear and got beat down by Gunther in the end.

    Later in the night, we got a backstage segment where a disheartened Jey was sitting and talking with Jimmy about the mania match. Jimmy told it to him like it is and how any brother would. Jey can’t win. Not this depressed, botch machine Jey anyway. But the Jey who won the Royal Rumble can. Main Event Jey Uso can beat Gunther.

    Jimmy then met Gunther in the hallway and challenged him to match next week. Gunther accepted with a quick, sh*t-eating quip and got his hatable grin smacked straight off of his face which was one of my favorite moments of the night.

    My opinions on the Jey Uso versus Gunther feud have changed seemingly every week. I believe that the addition of Jimmy Uso was necessary, and I clamored for it a few weeks ago on my radio show.

    People online are upset that they are taking this low-confidence angle for Jey Uso. However, you’re playing right into it. The more you hate on him, the more WWE is going to lean into it. Our hatred for it makes it work. Like it or not, I know you’re all going to be yeeting your asses off when Jey wins at Mania.

    Lyra Valkyria vs Raquel Rodriguez

    Since putting over Bayley in the Elimination Chamber qualifying match a few weeks back, Lyra Valkyria has been on an absolute tear. She has defended the Women’s Intercontinental Championship every other week on Raw since then and has been putting on awesome matches each time.

    Tonight’s match against Raquel Rodriguez was no exception. Lyra took some nasty-looking bumps in this match. That big boot from Raquel as Lyra was in mid-air was gross. I am impressed by her more and more each week.

    After Lyra got the win, she was attacked by the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Bayley hustled her way to the ring (she was MOVIN) to make the save.

    I think we have finally found where Liv Morgan can find herself on the WrestleMania card. That being in a match for Lyra’s Intercontinental title. After the year she had, and even after last week’s huge win over Jade Cargill she absolutely deserves a spot on the card.

    What I don’t want to see is a triple-threat between Bayley, Liv, and Lyra. We already have a few triple threats on the card. It’s being memed online there are so many. Just make this a singles match.

    Adam Pierce Addresses The Women’s World Championship Match

    Adam Pierce came to the ring to confirm that Rhea Ripley’s signing of the contract last week was invalid and that we will not be seeing her added to the match at WrestleMania.

    Iyo, Bianca, and Rhea joined him in the ring to start arguing about who deserves to be in the match. Pierce confirmed a rematch for next week between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky for the Women’s World Championship. The winner of which will face Bianca at WrestleMania.

    It was later confirmed in a backstage segment that Bianca Belair would be the special guest referee.

    This match is going to end in shenanigans. Bianca said it herself, she doesn’t know how to referee. This is going to lead to something happening in the match that sets up the triple-threat match at WrestleMania.

    I don’t think that this feud needs this rematch in order to confirm the triple threat. It’s already there. Just take what you’ve got while it’s hot.

    A Legendary Luchador Debuts

    Hailing from the Gulf of America, world-famous luchador El Grande Americano made his WWE debut tonight against Dragon Lee after Chad Gable had to pull out of the match due to illness.

    What a debut it was too. This match rocked. That suplex from Americano from the apron to the floor was gnarly. I was a big fan of the finish too. Although I couldn’t tell if Lee’s mask was supposed to fall off or not at the time.

    I still don’t understand why everyone is making connections between Chad Gable and Americano. So what he disrespects Lucha traditions by de-masking his opponents? So what he has the exact same physical build as Chad? So what they have nearly identical ring gear and move sets? Chad Gable is innocent. He has nothing to do with the legendary El Grande.

    CM Punk Speaks on Rollins and Reigns

    CM Punk came out to the ring to speak about his newly confirm match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.

    He said again that neither Reigns or Rollins have ever beaten Punk without the other ones help and that having each other is their only hope at winning.

