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Tag: Cody Rhodes

  • 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.

  • 3/17/25 Raw Rundown

    After avoiding spoilers for this episode all day, I thought this episode of Monday Night Raw was full of fun, and I was glad I didn’t see anything beforehand.

    Image credit: WWE

    Heel Cena’s First Appearance

    Since turning heel at this year’s Elimination Chamber PLE, John Cena has yet to appear on an episode of either Raw or Smackdown. That is until tonight.

    John Cena opened up the show and explained how he felt to the WWE Universe. This was a breakup note to all of us who have grown up watching Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect. Cena told us that we have been awful to him. Booing him, chanting at him, forcing him to change. This was an interesting angle to take for WWE and I am fully behind it. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

    Whether you loved or hated Cena growing up, we have all been a part of the “John Cena sucks” chant that was especially loud in Brussels. Cena made me feel bad for rooting against him for all of those years.

    In a nutshell, John Cena has finally flipped to the dark side because he is looking after himself. He sees this as the easiest route to winning number 17 and is the correct way to do a heel John Cena character.

    Cody Rhodes eventually made his entrance to confront his WrestleMania opponent. Cena immediately tried to ‘lil bro’ Cody, but he wasn’t having it.

    Cody asked Cena who he really was. He wants a match against the real John Cena at Mania. Not this selfish, winey, shell of his former self.

    Overall, the crowd was hot for both of these guys. Cena didn’t get the chance to get a word in against Cody, but both looked super strong on the mic.

    Another Great Showing from Penta

    Monday Night Raw’s newest acquisition continues to wow fans with his innovative and high-flying offense.

    Penta defeated Ludwig Kaiser in a no-holds-barred match in the first match of the night. As always, I was super impressed with Penta in this match. The finish had to of been my favorite part. A Mexican destroyer onto a steel chair followed by the Penta driver was immaculate. I can’t get enough of this guy.

    The shock of the segment was the post-match interview, where Penta announced that he would be going after the Intercontinental Championship in the near future.

    I think this is well deserved. Right now, nobody in Raw’s mid-card seems like a viable contender against Bron Breakker. Penta on the other hand has been hot and has clearly been the guy for weeks.

    There was also a tease later in the night that Dom Mysterio was working to recruit Penta to Judgement Day. Could this be building to a triple threat for the IC title at Mania?

    Ivy Nile vs Dakota Kai

    Dakota Kai defeated Ivy Nile with ease in this match. We had some shenanigans out on the apron with Chad Gable and the rest of American Made throughout, but other than that there’s not much else to say about it.

    Contract Conundrum

    The contract signing for the Women’s World Championship match at WrestleMania between Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky was next on the show.

    Both Iyo and Bianca signed it fairly quickly, Iyo stating that as champion, she will not be disrespected again like she was last week.

    After the signing, Rhea Ripley’s music hits as she storms to the ring. She was looking to also sign the contract for her match at WrestleMania. A match that she felt she deserved to be a part of. So much so that she would beat up both Iyo and Bianca and sign her name on the contract as well.

    We all knew this would wind up becoming a triple-threat match. Although it hasn’t been “made official” we all know where this is headed.

    Jey Uso Squashes Austin Theory

    Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that I get to write about the first squash match in Squash Match Wrestling history!

    Jey Uso defeated Austin Theory with a cross body (per Michael Cole) in under one minute.

    After the match, Theory and Greyson Waller attempted to one-up the Royal Rumble winner but were bested once again. There was a terrible botch where Jey tried to jump out of the ring and onto both of his opponents, he hit the ropes and landed awkwardly.

    This was not a great look for someone who is trying to earn himself a WrestleMania main event. Especially with a storyline that has already been lackluster.

    Gunther once again came out to make Uso’s night hell. He locked in a vicious sleeper hold, but Jey was able to escape and finally get the best of the World Heavyweight Champion. The segment ended with Jey Uso holding up Gunther’s title in triumph.

    The Creed Brothers vs LWO

    Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee defeated Julius and Brutus Creed in a tag team match.

    In ring, this match was incredible. What else would we expect from high-flying luchadors like Rey and Dragon? The Creed Brothers looked fantastic as always too.

    My favorite part, however, was the surprise attack from the mysterious masked assailant who is definitely NOT Chad Gable after the match had ended.

    This unknown figure delivered several Gable-like moves to the luchadors. Most likely in an attempt to frame our beloved and ever-innocent Master Gable. I hope that WWE security can catch this guy soon. He can’t keep getting away with this.

    Seth Speaks on Roman Reigns Attack

    In the final major segment before the main event, Seth Rollins made his way to the ring to acknowledge the spectacular Brussels crowd and talk about his victory last week over CM Punk.

    Seth was admittedly not angry at Roman Reigns for tainting his win in the steel cage match, saying that he would’ve done the same thing himself.

