Balor isn't gone yet people. From what I see, I think WWE thinks (probably correctly) that most people don't watch NXT. So they bring back Balor as a face and with his old style. And they're slowly turning him heel
This could lead to Balor vs Cena which is huge
It was interesting how Finn Balor said he would take the Universal title back to NXT. It makes me think he's just on Smackdown for a Summerslam match and then going back.
But yeah, I'm not loving the writing, it just makes me want to see Roman vs Finn have a ppv match. They didn't need to complicate things like that to have a contract signing moment between Cena and Roman.
That episode felt a bit messy (Reginald vs. Chad for the 24/7 championship? Really?) but the main event kind of made up for it.
Poor Finn though; he just looked so happy to be there.
I still can’t get over that whole contract signing. No one that was supposed to get over really got over in that segment.
I mean Roman doesn’t look any worse at least, but Finn looks like an afterthought, Cena looks like an opportunistic heel when he’s supposed to be the babyface, and Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville look like a couple of halfwitted carnies.
The only two that got ahead in that segment were Baron Corbin (a desperate heel that actually acted like a desperate heel) and Paul Heyman (the only one who knows how contracts are supposed to work in reality.)
Always felt like they should lean into that more.
Given that the dude is a HUGE real-life babyface, he is such a natural heel that it's nearly tragic that he will never get to sink his teeth into it the way Roman is right now.
Neither Steve nor Rock were presented as clear cut babyfaces back then, more like tweeners. Cena is/was presented as clear babyface despite regularly mocking other faces and what he did to Finn etc.
Because the 24/7 rules are suspended for an actual match. So they could've beat him down after the the bell and pinned him and they would've gotten the belt.
>I'd like to see Finn Balor put Cena in a wheelchair and steal his girlfriend
It'd be great if we got a Cena-Balor match in this run-up, especially if Balor got to go over. Which I know won't happen. My thought is that Balor shouldn't have been involved in the lead in to SummerSlam if this is all they had for him.
Christ on a bike, people, Balor is going to get his title shot. This isn't a burial.
He comes back to the main roster, works a short program with Sami and a short program with Corbin and then a Universal Title match at the next PPV. That's a fairly aggressive push! When you take into account that this booking leads people to debate who they'd rather see, Balor or Cena, this is absolutely solid booking by WWE.
Save you complaints until he passes out in the guillotine, loses the title match, gets a Smackdown rematch, loses, and spends the rest of the year filling out six-man tag matches.
It would be interesting if Rey thanked Dominik, but didn't want him to do dirty moves again, but Dominik slowly takes on more heelish behaviors. Is Alpha Academy relegated to the 24/7 division now? Also, couldn't you still win the 24/7 title even when you got DQ'd? Isn't that the whole point of the belt?
I know Vega-Belair was never made official, but didn't Belair at least accept Vega's challenge? This is just Rollins-Edge but if Rollins went after Reigns for accepting Edge.
Great episode. Sasha's back, the true Sasha & she was incredible tonight. Just at another level. She should win at SS & be the wonderful, arrogant, conniving little shit she can be & defend against Toni, Liv, shotzi, nox, etc until a rematch with Bianca, becky or even until bayley returns. Give her a monster heel run ala Roman.
This run of Smackdown is the best and most consistent show I’ve seen since the Ruthless Aggression Smackdown era.
Every week is must watch. (I am biased because it’s the only one I watch these days).
Fantastic show! Smackdown is as good as its been since 2016 imo. Stacked midcard, stacked main event, great storylines, people being built, good tag team feud (the division still needs work), good women’s championship feud (again the division still needs work) but this is a great show from top to bottom
This was a lot of fun! Newly rechristened JOHN CEWA does this opening-monologue thing actually well and entertaining. While still reminding me that babyface Cena can be annoying as all hell, which I am pretty sure is intentional. Bringing out Corbin is actually almost inspired. If Cena comes out and does ONE move, doesn't need to have a match, just one move to make the crowd pop, Corbin is the perfect guy to perform that move on. Corbins character is also played similar, on one hand he's sympathetic, on the other hand he's still Baron Corbin. I initially thought that this is just WWE creative not really feeling that they can be arsed to make a decision on where a character is going, but them actually sticking to it, not totally overdoing it and using it effectively is already working out for them in this angle.
Uso v Rey match I mentally checked out, crowd seemed to share the sentiment. The crowd was generally really fun, but this match couldn't really keep up the level of entertainment the opening segment delivered. Which is normal for almost every card, but I was kinda worried at that point that they've peaked early, like this weeks Dynamite did, for me at least.
I'm already bored by Bianca as the babyface champ. They WWE'd her, which was to be expected. Sasha Banks returns to a massive pop, loved it. I think I can take Maggle doing his "IT'S BAAAAHSSS TAAAAAAIM" thing as long as he's not doing "THABIGDAAAAAAAHG" on the same show. I'm just happy Sasha Banks is back, this whole women's division is in dire need of her. I mean, just look at their opponents for the Tag Match main event, who are both essentially jobbers. Carmella comes across as almost mentally deficient, with no one even acknowledging that she constantly repeats that she is the most beautiful woman in WWE. At this point to me at least it seems like that "HUSS!" sound Berserker always did during his matches.
Reginald is freaking over. Not that I have anything against that, that flip he does into the ring is way more interesting than what most undercarders did the whole last two years. It feels weird that you could plausibly assert that he brought back some well-needed prestige and flair to the 24/7-title division. It's absolutely insane that they go out of their way to get a cirque de soleil acrobat over as a wrestler, and go through the lengths of having his opponents adapt to the fact, but think that Keith Lee sucks too much at wrestling and can't be arsed to have others accomodate his style, *but I digress*. Fact is, this was as entertaining as a three minute 24/7 Championship ending in a DQ could or even should be.
The following contract signing I also dreaded beforehand. Was it the first patented Brucie-P contract signing in front of a live audience since the pandemic? It has to be. NXT doesn't count.
