SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
With WrestleMania well in the rear-view mirror, WWE’s narrative is settling into some promising new directions. Who is poised to level up, and who is stagnating? Let’s begin.
Rising Star of the Week: Sami Zayn
On this week’s Raw, Zayn played his role to perfection. The most important storyline of the program revolved around the ultimatum given him by former friend Seth Rollins: Flee to Smackdown and get the championship match you desperately want, or stay and face Rollins’s wrath.
Revolving the storyline around this difficult choice was a compelling hook which framed Zayn as important. Unlike Cody Rhodes’ weeks-long consideration of the Rock’s offer, Zayn took only two hours to turn down Rollins, a display of integrity.
As sacrificial lamb in the rise of the new Rollins-Bron Breakker-Paul Heyman faction, Zayn hit all the right notes for a sympathetic babyface (Kansas City’s tone-deaf “one more time” chants, notwithstanding). Zayn’s babyface character works best when he is framed as an underdog, and a clean defeat by Breakker only helps in this regard. His betrayal by former friend Rollins and the excessive beating it entailed gives Zayn something to avenge upon his return.
It wasn’t a mistake that the story hinged upon Zayn’s unfulfilled mission to win a world championship. WWE Writers deliberately planted the seeds of a Zayn run at the championship in the minds of fans as foreshadowing. Fans passionately supported his run at Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Smart money says there is a satisfying world championship win in Zayn’s future.
1st Runner-up: The Street Profits
Exploding with charisma and athletic ability, the Street Profits have been largely spinning their wheels in an extended holding pattern for the past four years.
Shortly after the viewing on the main roster in 2019, the Profits captured to the top, winning the Raw SmackDown Tag team Championship. 2020 would see them win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship as well.
The following 4 years the Profits failed time after time to regain championship gold, received diminishing opportunities to participate in storylines or promos. Uniting with Bobby Lashley in 2023 seemed to promise a return to relevance, but after months of feuding with the Final Testament, the faction disbanded due to Lashley’s departure in the summer of 2024.
The Profits faded into the background until the Royal Rumble, where they inexplicably interfered in a two-out-of-three-falls championship match between DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns. After several months of toiling in the undercard, the Profits finally recaptured the SmackDown Tag Team Championship from DIY in March.
The Profits would go on to retain their titles in a phenomenal TLC match against both DIY and the Machine Guns on the main event of the SmackDown following WrestleMania, proving what they can do given the time, focus, and quality opponents. It’s a shame the match was relegated to TV, as an inclusion in WrestleMania would have been fitting.
After years of waiting, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins finally have another opportunity to show what they can do as dominant champions. Their absence from this week’s SmackDown gives some cause for concern. If they’re granted ample time for exciting matches and competent story lines that give fans reason to care, the Profits are poised for greatness.
2nd Runner-up: Fraxiom
Nathan Frasier & Axiom have surpassed all expectations to become the most exciting team of 2024. Upon their NXT tag team debut in January 2024, the duo’s in-ring talent was obvious, but both were undersized and lacked compelling characters.
It was no surprise when the new team lost repeatedly to the Wolf Dogs (Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker). What was surprising was their upset win over the Wolf Dogs in March of that year. Against all odds, the duo would go on to dominate the NXT Tag Team division over the next year, losing the title only briefly to Chase University before recapturing them.
Fraxiom’s chemistry and matches continued to improve and they remained a unit despite having regular dissention befitting the Judgement Day and inummerable false hints of a break-up. Frasier & Axiom finally lost the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT Stand & Deliver to underdogs Hank and Tank in their final match for NXT last month.
Their debut tag team match on SmackDown saw Fraxiom defeat Los Lotharios, followed this week by a win over Pretty Deadly. Fraxiom looked impressive in both outings, except for Frasier bloodying Prince and apparently nearly injuring Wilson in the latter match.
Fraxiom is on a roll, rightly being introduced as a big deal and a team to watch on SmackDown. In such a stacked tag team division, we are in for some exceptional matches, but Fraxiom will need to find a way to connect with the fans if they’re to stand out going forward.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Fading Star of the Week: Roxanne Perez
The crown jewel of NXT’s women’s division, Perez reigned as champion for much of 2023 and most of 2024.
Perez’s excellent ring work belies her age, earning her the nickname “the Prodigy.” Despite her youthful appearance, her babyface run was lukewarm, and it took her turning into a smug self-indulgent heel to earn a strong reaction from fans.
Coming to the main roster at the height of her skills and relevance, Perez was poised for a strong run as a top contender. Such success now seems less and less likely.
Following a strong reintroduction to fans at the 2025 Royal Rumble match, which saw her set a new record by lasting well over an hour, Perez hasn’t had a chance to make much of an impression at all.
Her only two singles matches have ended in defeat, to Tiffany Stratton and Rhea Ripley. What’s more, WWE has failed to show fans who Perez is or what she’s about, beyond a generic heel who loses. She has had very little time on the mic to represent herself, and despite her in-ring competence, Perez doesn’t seem special, distinct, or successful.
Interviews or even old-school vignettes introducing Perez and showing fans why we should care about her could have gone a long way.
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So far Perez’s chance has been squandered.
First runner-up: Vic Joseph
It was a tough week for NXT”s resident play-by-play announcer.
Joseph made a critical mistake at a vital moment: the climax of Tuesday’s NXT main event. As WWE Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky hit her finishing move on Roxanne Perez, Vic blurted out “moon over the moonsault!”
His broadcast colleagues did not correct him. Booker T seemed blissfully unaware, and Corey Graves shifted the discussion to framing the consequences of Iyo’s subsequent victory. Subsequent replays of the finish on YouTube and other outlets only draw further attention to his embarrassing botch.
A competent professional, Joseph often looks great in comparison to Booker T. He doesn’t often make this type of mistake. However, he makes them too often to be considered for a higher-profile slot calling Raw or Smackdown, particularly with better commentators like Graves on standby.
An eight-year veteran of WWE, Josph called Iyo’s matches for years and there isn’t any good excuse for miscalling the Over the Moonsault.
Joseph actually replaced Michael Cole as Raw play-by-play announcer for a few months in 2019, before being demoted to NXT. Now, I think I understand why.
2nd Runner-up: Joe Hendry
With an infectious song and a fun, original gimmick, Joe Hendry was arguably the biggest breakout independent wrestler of 2024. The reaction Hendry received when he answered Randy Orton’s challenge at WrestleMania was tremendous, one befitting a future main-roster main eventer.
The TNA Champion’s rare three-minutes loss and subsequent humiliation by Orton, however, framed Hendry as a joke. It was a bad look for both Hendry and for the wrestling organization he represents.
To make matters worse, Hendry would go on to brag about the encounter on the following week’s NXT as if it were a remarkable success. This made Hendry seem as if he never expected to wrestle a competitive match against Orton, let alone win.
If Joe Hendry doesn’t believe in Joe Hendry, why should we?
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