SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Some interesting developments in the wrestling world before we get into things:
•Smackdown has officially returned to two hours. Following an expansion to three hours this year in reaction to Raw being briefly shortened to two hours in its stead, Smackdown became the defacto A-show for the last few months of 2024. However, after finally achieving a balance in showcasing its various divisions over the past few months, it looks like WWE’s in for a few more structural adjustments as Smackdown returns to 2 hours.
•I didn’t mention this last week, but Survivor Series has officially been confirmed for my home state of California later this year. California loves its professional wrestling, but the city choice of San Diego (a stone’s throw away from the Mexican border and historically known for its Mexican influence) is an interesting one in the wake of WWE’s acquisition of AAA. Could we be in store for some cross-brand integration?
•WWE Unreal, a Netflix Original BTS series detailing the writing process of WWE in 2025, is scheduled to debut at the end of the month. While kayfabe is all but dead, there’s been mixed thoughts on an unscripted show detailing the process for storylines that haven’t even reached their conclusion.
•WWE recently announced NXT Heatwave, running from South Caroline on August 24th. “Coincidentally”, chief competitor AEW is running their PPV Forbidden Door that same day. While WWE’s new counterprogramming strategy is a smart play to avoid monopolization from AEW over a given weekend, it also feels tacky from a company that’s clearly the #1 player in the game.
•Did anyone else suddenly remember that there’s an all-women’s PPV airing this Sunday July 12? With all the hullabaloo from Night Of Champions recently, it feels like there’s been very little attention to what should be touted as a monumental occasion. If you’re like me, don’t feel bad. It seems that, up until last week, WWE was actively trying to ignore the build to Evolution II in favor of planting seeds on the road to Summerslam.
That is, until last week, when every other segment seemed to rush through setting up a match for Evolution II (often not building up existing feuds) before swiftly moving along. Last week’s show had a cobbled-together, scattershot feel that hasn’t been noticeable in WWE following Triple H’s takeover. Combined with the rushed segments, the build reeked of a lack of care, announcing matches via Adam Pearce’s Twitter updates or mid-match announcements rather than through thoughtfully-produced segments. Both women’s world champions had to call out random opponents since they didn’t have anyone to actively feud with.
And, don’t get me wrong. I normally don’t mind faster builds. I grew up with NJPW USA, where an entire card often materialized in under seven days. But for a company priding itself on long-term cinematic storytelling, a noticeably undercooked build for the one PPV that was meant to showcase respect for the women’s division? It’s not a good look. When a TV special airing the same week has more hype, it’s a slap in the face to the athletes.
Now on to last week’s episode: I actually liked it as a single episode of TV. Having to cram in a month of build to one week actually made for interesting television in a vacuum, moving at a much faster and engaging pace, leaning more on multi-person tags rather than marquee singles matches. Frankly, it was classic 80s-style “Road To” booking that had a different style to WWE’s usual pomp and circumstance. But what exactly went down? Let’s review:
THE QUEEN OF THE RING’S ASSASSIN
Latest Developments:
Last year, Jade Cargill won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Bianca Belair. Later, Cargill was attacked by a mystery assailant, sidelining her with injury. In her stead, Naomi took over the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Upon Cargill’s return, Naomi revealed she was the attacker, scheming to take Cargill’s undeserved success for herself. Cargill and Naomi faced off at Wrestlemania 41 in a grudge match, staying in each other’s orbit as Naomi became Ms. Money In The Bank several months later.
At Night Of Champions, Cargill defeated Asuka to be crowned the new Queen Of The Ring, earning her a title match against WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton at Summerslam. The following week, Cargill was attacked by Naomi again backstage, and a No Holds Barred match was greenlit between the two for Evolution II.
Analysis:
By far the best built-program coming out of last week’s episode. One of the biggest holes in earning a title shot is allowing other challengers to go ahead of you in the pecking order. In other cases like the Royal Rumble earning a shot at Wrestlemania, there’s some logic to waiting because it isn’t just about the title shot, it’s about earning a premier spot on the biggest show in wrestling. Summerslam hasn’t quite established that prestige yet, so there’s confusion in waiting.
WWE circumvented this by making it plausible that Cargill would want to handle Naomi first. Not only a constant thorn in her side, but someone who directly poses a threat to her championship goals and has personal animosity with her. Naomi is honestly the biggest threat to Cargill holding gold, so taking her out in a hardcore match actually has internal logic to it.
