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Tag: full show summary

  • 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.

  • 3/17/25 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.

  • 3/14/25 Smackdown Summary

    The first night of WWE’s Road to WrestleMania European Tour was as electric as we expected, which elevated the show to new heights.

    Kicking Things Off With a YEAH!

    The newly crowned United States Champion LA Knight kicked off the show last night with a promo to get the crowd going and was interrupted by a desperate Jimmy Uso. Jimmy said he feels that his window to WrestleMania closing and asked Knight for a title shot.

    Before he could accept Jimmy’s offer, Knight was interrupted by Solo Sikoa and the new Bloodline, who came out saying that if anyone deserved a title shot, it was Jacob Fatu. A brawl began and Braun Strowman joined in the chaos shortly after, which prompted GM Nick Aldis to declare a three-on-three tag team match to start the night.

    This match was one that could’ve appeared on any episode of Smackdown. What made it special was the Barcelona crowd. They were on fire, which would stay true until the very end of the show.

    The Babyface team came out victorious, but another brawl ensued after the final bell rang between Strowman and Fatu, elevating their feud further. Jacob Fatu walked out of this looking stronger than anyone.

    Jade Cargill is Interrupted by Liv and Raquel

    The next segment of the show was an interview with Jade Cargill in which we finally found out her side of the story as to what happened with Naomi. As she faded into a state of unconsciousness, she saw Naomi running from the scene of the crime. She said that physically, she is fine. She is more hurt emotionally than anything.

    As for why she didn’t tell anyone until weeks later, I’m not exactly sure we got our answer. Liv Morgan was wondering the same thing. She and Raquel interrupted the segment to set up a match between her and Jade next week.

    I tell you what, Liv Morgan is an amazing heel (if you couldn’t already tell from the year she just had). She plays one of the most easily hateable and annoying characters in the WWE today. Especially with that laugh of hers. You know the one. I said to my girlfriend after the segment,

    “Liv Morgan is such a b*tch and I love it.”

    B-Fab vs The Queen

    Charlotte Flair had her first singles match in over a year last night against B-Fab, which she predictably won. In the match, she showed little to no signs of ring rust. She looked to be a bit careful with her injured knee at times, but otherwise, she looked WrestleMania-ready. She even got fireworks for her entrance.

    After the match, Charlotte refused to let B-Fab out of the figure 8 leg-lock. This prompted Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton to rush down to the ring to make the save, and an awesome brawl ensued for a while afterward.

    I feel like this feud has the same problem as Jey Uso vs Gunther at the moment. Like why is Tiffy saving B-Fab? They have no relation to one another at all. I think this would’ve been more effective if Charlotte had taken on Trish Stratus tonight, who has an actual connection to Tiffany.

    Miz TV: Featuring Cody Rhodes

    Miz TV kicked off the way it usually does. With the Miz bashing his guest from every angle he can before he even makes it to the ring.

    There was a short interruption before the WWE Champion made it to the ring however, and that was the brawl from the previous segment leaking over into this one. For me, this didn’t add much more to the show or feud than the previous segment did. I just wanted to hear from Cody at this point.

    Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear very much from Cody tonight. He made his way to the ring, beat up The Miz, and called out the absent John Cena for the third show in a row.

    I think that they have been showing Cody too much since the Cena heel turn, to the point where the crowd has seemingly turned their backs on Cody Rhodes. The John Cena chants were loud. Very loud. People want to see and hear from him more than anything. Showing Cody each week without Cena unintentionally putting Cena more over than ever. Unless this is what WWE is going for.

    Damien Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura

    Damien Priest defeated Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification in a singles match tonight. I gotta say, I knew Priest wasn’t walking away from this with an L on his record, but it was nice to see Shinsuke getting some TV time. Since losing his US title (last week) he has already had the same amount of matches as he did in his title reign.

    I said on my radio show a few nights ago that I feared for Shinsuke’s career if WWE couldn’t find a way to use him after dropping the title. Although nothing crazy came out of this match, more TV time alone is doing him and his new auraless character a favor.

