Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down SmackDown and Raw with 10 takeaways.
10
Bloodlines rules: This week it was all about The Bloodline. Four hours of SmackDown and Raw produced no fewer than nine segments, recaps or backstage interactions that featured either (or both) The Bloodline or The OG Bloodline. You might think that’s a little over the top with precious TV time that produced a grand total of zero wrestling matches, but I look at it another way – The Bloodline, either Solo Sikoa’s version or Roman Reigns’ faction, is the biggest thing going in the WWE today and there’s no debating that. Now, it’s understandable that less than three weeks away from Survivor Series: WarGames plenty of attention needs to be focused on the main event of the PLE but it’s more than that. The Bloodline vs. the OG Bloodline features that most interesting storylines, some of the company’s best Superstars and some of the most hated ones as well and deserves the time they have been allotted. Let’s face it, the success (or failure) of Survivor Series: WarGames is intertwined with the success or failure of The Bloodline(s).
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Can you trust Sami Zayn?: So, Sami Zayn worked his way back into The OG Bloodline with some master manipulation of, in my opinion, both Sikoa and Reigns, and to a lesser degree, Jey Uso. Both sides of the fence have been played so well by Zayn that he just can’t be trusted. Sikoa found that out with a Helluva Kick to the head and it appears Reigns sees right through Zayn but is more worried about himself that the group. Even if Zayn was an Honorary Uce, he’s still not blood and that’s a big deal with the future of the family on the line. So no, I am not sold that Zayn will a difference maker for The OG Bloodline at WarGames.
8
Gunther has doubts? Gunther has held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for over 100 days, has won over 90% of his televised singles matches since joining WWE and will be the second-longest tenured World Heavyweight Champion (by a day) behind Seth “Freakin” Rollins when he faces Damian Priest at Survivor Series: WarGames at the end of the month. And yet he’s questioning himself? So, The Ring General is human? He isn’t fallible after all? I am not sure if I am buying any of this one based off a pin by Cody Rhodes in a closely contested match at Crown Jewel. For my money, I much rather believe ruthless Gunther is up to no good and is masking it with his confidence wavering.
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Business picked up: In a matter of a couple of minutes – and thanks in part by The Miz’s manipulation – we got something to sink our teeth into concerning The Final Testament and The Wyatt Sicks. Miz was so convincing that he was done with The Final Testament mentioning that he was going to ask for a leave of absence, that he had to think about his family, that he’s changed his ways, and he moved on after his latest encounter with the Wyatt Family that it you believed that he was sincere. But hey, we are talking about The Miz here. It was, to me, the best segment of Raw because it strengthened The Final Testament while Uncle Howdy’s demonic laugh combined with Karrion Kross’ dumbfounded look suggested that there is something here that is real.
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A flawed “Freakin” plan: Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins continues to try to go toe-to-toe with ‘Big’ Bronson Reed, and I can’t help but to question that decision-making. Now, Rollins did hold his own on Raw when he was called out by Reed and then attacked him, but he must give a big assist to the security staff for that. Rollins isn’t going to be successful going head-to-head with the 330-pound monster, so I question why he continues to try that avenue. A third and final match is set for Raw on Monday, and I can’t wait until this brawl fines itself inside the confines of the ropes.
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With an assist to Michael Cole: It’s not like the Kevin Owens/Randy Orton rivalry needs any help – the two Superstars are doing quite well handling that themselves. It was another impromptu slug fest in the ring at SmackDown that needed WWE officials and security involved to intervene that solidified even more the dislike the two have for each other. But an assist goes to Michael Cole, who instantly reacted to the K.O. piledriver that got Orton stretchered out of the ring that ratchet up the severity of the incident. “There is a reason that damn move is banned,” Cole said before calling Owens a “sicko” and “lunatic.” You felt his disgust coming through. I wouldn’t expect to see Orton for some time now and you probably wouldn’t have come to that realization if it wasn’t for Michael Cole shining a light on the depravity.
4
On the brink: You can slow play something than you can do what Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are doing – taking baby steps. It’s been months that’s it’s been teased that something is off with The New Day without reaching a breaking point. To me, it has gone from interesting to frustrating and now has bounced back to interesting after what occurred on Raw. For the first time, we’ve seen Kofi getting a little perturbed with what’s happening around him instead of Woods. Kingston sure seemed like he was throwing Woods under the bus in his apology to Truth then wasn’t particularity happy with Woods’ outside interference of Woods against Pete Dunne that ultimately resulted in a shove of Woods by Kingston. Woods is and has been the instigator and Kofi is cracking. It’s an interesting dynamic that appears is going to be trending towards a bad ending for the New Day.
3
Women’s United States Championship: SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis announced the creation of the United State Women’s title, which only made sense since the success that the Women’s North American Championship has had in NXT. There was a need for another Singles title belt considering the talent on both the Raw and SmackDown roster. It will allow more women to get involved in storylines and to show off their skills. Now, like Aldis said, somebody must step up and take the opportunity.
2
Hidden in plain sight: The main event of Raw pitted the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill and Biance Belair against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. By the end of the match, you had Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi and IYO SKY being inside the ring. Not much has been said about the Women’s WarGames match compared to the men’s version, but I do believe we got a pretty good indication who is going to be involved. The question moving forward is who will be the fifth member?
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Odds and ends: I am really liking the entrance through the Gorilla Position that we’ve seen a lot more of lately. … The t-shirt game was on point this week: Bad Bunny shirt worn by Priest and ‘Kevin is Right’ shirt by Kevin Owens. … Rollins calling Sikoa a “wannabe Roman Reigns” won’t be forgotten by the Tribal Chief anytime soon. … You can always rely on R-Truth for some levity. “Good luck with Pete. It’s Butch you have to worry about. My bad.” is just classic Truth. … “Dirty” Dom Mysterio and Finn Bálor appears to be heading toward a breakup or at least a heated disagreement. Actually, if they do, it could turn into a nice series of matches for the two. … I enjoy a disturbed Tommaso Ciampa and he’s pretty much hates everything right now … The Street Profits against the Motor City Machine Guns for the WWE Tag Team Title is going to be a very good match next week. There is a ton of talent with these four Superstars. … Jacob Fatu’s promo on SmackDown telling Reigns to “go to the back of the line” was excellent. … Bronson Reed’s suicide dive was stunning.