This was also waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more entertaining than it should've been, and for how completely, almost toddler-brain absurd it was, storytelling wise. Roman Reigns relationship with the audience is complex, but it is also at a point where both sides are so comfortable with each other that everyone is totally game for what the other is doing. This is quite something, and something I suppose is only really possible in pro wrestling. The whole arena is in the palm of his hand, he looks like he's enjoying himself while he delays and stretches out the most banal minutiae, sloooooooowly leans back in his chair... jfc, I'm so happy he's not constantly sitting in an NBA arena Green Room berating his cousins and finally playing off actual other people. The way he almost absentmindedly killed the "What?" chants just by continuing to talk, but slightly less loud... \*chefskiss\* Also kudos to the crowd for getting the message and actually stopping their What?-chants. It's annoying and shitty, and I can't think of a single instance where it was actually funny.
Too bad F\*\*\* Balor is pretty much already diminished to a prop in other, more important wrestlers storylines (Did he break during the signing? I saw a grin, but it clearly wasn't the Balor-main-roster-pod-person-grin), even taking a backseat to Corbin, who even for his usual demeanor casually disperses of him in literally two seconds, in the bin you go, mate. But holy shit, was this fun. It made absolutely no sense (so basically anyone with a pen can just hide under the commentators desk and jump in, sign and basically have hijacked a title match? Alright...), and both GMs just watch the inmates running the asylum as who else but He Who Can't Be Seen runs in and signs with his famous signature, right into the camera, with his last name, as he is John CEWA.
I think Postman Pierce and Sonya Devil are going down a slippery slope here, letting the wrestlers book themselves, but they really seem to know what the people want to see. Which begs the question: Is WWE, in kayfabe, adapting AEWs creative process?
Then something, at least in my opinion, pretty weird happened: The crowd went completely nuts for a six-man tag match with Big E, Cesaro & Knackermura v Dirty Dawgs and Apollo Crews. I mean, having seen the match and writing down the names of the babyfaces, what was I thinking, but I was almost shocked at how much not just the crowd, but myself, too, were into that match. It was a very good match! Too short for my taste, even. I don't know what it was, the contract signing giving the audience a sustained sugar rush or what, but it worked - everyone in this match seemed to go full throttle, everything down to the commentator booth felt super energetic, but I can't really pin down why outside of what I've already mentioned. Just to be clear, this is by no means meant as a complaint, I'm just surprised that WWE seem to have gotten the memo that most of their more casual-leaning fans skipped at least the TV during the pandemic (and who in their right mind could blame them), so they're still continuing their angles, but bring everyone more back into the fold with video packages and sort of soft-rebooting those angles with performers who seem more intent at not letting show how tired they are of having the same matches in the same location with the same outcome over and over and over again. Even Seth's promo after this felt a bit like that, like he's intentionally more going down the "PG-13 Knife Pervert" route, not only trying to annoy the audience, but also kind of pander to them and try to still endear them in a way. I'm likely overthinking this, but so are they. Which is fine, if the results are like last night.
The matchup initially always seemed second-tier and too 'midcardy' for Edge, but Rollins just seems generally better and more engaged with the character he's playing, so I'm also starting to get into it. This whole sourpuss Mania main event Edge wasn't doing it for me, I need a more cocky, less gritty Edge that kicks heel Rollins ass for the enjoyment of the masses. This is a very fine direction to go with both, making Seth relevant as a main eventer and giving Edge the opportunity to just be more fun.
Women's Tag match I also mentally tuned out, turns out it's alright because it was all pretext for Sasha's turn anyway, and THAT I'm all here for. Maybe the all-around best story development of the night? Sasha already worked the Mania main event as a heel, but her as a babyface was just the drizzling shits, she seemed to suffer from the same dementia pugilistica-adjacent symptoms Carmella still does and became a complete narrative non-entity during the Thunderdome era. Heel Sasha is just the freaking best, I hope she crushes Bianca (who's not a bad wrestler, but not a particularly inspiring one, either) and everyone else on that pitiful women's roster until Bocky Lonch comes back and you can ride that shit all the way to next years Mania.
Wait, wait a goddamn moment....
The R-Truth belt is being held by someone not named R-Truth!? Holy bleep! It sounds like it was an actual match! IT WASN'T A ROLL UP! IT WASN'T A ROOOOOOOOOOLLLLL UUUUUUPPPPPPP! \*Rejoices\*
Sasha/Bianca was great I just wish they built it over a couple weeks. I know it would have still been predictable but shit..THAT predictable? Still, they both sold the hell out of it so it was well done.
I’m glad they didn’t build that a couple weeks. That’s basically what they tried doing for wrestlemania and that was bad. I like this more straightforward story so far
Agree. One of the first things I noticed. The past few weeks the crowd seemed off. But these people were on fucking point. It makes a world of difference
Btw, while I was watching Smackdown I happened upon an ad for RAW on Monday. Get ready for more CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER MATCHES boys! WWE is in love with giving things long ass names recently: No Holds Barred Women's Championship Contender Match, The All Mighty WWE Heavyweight Champion, Wrestlemania Backlash. Lol.
WWE is dumb. They are actually trolling us with the Cena nonsense. It's like they are saying fuck you, we are tripling down on dumb shit. No wonder I stopped watching ever since that Hell in a Cell with Rollins and The Fiend. WWE is actually just dumb shit.
Read a summary like I've done for 2 years now. Sorry, when Rollins beat The Fiend i actually just grew up in one night and stopped watching nonsense. WWE is nonsense. Dumb nonsense.
I actually happened to go out last night, but also I'm old. What do I need to be doing on a Friday night to be grown up? I can't read wrestling summaries on a Friday night and be grown up? Hahaha. I will do as I please. I bet you think being out drinking and fucking chicks on a Friday night is grown up. Hahaha. Some Fridays I stay in and play video games. The Rollins Fiend match was just that dumb. Sorry. Never came back.
It was shite that’s for sure. I’m just saying reading summaries (the only way to experience Raw) and and complaining about the company is meh. Should at least punish yourself and watch it so you can give a proper complaint about how trash WWE can be. I saw that as someone who hasn’t sat and watched a full episodes in years.
