SmackDown Leaves Us a Note Before Elimination Chamber...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts!

Happy Friday and Elimination Chamber Eve. The festivities have already begun in Australia and those who are up for it will stay up or wake up early to watch live. I will check in for the replay at about 4pm or 5pm PST. I’ll catch up while I treat it like any other PPV. Got other business during the day. That doesn’t mean we can’t chat a little about the week’s goings-ons. Let’s get into it.

To start, we have some more admissions on the recent revelations regarding the scandals permeating WWE. Word is now that women weren’t the only victims. A fair share of men have suffered “uncomfortable” instances in the past as well, showing that inappropriate behavior may have been more commonplace than many would like to believe. 

Personally, this isn’t that surprising to me. The 80’s were a very fluid time and with the drugs in the mix, sex being part of the equation isn’t much of a stretch. Doesn’t make it right but a lot of heinous shit has happened over the years. It’s a bit naïve to think people weren’t indulging in their proclivities. It’s unfortunate that many may have felt they had little to no choice but to participate but these sorts of things have certainly happened. We’re just now more socially conscious and aware.

But do you know who else has had a personal epiphany? Randy Orton inadvertently changed his rep this week as he shared his thoughts on the recent scandals circulating. His heartfelt response has gained fan approval as his show of sympathy proved mature and conscientious. Not what you would think possible from “the Viper” but it reminds us that these performers are in fact people.

Who didn’t fare so well was John Cena. No one should have been surprised by his corporate and PR friendly response. This has been the main reason he’s been so polarizing in the past. He has been the consummate “Company Man” for the bulk of the latter half of his career. Naturally he’d give the neutral response and lean towards solidarity. He’s invested so much of himself into WWE it’s hard to see him turn his back on it, even with these ugly truths lurking in the halls. 

I don’t blame the man but I’ve been saying he needs a bit of a reimagining. Cena is becoming more and more out of date. If he’s going to stay in Hollywood, it’s no big deal but if he’s always going to have one-foot in this door, how to reinvent himself will become a necessary point to address soon. We’ll see if he ever allows his persona to mature.

Regardless, the WWE Universe is focused on tomorrow for Elimination Chamber. We have some pre-recorded action to look forward to, tonight. With some drama going down on this RAW, we’ll see how premeditated it is and watch to see if it’s addressed on SmackDown. The Bloodline went out of the way to make their presence felt. This time around, we’ll see a lot of the newer talent take advantage of a double duty night. 

Liv Morgan will get back into ring-shape courtesy of the video game loving Tiffany Stratton. Bron Breakker, from House Steiner, will begin to get comfortable on the big stage. The Street Profits will reintroduce AOP to the WWE Universe. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne will demonstrate their general dislike of the Judgment Day by taking on Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh. And LA Knight will see if he can take a bite out of Drew McIntyre but I get the feeling all he does is chip a tooth. 

To see if Knight ends up going to the dentist, among other things, we’ll have to check out the action. I’ll be catching up with most of the West Coast during the 8 o’clock hour. I’ll probably post my Matches of Interest later this evening since we got a different start time to accommodate the Australian crowd. Have fun all you diehards out there. I’ll see what I missed tomorrow evening.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)