    His focus then shifted toward his opponent, CM Punk. He said that Punk got lucky. If Rollins had just a few more seconds he would have stomped his head into the mat and crushed his WrestleMania dreams.

    Seth announced that he would be heading to Smackdown later in the week to address both Reigns and Punk since they will also be at the show.

    It is looking more and more like we are getting a triple-threat match between Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins. If this is the case, I believe that Seth Rollins should be the winner.

    1. Because I love Seth Rollins and want to see him win.
    2. Because Seth deserves it. Since losing his World Heavyweight Championship last year, he has been getting bested by these two all year. In the case of CM Punk, it’s in matches. But in terms of Roman, its from sheer star power. He’s been the head honcho in WWE for the past 4-5 years and a win like this would put Seth on an equally high pedestal where he deserves to be.

    Pinn Balor vs Bron Breakker

    Bron Breakker (predictably) retained his Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor in a stellar match that main evented the show.

    Breakker was able to capitalize even when the numbers were against him. There were plenty of typical Judgement Day interferences fighting in Balor’s favor, but he was still able to get the win.

    After the match, Judgement Day jumped an exhausted Bron Breakker. None other than Penta, who declared himself the next challenger for Breakker’s IC title earlier in the show, came out to make the save.

    The two had a staredown, and the episode faded to black as the credits rolled.

    For as good as Finn Balor is in the ring, I can only see one way that he makes it to WrestleMania this year. And that is in a match against Judgement Day partner Dominick Mysterio. They have been hinting at a feud for weeks now as tensions continue to rise within the group over the supposed new member.

    However, I can also see Dom landing himself elsewhere on the WrestleMania card. That being in a triple-threat match between himself, Penta, and Bron Breakker for the IC title. You have to admit, this match would cook so much harder than Finn Balor vs Dominick Mysterio. That matchup just screams ‘Raw main event’ to me. I don’t think it’s worth wasting a spot on the show of shows, but I guess we’ll see how the story develops. Let Papa H cook as they say.

  • 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.

  • 2/28/25 Smackdown Summary

    It’s the night before the Elimination Chamber, and this week’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown was the perfect segue toward the next stop on the road to Wrestlemania.

    Image credit: Alex Bierens De Haan

    It’s Tiffy/Trishy Time in Toronto

    The show started out with a segment that clearly was meant to hype up the in-house crowd starring hometown hero Trish Stratus. Trishy Time called out her tag team partner and WWE Women’s champion Tiffany Stratton to aid in her endeavor.

    After the two generously donated their brand spankin’ new Maple Leafs jerseys to some lucky fans, they were interrupted by Women’s United States champion Chelsea Green (who is also a Canadian btw). Chelsea used her title and heel heat to turn on her hometown crowd and pledged her allegiance to the United States, setting up a match between her and Tiffany Stratton.

    This match was slightly underwhelming in the ring to me, especially for a match between Smackdown’s two women’s champions. Although, I was happy that they went with the finish that they did. The surprise attack by Nia Jax and Candice LeRae was meant to build more excitement for a match that I am not particularly interested in. I’m glad they decided not to bury Chelsea Green (again) with a loss in a non-title match, so at least there’s that.

    US Title Tournament

    Since it’s like, 2 am at the time of me writing this review, I am going to summarize the entirety of the United States title tournament that stretched throughout tonight’s episode in this one segment of my review.

    Three matches were announced for the night, and all three of the victors would go head to head in the main event in a triple threat match. The winner of the tournament will face Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship at some point in the future.

    The first of these matches was Andrade vs Jacob Fatu (originally booked for Solo Sikoa). These two had great chemistry in the ring and put on a spectacular match. However, Jacob Fatu would predictably get the win and advance onward.

    Carmelo Hayes and Braun Strowman also had a tournament match tonight. I was a big fan of this match’s finish. Carmelo Hayes pulled an Eddie Guerrero after Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga interfered to ensure Strowman couldn’t get his giant hands on Jacob Fatu in the finals. Melo didn’t miss on this opportunity, and Strowman was disqualified for a “chair shot.” This was a gimmick that we haven’t seen in WWE in a while, and I thought that it fit Carmelo Hayes’ opportunistic character well.

    The final qualifying match was LA Knight vs Santos Escobar. LA Knight hit a gnarly BFT on a mid-air Santos Escobar to seal the deal and move on to the triple threat. Personally, I haven’t really been able to get behind the BFT as a finishing move. Not because it doesn’t look deadly, but mainly because it just looks awkward. Nonetheless, this one definitely hit me differently (along with Santos Escobar lol).

    Main eventing the show (match-wise anyway) was the triple threat finale to this makeshift tournament. I really enjoyed this match. Any bout featuring Jacob Fatu is naturally a banger. Seriously, if this guy can clean up his promo skills just a little bit more he’ll be a world champion in a year or two. I know a lot of people like them but to me, they just aren’t hitting yet.