Additionally, last week (although brief) was some of the strongest work for Cargill on the mic. She excels when leaning into the stone-faced badass that doesn’t need to show emotion to convey anger. And Naomi, on a generational heel run, has excellent chemistry with her and managed to counterbalance her calmness with beautifully unhinged psychopathy.
Brief, but effective in hyping up the crowd for a genuinely violent match at Evolution II.
Grade: A
TIFFANY STRATTON’S NEW CHALLENGE
Latest Developments:
At Night Of Champions, Jade Cargill became the Queen Of The Ring, earning her a title match against WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton at Summerslam, furthering their rivalry over the past few months.
Stratton, who recently defended her title against former mentor Nia Jax in a gloriously violent Last Woman Standing match, held a town hall last week claiming she was unafraid of Cargill and looked forward to their match, but before that she had to make it through Evolution II.
Cargill joined her in-ring, and the two were ready to face-off before the returning Trish Stratus appeared and challenged Stratton to a match at Evolution II. Stratus and Stratton, whose presentation mirrored each other, previously teamed up in a tag match at Money In The Bank Toronto. Stratus kept things cordial, putting over the significance of an all-women PPV.
Stratton announced she wanted to defend her title against Stratus at the event, which Stratus accepted, and the two faced off.
Analysis:
A bit of a boring segment, that served only to set up the Evolution II title match. Stratus returning is always a huge positive, having convincingly grown into an end boss/legend figure for the current women’s division, and a long-awaited dream match with Stratton is sure to impress.
However, I wasn’t a fan of this segment’s execution. I understand that any program with Stratus will likely coast on her legend status, and doesn’t necessarily require a personal grudge to build a match. I’m not mad at a dream match simply being a dream match, sometimes that’s all you need and any extraneous story being tacked on detracts rather than adds. I liked that WWE didn’t feel the need to overcomplicate this, and let it be a marquee old gen vs new gen match for a PPV celebrating the women’s division.
I just wish Stratton (the dang champion) wasn’t completely sidelined in the segment. There could have been more back-and-forth, an establishment of a character dynamic between the two, an acknowledgment of Stratton’s accomplishments as a champion. Instead, we just got more empty praise for Evolution and how forward-thinking WWE is, before a bland callout. It felt like the most mundane way to accomplish this match, even in a single segment.
The dream match gets a high grade, the execution brings it down.
Grade: C
EVERYBODY vs. THE WYATT SICKS
Latest Developments:
After a lengthy hiatus, the long-dormant Wyatt Sicks made their return and laid out all the major teams in the Smackdown tag division.
The following week, The Street Profits cut a promo claiming to run the division. One by one, the other teams (Fraxiom, MCMG, DIY) appeared to cause trouble, before The Wyatt Sicks appeared and laid out all the teams, standing tall as the segment closed.
The Profits suggested an alliance to team up against the Wyatts. Fraxiom and MCMG agreed, but DIY hesitated. In the following weeks, the Wyatts continued steamrolling the teams individually.
Last week, the Wyatts faced off against one member of each opposing team in an eight-man tag match as punishment from Nick Aldis for the tag division’s chaos impeding championship matches. This culminated in the Wyatts winning after the babyface team miscommunicated, and Johnny Gargano chickened out of helping his team.
Analysis:
This segment finally found the secret sauce to making the tag division feel cohesive again, by actually allowing the various players to interact while “uniting” against a common enemy. It’s like a supersized version of a classic “will they get along?” singles storyline.
Having an eight-man tag meant that certain babyfaces got a chance to shine without their tag partner, which was refreshing. After years of seeing guys like Berto as half of a unit, letting him shine solo for a brief moment reminds us how much untapped potential WWE has even in its bench players. And Gargano chickening out leading to the finish was great heel work, feeding into the first dissensions between the babyfaces. DIY is being positioned as the morally conflicted ones in this storyline, which historically means they’ll get the lion’s share of the storytelling beats (see: Jey Uso in the Bloodline’s early days). The audience’s response to the match’s finish proves DIY has the goodwill to take advantage.
The Wyatts themselves provide an entertaining enough heel monolith for the faces to clash against, even if they continue to not be anything special character-wise. At this point, it’s hard to build hype for anything Wyatt-related until there’s some good payoffs narratively (after some egregious stop-and-start booking really halted their momentum).
