Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down SmackDown and Raw’s final show before the PLE ‘Bad Blood’ with 10 thoughts.
10
Unstoppable force: When you have more than 700 pounds combined inside the squared circle with Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman and you call it ‘The Last Monster Standing’ match, if the ring doesn’t implode at some point then what are we doing? With those two behemoths going at it, you knew that match wasn’t going to be pretty – it wasn’t going to be Rey Mysterio vs. Chad Gable. It was going to involve announcing tables, chairs, steps, barricades and pure carnage. Strowman and Reed lived up to the nastiness of what the match had to be with the collapse of the ring being the perfect topper to it all. Now, you can’t gloss over the fact that Reed superplexed Strowman off the top rope for this to come to its climax and create utter chaos (listen to the crowd’s reaction when the ring collapsed). That was a big-time move for anybody.
!["Seth]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/dchiraw1636_12_ntwk_rev_1--7097f3e17f31708d449ed73bde0e03b8.jpg "\"Seth")
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9
The Visionary: Simple and to the point: If you don’t think Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins is a main-eventer in this business, then you aren’t paying attention. The WWE Universe simply revolves around him. Rollins opens up so many different questions that need to be answered with his return – his beef with Reed, what happened at WrestleMania with Roman Reigns and the never-happened main event on the first night of WrestleMania when he was supposed to take on CM Punk all need to be answered. That all came rushing back into play with one Stomp to the cranium of Reed. Not many can say that about themselves.
8
‘No problem unless you make it a problem’ – Now, that quickly escalated, didn’t it? Randy Orton’s return to SmackDown started out by The Viper making it crystal clear that he didn’t demand an explanation from the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes but, instead, framed it as he deserved one concerning Rhodes teaming with Roman Reigns. It went from that to easily the best one-liner of the night when Orton made it known that there isn’t a problem unless Rhodes makes it one. That was pretty vague from Orton, but it also indicated that he doesn’t totally trust Rhodes, either. SmackDown has done a good job of forcing you to look for clues to see what might happen next. Right now, it can go in a number of ways — Orton turning on Rhodes; Kevin Owens turning on Rhodes; Orton and Owens turning on Rhodes or even Rhodes turning his back on his friends because as he said he would “rather be a fool than a coward.”
!["Karrion]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/vmssg_XUNmE--d0aa8939279c179e82d04a023b3c8ce8.jpg "\"Karrion")
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7
Don’t Kross Karrion: WWE does such a good job of adding to storylines on all of the social media platforms. If you didn’t see Karrion Kross’ video about two hours before the start of Raw, then maybe a couple of things didn’t make sense during the show. Kross talked about how legends did nothing for him when he first got to WWE. “I am here to kill the old to make way for the new,” Kross claimed. It makes much more sense with that in mind with what the motive behind what happened on Raw where it sure appears that Kross got (or will get) The Miz and Xavier Woods – two guys that believe they never got their just due and were held down by the ‘boys’ in the back. Miz turned on R-Truth, I believe, because he’s tired of being disrespected with unannounced tag team matches and such. Woods getting a charity title shot for the IC title because Kofi Kingston felt bad for his partner plays into what Kross’ motivation is all about. I’m looking forward to where this goes and who is next but big shout out to Kross for bringing it all together with a flawless promo.
6
Caged in: So much stuff happened with The Judgment Day and Rhea Ripley/Damian Priest segment (yet nothing really new) that you have to narrow it down to a couple of important spots. Liv Morgan’s ode to Ric Flair with “home-wrecking, man stealing, heartbreaking, title-taking, greatest women’s champion of all time” line didn’t go unnoticed, but it was Ripley revealing that “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio was deathly claustrophobic that perked my ears up. OK, I understand that’s why she picked the stipulation to be ‘Dirty’ Dom in a shark cage, but there has to be more to it, right? What happens at ‘Bad Blood’ other than Mysterio being afraid of going in a cage makes this make sense? I do not know but I do know that you can’t trust The Judgment Day.