    Drew McIntyre attacked Damien Priest late in the match to give him the disqualification win. We saw in a video package earlier in the show what Drew’s motivations for targeting Priest are. Thank god we got this too because without it, I had honestly forgotten how involved with Drew’s previous year that Damien Priest was.

    Priest capitalized on Drew at WrestleMania, Drew was screwed over in a title match against Priest in his home country, Priest was a part of Drew’s terrible Money In The Bank cash-in, Damien eliminated him from the rumble, and now he got the best of Drew in Elimination Chamber as well.

    While I still can’t say I think this is the right thing to do with Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania, at least it is starting to make a little bit more sense now.

    A New Challenger for Chelsea Green

    We got a backstage segment setting up a feud between Chelsea Green and Zelina Vega for the Women’s United States Championship.

    I couldn’t be more happy about this. I am not sure that this will be the feud for WrestleMania, but anything is better than Michin at this point. I hate Michin so much, dude…

    Randy Orton vs Carmelo Hayes

    As Charlotte Flair did earlier in the night, Randy Orton made his in-ring return with a one-on-one match against Carmelo Hayes.

    This match was absolutely awesome and probably my favorite match of the night. As expected, Randy Orton walked out of this looking like the high caliber superstar that we all know he is. But I have to say, Carmelo Hayes earned his flowers tonight. I think he deserves a spot at WrestleMania this year. He has been one of the most consistent superstars getting TV time on Smackdown since his main roster debut.

    The finish to this match was sick as well. Randy pretending that Melo got the best of him, acting dizzy for a second while Hayes prepared to finish him off just to hit him with an RKO from out of nowhere was super cool. We even got another punt kick tease at the end of the match.

    Hometown Hero Makes His Main-Roster Debut

    One-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, Axiom, made his Smackdown debut tonight in his home country of Spain against none other than Gunther, who was set on embracing the hometown hero in front of everyone.

    This was a nice surprise. I don’t watch NXT as consistently as I do Raw or Smackdown, but I knew that this guy was super talented. Everyone in the crowd knew who he was, and he put on an absolute show. I can’t wait to see what he can do when he finally gets his call-up.

    A Shakeup in the Chaotic Tag Team Division

    After four long years, The Street Profits have finally reclaimed tag team gold. This match was spectacular and definitely earned its main event spot.

    This was a well-deserved title change. I knew that The Profitd would reclaim the titles eventually, but not quite yet. My original prediction was that DIY would drop them to Pretty Deadly next week and that Tez and Dawkins would win them at WrestleMania.

    For as big of a moment as this was, I think a victory for The Profits would have been much bigger if it were at WrestleMania. I think we can all see a five-team ladder match for the tag titles coming for Mania. I would have liked to see them win there rather than defending them heading into it.

    This division is so hectic right now that I don’t see their reign lasting too long. And honestly, that’s the way it should be. We don’t need another drawn-out Uso-like reign with these titles. They should be passed around every few months to keep this division competitive and fresh.

  • 3/7/25 Smackdown Summary

    There were some big promos, title matches, and mixups in the midcard on this week’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown.

    Image credit: mediotiemp.com, WWE

    He’s Hearing Voices

    To kick off the show, Randy Orton made his return to Friday Night Smackdown and had a lot to say about his former friends John “The Rock’s bottom” Cena and Kevin Owens.

    He said that both he and KO have done vile things within this business in order to get the job done and that he respects Kevin Owens the wrestler. However, he went on to say that he does not respect Kevin Owens the person.

    Randy said that Kevin Owens is jealous of everyone around him like himself, Cody Rhodes, and his long-time friend Sami Zayn. But what does Kevin have to be jealous about? He has done it all in the WWE. Won world titles, mid-card titles, tag gold, and even main evented WrestleMania. Well, Randy said that none of that matters to Kevin because he will never be satisfied with how much of a star he already is and will always need more.