Grade: B-
FRAXIOM vs. ANDRADE & REY FENIX
Latest Developments:
Last week, with the Wyatt Sicks bringing the Smackdown tag division to a standstill, an exasperated Nick Aldis set a match between these two tag teams to get some semblance of a number-one contender.
Later that night, the luchador babyfaces snagged the win against the rookies, ending their winning streak since being called up to the main roster.
Analysis:
There wasn’t much to this segment beyond giving the crowd a high-flying banger amidst a promo-heavy show, but it did the job. For a collection of midcarders, the crowd’s raucous reactions elevated them all to bonafide main eventers for a night, even popping for callback spots rather than simple hot tags.
I wasn’t a fan of Fraxiom’s winning streak ending here, though. While the story of them being permanently taken off their game following their interaction with the Wyatts is a good one, they had begun to build a decent little run on Smackdown, and it didn’t feel like Andrade and Fenix had enough juice to really make something out of being the ones to beat Fraxiom and stop their momentum (it doesn’t look like they plan to turn either team heel in the near future). I’m unsure where both teams go from here, as the match’s flat finish didn’t really provide the launchpad into the title scene WWE seems to have suggested.
But in any case, a high-flying banger that livened up a promo-heavy stretch in the show, and no one can get mad at that.
Grade: A-
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
THE ADVENTURES OF BIG JIM AND THE SAMOAN WEREWOLF
Latest Developments:
Solo Sikoa introduced JC Mateo as the Bloodline’s newest member, beginning a rift between him and Jacob Fatu. This eventually backfired during Money In The Bank, where Fatu betrayed Sikoa and left the faction.
Last week, Sikoa offered Fatu one last chance to rejoin The Bloodline. Fatu refused, knowing Sikoa only brought him in to win gold, and challenged him to take the US title at Night Of Champions. Mateo beat Fatu down, before Jim Uso saved Fatu. The former Samoan enemies shared an uneasy glance.
At Night Of Champions, Fatu had Sikoa down for the win after an intense slugfest before the returning Tonga Loa and the debuting Tala Tonga intervened and laid Fatu out. Sikoa capitalized, pinning Fatu to win the IC Championship. The Bloodline (Sikoa, Mateo, Loa & Tonga) stood tall.
Last week, Fatu ambushed the Bloodline on their way into the arena, causing Nick Aldis to set a tag match later in the night: Uso & Fatu vs. Mateo & Tonga. After a hard-hitting slugfest, Fatu scored the win, but The Bloodline beat down the babyfaces and stood tall with the help of a returning Tonga Loa. Sikoa proclaimed his family was whole again.
Analysis:
Like most fallout episodes of TV, this week’s segments were used to build up The Bloodline as an unstoppable force (which will eventually cause the crowd to go nuclear when the babyface eventually wins). Seeing the Bloodline be whole once more after the thinning of its ranks caused the breakup between Sikoa & Fatu was a great story beat. While caused by real-life, it almost felt analogous to the rift between Sikoa & Fatu taking up all the space in the Bloodline until it became too big to ignore. Removing the peripheral players one by one was a great way to highlight that.
Seeing the MFT Bloodline in its entirety did feel a little flat to me, though. And for the first time, I don’t find myself with any level of investment in the group. Under Roman Reigns, they were unstoppable. Under Sikoa’s first reign, they were crazy. This time, all the members seem just kinda… there. Mateo’s look doesn’t stand out as much in WWE and his promo delivery sounds profoundly unintimidating. Tala Tonga hasn’t done much but stand there, Loa is…. well, Loa. Aside from Tama Tonga, they seem extremely cookie-cutter. And while that kind of exemplifies how much of a buffoon Sikoa is by trying to parade around these NPCs as an intimidating stable, it also makes the group feel kind of dead on arrival.
The eventual clash between Fatu and Sikoa will undoubtedly be entertaining, but the road to get there seems like it could leave the side characters in the dust.
Grade: C
CHARLOTTE FLAIR’S FRIEND… I MEAN, ALLY OF CONVENIENCE
Latest Developments:
Over the past few weeks following her loss at Wrestlemania 41 to Tiffany Stratton, Charlotte Flair has been slowly unravelling due to audiences rejecting her, resulting in several angry tirades where she stormed out of the venue and angrily railed at the fans. Several times, a bemused Bliss offered to talk with Flair, who skeptically agreed.