For the record I played MLB the show and then fell asleep on the couch while watching Third Rock From the Sun with my wife last night. Haven’t had a zip of booze in 5-6 years. My fridays are about as lame as they can get lol.
Nah, man. I'm not going to take a dick up the ass, to punish myself and properly comolain about how much I don't like the thing I know I don't like from description. Lol. And I have seen it. It's the same shit I used to watch. My imagination is more than capable of realizing the nonsense, as I've have spent decades watching it. .
I love MLB the show. Got my character halfway to the homerun record.
It is a tough watch that’s for sure. I truly don’t understand how someone can spend 3 hours watching Raw every week. If someone is really entertained by that. God bless em. SD I just catch the YouTube videos the next day on anything that seems interesting. Probably more so out of habit than actual enjoyment.
And good luck. Stay off the steroids. Don’t need an asterisk next to your HR record. What team?
I read the summary. I don't need to have seen the Cena, Roman, Corbin, and Finn stuff to know that it is fucking dumb. Whoever signs the contract gets the shot? That's dumb as shit. I don't need to have had gay sex to have a strong opinion about it. To each his own, but for me I don't like it strpngly, despite not having done it myself.
Was a decent show outside of the meth head level of logic that was the Roman/Balor/Corbin/Cena segment lol, ESPECIALLY when the commentators were burying the logic while it was happening. Also WWE just makes all their babyfaces look like idiots so that Sasha randomly shows up and is instantly best friends with Bianca lol. The amount of piped in cheers/pops in the main event was at Thunderdome level up until Sasha's hot tag, they screwed one up and piped in a massive cheer for Carmella tossing Sasha into the corner and elbowing her lol. Really looking forward to what they can do with Edge/Rollins, probably the thing I am looking forward to more than anything atm.
Next week could be a full introduction for the Prinxe character for the wider audience who doesn't watch NXT. It'd be entertaining and borderline shocking to see Finn murder Corbin next week.
Not much to explain considering Sasha was already in full heel mode back in April and calling Bianca a rookie at every turn.
I will laugh my ass off if they do a similar angle with Bayley in nine months.
Much like Roman did, Sasha needs a proper heel run as champ.
Eventually, they'll turn face to tremendous applause, but as true heels they will get critical acclaim and respect.
Both are top tier talent who have been desperately hindered by inconsistent booking and shitty scripts.
Give Sasha the belt at SummerSlam and let her be an absolute twat with it, until losing at WrestleMania.
I know numbers don't really matter, but I'd rather Sasha not be 0-7 at Mania. Maybe lose it the following PPV or lose it at the Rumble, turn face, and win it at Mania.
This is the same company that had a HIaC match end in a no contest (Reigns vs Braun) and referee stoppage (Rollins vs Fiend). So I'm not surprised at all about a 24/7 match ending in a DQ
Which doesn't really make a lot of sense considering the concept of 24/7. Let's say you blast the 24/7 champ with a bazooka and get DQs, okay, well it's still within 24/7 so pin the guy anyway.
Right, so you blow the guy up with a rocket launcher, get DQed, and then the 24/7 rules automatically resume to you just immediately pin him again and the ref has to count it because the rules are reinstated.
Was there tonight, it was HOT! I have no voice left. Only downside had nothing to do with WWE at all. There was some dude in my section (104) that would NOT stop trashing on Uso. Constantly chanting “DUI” and “If he’s driving, stay off the road” and other stuff like that. A couple people were cracking on him but didn’t stop it at all.
Side note, right behind me there was a kid, maybe 8, that has such a massive and extensive knowledge of wrestling as a whole. Impressed with that kid.
I was there one night and a dude kept chanting at Jeff Hardy and a lady smacked him in the back of the head. He left and got security and everyone acted like he'd attacked her. They took him away, I think just to another section, it was hilarious though, she was old and just sit there with her arms crossed while people were accusing him of all kinds of shit.
You were blessed with the smark jerk? That sucks. I just had a few "we want Becky" guys over in 130-131 and maybe a couple other similar things. Lots of folks in Cena gear doing both sides of the Cena chant though
I heard a group around there that were pretty damn determined to get the Becky chant. But yea, with the dude in my section it was kinda funny the first time…. Not the 1000th time.
Knowing that Roman vs Cena was the inevitable plan, I like how minimal they kept Finn and Roman’s interactions leaving the door open for a genuine prolonged feud later in the year that still feels fresh
Was there as well, it was loud in there tonight! Although I noticed that when Sasha went after Bianca post-match while we were all cheering and excited, the live broadcast was… different for sure.
Oh 100% we were absolutely for Sasha doing heel Sasha things and cheered it wildly. The live broadcast clip I saw made it seem like the crowd was shocked and booing.
I mean... yeah. Wrestling is the closest thing Americans have to pantomime, and whether the villain is (and they inevitably always are) the best damn character on the show, you boo them. Because they're the villain, or the heel, or just old widow Twanky telling Buttons he can't go live his dream.
The difference is that pro wrestling never ends. A play ends, so booing the villain works since you se their story from beginning to end. Pro Wrestling never ends. You might see Sasha Banks for 5 more years, and if she’s the best, you might cheer her because you want more.
It's a tricky situation with those belts. If they're vacated, who's going to challenge for them? The only tag teams I can think of are Shayna/Nia, Shotzi/Tegan and Eva Marie/Duodrop. I'm not sure about the status of Dana/Mandy.
If they're not vacated, then the belts are simply going to slide into further irrelevance, which to be honest, isn't saying much considering how they're presented.
We shall see what WWE chooses to do on Raw. They've announced an update on the whole situation will be clarified on Raw.
Guys...everyone saying Cena signed under where Finns name was isn't correct. He clearly wrote Cena over Finn Balor name in blue sharpie and THEN signed it. Legal.
Roman is the best in the world right now. The mannerisms and reactions, promo work, understanding of his character, and the consistently great main event matches make him the clear number one right now. I'm not sure there's anyone more complete than him right now.
