SmackDown Is Beginning to Enjoy Taking It Easy...

Happy Friday, Enthusiasts.

I hope the week treated you well. So, there are some points of interest to chat about. Let’s get comfortable and have a talk for a little bit. How’s that?

The first item of business is that Sasha Banks a.k.a. Mercedes Moné appears to be making herself at home in Japan. Word is she’s loving it and making plans to make this transition more official by enrolling in Japanese language school. Good for her! 

I wasn’t sure how the change would go but I can attest that the year I spent in Japan was one of the best of my life. Granted, I was in college at the time but it’s one the big risks I’m glad I took. It appears she is experiencing a similar wonder to the change in environment. 

The only caveat was the Insider/Outsider general cultural dynamic. If you don’t look Japanese, that will always be what typically divides you. I spoke with many people who have lived there and it’s hard to get past being a foreigner. You could speak, read and write Japanese fluently but you’ll usually be treated as a guest.

Naturally, this changes as you make connections and whatnot but when out and about, expect to be generalized as a tourist. It’s what made me appreciate living in the United States. With such a diverse society, you just can’t make assumptions. There’s some comfort in that general anonymity, at least in my opinion. We’ll see if Moné ever faces the same realization. Times have changed so maybe it isn’t as prevalent as it was back then. Only time will tell.

In the Realm of AEW, word is that CM Punk’s return is already set and though reports are vague at best, it sounds that this could happen in a few months. The feeling is AEW wants to see how the media rights deals go before going public with this. I would say that’s fair. 

Some commenters question how Punk will be received and I have to say I’m curious too. AEW fans seem to “cancel” others way faster than WWE fans. WWE fans attract a larger pool, there are many who either are indifferent to the cantankerous antics of Punk or are not all that great a person themselves and so, his comings & goings don’t entirely register. Long story short, many of WWE’s fans, just don’t care. We’ll see if any of that matters.

So, that more or less brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. The big draw for tonight is Gunther faces Xavier Woods for the Intercontinental Championship. It’s doubtful it changes hands but it’s good exposure for Woods regardless. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are set to defend the Tag Team Championships against the gelling team of Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Ricochet and Braun Strowman will get into some Tag Team action also courtesy of the Viking Raiders and Shinsuke Nakamura will see if he understands what Karrion Kross is all about. We got a few weeks before BackLash so, could be worse.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)