It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any wrestling TV show but I’m starting to watch Raw and Smackdown again as well as the occasional PPV. While all of the TV shown isn’t compelling from week-to-week, I figure it might be time to go through the show and look at the important parts and touch on the stuff that I may have glossed over and/or not really paid attention to.
Cody Rhodes Promo
The show started off with Cody Rhodes giving a hype promo about who his potential Wrestlemania opponent will be given that they’re now using the Elimination Chamber to build the real main event/Undisputed World Title match. He went through the current names that are participating in the Elimination Chamber of Logan Paul (yick….), CM Punk, John Cena and Drew McIntyre. The way he described Drew McIntyre in a blase manner brings out the Scottish warrior to the ring. The key piece here is that Drew was one of the few losses Cody Rhodes can name when he made his return. But Drew also points out that the person who beat him is much different than the one in the ring with him. In addition, he mentions that Drew mysteriously hugged Cody and told him about the dark path Cody would face as champion.
Eventually, Jacob Fatu makes his way to the ring to interrupt. There’s a brief moment where he faces Drew and tease a match but nothing happens as Drew says he’s going to save it for another day (actually, he says Jacob probably wants to speak with Cody). Jacob is really over with this crowd and it’s because they respect his abilities. Outside of Roman Reigns, Jacob is easily the best of the Bloodline family. As Jacob and Cody are about to have their own confrontation, Solo Sikoa comes out which distracts Jacob as he tells Cody he needs to settle family business. But Cody says that he’ll have the last word with Solo down the line.
A lot of good stuff here in terms of interactions and story lines developing. Personally, I’m hoping to see a Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre feud. That’s something with Drew’s recent “hater” character that should keep him in the main event picture. But both really are made for one another with their heel – face dynamic. As I mentioned, Jacob Fatu is really getting over with these crowds due to how they respect him. He’s probably one of the best all-around wrestlers in the WWE and he’s quickly becoming a big time player. He won’t get his main event push this soon but they’re preparing him to be a top player probably for next year. The tease between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre is interesting and depends on where they take Jacob Fatu as a hell or face. Some people suspect that Jacob Fatu will turn face in the near future (probably based on his reactions) and his presence freshens up the main event scene/near the top of the card.
Naomi vs Chelsea Green (Women’s Elimination Chamber qualifier)
I tried to watch this match but I’m honestly not a fan of either. Naomi is only slightly worse than Nia Jax but her saving grace is that she isn’t as bulky and someone that you can’t completely trust to injure you. Chelsea Green is a real mixed bag for in that she hits a lot of marks as a character but she plays herself too over-the-top and strikes me more as a comedy figure that would be in the same league as Alpha Academy (or whatever that threesome group with Tozawa is in) except Chelsea is more outrageous and tries to take advantage of the spotlight when she can.
I supp0se my only real comment was seeing Chelsea slip up when she tried to execute her Unprettier type of move by flipping off the top over Naomi then awkwardly landing almost on her butt. It looked bad and it’s hard to say which person screwed that up but I will say that neither should’ve been in that position because they couldn’t execute the move. Chelsea lost and I can’t understand why they would want to put Naomi in another multi-woman match. I haven’t seen one where I’m impressed by what she can do and I suspect either injuries, age or just lack of talent really make her matches stink.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Feud
Sami Zayn is shown recuperating in a sent in video to help hype up a new match with him and Kevin Owens while Kevin Owens does his wannabe impersonation of Mick Foley’s Mankind with Jim Ross video from his car. I’m guessing they asked for a Wrestlemania match and wanted another match at the Elimination Chamber to build to some stupid stipulation match at Wrestlemania that I’m not eager to see. I like Sami Zayn but these guys need to move on from one another.
Michelle McCool Hall of Fame Announcement
I don’t recall seeing her much from back in the day. She is very attractive and the Undertaker is one lucky guy. That said, they must really be desperate for candidates at this stage.
Motor City Machine Guns vs Los Garza
I like the MCMGs but they’re 10-15 years too late in the WWE. I think when they had that TNA exodus of various major people to the WWE, the MCMGs should’ve gone too. Maybe Vince wouldn’t have cared about them nor the tag team division but they were a lot younger and probably would’ve made better matches against better opponents back then.
