Finally, the WWE European tour is over and we return to the US, this time from Chicago at the AllState Arena. It’s a good 16k fans for what I consider a moderate show and while there was singing and extraneous chanting, it didn’t feel as egregious as the European fans. There were a few interesting reactions and a few moments outside of the centerpiece of the show worth writing about.
Punk in Ring Promo
Punk comes down to a massive pop as he’s back in Chicago. He starts off giving thanks to everyone and the fans but gets interrupted by Paul Heyman. There’s an EC-dub chant and Punk observes, “You can’t get away from it.” I think that a large chunk of that crowd probably don’t even know what ECW is but copied others whenever they saw Heyman on the show at this point. Either way, Heyman asks for one more favor from Punk which is to know what the real favor is. Heyman slips that Roman Reigns isn’t around though and Punk tells Heyman that he’ll wait until Reigns gets there since the favor affects Reigns.
Rey Fenix vs Nathan Frazer
This is Rey Fenix’s WWE debut and I’ve never heard of Nathan Frazer. This is a high speed moves match that isn’t great as a pro-wrestling match but I think far more effective at introducing the crowd to Rey Fenix. Even though I think the Penta vs Chad Gable match made Chad Gable look good, this match actually did a better job of highlighting Rey Fenix. I’m not a fan of Rey Fenix because I’m not really a fan of this style but I think it did a better job of making Fenix seem impressive. Nathan looked good too in terms of this style and being able to keep up. I swear at one point Nathan looked to have landed awkwardly on his leg coming off the top and I couldn’t tell if he slowed down. But there was one spot where Nathan did a suicide dive and clearly missed Rey, slamming his fists on the ground in anger with some people nearby chanting, “You fucked up!” But I think Rey might’ve been off here in not catching Nathan. Obviously, Rey wasn’t going to lose in his debut so he nailed Nathan with his finisher (which I honestly don’t recall seeing him use in AEW).
Afterward, there was an interview with Rey where he was almost coherent. I will say that his English is probably better than Penta’s and did fire up in front of the WWE crowd. But there were a few things I couldn’t make out but he was certainly emotional here. I don’t know how he’ll do in the WWE but I’m guessing at the very least, they’ll setup a tag team title match with Rey and Penta against the tag team title holders probably sooner than later.
LA Knight vs Tama Tonga
There was an interaction between the remaining new Bloodline and Braun about an absent Jacob Fatu when LA Knight interrupted. Tama does his silly “yee yee yee” thing and LA Knight turns it around, gets lost in trying to call Tama crazy (by being worried about Tama’s mental state but not completing his train of thoughts) then calls for a referee to have a match with Tama Tonga. Match wasn’t great but served to further LA Knight as a US champion until Jacob beats him (maybe) at Wrestlemania. In the meantime, anyone not named Jacob Fatu in the remaining new Bloodline is pretty much on the isle of irrelevancy at this stage.
Charlotte and Tiffany Stratton in Ring Promo
Wade Barrett mediates even though effectively he was useless. This whole Tiffany / Charlotte “feud” has not only been a disaster, it’s a fascinating train wreck that gets worse every week. So I’m not watching these two because I’m invested in the actual match at this point. Instead, I want to see just how far they can derail everything. For the most part, Charlotte got shit on badly by the crowd and she tries to convey her worst Paul Orndorff impression by calling it “power.” Anytime, Charlotte tries for a retort this time around the Chicago crowd drowns her out and Charlotte obliges in not responding but casting a derisive, half humored smile back. The problem with Charlotte is that she’s got so much make up and bad surgery that she’s like a Cher doll that can no longer relay any human emotions. Her lines are really bad, obnoxious and doesn’t get any issue over.
Eventually, she just “gives up” and hands the floor to Tiffany. Tiffany gets some good lines in, particularly the parts about Charlotte being alone at the end of their WM match and being 0-3 in terms of her marriage record. Tiffany bows out as Charlotte tries to get a last minute line in about Ludwig Kaiser being in Charlotte’s DMs but it gets buried by Tiffany’s exit and the crowd.
What the hell was this? So according to online sources, apparently they went “off script” and that they edited out Tiffany’s 0-3 line about Charlotte’s marriage. There were other moments like Tiffany referencing Charlotte being 25 as a volleyball star and drinking in her dad’s basement or that Charlotte’s biggest enemy was the crowd. These things don’t necessarily sound false but holy crap the digs have been pretty brutal. Tiffany did finally sound like a babyface when she fired up and talked about walking away champion. But what was the end goal of any of this?
