SmackDown Brings the Official Close to Elimination Chamber...

A Good Friday to You, Enthusiasts!

 

How are you doing on this final Friday of February? I have to say things are starting to look up on my end. Not that they were especially, down. Given circumstances, things could have definitely been worse for me but planning and initiative kept my head above water so I can continue to not complain. So, let’s just jump into the world of wrestling, shall we. Let’s see what’s going on.

 

Before we discuss Big Show, let’s get into some not so unsuspected news. It just caught my eye because he’s been off TV for a while. Murphy seemed to be on the upswing before Seth Rollins went on paternity leave. Now that Rollins is back, Murphy is on his own. Word is that WWE has decided to drop the Aliyah romance angle leaving Murphy with the status of “nothing to do”. Here again is evidence that wrestlers need to have more of an idea of what to do with themselves. WWE will let one try on some dumb shit for size and when it doesn’t work, they just slap some dumb shit on someone else. Wrestlers may feel that WWE knows what they’re doing but when it comes to the creative side, it’s all shots in the dark. They have to take note and start jotting down ideas for themselves. Otherwise, they’ll be sitting around with Murphy, waiting.

 

Murphy appears to be an industrious type, though. He’s posting tweets that could reflect true chagrin. He may be getting a bit disillusioned with life in WWE. I like Murphy. He’s built like a little tank and not bad looking for a redhead so he’s at the very least marketable in some capacity. RETRIBUTION should probably evolve to hold all the underutilized talent if it’s going to remain a gimmick. Mustafa Ali could still run it for now but with guys like Aleister Black, Murphy and Ricochet in the mix, how long Ali remains leader could become the story. At sea women could join too, adding intrigue. Running RETRIBUTION could become a sort of title within itself. Where it goes depends on who’s “running things” and whoever does the best job keeping their story interesting may have the longest reign. It’s just as good a start as any. That easily leads to future inner turmoil and a possible split that in true WWE Universe fashion could lead to feuding and potential reunification later.

 

With that out of the way, let’s get into Big Show going over to AEW. What’s kind of funny is that the day before, Jon Moxley was quoted saying a collaboration between AEW and WWE is basically only possible in the Bizzaro Universe. The next day, news drops that Big Show signed with them. Almost throws Moxley’s statement into a tailspin. Doesn’t mean they won’t poach WWE talent. Moxley has been proof of that. What makes me curious is whether he knew beforehand or not. In any case, what’s going around is that Big Show’s move was simple. WWE lowballed him an offer and he took his business elsewhere. Can’t say that I blame him. It’s hard to say that WWE would make good use of him and when else would he have this sort of opportunity? He’s pushing 50 and not getting any younger. It sounds like he won’t be doing any real in-ring work but I’m sure he’ll get in there under the right circumstances. The word is that the contract is long term so he may retire with them but we will see. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Big Show soon realizes that it’s just the same shit, different channel.

 

All right, let’s bring it back around to tonight’s SmackDown. The fallout show officially marks the start of “No Man’s Land” as WWE preps for Fastlane. So, the name of the game for WWE should be the proverbial slow burn. They want to treat this like an Italian red sauce or a slow cooker soup. Right about now they should be bringing it all down to a simmer so that we can feast on the delights weeks later. At the start of each week, they should taste it to see if it’s on the right track or if it’s missing something. For tonight, it’s hard to say what the end result will be. Not much has been advertised so we can only speculate. Since Edge made himself clear at Elimination Chamber, we have to presume Roman Reigns will have some sort of rebuttal. Bianca BelAir may also find it’s time to make some decisions. Outside of that, we have no choice but to wait and see. Funny tweets get retweeted and as for Likes, well we have some time. Remember the real endgame here is WrestleMania. We’ll see if these appetizers spoil the whole meal or not.

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)