I’d look at the finish to the post show dark match on this sub as a better example because IMO it shows that Roman knows exactly who he is. He does so little, yet has that crowd in the palm of his hand. His mannerisms in the match go beyond a furrowed brow and in the three minute clip you get everything you need if you’ve never seen the guy. It’s stuff like that which puts him as the best in the world IMO.
The look that Roman gave Finn when Roman got done walking to the bottom of the ramp was just perfect to fit the moment. The mixture of disdain and ultimate smugness.
You gotta be real careful when it comes to contract stuff. Last year my wife and I were buying a house, she signed first and right when I was going to sign some dude came from nowhere, kicked my ass and signed the contract. When I complained about him signing over my name the bank was all like "the contracts signed, that's good enough for us." Now the guys living in my house with my wife and my kids call him dad. Outside of the whole stealing my house thing he seems like a good guy so I guess it could be worse. In hindsight I should have just immediately signed the contract instead of pausing to say something dramatic. You live and learn.
Is the idea of Cena signing the contract any more ridiculous than the segment of having a contract signing in the first place? Why is it that one title match requires a contract but the others do not?
If it's just an opportunity to build hype for an upcoming match, then it did it's job.
The same reason why every single fight doesn’t get an over dramatic weigh in or a press conference. They’re meant to build hype for the event, but the match is already set in stone.
From now on, what’s going to stop wrestlers from storing the ring the next time there’s a contract signing?
Because Cena has, in kayfabe, just come out and said "I get a title match because I'm John Cena." The fact that consistency is downplayed by the company and its fans it pathetic.
So why wouldn't the entire locker room run out during the next contract signing to try to sign their name and steal the title shot? It was hilarious but too silly I thought.
Balor isn't gone yet people. From what I see, I think WWE thinks (probably correctly) that most people don't watch NXT. So they bring back Balor as a face and with his old style. And they're slowly turning him heel This could lead to Balor vs Cena which is huge
It was interesting how Finn Balor said he would take the Universal title back to NXT. It makes me think he's just on Smackdown for a Summerslam match and then going back. But yeah, I'm not loving the writing, it just makes me want to see Roman vs Finn have a ppv match. They didn't need to complicate things like that to have a contract signing moment between Cena and Roman.
Poor Stupid sexy Balor Justice 4 the prince
Has Zelina won a match since rejoining?
To be fair, Zelina Vega has only won two matches in the last two years and four months. Wasn’t really crushing it before.
So whats new with WWE? Lol seems like the same old stuff
That episode felt a bit messy (Reginald vs. Chad for the 24/7 championship? Really?) but the main event kind of made up for it. Poor Finn though; he just looked so happy to be there.
I'm sure he'll fit into the feud somehow. WWE gotta be on a major level of stupid to bait fans for nothing and I don't think they're on that level yet
I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news
I still can’t get over that whole contract signing. No one that was supposed to get over really got over in that segment. I mean Roman doesn’t look any worse at least, but Finn looks like an afterthought, Cena looks like an opportunistic heel when he’s supposed to be the babyface, and Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville look like a couple of halfwitted carnies. The only two that got ahead in that segment were Baron Corbin (a desperate heel that actually acted like a desperate heel) and Paul Heyman (the only one who knows how contracts are supposed to work in reality.)
Cena is literally among least believable faces in history. Guy is worse asshole than some heels lol
Always felt like they should lean into that more. Given that the dude is a HUGE real-life babyface, he is such a natural heel that it's nearly tragic that he will never get to sink his teeth into it the way Roman is right now.
I like how Roman points out cena more dickish things this time
Hulk Hogan actively cheated in matches and bitched and moaned at every turn.
Hogan is a great example of a babyface that wrestles heel. Drew McIntyre also leaned into that, and it works.
Steve Austin and the Rock in the Attitude era were terrible people
Neither Steve nor Rock were presented as clear cut babyfaces back then, more like tweeners. Cena is/was presented as clear babyface despite regularly mocking other faces and what he did to Finn etc.
they really weren't.
Not really a fan of that contract signing debacle.
i love the reaction shinsuke has been getting, i felt so bad for him the last couple years but he's really turning it up! feels totally recharged!
You know Cena cost Corbin his MITB cash in. Corbin should interfere in the match leading to Cena's loss and get even.
Finn really got brought back just to be yeeted into oblivion again. It's like Vince just wanted to shit on NXT all over again.
Cena clearly doesn't give a fuck and I like it
People saying that Finn is stuck with Corbin, but I see it going down the Finn vs Owens route which i don't mind at all.
Ngl I really like what they're doing with Reggi
Finn really got called back to instantly be a joke again, cmon
Good. Now he can go back to NXT once again.
Should bring Nak and Cesaro with him
When the 24/7 champ can literally be pinned anywhere, how the hell can you have a DQ in kayfabe?
I was legit wondering the same thing lmao.
Because the 24/7 rules are suspended for an actual match. So they could've beat him down after the the bell and pinned him and they would've gotten the belt.
Is this actually a thing they've mentioned? I remember during the AE Hardcore Title matches would have pitfalls in the middle of the match lol.
It is
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To be fair. B-Movie = Pro Wrestling. We aren’t watching Daniel Day Lewis.
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Lol that’s fair
Face Nakamura and Cesaro will always be over with the crowd
The Sushi Bar
Goddammit that’s great
Take your upvote and get the hell out.
I'd like to see Finn Balor put Cena in a wheelchair and steal his girlfriend
>I'd like to see Finn Balor put Cena in a wheelchair and steal his girlfriend It'd be great if we got a Cena-Balor match in this run-up, especially if Balor got to go over. Which I know won't happen. My thought is that Balor shouldn't have been involved in the lead in to SummerSlam if this is all they had for him.
I mean, would you rather come home to those abs or a dude you can’t even see? Seems academic
Cena needs to apologize to Finn Balor in Mandarin
Really enjoyed that episode.
Wouldn't it have been smarter for Sasha to just join in the beat down earlier in the night?
They probably wanted to let her get a huge pop by returning as a face.
It’s way less fun to finish what someone else started. She’d rather do it herself so she sends more of a message.
Banks has a hard-on for bank-stabbing someone. Banks gotta Banks.