During the QOTR qualifier, Flair had the match won before Bliss swooped in and stole a win, to Flair’s fury.
Later, Flair was saved by Bliss after being jumped by The Secret Hervice after a match. Flair refused to acknowledge Bliss, walking away. Last week, Bliss tried reasoning with Flair, claiming the two didn’t have to be friends but rather “allies of convenience”. Flair appeared slightly more receptive.
Due to Roxanne Perez taking over the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships alongside Raquel Rodriguez, Adam Peace announced a four-way match at Evolution II for the tag titles. To Charlotte Flair’s dismay, Bliss was announced to be her tag team partner.
But against all odds, the duo won their qualifying match later that night, earning a title shot at the upcoming PPV.
Analysis:
Last week, I said I wished we got a little more of Bliss’ motivations. Right now, while it’s interesting seeing her alternately screw over and befriend Flair, we see so little of her motives that it’s muddling the crowd’s response. The most recent segment didn’t provide much more clarity as to what Bliss wants, making it feel kind of pointless. I don’t understand what the motivation is, or who’s being positioned as the face. Give me something more to work with, a shared goal or anything.
I loved that WWE threaded logic into placing Flair into the tag team tournament (Aldis is just fed up with her throwing tantrums, so he stuck it to her). It’s those little things that really make the world feel lived-in, while also not forcing the odd-couple story into a tournament without it being plausible. Flair sold the disgust turned into grudging enthusiasm perfectly, and the two’s in-ring chemistry was top-notch against their opponents.
While The Judgement Day holding the gold will likely continue to play into their story, I’m curious to see how this unlikely team develops. With the right chemistry, they could match The Bar, and this already feels like a welcome change of pace for Flair, letting her show off more of her personality and solid comedic reactions. It says a lot that, despite Flair walking into yet ANOTHER title opportunity without much opposition, I don’t mind at all this time because she’s found a character dynamic so much more interesting than “I am the queen.”.
All in all, I wish we got more of WHY Alexa Bliss is so attracted to Flair, but their banter is carrying this feud to some pretty watchable television.
Grade: A
THE EVOLUTION II BATTLE ROYALE
Latest Developments:
It was announced last week that Evolution II would feature a 20-woman battle royal, with the winner receiving a championship opportunity at Clash In Paris. Nikki Bella was announced to be one of the participants.
Analysis:
WWE doesn’t do big battle royales often, but it’s nice to see a bunch of talented women get spots on the Evolution II card. A common fear in the Triple H era of shortened PPVs was that a PPV intended to showcase the women’s division wouldn’t have close to enough slots to be able to do so. It’s nice to see a move to deliberately show off the roster.
Saving the title match for Clash In Paris is an interesting choice. With one title match already confirmed for Summerslam, it’s likely that the other’s women’s world champ will be saved for a future PPV (we don’t often get both on the same night). Therefore, it’s likely the winner will challenge for the Women’s World Championship held by Iyo Sky.
Here’s why that’s exciting: the Women’s World Championship has largely been stuck between the same few women in the past months, and having a battle royal clears the way for an entirely new contender that could have fresh interactions with Raw’s main event scene. Especially with the draft rumored to be in the fall post-Summerslam, this battle royale could set up some really interesting fresh dynamics before a roster shakeup, which is sorely needed after the past two drafts didn’t do much in terms of changing up each roster.
Grade: B-
GIULIA’S ASCENT TO THE THRONE
Latest Developments:
Giulia was recently called up to Smackdown after a monster run in NXT. Soon after, she engaged in a feud with US Champ Zelina Vega, eventually defeating her in a truly merciless beatdown to become the new champion.
Last week, Giulia cut a threatening pre-taped promo hinting that the entire roster was about to feel her wrath.
Analysis:
The build was largely cut for time, but at least the blowoff match was pretty kick-ass. It’s a shame that Vega’s strongest showing as a babyface champ was the match where she lost the belt. While not a ring general, Vega has always worked best as a bumping ragdoll that keeps getting back up. Her short stature and fiery demeanor is practically made to be a babyface underdog. It’s a shame that the buildup was too focused on her looking vulnerable at every turn to build her as a plausible champ.