    He said that there will be a contract signing for the match this week on Smackdown, where he hinted that he will be getting what he wants out of this match. Will this be where he cashes in his favor from Paul Heyman, and what will the favor be?

    People online are saying that the favor will be CM Punk being added to the John Cena versus Cody Rhodes match if he wins. However, I don’t think that that is what Punk wants. He hasn’t hinted at wanting a title ina while.

    What CM Punk really wants is to finally main event WrestleMania. His favor from Paul will be making this match the main event of night one of mania.

    Penta vs Bron Breakker

    Bron Breakker successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship in the main event tonight against Penta.

    This was Penta’s first time main eventing a WWE show and it definitely won’t be his last.

    Like every Penta match we’ve seen so far, this one was awesome. I still can’t get over how cool of a move the Mexican destroyer is. I am in awe every time I see it. This was a great showing between two of WWE’s fastest-rising stars.

    I was super excited about this match all week. That’s why I was disappointed with the way it ended. I wanted a definitive winner, but I understand now why they chose to protect Bron and Penta from taking a pinfall.

    I predicted last week that we would be getting a triple-threat match between Bron Breakker, Penta, and Dominik Mysterio for the IC title at WrestleMania. I was almost right.

    From the conclusion of tonight’s main event, it is looking more like a fatal four-way is what we’re getting with Finn Balor added into the mix.

    I am just as fine with this as I am with the triple-threat. In fact, I think this is the perfect opportunity to revitalize the career of Finn Balor. He has been down bad for far too long. Years for that matter. Fans have been asking for WWE to do something with Finn for a long time and this could be the perfect opportunity.

  • 3/21/25 Smackdown Summary

    Since Backlash in France last year, the European members of the WWE Universe have been hyping up the electricity that an Italian crowd would bring. Tonight that fire was on full display in Bologna.

    Image credit: WWE, Fox Sports

    Adding to the Mania Card

    Randy Orton kicked off the show with a bang by simply existing. The Italian crowd really brought it, screaming his song at the top of their lungs. It gave me goosebumps just watching. You can tell that it had the same effect on Randy as he took his time with his entrance and took it all in.

    Before Randy could speak a word into the microphone, Kevin Owens’ music hit. He interrupted Randy and said something unexpected. Kevin was here to apologize.

    He said that the piledriver he gave Randy was something that he regretted and that if anyone should understand regretting a decision made in anger it would be Randy.

    Randy wasn’t having it, however. He said that that piledriver brought back the voices, and the voices were telling him to kick Kevin Owens’ head off at WrestleMania.

    Priest and Uso vs Nakamura and McIntyre

    A tag team match between the teams of Damien Priest and Jimmy Uso versus Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew McIntyre was the first in-ring showcase of the night.

    The action began before the bell would ever ring as Damien Priest attacked Drew McIntyre during his entrance.

    Priest and Uso would win this match, getting the pinfall on Shinsuke Nakamura. Drew McIntyre would walk away looking the strongest, however. He beat down Damien Priest badly after the match was over to the point where Priest could barely move.

    Drew had the crowd’s support throughout this match. Bologna loved him. Let me just say that out of all of the chants we hear from these European crowds, Drew’s has to be one of my favorites. They were loud for him the whole time.

    I agree with the Bologna crowd. I am a huge McIntyre fan. I am gaining more and more support for his feud with Priest every single week. Drew has to win this match at WrestleMania though. If he walks out of Vegas a loser I honestly don’t know what can be next for him.

    Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair Interview

    In the next segment of the show, we got to see an interview between WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair.

    The 14-time Women’s Champion destroyed Tiffany in this segment. She made Stratton look like the newcomer that she is. Tiffany looked and sounded incredibly nervous whenever it was her turn to respond to Charlotte’s daggers.

    You could tell that Tiffany was reading from her script at times. Whenever Charlotte would respond with something of her own (like the true professional she is) Stratton would resort back to whatever she was saying before she was interrupted.