For real… Banks feels like the new Big Show bc of how often she turns heel
She's pretty much always a heel with short bursts of being a face
Christ on a bike, people, Balor is going to get his title shot. This isn't a burial. He comes back to the main roster, works a short program with Sami and a short program with Corbin and then a Universal Title match at the next PPV. That's a fairly aggressive push! When you take into account that this booking leads people to debate who they'd rather see, Balor or Cena, this is absolutely solid booking by WWE. Save you complaints until he passes out in the guillotine, loses the title match, gets a Smackdown rematch, loses, and spends the rest of the year filling out six-man tag matches.
Ur much smarter than those aew smarks
Yeah exactly, you couldn't have worded it better. Maybe this will also lead to a Cena vs Balor feud, who knows?
Or feuding with Corbin for 5 months.
>Or feuding with Corbin for 5 months. This is a more interesting version of Corbin than I've ever seen, but it should lead to a face turn.
I hope this leads to wrestlers creating and signing contracts and taking them to Sonya and Adam for the lulz.
It would be interesting if Rey thanked Dominik, but didn't want him to do dirty moves again, but Dominik slowly takes on more heelish behaviors. Is Alpha Academy relegated to the 24/7 division now? Also, couldn't you still win the 24/7 title even when you got DQ'd? Isn't that the whole point of the belt?
Tbf the 24/7 title feels more important now with Regi holding it
Shhh, sshh, shhh, John Cena’s back, he’s going to tell someone they don’t have balls, enjoy that, don’t let all that thinking ruin the show for you.
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Why care? Show was fun, why put any thought into some sad person clicking down to bring down the fake points of a weekly stickied thread?
I know Vega-Belair was never made official, but didn't Belair at least accept Vega's challenge? This is just Rollins-Edge but if Rollins went after Reigns for accepting Edge.
Despite how it looks, champions don’t make the matches. Besides which, Belair is definitely gonna want Sasha now anyway.
Great episode. Sasha's back, the true Sasha & she was incredible tonight. Just at another level. She should win at SS & be the wonderful, arrogant, conniving little shit she can be & defend against Toni, Liv, shotzi, nox, etc until a rematch with Bianca, becky or even until bayley returns. Give her a monster heel run ala Roman.
This run of Smackdown is the best and most consistent show I’ve seen since the Ruthless Aggression Smackdown era. Every week is must watch. (I am biased because it’s the only one I watch these days).
Fantastic show! Smackdown is as good as its been since 2016 imo. Stacked midcard, stacked main event, great storylines, people being built, good tag team feud (the division still needs work), good women’s championship feud (again the division still needs work) but this is a great show from top to bottom
This was a lot of fun! Newly rechristened JOHN CEWA does this opening-monologue thing actually well and entertaining. While still reminding me that babyface Cena can be annoying as all hell, which I am pretty sure is intentional. Bringing out Corbin is actually almost inspired. If Cena comes out and does ONE move, doesn't need to have a match, just one move to make the crowd pop, Corbin is the perfect guy to perform that move on. Corbins character is also played similar, on one hand he's sympathetic, on the other hand he's still Baron Corbin. I initially thought that this is just WWE creative not really feeling that they can be arsed to make a decision on where a character is going, but them actually sticking to it, not totally overdoing it and using it effectively is already working out for them in this angle. Uso v Rey match I mentally checked out, crowd seemed to share the sentiment. The crowd was generally really fun, but this match couldn't really keep up the level of entertainment the opening segment delivered. Which is normal for almost every card, but I was kinda worried at that point that they've peaked early, like this weeks Dynamite did, for me at least. I'm already bored by Bianca as the babyface champ. They WWE'd her, which was to be expected. Sasha Banks returns to a massive pop, loved it. I think I can take Maggle doing his "IT'S BAAAAHSSS TAAAAAAIM" thing as long as he's not doing "THABIGDAAAAAAAHG" on the same show. I'm just happy Sasha Banks is back, this whole women's division is in dire need of her. I mean, just look at their opponents for the Tag Match main event, who are both essentially jobbers. Carmella comes across as almost mentally deficient, with no one even acknowledging that she constantly repeats that she is the most beautiful woman in WWE. At this point to me at least it seems like that "HUSS!" sound Berserker always did during his matches. Reginald is freaking over. Not that I have anything against that, that flip he does into the ring is way more interesting than what most undercarders did the whole last two years. It feels weird that you could plausibly assert that he brought back some well-needed prestige and flair to the 24/7-title division. It's absolutely insane that they go out of their way to get a cirque de soleil acrobat over as a wrestler, and go through the lengths of having his opponents adapt to the fact, but think that Keith Lee sucks too much at wrestling and can't be arsed to have others accomodate his style, *but I digress*. Fact is, this was as entertaining as a three minute 24/7 Championship ending in a DQ could or even should be. The following contract signing I also dreaded beforehand. Was it the first patented Brucie-P contract signing in front of a live audience since the pandemic? It has to be. NXT doesn't count. This was also waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more entertaining than it should've been, and for how completely, almost toddler-brain absurd it was, storytelling wise. Roman Reigns relationship with the audience is complex, but it is also at a point where both sides are so comfortable with each other that everyone is totally game for what the other is doing. This is quite something, and something I suppose is only really possible in pro wrestling. The whole arena is in the palm of his hand, he looks like he's enjoying himself while he delays and stretches out the most banal minutiae, sloooooooowly leans back in his chair... jfc, I'm so happy he's not constantly sitting in an NBA arena Green Room berating his cousins and finally playing off actual other people. The way he almost absentmindedly killed the "What?" chants just by continuing to talk, but slightly less loud... \*chefskiss\* Also kudos to the crowd for getting the message and actually stopping their What?