    Randy then went on to say that he was pissed off in a way that he had not felt in years. Normally the RKO he delivered at Elimination Chamber would have been enough, but like KO, he was not yet satisfied. Randy said that the voices had begun speaking to him again, telling him to show shades of his old 2009 self by delivering a punt kick and leaving Kevin’s face unrecognizable to his friends and family.

    This promo is obviously building further towards their inevitable collision at WrestleMania, and unlike a feud that I’ll get to later, I am super excited for this one. We’ve been building up to it since late last year and I think the show-of-shows is the best place for these two to cross paths.

    Charlotte Sparks The Flair

    After Tiffany Stratton’s routine non-title match against Piper Niven on Friday, Charlotte Flair would attack her from behind, putting her down for the first time since she declared her target following her rumble victory.

    To me, this feels like the official start to their WrestleMania feud, and I think that this would’ve been better suited following Tiffy’s match at Elimination Chamber.

    Charlotte Flair now has a match next week against B-Fab. Does anyone honestly think this match has any purpose other than giving Tiffy a chance to retaliate from this week? No. Didn’t think so. I’m just glad things are starting to heat up between these two. It feels as though the Royal Rumble winners have the second-tier feuds this year compared to the Elimination Chamber winners, which is a rarity, but a new and interesting angle to take.

    Tag Team Turmoil

    Following Nick Aldis’ insane explanation of Smackdown’s crazy intertwined tag team feuds, we got a match to see who the next number-one contenders would be.

    This match featured Los Garza, Motor City Machine Guns, and Pretty Deadly. It was crazy good from start to finish. Pretty Deadly would end up stealing the victory by pinning MCMG.

    This was a massive win for Pretty Deadly. Before this awesome storyline developed, they were nothing more than a comedy act on Smackdown that would get jobbed out to whoever needed a storyline advancement on a given night. However, they have been seriously revitalized with this renaissance of the tag division. I don’t think they will end up beating DIY just yet, but I predict they will be our next WWE Tag Team Champions.

    The Big Three’s Big Fallout

    It was revealed at Elimination Chamber that Naomi was the one who put Jade Cargill out of action weeks ago. After winning the chamber and punching her ticket to WrestleMania, Bianca Belair found it difficult to be excited because of the confusion she was facing about the situation between her friends.

    She called Naomi down to the ring and begged her to explain herself and reveal if it was really true that she attacked Jade. While refusing to give a straight answer, Naomi explained why she did it.

    She did it for Bianca, saying that Jade was a leech that was feeding off of Bianca’s momentum and star power. Meanwhile, Naomi was left in the dust with no help from either of the two. Not to brag, but this is exactly what I sniffed out would be the case on my Raw Rundown a few weeks ago. If you don’t believe me, go check it out here.

    The segment ended with an appearance from Jade Cargill, who stormed down to the ring and delivered another beatdown to Naomi.

    This segment was super emotional. Both women gave us ACTUAL tears in the ring during this segment. I saw some people online complaining about this, but it worked for me. I thought this was the segment of the night.

    Braun vs Bloodline

    As soon as it was announced at the start of the show that Braun Strowman would be taking on Solo Sikoa one-on-one, I think we all knew it wouldn’t stay one-on-one for long. Of course, we got some interference from Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu later in the match, giving Strowman the win via disqualification.

    After the bell rung, Strowman would throw Tama Tonga into the time keepers area and start going at it with Jacob Fatu. The segment ended with a chokeslam through a table from Strowman to Fatu, finally getting one up on the Samoan Werewolf.

    I didn’t expect Strowman to stand tall after this altercation, but I am glad he did. The monster vs werewolf match we received at Saturday Night’s Main Event a few months back wasn’t spectacular. I would like to see these two go at it again. Maybe in a falls count anywhere match, or in a street fight.

    I Pledge Allegiance

    Inaugural Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green does it again. And by again I mean defeat Michin in a street fight. The Smackdown women’s division seriously has nobody else in the mid-card that Chelsea can feud with? These two have been feuding for the title for months now since Green won it back in December.