    For as good as Tiffy is, to me this showed that she can’t yet hang with someone of The Queen’s caliber. The WWE Women’s Champion was embarrassed tonight.

    Kaiju Fight

    Jacob Fatu and Braun Strowman had yet another match on Friday Night Smackdown. This time, the winner was named the number one contender to LA Knight’s United States Championship.

    Braun Strowman won this contest via disqualification. He had Fatu seemingly beaten but was attacked by Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga before he could land the pinfall.

    LA Knight came out to save Strowman from the vicious attack.

    After the match, we got a backstage look at the conversation between Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. Fatu was pissed. He was wondering the same thing we all were. Why would Solo purposefully ruin His chances at the US title?

    I think Solo is jealous of Fatu’s success. This feud could boil up in the next few weeks and lead to a match at WrestleMania. Both of these guys deserve a spot on the card. What better way to fit them in than head-to-head against each other?

    Piper Niven vs Zelina Vega

    Zelina Vega made her in-ring Smackdown debut in a loss against Piper Niven.

    This match was boring from start to finish. Vega debuted with brand-new music and the Bologna crowd was not loud for her (or Niven) at all. I felt kind of bad honestly.

    However, this match didn’t deserve loud pops. Nothing exciting happened, like, at all. It was way too long as well. There were several near falls at which I groaned because I wanted to move on to whatever came next.

    I was pleasantly surprised that they gave Piper the win. They let Alba Fyre and Chelsea Greene assist in her win which I was fine with. It made Chelsea’s faction look a lot stronger than I thought they would be. It would’ve been a shame to add a new member just to lose anyway.

    Jade Cargill vs Liv Morgan

    Jade Cargill had her first singles match since August of last year tonight against Liv Morgan. A match that spawned from their altercation last week during Jade’s interview with Cathy Kelley.

    Jade started off the match dominating Liv to the point where Liv and Raquel tried to retreat. Jade grabbed Liv by the hair and dragged her back to the ring.

    From that point forward Liv started to show some offense. She would end up winning the match after taking advantage of interference from Naomi, who hit Jade over the head with Liv’s title belt. I beatdown from Naomi to Jade then ensued after the match.

    I honestly thought that Jade Cargill should’ve won this match. As of now, Liv Morgan unfortunately doesn’t have a story lined up for Mania and might end up missing the show entirely. She could’ve taken a loss here and not have gotten completely buried.

    As for Naomi, this was her first real appearance as a heel. She looked nasty, absolutely destroying Jade Cargill. She looks like a real threat going forward for the women’s division as a whole after this feud is over. Smackdown could really use more big heels in the women’s division other than Nia Jax.

    Celebration Cut Short

    The brand-new WWE Tag Team Champions made their way to the ring to celebrate last week’s win over DIY. They debuted with new entrance music as well. The Bologna crowd was all for Tez and Dawkins, and that showed in what went down next.

    Lagado Del Fantasma interrupted them demanding a match for the titles. Pretty Deadly came out next, reminding everyone that they were next in line. However, The Profits would give the match to Lagado, and defeat them in what was, in my opinion, the match of the night.

    Smackdown’s tag team division has come such a long way from just a few months ago. I remember seeing complaints online about Triple H not knowing how to book tag teams. Those people are awfully quiet now, huh? As long as they don’t look over at Raw’s division anyway…

    Punk, Reigns, and Rollins

    The main event of the show was the segment that everyone had been waiting weeks for. That was the promo between CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins to set up a triple-threat match at WrestleMania.

    Roman made his way to the ring first with his wise man, Paul Heyman. For the first time since losing his title to Cody at WM 40, he said his infamous line “acknowledge me.”

    He was swiftly met by Seth Rollins who gave a quick rundown of their beef throughout their time in WWE. They came into the business together, became stars together, betrayed each other, and grew to become even bigger stars simultaneously, crossing paths only every so often. There is no Seth Rollins without Roman Reigns, and there is no Roman Reigns without Seth Rollins.

