SmackDown Checks to See Who's Left & Who's Still Watching...

How Are You Doing, Enthusiasts?

 

Well, you don’t need me to know what the big news is. I knew it was better to hedge bets than to get starry eyed with the potentials. The Dark One, Aleister Black is back to being Tommy End as WWE has decided he wasn’t worth it. Given the backlash, now they probably know they were wrong. Will they manage to save face and somehow get him back? It’s hard to say because his dismissal may have more to do with what’s going on in the Entertainment Industry at large.

 

For those of you who don’t follow, AT&T has decided to unload WarnerMedia, the parent company for TNT and TBS, the TV homes for AEW. WarnerMedia is set to merge with Discovery, to become Warner Bros. Discovery. This isn’t set to go down until next year but the move could prove interesting. There are some sports claims to come with this merger but what we’re most concerned about is how does this potentially effect AEW. We already know that the plan is move them to TBS next year, so they’re not going to get dropped immediately. It looks like they’ll be given a chance to earn their keep but with Brands like DC Comics and all the DIY/educational programming on Discovery, AEW could be forced to polish up its looks at the very least. This coupled with the purging going on at WWE, I wouldn’t expect a sell either. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that WWE may be trying to strategize a move to acquire AEW. They’ve absorbed rival companies before. Why wouldn’t they do it again? It would be very telling if AEW comes under threat of losing its TV Distribution in the next couple of years.

 

That being said, Black’s release may be more strategy as well. I’m not sure what his contract was but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t jive with what the new prime directive is developing into. Yet, if the plan is to acquire AEW, they’re probably angling to bring him back on more agreeable terms to the WWE bottom-line. However many, including myself, were quite displeased with Black’s release. He was a true glimmer of hope and WWE did as they seem to always do and stomped him out. This may have been one time too many. Early on in my blog I said something along the lines of how being a WWE fan is somewhat like ascribing to a bad relationship. They don’t really care about your feelings or your preferences. It’s their way or the highway until you start heading for the door. All of a sudden, they try to charm you with old stars and popular matches to get you to wonder where else you would go. This time around, AEW and NJPW don’t sound too bad. But, this merger news may put the brakes on everyone bailing. There’s a good chance they’d end up turning back in a few years anyway, which brings us back to Black’s release. There’s good chance they intended to pick him back up later once everything shook out. Now, they may reconsider that tactic. They’ve kinda put their back up against “it” and now SmackDown has to pick up the slack. I have no idea what they’re gonna do with RAW. That may be a very telling night.

 

What may be good news is that the word going around is that Brock Lesnar’s contract expired so, in light of recent events, they have to think long and hard about whether bringing him back is the right move. It would be on paper, but the pandemic among other things has changed the landscape. He now needs a reason outside of being Brock Lesnar to come back and I doubt he’s really jonesing to get back into the ring. We all know he’s set and comfortable at his homestead in Montana. It may not be exactly cost-effective to bring Lesnar back. Social Media doesn’t like the idea or at least, it’s not completely sold. Many wouldn’t mind a Bobby Lashley vs. Lesnar match but that appears to be about it. Would giving him the money be worth a match or 2? That’s the thing about Life. Come in with whatever plans you like, Life is going to take you on a detour from time to time. WWE is no exception.

  

So, that brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. I don’t envy them. They have to somehow validate our interest in the WWE Universe, seemingly single-handedly. Not exactly ideal circumstances. So, look at all this, this way. WWE has forced themselves to clean up their act. Tends to happen to those at the top. If they want to stay there, they got to show they deserve to be there and in recent years, that has only been the case on paper as well. If they intend to make the big moves that may be in the works, they’ll have shore up their street-cred. They may also need NBC’s help to seal the deal.

 

In the meantime, SmackDown tries to remain respectable in the midst of all this. I wouldn’t be surprised if Big E gets a bye this week. His appearance may bring up those still sore feelings. What we will see are 2 Championship matches, 2 weeks prior to a PPV as Dominik and Rey Mysterio face The Usos for the Tag Team Titles. And Apollo Crews will continue to attempt to validate a faux Nigerian accent as he faces off against Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Title. We’ll see what else they fit into 2 hours. Funny tweets and Likes get retweeted. Try to stay positive out there.

 

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)