    Anyhoo, LA Knight would pick up the win on a lifeless Carmelo Hayes after Fatu hit his signature moonsault, but was pulled out of the ring by Knight before he could land the pinfall.

    I am happy that they are giving LA Knight a second chance at the US Title. I was intrigued by the initial decision to put the belt on a newly defined Shinsuke Nakamura, but so far they just haven’t done a good job building him up as a formidable champion. He has barely appeared on Smackdown in the past few weeks, never mind defending his title. I believe Knight will pick up the win in their next match. I do hope that the loss doesn’t bury Nakamura though. If it does, I fear his WWE career might be on its last legs.

    Overall, this tournament was an awesome showcase of Smackdown’s midcard talent. Three-hour Smackdowns could really benefit from events like this on both the men’s and women’s side.

    Tag Team Chaos

    Smackdown’s thriving tag team division was on full display tonight in this absolutely absurd segment. What seemed like a routine match between The Street Profits and Los Garza would turn into an all-out brawl.

    DIY interrupted The Street Profits’ entrance before the match would even start, followed by Pretty Deadly, and eventually The Motor City Machine Guns.

    There was no clear winner to me in this segment. Every team had an awesome spot somewhere amidst the chaos. I predict that this will lead to a five-team ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania.

    A Chamber Promo Like No Other

    Tonight, we had five of the six members of this year’s Elimination Chamber match meet in the ring for the final time before the big night. This mega-promo sent my hype levels through the roof for tomorrow’s PLE.

    It all started with Drew McIntyre interrupting a John Cena video package, calling the 16-time world champion a hypocrite. Damien Priest would interrupt and do his best to keep up with Drew on the mic.

    Next came Seth Rollins, who was doing his best oven-mitt cosplay tonight. The three men who faced off for the World Heavyweight Championship at last year’s Money In The Bank PLE were reunited in the ring for the very first time to cook each other, this time with microphones before they were interrupted again by CM Punk.

    Obviously, there is plenty of heat between these guys. They went back and forth insulting each other and stating their cases for why they will each win the chamber and go on to Wrestlemania. That was until the moment of truth. The return (or debut) of John Cena on his retirement tour. Or so we thought…

    Cena’s music hit and the arena went nuts, only to realize shortly after that it was actually Logan Paul. Let me just say that Logan Paul is so good at this whole WWE superstar thing. He kept up on the mic with legends like CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre. That’s not even mentioning his in-ring abilities. I love heels. They are my favorite characters in all of WWE and pretty much always have been. I grew up a bald Randy Orton fan, so naturally, I gravitate toward dastardly characters like the one Logan Paul has made himself out to be.

    The one guy I am worried about after this whole war of words was Damien Priest. He sounded very weak on the mic tonight, getting outshined by virtually everyone. His first promo with Drew was weak, where he repeated himself about “beating Drew’s ass” over and over again, and he barely had anything to say once the big stars began to shine. This Elimination Chamber could be a make-or-break moment for Damien Priest and so far, he hasn’t impressed me among the big-time main eventers.

    Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

    KO and Sami delivered an awesome promo leading into tomorrow’s unsanctioned match. My expectations for this match are up in space. I want a bloodbath. Typically, I am not the biggest fan of those kinds of matches, but after seeing what Kevin Owens went through at the Royal Rumble (what a great birthday present that was) and knowing the history between these two guys, I want to see them destroy each other. I want tables, ladders, chairs, steel steps, kendo sticks, toolboxes, and any other “zayn-y” items they can find in the surrounding area. The promo they delivered was so unbelievably personal toward one another that I even think that this match should main event the show, especially in Canada.

    Selling His Soul? Pt. 2

    We saw a series of events happen tonight that could convince Cody to turn toward The Rock and join him as his corporate champion.

    We saw Cody receive a number of gifts from The Final Boss like a special locker room, food, wine, and even a brand-new truck. Throughout the night, Cody talked with a host of different superstars like R-Truth and Drew McIntyre who all gave him different advice. The most impactful to me was CM Punk, who supported Cody selling out and eventually turning on The Rock.

    The show ended with a video package from The Rock, telling the WWE Champion that he hopes he will join him tomorrow at the chamber. He even had a custom lifting belt that read “Cody Rhodes’ Soul” and listed the anniversary of his father’s death (which I thought was a little weird). Overall, it got really personal, and this story could go a million different routes.

    My prediction is that Cody will sell his soul to The Rock, turning him heel. I am still sticking with the idea of Cena winning the chamber and getting his final Mania main event. I think that dynamic works better against a heel champion. However, I don’t see Cena winning his 17th here. I think it will be a year-long chase that culminates later in the year.