Giulia, as well, finally looked at home in her heel character. Her pre-taped promo finally made her seem like the bloodthirsty threat she comes off as in-ring, which previously wasn’t clicking. Her in-ring promos had an earthiness that made her feel a little too relatable to really buy her as the killer she was. But this pre-tape made her seem like she could dismantle the entire roster. I’m curious to see if the vision remains cohesive in future feuds (especially ones where Giulia’s small height will make her seem lesser than her opponent). But WWE seems to finally be on the right path.
Grade: B-
ALEISTER BLACK vs. DAMIAN PRIEST
Latest Developments:
At Wrestlemania 41, John Cena won his record-breaking 17th WWE Championship. Former fan R-Truth pled with Cena’s opponents not to hurt him, only for Cena to betray him. Truth faced Cena, intending to remind him of his true self, but lost decisively.
Following this, R-Truth was legitimately released from WWE, before returning as a new more violent persona, rampaging through the roster to get back to Cena. Although he earned another match, Truth’s anger led him to make enemies out of Aleister Black until former foe-turned-ally Damian Priest calmed him down.
Last weeki, despite mocking warnings from Carmelo Hayes, Priest continued trying to smooth things over with Black, but was rebuffed, setting up a match for tonight.
Analysis:
Essentially a recap of last week’s promo, but I’m curious as to how this feud would develop. Beginning a feud due to annoyance is always risky, because it has to escalate plausibly. But this time, it’s a babyface (Damian Priest) being the annoying one by not leaving Black alone, and it wouldn’t fit with Priest’s character to continually escalate things with Black to… I guess, make him see that R-Truth is a good person? Is that the end goal here?
My guess is that this feud is just a stepping-stone to get both wrestlers into the spots they need to be in future, or a way to keep them both on TV. But given they don’t have particularly good chemistry with each other, it feels like a weird dynamic if the goal isn’t to turn Black heel (which it doesn’t seem to be quite yet, as he still felt quite babyface-coded in his promo, if a bit sterner). If anything, both men should tear the house down tonight if given the time. And the match’s ending should provide a clearer direction to where this is going.
Grade: B
DREW MCINTYRE’S BACK…. AND HE’S STILL BORED AT WORK
Latest Developments:
At Night Of Champions, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton competed in the finals to become the next King Of The Ring and earn another shot at WWE Champion John Cena, whom both of them had lingering issues with. During the match, Orton hesitated to punt kick Rhodes at the last minute, allowing Rhodes to get the pin and win the King Of The Ring.
Last week, Rhodes held a town hall looking ahead to challenging Cena before Orton interrupted. After cordial congratulations, Orton admitted he paused at the crucial moment, before encouraging Rhodes to keep the same energy against Cena.
Suddenly, after months off due to injury, Drew McIntyre appeared and snidely hinted that perhaps Rhodes was manipulating Orton to get his shot first. Orton had enough, RKOing McIntyre before having a brief staredown with Rhodes.
Analysis:
So, it felt like this promo worked on two levels. Number one, it laid the groundwork to build hype for Rhodes vs. Cena II. After a lacklustre Wrestlemania 41 match, it feels like they’re setting up the personal beef with Cena earlier this time, which is a good call. Thanks to the Rock’s inclusion, Cena’s emotional arc felt less important on the road to Wrestlemania. Simplifying the players this time is a great way to ensure a better match, since both men’s in-ring acumen shine brightest in singles matches.
Additionally, the final teardown felt like it was for the online marks, hinting at a more sinister side of Rhodes amidst online rumors of a heel turn. I don’t think we’re in line for heel Cody anytime soon, given that he’s being built as the WWE conquering hero against Cena, but Orton’s acting really sold the segment and provided just the tiniest amount of tension.
It’s clear, looking back, that Orton’s aborted Wrestlemania match against Kevin Owens was supposed to re-introduce the more savage version of his character (which would have made his face-vs-face match with Rhodes so much more interesting due to their shared kayfabe history – they really should have committed to letting the Viper loose before now). But in any case, letting McIntyre plant seeds in Orton’s head could be a great way to eventually get him to a more hostile character base.
I wasn’t a fan of McIntyre returning to get punked out so decisively, but it at least feeds into his heel character’s fatal flaw: he leads with his ego and leaves blind spots in his wake. All in all, a pretty great segment that set up a few character paths and laid hype for Summerslam.
Grade: A-
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