    I think Michin is super boring. I don’t like her and her stupid long-back attack. She is so cringe.

    We also got the surprise return of Alba Fyre during this match. They teased a new member of the secret hervice earlier in the night, but I didn’t expect to see the new member tonight.

    Also, can we talk about the secret hervice for a second? I absolutely love this concept. Chelsea Green is such a good character worker. Acting like the president because she holds the title is really funny and creative. She pulls it off perfectly, and I think she was a great choice for the inaugural US Champion. I’m not ready to see her drop this thing yet. Especially not to Michin of all people.

    Melo Don’t Miz TV: Featuring Cody Rhodes

    Miz Tv will return next week featuring both Carmelo Hayes as a special guest host and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as their guest.

    Like the rest of the WWE Universe, Miz and Melo want answers as to what’s running through Cody’s mind right now, and why he didn’t accept Rock’s offer.

    This segment also set up a match next week between Randy Orton and Carmelo Hayes.

    John Gave Up

    Cody Rhodes headed to the ring to address the WWE Universe for the first time since Elimination Chamber.

    The meat and potatoes of this promo was that Cody wanted to know why John Cena would turn his back on everyone after preaching hustle, loyalty, and respect for over 20 years.

    He said John Cena told him after his win at last year’s Mania that the crown gets heavier every day. Cody said that since last week, the title has felt lighter than ever, and if Cena wants some he can come get some.

    Let’s be real, Cody’s year-long reign as WWE Champion is coming to an end next month. John Cena is going to beat him in the main event of night two and win his 17th world championship. I think John Cena will have a long run with the title, having feuds with guys like Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, and Randy Orton, before losing back to Cody late this year. That way, Cody can have another awesome title run, but this time not have the looming threat of The Final Boss held over his head the entire time. His next run will have actual stakes to it, and half of his feuds won’t feel as much like filler content.

    Drew Getting Back On Track

    Surprisingly, Drew McIntyre didn’t lose a match to a bloodline member this week due to a random roll-up. After the bell rang at the end of the match, Drew was attacked by Damien Priest, who he ambushed at the start of the episode.

    Drew needed this win tonight. As I mentioned last week, he has been looking super weak lately. His performance in the chamber match was lackluster, and it seemed even before that, he was getting rolled up every other match. I really wanted the bloodline bounty hunter Drew McIntyre heading into WrestleMania, but instead, he appeared to be no threat to anybody as of late.

    And that leaves us with his current WrestleMania feud with Damien Priest. Unfortunately, this is what we are stuck with. I don’t like it, and the internet wrestling community seems to all be on the same page as well. I hope I don’t have to give this hot take every single week (if you can even call it a hot take). Maybe it will become a little more interesting in time, but I really don’t see that happening.

    LA Knight Recaptures US Gold

    In the main event of the show, LA Knight defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to reclaim the United States Championship. The match itself was pretty decent, but nothing crazy in my opinion. I think we all foresaw the conclusion that we got. There were some fun shenanigans involved however like the ref receiving the mist from Nakamura, and LA Knight getting the three count with nobody to ring the bell. I thought that maybe they would let Nakamura retain.

    This was the conclusion that we needed. Since returning with his new gimmick, Nakamura has done almost nothing with his title reign. There were several directions teased early on like a potential feud with Jacob Fatu and the bloodline, but nothing came out of it.

    Nakamura’s new character is cool, no doubt about it. His new entrance is sick and I like the idea of him being this sort of broken, dark samurai. It’s no fault of Shinsuke’s that this reign didn’t last. It all came down to the way he was booked by WWE. I hope they can find a way to use him in a way that matters. I don’t want him to disappear for another few months after this loss.

    As I said, having LA Knight win his title back was the correct move. The mid card on Smackdown has been thriving lately but without an active champion, it just wasn’t as interesting as it should’ve been.

  • 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.