5
Solo needed it: Solo Sikoa not only pinned Owens (with some incidental contact with the referee help from Rhodes), but Sikoa put together one of his better matches in recent memory. Now, he doesn’t get to wrestle as much on television as he would probably like because he allows his Bloodline brothers to handle his heavy lifting, but for Sikoa to be viewed as a real threat to Rhodes, Reigns or whoever, he needs to wrestle more and wrestle like he did on SmackDown even though it was a tag mag with my man-crush Jacob Fatu.
4
Drew McIntyre’s Braveheart – You just can’t pull out a Braveheart quote – Robert the Bruce to be exact – and think that it’s going to get by me. Drew McIntyre said “that hate will die with you” describing how Punk has turned him into a person he doesn’t like. Interestingly, Robert the Bruce, the eventual King of Scotland in the 1300s, told his father (Robert de Brus) in the movie something similar just to have the father respond with: “At last, you know what it means to hate. Now you’re ready to be a king.” Life does imitate art, right? If anything came out of the promo between the two for Hell in a Cell it was that they absolutely hate each other – hate each other to a point where you question if it is part of the storyline or not. Now, they have to take it to a point inside the cage on Saturday that matches the intensity that came out of Monday’s vitriol spitted by each one. They pretty much painted themselves in a corner that if the HITC match isn’t brutal then it will be questioned. With Punk and McIntyre, that’s not something that should be worrisome to any fan.
3
He really is a badass – Starting the show with a Undertake-like, in terms of length of time getting to the ring, entrance by Jey Uso was fitting considering it was the first time we saw him on television since winning the Intercontinental Championship last week – his first single title of any kind in 14 years. It was kind of expected to see the emotion out of Uso. What came as a surprise was not when Breakker’s music hit, but instead of demanding a rematch from Uso, who said he would “fight anyone” and “fight every week,” it was to offer a hand to congratulating Jey. That was it. But was it? Breakker being supportive of one of the hottest wrestlers in WWE made him more likable. Sure, it helped but Breakker approaching Gunther to get a closer look at the World Heavyweight Championship and Gunther saying “he really is a badass” wasn’t very subtle in terms of what Breakker is after now. I’d question if 51 days of being the IC champion is enough experience against the ‘Ring General,’ but perhaps time will tell.
!["Sami]("/f/styles/wwe_16_9_xs/public/2024/09/dchiraw1636_09_ntwk_rev_1--ea46903d5156869e0203adfbee2ab236.jpg)
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2
“I got you.” – Try and try again and if it doesn’t work then talk crap on a family member. Sami Zayn going after Gunther is still an interesting dynamic to me that sure doesn’t appear that it is going to work out in his favor. Gunther should manhandle Zayn in the ring at Bad Blood, but Zayn is no stranger to larger than life upsets. First, Gunther doesn’t get rattled over anything. That’s part of his charm. But Zayn’s last-ditch effort to get a shot at the WWE Heavyweight title shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Gunther finally broke down and illustrated a story where his father was upset that he lost to a “bum” like Sami Zayn. ”Your dad made you feel like a loser. Now you are showing your dad that his son is a coward” is all it took. I love the “I got you” declaration from Sami after he got beat down by Gunther. Can he get him one more time next week?
1
Odds and Ends: Orton going behind Owens’ back and telling Rhodes to get their backs during their match with the Bloodline was, in my opinion, a subtle clue to this all. … Bayley vs. Naomi for the No. 1 contender for Nia Jax WWE Women’s Championship had Triple Threat written all over it. But with a clean win by Bayley ended that thought and it makes sense to have Bayley get a rematch for the title she lost at SummerSlam. … I keep thinking the rivalry between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade has run its course but then catch myself saying ‘more’ after watching them in the ring. Two spots told you the entire history of this rivalry – top-rope superplex that Hayes turned into a neckbreaker/cutter and Andrade’s – I don’t even know what to call it – double moonsault where it looked like he sprung off a trampoline. With the series tied at 3-3, it has to be a best-of-seven, right? … I don’t know what a Donnybrook is but it sure does sound like something Sheamus would excel at. … Don’t ever change, R-Truth. That backstage interview after Raw went off the air with Cathy Kelly was spectacular. … Joaqun Wilde, now that was Wilde … Shout out to referee Chad Patton for taking a big bump when the ring collapsed.
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