    CM Punk came out to interrupt the two former S.H.I.E.L.D. brothers. He reminded them that neither of them would exist without him either.

    CM Punk also dropped a hint about the favor that Paul Heyman still owes him, although we are yet to find out what that might be.

    Finally, Punk thanked Paul for bringing the Tribal Chief right to him. Roman turned to glare at Paul in confusion, and Punk attacked him from behind.

    A brawl ensued in which each man attacked one another and called their shot for WrestleMania. We got camera shots of each of them pointing toward the ever-looming WrestleMania sign all but confirming our hopes of a triple-threat match at the show of shows.

    Personally, I was disappointed with this segment. It did what it needed to do by setting up the match, but I expected more mic work between three of the industry’s best promo cutters.

    WrestleMania is still weeks away, however, and I am sure there will be plenty of time between now and then to get some awesome mic battles.

  • 3/3/25 Raw Rundown

    We received a card that was chock-full of title fight’s on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw with one ending in a surprise twist.

    Image credit: thesportster.com

    Punk Out For Blood

    CM Punk kicked off the show by dropping one of his infamous pipe bombs on the likes of The Rock, John Cena, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins.

    Naturally, this promo was a banger. That’s just what we expect from CM Punk at this point. However, what came out of it all was even better than the promo itself.

    While Punk massacred his victims on the mic, he was interrupted by Seth Rollins after mentioning Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch. They brawled for a while and even again later on in the show. It was later announced that CM Punk and Seth will be maineventing next week’s episode of Raw inside a steel cage at Madison Square Garden.

    I have a couple of predictions for this match. First of all, Seth has to win this one, but I don’t think he’ll do it cleanly. My prediction is that Roman Reigns will return and attempt to put Rollins down for what he did at the Royal Rumble. However, I believe he will spear CM Punk inadvertently, giving Rollins the victory and setting up a triple-threat match at WrestleMania.

    I’m super excited about this feud and match. All three of these guys are top 5 in the business both in the ring and on the mic. Not to mention the history that each of them has with one another. I can totally see this stealing the night one main event away from Gunther and Jey Uso.

    What’s With Judgement Day?

    For weeks now, the members of Judgement Day, primarily Dirty Dom and Pinn Balor, have been at each other’s throats about adding this new member to the group. Personally, I’m on Finn’s side. They don’t need a new member, they need to break up, or at least drop Finn Balor. All they do is lose matches even with a numbers advantage. The entire group looks weak. They get beat up seemingly every single week by whoever the flavor of the night baby-face happens to be.

    Tonight it was Bron Breakker, and as you can imagine, that didn’t go too well for Judgement Day. They seem to be setting up a feud for the IC title with Balor, but hopefully, this happens before WrestleMania. We all know how this is going to end already, and this would be such a waste of Bron Breakker’s time. Many fans were hoping to see a match between him and AJ Styles for the title, but it seems that they are going the Logan Paul route with Styles for Mania.

    Somehow, Karrion Kross is now involved too. I have liked Kross’ recent work with Sami Zayn, but it never seems to lead anywhere big. I feel like Sami would’ve had a brutal match with KO regardless of had Kross been in his ear or not. Hopefully, they can find a way to tie him in effectively this time.

    Gunther Backs Up His Smack Talk

    For the past two weeks, Gunther has had a micro feud going on between himself and The Alpha Babes, formerly The Alpha Academy. Last week he decimated Tozawa on the mic and in the ring, but tonight was Otis’ turn.

    Gunther delivered daggers toward Otis, essentially body-shaming him the entire time. It was mean. Schoolyard bully levels of mean. For as awful as it was to watch a crowd favorite get fat-shamed on live television, I think that this feud is benefiting everyone.