Just from my viewpoint, my feeling is that Charlotte probably had in her mind a major comeback after being injured for 2024 and thought the whole “they won’t miss you if you won’t go away” trope would also apply to her. When she did her first promo after the Royal Rumble, it started off as a baby style “trials and tribulations” type of promo. However, the audience was not sympathetic towards her at all (could it be that broadcasting yourself on Instagram on some yacht made you any less sympathetic towards an economically deprived nation?) Then she shat on the crowd immediately and almost seemed to go into business for herself in saying she loved it all, whatever that means.
However, the WWE (or Charlotte) hadn’t picked a person for her opponent. We’ve seen Rhea Ripley already but not her vs Tiffany. Tiffany has been gaining momentum since breaking away from Nia Jax but her interviews have been wretched mostly because she talks like a heel with her nasally valley girl voice and arrogant diction. Either way, Charlotte vs Tiffany on paper sounded like a more logical choice since Tiffany needs more credibility and there aren’t any other people around that could’ve given Tiffany a high caliber match to help cement her as the top women’s star. So the WWE booked themselves in this corner where in retrospect Roxanne Perez probably would’ve made for a better opponent for Tiffany.
I think the longer term plans was for Charlotte to pick up the title at WM then face Jade Cargill since they’ve been hinting at that and it’s something I think Charlotte actually wants to do (because Jade physically looks like a real challenge for Charlotte). The crowds have liked Tiffany partly as an underdog especially after outsmarting Nia, which I think puts a huge wrench in these plans because they need to figure out how to get to Charlotte vs Jade, which probably is one year overdue (mostly because both women were on the shelf).
With this WM build, I think they might’ve originally wanted a senpai – kohai type of match with Tiffany being infatuated with her mentor/idol of Charlotte. However, the interviews thus far have been wretched in not hitting the right notes. The WWE is desperately trying to get Tiffany over like she did that crazy high spot onto Charlotte off the top of a stage. The problem I’ve been saying with Tiffany is that she can’t interview. The dual screen interview I think was a horrible idea because it seemed that the WWE intentionally had Charlottle make Tiffany look bad. I think they wanted Tiffany to fire up and come up with something on her own but couldn’t. Then Tiffany’s first response after the dual screen interview wasn’t bad but heavily scripted but still didn’t hit the right notes.
Now, with this one and people saying they went off script, I have to think that part of it was Charlotte either not caring or giving up because she wasn’t going to get anything in or maybe the two secretly agreeing on making this more personal. Either way, I think Tiffany did better on throwing shade at Charlotte but she still can’t cut a decent promo. This segment felt unprofessional from both sides and it makes me not want to see either. At the same time, they have two more weeks before WM so I’m morbidly curious what else they can do to turn this into a worse train wreck than it is.
Motor City Machine Guns vs DIY
Ugh, I feel like we’ve already seen this at some point. It wasn’t a great match but another high paced match so that the MCMGs can face the Street Profits for the titles. Guns looked good but I have zero interest in the tag division right now at least for the men’s side.
B-Fab vs Naomi
Jade gave Naomi a pre-match beat down before she could arrive at the ring. The security came out and restrained Jade just enough for Naomi to slide into the ring. B-Suck is awful and no matter how much the announcers try to put her over, I just see misses and awful punches. Naomi debuts a new finisher, her version of a Lung Blower and this was a thankfully quick match. Jade tries to go for another beatdown after Naomi calls her back out. Security come out and get tossed around by Jade (god she’s so sexy) which draws out Nick Aldis to declare a match between Jade and Naomi at WM.
Main thought here is that again when Jade beats the fuck out of Naomi it’s great. That’s actually a lot of fun. I hope they do a quick, sprint of a brawl between Jade and Naomi at WM. I don’t want to see an actual wrestling match. Just a dirty, hateful brawl but at a good pace. They honestly should watch the old Kevin Sullivan vs Chris Benoit brawls from ’96 – ’97 in WCW on how to do a high paced, energetic brawl that retains the audience attention and is fun. They don’t need furniture but just have a fight. If they can do that, I think they’ve got something.
Damian Priest Video
This is the counterpoint video from one that Drew McIntyre did earlier (I missed out on reviewing it but I could just type it out here). Mostly, it’s responding to Drew talking about being a victim, although Drew does wear an eye patch as a result of the “glass shard” that flew into his eye as a result of being choke slammed through a car windshield. Damian’s main point is calling Drew a hypocrite and wanting to beat Drew at WM. Really lackluster promo from Damian. Drew with the eye patch at least gives him more character.
Kevin Owens in Ring Segment
Earlier, there were rumors about Kevin Owens dealing with an injury. Here, he (supposedly) admits that it’s his turn to deal with an injury, which is his neck. He’s forced to give up his match against Randy to get surgery and manages to elicit a polite applause from the audience. Out comes Randy Orton where Orton meets Owens on the ring apron as Owens is about to leave then Orton gives Nick Aldis an RKO, obviously pissed that his WM match is out.