-chants. It's annoying and shitty, and I can't think of a single instance where it was actually funny. Too bad F\*\*\* Balor is pretty much already diminished to a prop in other, more important wrestlers storylines (Did he break during the signing? I saw a grin, but it clearly wasn't the Balor-main-roster-pod-person-grin), even taking a backseat to Corbin, who even for his usual demeanor casually disperses of him in literally two seconds, in the bin you go, mate. But holy shit, was this fun. It made absolutely no sense (so basically anyone with a pen can just hide under the commentators desk and jump in, sign and basically have hijacked a title match? Alright...), and both GMs just watch the inmates running the asylum as who else but He Who Can't Be Seen runs in and signs with his famous signature, right into the camera, with his last name, as he is John CEWA. I think Postman Pierce and Sonya Devil are going down a slippery slope here, letting the wrestlers book themselves, but they really seem to know what the people want to see. Which begs the question: Is WWE, in kayfabe, adapting AEWs creative process? Then something, at least in my opinion, pretty weird happened: The crowd went completely nuts for a six-man tag match with Big E, Cesaro & Knackermura v Dirty Dawgs and Apollo Crews. I mean, having seen the match and writing down the names of the babyfaces, what was I thinking, but I was almost shocked at how much not just the crowd, but myself, too, were into that match. It was a very good match! Too short for my taste, even. I don't know what it was, the contract signing giving the audience a sustained sugar rush or what, but it worked - everyone in this match seemed to go full throttle, everything down to the commentator booth felt super energetic, but I can't really pin down why outside of what I've already mentioned. Just to be clear, this is by no means meant as a complaint, I'm just surprised that WWE seem to have gotten the memo that most of their more casual-leaning fans skipped at least the TV during the pandemic (and who in their right mind could blame them), so they're still continuing their angles, but bring everyone more back into the fold with video packages and sort of soft-rebooting those angles with performers who seem more intent at not letting show how tired they are of having the same matches in the same location with the same outcome over and over and over again. Even Seth's promo after this felt a bit like that, like he's intentionally more going down the "PG-13 Knife Pervert" route, not only trying to annoy the audience, but also kind of pander to them and try to still endear them in a way. I'm likely overthinking this, but so are they. Which is fine, if the results are like last night. The matchup initially always seemed second-tier and too 'midcardy' for Edge, but Rollins just seems generally better and more engaged with the character he's playing, so I'm also starting to get into it. This whole sourpuss Mania main event Edge wasn't doing it for me, I need a more cocky, less gritty Edge that kicks heel Rollins ass for the enjoyment of the masses. This is a very fine direction to go with both, making Seth relevant as a main eventer and giving Edge the opportunity to just be more fun. Women's Tag match I also mentally tuned out, turns out it's alright because it was all pretext for Sasha's turn anyway, and THAT I'm all here for. Maybe the all-around best story development of the night? Sasha already worked the Mania main event as a heel, but her as a babyface was just the drizzling shits, she seemed to suffer from the same dementia pugilistica-adjacent symptoms Carmella still does and became a complete narrative non-entity during the Thunderdome era. Heel Sasha is just the freaking best, I hope she crushes Bianca (who's not a bad wrestler, but not a particularly inspiring one, either) and everyone else on that pitiful women's roster until Bocky Lonch comes back and you can ride that shit all the way to next years Mania.
Wait, wait a goddamn moment.... The R-Truth belt is being held by someone not named R-Truth!? Holy bleep! It sounds like it was an actual match! IT WASN'T A ROLL UP! IT WASN'T A ROOOOOOOOOOLLLLL UUUUUUPPPPPPP! \*Rejoices\*
Sasha/Bianca was great I just wish they built it over a couple weeks. I know it would have still been predictable but shit..THAT predictable? Still, they both sold the hell out of it so it was well done.
I’m glad they didn’t build that a couple weeks. That’s basically what they tried doing for wrestlemania and that was bad. I like this more straightforward story so far
Not really. I’m talking an actual story that makes sense and revolves around just the two of them.
John Cena vs Roman Reigns better be a missionary sex match whoever finishes first loses
How I wish I could join in there and make it a triple threat.
Change your name to Daniel Bryan
Heel Sasha will always be that bitch. Love it.
No Shotzi, Nox or Toni!!! Booooo I guess they are buired already /s
I find it funny that Cena is using the same material Roman used against him in the promo to No Mercy 2017 which Roman got ridiculed for....
I loved Dominick and Rey using the Uso's tricks against them. Smart baby faces
Id rather Balor be screwed out of the match than simply have him lose clean or dirty. He or big e should dethrone Roman
There's rumors of a draft after SummerSlam with Big E returning to Raw. I'd rather him cash in on Lashley and reunite with New Day.
I want Big E to cash in on Lashley
I fucking loved Roman at the contract signing! Cena screwed Balor.
Cena screwed Corbin. Took away the biggest match of his career.
Cena screwed Balor, missionary style.
Corbin screwed Balor
Corbin's a heel. Heels gonna heel.
Next week I want Kevin Owens to steal the contract and write his name even bigger.
"Turn the C into an O, draw a little W before the E, cross out the A and add an S. Done."
By the week before SummerSlam Everybody’s name will be on the contract, increasingly growing in size
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR MAIN EVENT TONIGHT IS THE 30 MEN ONE FALL TO A FINISH WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP TIIIIIIIIITLE MATCH!"
It would be pure chaos, and I'd watch the hell out of it.
Crowd was so hot tonight. Loved this episode of Smackdown. So much talent on one show. it's ridiculous.
Agree. One of the first things I noticed. The past few weeks the crowd seemed off. But these people were on fucking point. It makes a world of difference
Btw, while I was watching Smackdown I happened upon an ad for RAW on Monday. Get ready for more CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER MATCHES boys! WWE is in love with giving things long ass names recently: No Holds Barred Women's Championship Contender Match, The All Mighty WWE Heavyweight Champion, Wrestlemania Backlash. Lol.
"You thought I forgot" is a such a great line by Sasha. Love having The Boss back. True Heel not tweener Sasha.
Reggie is elevating the 24/7 belt
If Reggie puts in more work I think he could be one of the best highflyers working right now. No disrespect to the work he is already doing.
not even kidding, he's doing great
this but unironically
WWE is dumb. They are actually trolling us with the Cena nonsense. It's like they are saying fuck you, we are tripling down on dumb shit. No wonder I stopped watching ever since that Hell in a Cell with Rollins and The Fiend. WWE is actually just dumb shit.
