SmackDown Files Backlash Away...

Happy Friday, Enthusiasts!

 

I hope it is a good one for you. So, a lot went down since we last spoke. I’m not going to comment on everything but I think I’ll hit upon the major talking points. Let’s get to it, shall we?

  

So, the big news is that the infamous Velveteen Dream finally got canned from NXT/WWE. I didn’t see much of this guy in the ring but I did hear about him slipping into minors’ DMs. That just doesn’t fly right now. Not that it ever really did it’s just now that we are generally more aware as a civilization, we can’t lie and say pedophilic tendencies are okay. Everyone’s got to wait until they’re 18 at the very least. On top of that, figures like R. Kelly getting exposed don’t help. There’s a strong general sense of nipping that sort of thing in the bud. WWE actually dragged their feet on it but what are you gonna do? These are delicate matters and we have to admit we’ll never have all the facts. All that’s really clear is that whatever went down, it’s not a good look. It wasn’t going to blow over and it’s in poor taste to try to cover it up. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if Riddle is next. I don’t know if Dream went as far as molestation but we know that Riddle did commit the sexual assault. His only chance is public repentance. Not just saying he’s sorry but avidly participating with organizations that work against such acts and demonstrating that he understands what he did is wrong and wants to educate others for awareness and prevention. It can’t be issued community service. He has to show he changed. In both cases of Dream and Riddle, I wasn’t all that impressed to begin with so, they won’t exactly be missed by me...should the day come for Riddle too.

  

The other bit of decent sized news is that AEW earned itself a 3^rd hour and is switching over to TBS. The 3^rd hour will be held independently and will be called AEW: Rampage. It will be on at 10pm on Fridays. I think this starts in August but don’t quote me. I’m pretty sure the move to TBS happens next year. I suppose the idea is to pick up fans still buzzing from SmackDown. For a Friday, the night is still young at that time. I will probably check in just out of curiosity but I don’t know if I’ll stay. AEW doesn’t grab my attention all the time but I do like to see what’s going on just so I can participate in the conversation. As for the move to TBS, that’s more so TNT can host hockey without conflict. We’ll see what happens.

  

The last piece of news I’ll comment on is that just about everyone will try to have live crowds by July. You know what that means. WWE is gonna start touring again. I’m all for it but at the same time I got a little used to the new format. I kinda feel bad that they’re going to go back to that grind. I hope they take note of what came to light during the pandemic and figure out ways to rotate the roster more. We don’t need anyone killing themselves for our pleasure. Besides, there’s enough people on the roster to be able to give everyone something to do. They have to accept that going forward, if they don’t have ideas for people, they’re just being lazy which is unprofessional. It’s their job to know what to do with people. Saying they don’t have any ideas is no longer acceptable.

  

So, that brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. So much happened, I bet you forgot it’s a fallout show. They’ll put BackLash to bed officially with a Fatal-4-Way for the Intercontinental Title. Apollo Crews, Big E, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have the honors so, we shouldn’t be disappointed with the outcome. Outside of that, we’ll have to tune in to see what happens. Early reports have the Ladies getting things started, let’s see how they finish. Funny tweets get retweeted and as for Likes, we’re going to be heading into No Man’s Land so, let’s see if they make the most of it. As I’ve been saying, this is a great place to experiment. Hopefully, in the future they’ll have a more measured purpose for this space but let’s just respect they aren’t there yet. Prompt them to succeed, not so much harp on what’s wrong.

  

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)