    Every week Gunther becomes more and more of an unlikeable scumbag that people love to hate. Meanwhile, The Alpha Babes aren’t getting absolutely squashed by the World Champion either. They have had pretty entertaining matches. Gunther would defeat Otis and choke him out after the match ended as he did to Tozawa last week. Jey Uso made the save but also ended up unconscious after it all.

    Later in the night, Jey Uso delivered an emotional promo, talking about how everyone doubting him has him doubting himself as well. He said it was time to lock in as he left the building shirtless into the frigid Buffalo weather.

    I have faith in this feud. We have seen Jey Uso vs Gunther a number of times already so it doesn’t seem as interesting to online fans as WWE had hoped. You can’t tell me the arena isn’t going to explode when Uso wins the title though. This isn’t a feud for IWC fans, it’s for the people in attendance. The people who pay money to go to the shows. This match is meant to be a heartwarming WrestleMania moment about an underdog who finally gets the job done. Just sit back and enjoy it.

    Back-To-Back Wins for Valkyria

    This was the second week in a row that Women’s IC Champion Lyra Valkyria defended and retained her title. It’s nice to see her getting the championship treatment she deserves after however many days of not winning a match.

    This match was pretty good. Nothing eye-popping, but it was a good first bout between her and Ivy Nile. I see them coming back to this feud at some point down the line, maybe even for WrestleMania.

    Kaiser’s Time Killer

    Mid way through the show Ludwig Kaiser graced the audience with his annoying presence to deliver the same promo he gives every time he is handed a microphone. “I am Ludwig Kaiser and I am the best wrestler in the business,” was basically the gist of it.

    Thankfully he was interrupted by Penta, one of the fastest-rising stars that Monday Night Raw has on its stacked roster. I love Penta, but I’ve seen that he has been getting hate online for spamming his catchphrase a little too much.

    First of all, I don’t think he is overusing it. The crowd loves it. If it were getting no reaction each time that’s one thing, but he has the entire arena behind him every single time.

    Second of all, the guy just achieved his lifelong dream. You can tell how much he loves being a WWE superstar every time he steps foot into that ring, whether it’s for a match or not. Let him have his fun.

    The Quest Continues

    We finally have some answers as to where my guy Chad Gable has been the past few weeks. If you don’t recall, he went on an “epic quest” to familiarize himself with the “dark arts” of Lucha Libre. When I first saw this, I thought it was hilarious, but I am glad to see he will be returning soon.

    As to what was in the box, it has got to be a luchador mask right?

    Raw Is War In The Tag Team Division

    The second of our three title matches tonight was between the War Raiders and American Made for the World Tag Team Championships. This match started with no hype at all. Neither of the two teams got any form of reaction from the crowd during their entrances or as the match started. However, this quickly changed as the match went on. We had awesome high-flying action from both teams that you wouldn’t expect from such big dudes. Ivar attempted a moonsault, Brutus Creed hit a 450 splash, and Julius Creed hit a damn shooting star press from out of nowhere!

    This was an awesome showcase for the tag teams of Raw that have been struggling compared to their Smackdown counterparts. If it weren’t for what came next, this would’ve been the match of the night.

    Triple H Takes “Predictable” Allegations Seriously

    To the surprise of absolutely everyone on planet Earth, Iyo Sky defeated Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship in the main event of the show. She will go on to defend her newly won title against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania.

    I can’t put into words how spectacular this match was. For a match that everyone ” already knew the results of,” it was suspenseful from start to finish. The acrobatic style of Iyo Sky and the brutality of Rhea Ripley worked so well when paired against each other.

    I have one serious question though that nobody seems to be asking. Why didn’t Iyo get disqualified when Bianca put her hands on Rhea? I mean, they clearly weren’t just arguing. Bianca shoved Rhea multiple times to the point where Jessica Carr left the ring to split them up. Doesn’t that typically call for a DQ? In my book it does, and it kinda killed the match for me from that point going forward.

