RAW Validates SmackDown Ahead of Money in the Bank...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

Had a busy Monday myself but it went smoothly. That’s all you can really ask for. As for the Wrestling World, there are some interesting tidbits floating around. Shall we chat about a few?

Let’s start over in the Realm of AEW, as we hear that Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan is giving a lot of creative input to Tony Khan regarding booking and storylines. It seems it’s more moral support that Danielson is offering and the positive energy appears to be doing its work as Khan builds confidence. 

This sort of thing is not surprising at all. I don’t know whether Danielson has a knack for storytelling and drama but everyone knows he’s a stand-up guy. This just sounds like Danielson is growing and evolving as he should and I hope he finds the experience rewarding. Nothing really to see here 😉

In the WWE Universe, the name of the game is keeping programming on television. They’re still shopping around and Disney and Amazon are the front contenders to pick them up if Comcast/NBC and FOX doesn’t want them. There are caveats, however. With Disney, WWE programming wouldn’t be on ESPN. Don’t want to confuse people. So that we know it’s just “entertainment” it would get put on FX, which I thought was still under FOX but I guess not. But, I hear that Disney got Hulu which was partially owned by FOX so perhaps it’s a cut like that.

With Amazon, they may have to be open to another day for SmackDown, which isn’t the end of the world. There are outside shots in the form of Apple TV and Warner/Discovery. What’s interesting for Warner/Discovery is that there’s no exclusivity to AEW so they could, in theory, air both promotions. Not sure that would be a good or bad thing. 

There’s already so much talk of Tribalism in wrestling that I would fear that would add to it more. Yet, it could bring them more together. Crossovers would probably be more likely and I was always hoping for a raid during a Survivor Series at some point in the future. I’ll suppose we’ll see how this all shakes out. I think there’s a couple years before anything actually changes hands.

Elsewhere in WWE, we all saw the return of Charlotte Flair. The wounds of defeat now healed, she is back to reclaim one of these titles on offer. There’s a lot of chatter on whether that’s necessary among fans.

Personally, I have no problem with Charlotte. I believe I’ve suggested that she become a sort of “placeholder champion” due to this sort of response. People may bitch about her but the woman knows what she’s doing out there and she gets the response necessary every time. I wouldn’t say I’ve seen too many bad matches. Even if they are a bit rough, it’s still entertaining. She’s born to do it, accept it.

This is why she should hold it when no one else has the chops. Now, there are a lot of believable ladies on the roster but not all of them get the showmanship that Charlotte does. In short, they’re just not as entertaining. Fine athletes, honest professional wrestlers but the charisma may just be lacking a little in some cases. Enter Charlotte. Hey if you can go out and do a better job, you’re free to bitch.

So, that brings us to tonight’s RAW. Since Asuka got a new belt on SmackDown, Rhea Ripley will get one tonight. They’ll also finalize some Money in the Bank qualifying action. Damian Priest is set to take on Matt Riddle. Wonder who wins there. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have started a little something with Imperium. And The Miz is going to try to get some payback on Cody Rhodes. Not sure how that’s gonna work out but something tells me it backfires. 

Everything else, we have to show up and tune in for. I’ll be joining the fun at 8pm Pacific Time. If you’ve got the access and for whatever reason couldn’t watch live, feel free to join me. Not everyone gets it but that’s fine. Not really the point. I’m just having fun. I suggest you do the same.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)