Shinsuke Nakamura / LA Knight / The Miz Promo Segment
I don’t care for the Shinsuke ninja/assassin gimmick. It just makes him boring. Also, I hate when non-English speakers try to speak in their native language. No one outside of people who could understand them will understand them. Just get a fucking manager to represent them. That’s why at least Mr. Fuji was good in his role. LA Knight saved that segment from death and the Miz interrupts. And again LA Knight saved the segment from death because the Miz still acts the same as he did 10 years ago (or whatever as LA Knight pointed out).
LA Knight vs The Miz
Not a horrible match with Shinsuke looking like why the fuck am I doing with my life expression being on the outside. Surprisingly, LA Knight won clean showing that the Miz is, indeed, on the way down. Then Shinsuke got in the ring to have a jaw off with LA Knight. Crowd didn’t react to either but I suspect that Shinsuke’s gimmick just kills any heat for anyone. He’s much better off as the surfer and his Michael Jackson style gesticulation with the violin music. Otherwise, he’s on his way down too and probably shouldn’t be holding a title at this stage.
Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and Candice LeRae Backstage Segment
Alexa Bliss talks somewhat normally for a psychopath with a doll. I suppose without the doll 90% of her personality disappears though. You could use Nia Jax in Guantanamo Bay for an interrogation routine in forcing a prisoner to suffer through her voice. Candice LaRae is just an accessory much like an old school foreign object.
R-Truth vs. Carmelo Hayes
R-Truth came out to the ring with his rap. He’s still over despite being around for way too long. Probably, a training match for Carmelo Hayes as well as a small win to start building him back up. But he’s not good. R-Truth’s punches looked good and he sold well. Carmelo Hayes is too generic. He can do fancy moves but he’s not a complete wrestler so I don’t expect much from him.
Street Profits Video
I don’t care about these guys so no matter how fired up they might sound, I hardly paid attention.
Pretty Deadly Backstage (with DIY coming out)
Like the Street Profits, I simply didn’t care. DIY does nothing for me. When I see Pretty Deadly, I think of extras that might’ve worked in the end battle for The Battle of the Five Armies. And you know which army I’m talking about here.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax w/ Candice LeRae (Women’s World Title Match)
I started to almost like this match because it felt more like a traditional big person vs little person fighting from underneath match. I’m trying to pay more attention to Tiffany Stratton after her Survivor Series performance just because she was the only person in that match to impress me. Nia does well when she doesn’t have to bump and people bounce off of her. She really can’t move nor bump so there’s only a limited number of things she can do. The match started to go downhill when Tiffany took control mostly because it meant Nia would have to bump, which she does so poorly. Honestly, Nia should watch old King Kong Bundy matches because I think that’s her limit. Tiffany did perform a beautiful Swanton Bomb. At one point Nia delivered a top rope Samoan Drop and it looked as though Tiffany landed on her right elbow. I really hope she wasn’t hurt but Nia has no ability to control her weight when she does moves like that, which is probably why some wrestlers get hurt in facing her. If Nia were to lose 100 more lbs, she might do better just because she has the height. I can’t say she has stamina nor athleticism though because she seems to just wait to take something or seems out of breath.
Tiffany won by DQ when Candice interfered. Oddly, Nia didn’t get mad at Candice for LOSING the world title bout opportunity. But Nia did get some revenge in sitting on poor Tiffany with her fat butt splash (or Bonzai Splash). The refs and personnel escorted Nia and Candice out for which a watching Charlotte went to the ring to taunt Tiffany and declare Tiffany as her choice for Wrestlemania.
So a few more notes here. Tiffany is very athletic in the high spots she can pull off. But she’s not a great wrestler. There’s no basics other than the 2-3 gymnastic spots she can pull off. She sold decently here but I can’t see her being a real top of the card wrestler who can go beyond 10 minutes and carry lesser opponents without working on other aspects of her game. The crowd likes her because she’s crisp in what she can do (and that no one can stand Nia Jax) but she needs a lot of work.
I figured Charlotte would challenge Tiffany. In all likelihood, Charlotte is going to put Tiffany over and effectively give Tiffany the wrestling lesson of a lifetime. But I can see an upset. I’d prefer if Charlotte and Tiffany feuded for a few months just so that Tiffany can learn more from Charlotte. I don’t want to see Charlotte win back the title because they might have someone else challenge for it. Tiffany is young just not experienced enough and lacking being an all around wrestler compared to Charlotte. One other comment is that Charlotte looks like Cher these days. I don’t hate her but goddamn compared to when she first started, it’s almost horrifying what Charlotte has done to her face.