    Even with the shock ending, I still didn’t believe it should have ended like that. I felt that Rhea was screwed out of her title in a way and that Iyo Sky defeated her uncleanly.

    I do forsee Rhea Ripley getting inserted into this match at WrestleMania somehow. We have already seen Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky go head-to-head for a world championship. We haven’t seen Bianca and Rhea face off yet however, and to most fans that was the money match. I’d put money on it that this ends up a triple-threat match.

  • PLE Play-By-Play: Elimination Chamber 2025

    Elimination Chamber 2025 was one of the most groundbreaking premium live events I have ever seen. It’s safe to say we are officially on the road to WrestleMania.

    Photo credit: WWE

    Mystery Solved

    The mystery of who attacked Jade Cargill all those months ago had been eating at WWE fans since the attack and on Saturday we finally got our answer.

    As the Women’s Elimination Chamber match kicked off the show, a returning Jade Cargill made her way to the ring before the referees could lock the cage shut. She entered the structure and raised a fist toward Liv Morgan before quickly diverting to Naomi, brutally attacking her and leaving her incapacitated after slamming her head between the chamber doors. Naomi was deemed unfit to compete and henceforth eliminated from the match.

    I’ve got only four words for everyone…I told ya so! I mean, plenty of people saw this coming, but there was still the chance that it could’ve been Bianca. I went into depth on this topic in last week’s Raw Rundown, basically stating that Naomi had the motivation to attack Jade, she was the first to show up at the scene of the crime, was quick to blame Raquel and Liv, and seemed a bit off mentally the night she lost her tag titles.

    Bianca Belair heads to Wr-EST-leMania!

    The final result of the women’s chamber match was the EST of WWE punching her ticket to WrestleMania. My prediction over on X was that Alexa Bliss would win the chamber, but I really had no basis as to why I thought this. Neither Rhea Ripley nor Iyo Sky has any kind of feud going on with any of the match’s participants so it was more of a gut-feeling kind of thing.

    The match itself was spectacular. We had tons of violent spots inside the sinister structure. Heads bashing off of glass, bodies crashing onto the floor, faces rubbing against steel chains, and who could forget the whipping that Liv Morgan took from Bianca Belair? It sounded brutal.

    Although I did love the match in ring, my only complaint is that it didn’t set up any feuds for WrestleMania besides Naomi vs Jade and Bianca vs Rhea/Iyo. Liv Morgan looked like a million bucks, but what’s next for her? Bayley and Roxanne Perez barely had any action against each other, not even one of them eliminating the other. And that’s an ongoing feud! Alexa Bliss was the crowd favorite from the second she exited her pod, but even she still seemed directionless afterward.

    Tiffy and Trishy Get The W in Toronto

    I both love and hate using the phrase “nothing burger” to describe a match. For as fun as it is to say, it sucks having to use it to describe what was an otherwise solid match.

    In ring, sure, it was pretty good. Trish Stratus took some crazy shots from Nia Jax, getting swung around like a garden hose, but overall it just felt like a time filler. You can’t tell me that this match didn’t feel like something that you would see on any old episode of Friday Night Smackdown.

    I guess Trish Stratus did a good job elevating Tiffany Stratton before the biggest match of her career at Mania, but I think a title defense against Trish and an appearance from The Queen afterward would’ve done the job much better.

    Absolute Carnage

    Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens in an unsanctioned match was almost everything that I wanted it to be. In my mind, this is a match-of-the-year contender. That’s two in a row from KO as well because his match at Royal Rumble was also one of my favorites.

    These two did everything that they advertised to one another. We had double table breakages, hockey sticks, barbed-wire coated steel chairs, and more. I am just nitpicking at this point, but the only thing this match was missing for me was some blood. Like I said in my Smackdown Summary, I don’t always need blood to really get into a match. In fact, I’d rather them skip out on it most of the time. However, this match was different. Sami and Kevin practically killed each other. You’re telling me that a barbed-wire steel chair didn’t cause any bleeding at all? Not even on accident?

