!["Jey]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/dchiraw1635_13_ntwk_rev_1--570f971d230f5b9c40e95c111cb96ed7.jpg "\"Jey")
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Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down SmackDown and Raw with 10 quick-hitting thoughts.
10
“Go ahead and Yeet”: Joe Tessitore encapsulated the cumulation of Raw with four simple words and boy was he spot on. The feel-good story of Jey Uso winning his first Singles championship after six tries over his 14 years with the company when he defeated Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship may have been a no-brainer to some, but nonetheless was epic. With Uso being all over the place the past year with The Bloodline to teasing a romantic engagement with Rhea Ripley, Uso gave the fans what they wanted and what he deserved. Not many Superstars are more liked than Uso right now thus the overwhelming reaction of the crowd after the win. The reaction around the social media including a tweet put out by Triple H had the feel of when Cody Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Championship at Wrestlemania – it felt that significant.
9
Where does this leave Breakker? OK, Breakker lost after holding the IC title for a little more than 50 days after he rolled roughshod through the WWE destroying just about everything and anything in his way. Don’t worry, Breakker is nowhere close to just fading away because of this. The way the match unfolded with Uso, you can make a strong case that Uso was fortunate to overcome the consistent barrage of nasty offense put out by Breakker. You can say that Breakker’s inexperience cost him a couple ill-advised running spears during the critical part of the match and probably be right. Chalk that up under inexperience and move on. I’d expect many more matches between Breakker and Uso, perhaps starting with a Bad Blood rematch in a few weeks?
8
“You are in my way in life.” The Reigns/Rhodes square off in the middle of Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium – where Reigns was a three-year starter for the Yellow Jackets football team and 20 miles south of where Rhodes grew up – brought some incredible context to where Reigns is at in his professional career after losing his title to Rhodes at WrestleMania. Reigns came across as vulnerable. “They took Jimmy from me, took my Wiseman (Paul Heyman), they took my Bloodline and took my Ula Fala. I don’t have anything to lose … you are in my way. You are in my way in life.” Come on, is there a better line than that?
7
Monster Mash: For a match that actually didn’t happen between Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman, the two set the stage for what GM Adam Pearce later announced was a Last Monster Standing Match on Raw next week. It is almost at a point where the match will be impossible to live up to the build-up of physicality. That’s not saying the match won’t be can’t-miss, but I wonder how they will match the savagery. On Raw, the start of the show had the two brawling, going through a merchandise table, then Strowman hiding in the crowd ready to jump Reed during his entrance to fight the Miz was a nice touch. The framework has been laid that these two are legitimate monsters and have no regard for anything – even an entire security team that the two disposed of.
!["Braun]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/dchiraw1635_02_ntwk_rev_1--6db0bdbf82a6e56fb748bde7a2453161.jpg "\"Braun")
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6
Where does KO stand?: Kevin Owens once again looked like he was going to take out his buddy Cody Rhodes but this time with a chair instead of a championship belt. Owens might be presenting it that way and it might ultimately happen, but that’s not what I want to see and maybe we got a glimpse of what could be. Who would be against an Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes-like best-of-five series between Owens and Jacob Fatu? The main event of the Street Prophets and Owens versus the Bloodline was more of a one-on-one battle between Owens and Fatu, which was impossible to take your eyes off of. They stayed away from each other which made me want it more. Both big men have no regard for their bodies, are borderline crazy, or as Corey Graves said about Fatu, “He’s crazy … he doesn’t deserve to be in public.” This needs to happen.
5
Total meltdown: Xavier Woods lost his mind again and it was a spectacular scene … again. Woods seemingly had the match won against American Made before worrying more about the interfering Chad Gable. It ultimately cost The New Day the match. But that was ancillary. Woods snapping again backstage with some hard words for Rey Mysterio and then revealing the “kid stuff” that made The New Day – Booty-Os and Francesca – isn’t what they need now and isn’t where he is professionally. Woods’ transformation from a goofy guy to a tortured soul who is getting fed up with not being taken seriously and never being world champion has been fascinating. I think it’s only a matter of time before Woods turns his back on Kofi and a rivalry ensues.
4
Pure cinema: It was going to be difficult for SmackDown to live up to what was produced last week during the return to the USA Network. We could look back at that show at the end of the year and easily call it the best of the year. SmackDown on Friday may not have thrown the same haymakers from the week before but the cinematic production of the Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns segment was something nobody will soon forget. Now, I am not usually a huge fan of cinematic segments but this one hit right with the message, the intensity, the brevity and the Superstars involved didn’t hurt it either. More of this, please.
!["Cody]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/dchisd1309_02_ntwk_rev_2--1eff35d570b71c194bfb11c08cf64bfa.jpg "\"Cody")
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3
Mind games: In a weird dynamic, Gunther has all the power to continue to mess with Sami Zayn yet Zayn being the only Superstar who has defeated him, he probably should be taking Zayn more seriously. Zayn defeated Gunther’s longtime friend Ludwig Kaiser then made it sound like Gunther was going to give Zayn his title show to deny him again. I am not the biggest supporter of this feud but I can see it working as well because of how Zayn plays the misfit, underdog role so well.
2
Wanting more of The Judgment Day?: I don’t have a list of TV time of each person on the roster but it sure seems The Judgment Day has gotten their good share recently, and rightfully so. “Dirty” Dom Mysterio is so damn entertaining that you have to see him every week — multiple times if possible. But it seemed like the faction was dialed back a little for Raw and that’s good. There was the opening sequence that added the Dom in a Shark Cage stipulation to the Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan at Bad Blood. Other than a quick match between Carlito and Dragon Lee and a brief appearance backstage with Adam Pearce with Dom and Liv, the Judgment Day had a short and sweet day that, I believe, allows everything to breathe and leaves us wanting more.
1
Odds and end: So we have had or will have a Tornado Tag Match, a Strap Match, a Last Monster Standing Match, a Steel Cage Match, a Hell in a Cell Match, a Shark Cage Match? Used sparingly, gimmick matches are a powerful tool, however, it does seem like there have been more recently … Montez Ford had a low-key strong performance in the six-man tag match against The Bloodline. Is there more on the horizon for The Street Profit standout? … What in the world is The Miz thinking today after being shoved out of the way by a couple of monsters?
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