Naomi and Bianca Belair Backstage with Nick Aldis
Mostly, trying to show some recorded footage from a mobile device that showed possible hints into the Jade Cargill attack. We see the backs of Liv Morgan and Raquelle Rodriguez where Naomi tries to deflect the possibility that it was her. So both are going to confront Liv and Raquelle on Raw on Monday.
Nia did mention it was Bianca and I honestly would prefer Naomi just because Naomi is kinda terrible overall. But I suppose we might see a Jade Cargill vs Bianca feud coming soon for Jade’s return. The only problem is that Jade is a better heel than a face and vice versa for Bianca. That said, I miss Jade because she’s super hot (even though I’m not a fan of her in ring work).
Tiffany Backstage (with Trish)
Mostly, Tiffany responds to Charlotte’s challenge and Trish mentioning Trishy-time with Tiffany as a tag partner to face Nia Jax and Candice LaRae. Oh fun. A few things here. First, Tiffany comes off still as an arrogant heel character. She talks only in one manner which is like a valley girl. Please drop the accent or take an acting class. I did like the idea of Trish and Tiffany pairing up but for god’s sakes not against Nia and Candice. Does Trish want to go on the shelf again? Oh yeah and I forgot that Trish came out of the crowd to help Tiffany during the post match beat down for no good reason. Unless they plan to have Trish face Tiffany down the line, what’s the point?
Damian Priest vs. Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu
I’m not a fan of multi-person matches. It’s overdone at this stage and I hate the long, fake selling to the side. I liked the exchanges between Jacob and Damien. Jacob CAN throw a punch and sell. I’m glad they didn’t do the stupid hockey fight punch spot which always looks awful. Damien actually did some decent looking punches. Braun is the WWE’s version of Brian Cage; big guy tries to do too much and not really work like a big man. Jacob got taken out at one point so that Damien could pin Braun with a chokeslam. Cody, Tonga and Solo also made cameos with Cody fighting off Solo and Jacob getting into an argument when Solo accidentally hit him. Overbooked ending but I guess that along with Solo’s “I you love Jacob” moment earlier are supposed to plant the seeds for the end to this Bloodline group.
A few other comments. I don’t mind Damian Priest but I think Jacob Fatu would’ve made a better entrant in the Elimination Chamber. Damian is okay but nothing special and it feels like he’s getting a super man push. Jacob makes those matches flow better but again I think they’re waiting to pull the trigger on Jacob’s main event push. It’s just right now Damian Priest is in line for it. Cody did shake Damian’s hand but we won’t see that match at this stage. I could see them teaming but that’s about it so that Damian can get more of a rub. It’s just that he’s not entirely exciting on his own at this stage. I’d prefer to see him mix it up in the US title division for a while and move LA Knight up more on the card.
I guess the big question is where they’re going with Solo Sikoa. I read that the plan might be for Jacob to turn face and break off from the group. However, I have no idea what they’ll do with Solo. Solo’s matches didn’t really light the world on fire and he was getting big reactions (mostly “fuck you Solo!”) but that was more due to his involvement with Roman Reigns and the OG Bloodline. Now that Bloodline feud is done, Solo seems more like an embellished midcarder. Again, like Damian Priest, I see this guy vying for the US title to freshen that part up and to establish Solo as a title holder.
Jacob Fatu though is going to be one of the top players in 1-2 years. They’re just really building up his acceptance. In my estimation, the next group of top players are going to be by next year:
- Bron Breaker
- Jacob Fatu
- LA Knight
- Gunther
One could argue that Gunther is already there but he needs to be the person to beat Cody for the Undisputed World Title. That’s my pick for next year’s Wrestlemania main event. Since Ricky Starks made his debut on NXT, I’m going to give him 1 year in NXT before he switches to one of the main brands (probably Smackdown). He’s already got all the tools and an automatic feud built in (namely CM Punk). I would’ve liked to have included him in that group but we’ll see how he does on NXT. I’m not naming the people who are currently on top but I’m just mentioning those people who are going to start making their ways to the top of the card.
Damian Priest should be in that list but I see him as an upper midcarder right now. I think he’ll be better off feuding against Solo Sikoa, Shinsuke, etc. for the US title to rebuild him rather than trying to shoot him straight to the top. He’s missing something in this matches and interviews and I think moving him down a little will help his career.