    Aside from my minor complaint, this match was perfect. It was exactly what their story needed. I can’t say much more than that.

    The Viper Strikes Back

    The second of many big returns on the night was Randy Orton, who came back to save Sami Zayn from a package piledriver onto the concrete floor. As a massive Randy Orton fan, I was praying that Randy would make his comeback tonight. After he skipped out at the rumble, I knew it had to be here in Toronto.

    Randy is back and out for blood. He stormed down to the ring and delivered RKOs to everyone he could get his hands on. I feel bad for all of those poor security guards who tried to get in Randy’s way. I will also never forgive them for taking away a punt kick to Kevin Owens from us. I have a feeling we will see one sometime in the near future. It’s only fair. One banned move for another.

    Either way, I am glad we have Randy back, and this will definitely be the Mania match for both him and KO. My only question now is will we see Sami Zayn on the WrestleMania card, or will he be put on the shelf until later on?

    The Men’s Chamber

    We all received the result that we needed from this year’s men’s Elimination Chamber match. John Cena will head to his final WrestleMania to main event against Cody Rhodes for a chance at his 17th world championship.

    First, let me just say that the finish of this match was so poetic. Who better to have dook it out for the Mania main event than John Cena and CM Punk? They have so much rich history together. The sight of them embracing in the ring before fighting, and Cena screaming “I’m sorry” as Punk faded out of consciousness was pure cinema.

    The complaint that I had about the women’s match does not stand true for this one at all. We received a couple of Mania feuds from this match, including Damien Priest vs Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk vs Seth Rollins vs (probably) Roman Reigns. The only one I am unsure about is Logan Paul, but you can stick him against anyone and it’ll be an attraction. That’s why I said unsure and not worried!

    What I am worried about though is the future of Drew McIntyre. He looked super weak tonight, losing to yet another roll-up from Damien Priest. Why do they keep doing this to Drew? After the year he just had it doesn’t make any sense to me. They seriously have nothing better for him at the show of shows than a one-off feud with Damien Priest? I was excited for Bloodline bounty hunter Drew. He was supposed to come for Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, or anybody other than Damien Priest.

    I can’t say I am excited for this match at all. The way Damien Priest has been booked lately is comparable to the likes of Cody Rhodes. He looks invincible. Nothing can stop him. He never loses clean. If I had to guess, Priest will probably beat the Scottish Warrior with a roll-up after kicking out of five claymores. I’m calling it now.

    The Sellout of The Century

    There are no words to describe what happened in the main event of the show other than legendary. This moment will never be forgotten. The John Cena heel turn was one of the most unpredictable story points in the history of professional wrestling. It officially feels like WrestleMania season is upon us.

    The segment started out with what I thought would be just another cheese-ball promo from perpetual good-guy Cody Rhodes. I knew in the back of my mind he would never accept The Rock’s offer. I just had hoped he would so Cena would have a heel opponent for WrestleMania (oh how the tables turned). Dropping an F-bomb uncensored was not on my bingo card, however.

    And then it happened, the moment that will go down in history. The Rock signals to John Cena as he hugs it out with the WWE Champion to deliver the low blow and end a 20-year babyface run. It was evil. It was truly diabolical. It was lemon-scented. Nobody in the crowd, on commentary, or the beaten and bloodied Cody Rhodes could believe their eyes.

    For as perfect as this segment was, I have one complaint. Why did Travis Scott have to be involved in this at all? What did he add? What did he bring to the table? It wasn’t like iShowSpeed’s rumble appearance that was meaningless and designed for clicks online. This was a massive moment that will forever be stained by a clout-chasing Travis Scott. If he wanted to be involved with WWE so badly, why not just have him perform one of his crappy songs? I thought that’s what he was advertised for. Get him off of our screens. He didn’t deserve to be a part of this.