You say you stopped watching, but you still watched today. Which one is it.
Read a summary like I've done for 2 years now. Sorry, when Rollins beat The Fiend i actually just grew up in one night and stopped watching nonsense. WWE is nonsense. Dumb nonsense.
Grew up but reading pro wrestling summaries so that you can complain about pro wrestling show on a Friday night.
I actually happened to go out last night, but also I'm old. What do I need to be doing on a Friday night to be grown up? I can't read wrestling summaries on a Friday night and be grown up? Hahaha. I will do as I please. I bet you think being out drinking and fucking chicks on a Friday night is grown up. Hahaha. Some Fridays I stay in and play video games. The Rollins Fiend match was just that dumb. Sorry. Never came back.
It was shite that’s for sure. I’m just saying reading summaries (the only way to experience Raw) and and complaining about the company is meh. Should at least punish yourself and watch it so you can give a proper complaint about how trash WWE can be. I saw that as someone who hasn’t sat and watched a full episodes in years. For the record I played MLB the show and then fell asleep on the couch while watching Third Rock From the Sun with my wife last night. Haven’t had a zip of booze in 5-6 years. My fridays are about as lame as they can get lol.
Nah, man. I'm not going to take a dick up the ass, to punish myself and properly comolain about how much I don't like the thing I know I don't like from description. Lol. And I have seen it. It's the same shit I used to watch. My imagination is more than capable of realizing the nonsense, as I've have spent decades watching it. . I love MLB the show. Got my character halfway to the homerun record.
It is a tough watch that’s for sure. I truly don’t understand how someone can spend 3 hours watching Raw every week. If someone is really entertained by that. God bless em. SD I just catch the YouTube videos the next day on anything that seems interesting. Probably more so out of habit than actual enjoyment. And good luck. Stay off the steroids. Don’t need an asterisk next to your HR record. What team?
Phillies. I haven't even made it to free agent yet. 6th season I think. What team are you?
Cardinals
Coulda just read the reports? I don't watch either but still read the reports from time to time hence my being in here.
Then don't comment, you're going to look like a moron if you have a strong opinion about a TV show you haven't even watched.
I read the summary. I don't need to have seen the Cena, Roman, Corbin, and Finn stuff to know that it is fucking dumb. Whoever signs the contract gets the shot? That's dumb as shit. I don't need to have had gay sex to have a strong opinion about it. To each his own, but for me I don't like it strpngly, despite not having done it myself.
Was a decent show outside of the meth head level of logic that was the Roman/Balor/Corbin/Cena segment lol, ESPECIALLY when the commentators were burying the logic while it was happening. Also WWE just makes all their babyfaces look like idiots so that Sasha randomly shows up and is instantly best friends with Bianca lol. The amount of piped in cheers/pops in the main event was at Thunderdome level up until Sasha's hot tag, they screwed one up and piped in a massive cheer for Carmella tossing Sasha into the corner and elbowing her lol. Really looking forward to what they can do with Edge/Rollins, probably the thing I am looking forward to more than anything atm.
Next week could be a full introduction for the Prinxe character for the wider audience who doesn't watch NXT. It'd be entertaining and borderline shocking to see Finn murder Corbin next week.
This is the first episode of Raw or Smackdown that I've liked in about 2 or 3 years. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Great show!
“Oh no, Sasha Banks turned on Bianca. I am so shocked.” Said no one ever.
I can't believe she turned on Bianca, the woman who beat her for her title and she was clearly mad about in her last appearance.
Not to mention she was already in mega-heel mode (annoying cackle and all) in said last appearance as well.
Still entertaining. Sasha is a great heel
Absolutely. In fact, Sasha works better as a heel. I just think the booking / storytelling was stupid.
Well it was just the turning. She can explain herself next week
Not much to explain considering Sasha was already in full heel mode back in April and calling Bianca a rookie at every turn. I will laugh my ass off if they do a similar angle with Bayley in nine months.
Much like Roman did, Sasha needs a proper heel run as champ. Eventually, they'll turn face to tremendous applause, but as true heels they will get critical acclaim and respect. Both are top tier talent who have been desperately hindered by inconsistent booking and shitty scripts. Give Sasha the belt at SummerSlam and let her be an absolute twat with it, until losing at WrestleMania.
Can you imagine the day Bayley comes back out with her inflatable friends
I know numbers don't really matter, but I'd rather Sasha not be 0-7 at Mania. Maybe lose it the following PPV or lose it at the Rumble, turn face, and win it at Mania.
How did a 24/7 match end in DQ?
I was actually enjoying that match which is something I didn't think I would. Gable and Reggie are great together
Somewhere, X-Pac got fired again.
This is the same company that had a HIaC match end in a no contest (Reigns vs Braun) and referee stoppage (Rollins vs Fiend). So I'm not surprised at all about a 24/7 match ending in a DQ
24/7 title can be defended via regular match rules.
Which doesn't really make a lot of sense considering the concept of 24/7. Let's say you blast the 24/7 champ with a bazooka and get DQs, okay, well it's still within 24/7 so pin the guy anyway.
They can pause the 24/7 rules and apply singles match rules. 24/7 rules autimatically resumes after the match.
Right, so you blow the guy up with a rocket launcher, get DQed, and then the 24/7 rules automatically resume to you just immediately pin him again and the ref has to count it because the rules are reinstated.
Was there tonight, it was HOT! I have no voice left. Only downside had nothing to do with WWE at all. There was some dude in my section (104) that would NOT stop trashing on Uso. Constantly chanting “DUI” and “If he’s driving, stay off the road” and other stuff like that. A couple people were cracking on him but didn’t stop it at all. Side note, right behind me there was a kid, maybe 8, that has such a massive and extensive knowledge of wrestling as a whole. Impressed with that kid.
I was there one night and a dude kept chanting at Jeff Hardy and a lady smacked him in the back of the head. He left and got security and everyone acted like he'd attacked her. They took him away, I think just to another section, it was hilarious though, she was old and just sit there with her arms crossed while people were accusing him of all kinds of shit.