A couple of things here. First, the report mentioned Owens dealing with some sort of foot injury. The neck surgery sounds more serious. Second, Owens has a history of being a bit of a troll so I have a hard time taking him seriously even in moments like this. Next I think it’s weird and awkward for Owens, who has been acting like a nut for the past few months, to suddenly walk out and talk normal to the audience. He received boos at first then switched babyface for sympathy. I don’t know if that was necessary given his psychosis up until this point. Lastly, at least if this was “real”, shouldn’t Kevin Owens rethink his style given that he’s primarily a garbage wrestler like Moxley (not as bad considering that the WWE manages to restrain Kevin), especially if he’s learned to appreciate being in the ring? I can see the garbage style being easy for young people to become fascinated with but only the most untalented wrestlers stick with it later in their careers. So this guy better really take a deep look in the mirror at his career if this situation is “real”.
As for Orton not having a WM match, I feel that even with two weeks left, they’ll find something to insert him into.
Jacob Fatu vs Braun Strowman
This is a last man standing match where the winner gets to challenge LA Knight for the US title. So it looks like they won’t be doing another stupid three way match at WM after all. I have to be honest and say I barely paid attention to this match. Jacob is fine but I can’t watch Braun. Not to mention I’m sick of seeing these two almost every week having the same match more or less. The right man gets to challenge LA Knight in Jacob so I have no idea what they’ve got planned for Braun. Braun did have some blood on his arm which might’ve been caused by a stupid broken table spot. But that’s why I can’t stand watching this guy at this stage. Bad, uninspired moved to cover up for a lack of talent.
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman / Seth Rollins / CM Punk
If it weren’t for that disaster of a segment with Charlotte and Tiffany, I would’ve written off most of this show besides whatever these three would do. Reigns comes out first, he does his usual schtick, the crowd sings and acknowledges him but Reigns doesn’t say anything important. Seth comes out next because he wants to see the fireworks up close. The crowd gets bored eventually when Seth takes forever to make a point and starts shouting at them, “What’s the favor?” Exactly. Get to the fucking point already! I’m utterly convinced that the singing in the crowd isn’t because they’re really with these stars but that they’re absolutely fucking bored to death and want to entertain themselves. Also, they figure that the WWE will let them hijack these shows because that means the wrestlers don’t have to do a single thing except show up.
At any rate, Punk shows up and re-hooks the crowd into the story. He connects the dots between his history with Heyman and finally the “favor” is revealed: he wants Heyman in his corner at WM. Seth is having a blast on the side while Rollins is incredulous with disbelief. Punk has this stare at both Heyman and Reigns where he’s almost mentally controlling Heyman. Reigns gets madder and orders Heyman to tell Punk no. Finally, Heyman says, “No, my Tribal Chief. I will be in his corner.” Rollins is having a ball while Reigns is besides himself as Heyman tears up in selecting his side. Reigns then pushes Heyman into the corner and looks as though he took Heyman’s handkerchief to wipe Heyman’s face but that causes Punk to retaliate and put Reigns into a G2S. However, Punk swiftly changes his attention back to Seth who is defiant but amused at the same time while the show goes off the air.
So this favor thing was both fascinating and a major letdown for me. It’s been a great hook where it has been one of the few things in the WWE currently keeping me interested week to week. The WWE has been in bad need of a great story and this is one of those rare elements that worked. The actual favor itself feels weak in the scheme of things. Punk did a great job here in conveying the story but the actual thing of importance is in truth irrelevant if you look at this as wrestling.
But that’s what got me thinking. One thing I’ve noticed about Heyman these recent years is that he’s been involved in all the major story lines. Here, he’s become the centerpiece of contention beyond the Wrestlemania motivation (gotta put that on a pedestal right?). The favor wasn’t a title shot. It’s getting Paul Heyman, who can’t bump, can’t really do anything physical at this stage of his life, be in Punk’s corner. But he’s now the thing that Punk and Reigns are fighting for. Why?
This trifecta for WM feels like another Paul Heyman idea too. I’m really hoping that it’s not overbooked for a WM main event match. Since the Bloodline story is practically dead, you would think nothing else should happen. The main components of this “feud” between these three are in the ring. Jey and Jimmy are off dealing with Gunther and doing their own thing. Solo is handling Fatu while Tama is jobbing in singles. Moving Heyman does remove the last vestige of the old Bloodline away from Roman, which is a great thing but after this, when next?
Final Thoughts
Honestly, the WWE booking feels really muddied right now. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t feel invested that much and the stakes aren’t high for a WM. There’s a few matches I think will be interesting to see as possible train wrecks but not in AEW way. But I’m simply not sold on what’s going on here. I think they’ve spread themselves too thin and haven’t really been able to find a new story since the Bloodline ended.