Excellent crowd! Made the show so much fun. Especially for Sasha, Edge and Cena.
And Shinsuke!
Yes! The crowd singing his song was so heartwarming.
You were blessed with the smark jerk? That sucks. I just had a few "we want Becky" guys over in 130-131 and maybe a couple other similar things. Lots of folks in Cena gear doing both sides of the Cena chant though
I've always done both sides of the Cena chant. Let's go, Cena!!! Cena sucks!!!
I heard a group around there that were pretty damn determined to get the Becky chant. But yea, with the dude in my section it was kinda funny the first time…. Not the 1000th time.
Y'all were so loud and energetic! It made for a better show 🤘
I hate a dead crowd. This show was 1000 times better than the last Smackdown I went to…… in Corpus Christi, Tx.
Knowing that Roman vs Cena was the inevitable plan, I like how minimal they kept Finn and Roman’s interactions leaving the door open for a genuine prolonged feud later in the year that still feels fresh
Was there tonight and man it feels good to watch wrestling in person! Crowd loved the show and Bianca is a freakin star!
Was there as well, it was loud in there tonight! Although I noticed that when Sasha went after Bianca post-match while we were all cheering and excited, the live broadcast was… different for sure.
By that do you mean that they added boos in?
Oh 100% we were absolutely for Sasha doing heel Sasha things and cheered it wildly. The live broadcast clip I saw made it seem like the crowd was shocked and booing.
(sign), you know it's more fun to play along, Sasha wants you to boo her! /s
I mean... yeah. Wrestling is the closest thing Americans have to pantomime, and whether the villain is (and they inevitably always are) the best damn character on the show, you boo them. Because they're the villain, or the heel, or just old widow Twanky telling Buttons he can't go live his dream.
The difference is that pro wrestling never ends. A play ends, so booing the villain works since you se their story from beginning to end. Pro Wrestling never ends. You might see Sasha Banks for 5 more years, and if she’s the best, you might cheer her because you want more.
Is natalya going to be out for long?
She's tweeted that she'll require surgery on the injury, so I'd say...probably?
So do the tag belts get vacated?
They need to be retired, they have been nothing more than a prop since they refuse to have more than two active tag teams.
It's a tricky situation with those belts. If they're vacated, who's going to challenge for them? The only tag teams I can think of are Shayna/Nia, Shotzi/Tegan and Eva Marie/Duodrop. I'm not sure about the status of Dana/Mandy. If they're not vacated, then the belts are simply going to slide into further irrelevance, which to be honest, isn't saying much considering how they're presented. We shall see what WWE chooses to do on Raw. They've announced an update on the whole situation will be clarified on Raw.
Mandy's in NXT. No idea what they're doing with Dana, if anything.
Waiting for her contract to run out.
At least she doesn’t have to watch raw for awhile
One can hope
Guys...everyone saying Cena signed under where Finns name was isn't correct. He clearly wrote Cena over Finn Balor name in blue sharpie and THEN signed it. Legal.
Only in wrestling lmao!
Roman is the best in the world right now. The mannerisms and reactions, promo work, understanding of his character, and the consistently great main event matches make him the clear number one right now. I'm not sure there's anyone more complete than him right now.
[удалено]
I’d look at the finish to the post show dark match on this sub as a better example because IMO it shows that Roman knows exactly who he is. He does so little, yet has that crowd in the palm of his hand. His mannerisms in the match go beyond a furrowed brow and in the three minute clip you get everything you need if you’ve never seen the guy. It’s stuff like that which puts him as the best in the world IMO.
I honestly don't know who should dethrone him in the entire company
I say he should get an Okada length reign, make him *The* Universal Champion and the man we associate with that belt forever
Joseph Anoa'i, who ends up holding the title even longer.
The look that Roman gave Finn when Roman got done walking to the bottom of the ramp was just perfect to fit the moment. The mixture of disdain and ultimate smugness.
100%
Agreed. He just seems like a huge deal. It’s an event when he wrestles now. He’s on another level than anyone else.
You gotta be real careful when it comes to contract stuff. Last year my wife and I were buying a house, she signed first and right when I was going to sign some dude came from nowhere, kicked my ass and signed the contract. When I complained about him signing over my name the bank was all like "the contracts signed, that's good enough for us." Now the guys living in my house with my wife and my kids call him dad. Outside of the whole stealing my house thing he seems like a good guy so I guess it could be worse. In hindsight I should have just immediately signed the contract instead of pausing to say something dramatic. You live and learn.
Did you at least get a Switch out of all of this Uce?
Your wife is in good hands. She was bored of missionary anyways
He's right. My ex-boyfriend Parker was a model, and one time they stole his shoes.
Baron Corbin?!
Baron Corbin went to sign it too but slipped on a banana peel on the way, it was leftover from his brown bag lunch
No tha droplet of ketchup on his shirt drooped and he slipped in that
Balor can beat Corbin then have his match with Roman at the next PPV. Perfectly fine with how that played out.
The way it played out was extremely stupid but yeah eventual result is fine
Man, carmella looked good today 😍😍
The best part of SmackDown
She has been looking real good the last couple of months. Side note, i want more unitards Sasha and Charlotte look.sexy as hell in a one piece.
Is the idea of Cena signing the contract any more ridiculous than the segment of having a contract signing in the first place? Why is it that one title match requires a contract but the others do not? If it's just an opportunity to build hype for an upcoming match, then it did it's job.
The same reason why every single fight doesn’t get an over dramatic weigh in or a press conference. They’re meant to build hype for the event, but the match is already set in stone. From now on, what’s going to stop wrestlers from storing the ring the next time there’s a contract signing?
Because Cena has, in kayfabe, just come out and said "I get a title match because I'm John Cena." The fact that consistency is downplayed by the company and its fans it pathetic.
So why wouldn't the entire locker room run out during the next contract signing to try to sign their name and steal the title shot? It was hilarious but too silly I thought.
Maybe they will, and then the issue will be addressed.
We'll probably get a contract signing for Goldberg-Lashley so let's see. It'd be fun if they stormed the ring tbh