SmackDown Makes Itself Comfortable for Clash at the Castle...

Happy Friday, Enthusiasts!

How is everyone doing? It’s a warm one in Southern California. It’s summer. No doubt about that. As for the Wrestling World, there are some rumblings. Wanna talk about it? All right, here we go.

First, let us send our sympathies and get well wishes to Drew McIntyre and his wife. Word is that she had to undergo “emergency surgery”. The timing could or could not be worse depending on what’s planned for tomorrow. At a glance, it could be what McIntyre needs to secure a win. Will Damien Priest continue to spoil people’s day? We shall see.  In the meantime, let us wish her a swift recovery.

Elsewhere in the WWE Universe, it appears that Ricochet has officially dropped the new WWE Speed Title to Andrade. Does that indicate his departure is imminent. Will Osprey is definitely putting out an AEW acquisition into the universe as he teases a showdown in their realm. I’ve also heard that New Japan is also interested, so we’ll see what Ricochet decides to do. All the clamor may prompt WWE to rethink his contract but if he wants to see what else is possible, all power to him. That is what life is all about. 

Speaking of acquisitions, it looks like TNA is going back to basics as it sounds like Jeff Hardy will be returning to his old home soon. With Matt already back over there and Jeff’s contact up at AEW, it appears it will only be a matter of time before he’s back with TNA. Could we see the Hardys again on WWE television in the future due to crossover angles? Ask commenters and the Hardy Boyz need to be put out to pasture but, we’ll see if that’s the case.

Keeping with acquisitions, there’s talk that another Tonga Brother will be joining the Bloodline soon. Apparently, Hikuleo, Tama Tonga’s brother, may be arriving soon. He’s close to 7 feet tall, so the name “Talla Tonga” was recently trademarked. It’s funny, ‘cause some commenters were joking that should be his name, so I don’t know if it was just a lucky guess or lazy creative again but there you have it. If you ask me, Hikuleo looks like Kirk Hammet’s kid. Maybe R-Truth can make some playful assumptions about his origins when he gets going. We’ll see how it all works out.

Switching focus to Clash at the Castle, there’s word that there may be some more TNA crossover. Joe Hendry has been training at the Hart Dungeon to take his game to the next level. Does that mean he intends to crash the party? Also, there’s some anticipation of Uncle Howdy and the new Wyatt Crew debuting soon as well. All we can do is wait. 

So, that brings us tonight’s SmackDown. I suppose technically this is a “Go Home” Show for the Scots on the roster as it was taped earlier in Glasgow. We can expect to see Naomi to try to get Chelsea Green up to in-ring speed. Mia “Insane in the Brain” Yim will show Nia Jax she’s not scared. DIY will have a discussion with Grayson Waller on “The Grayson Waller Effect”. Kevin Owens will settle things the only way he knows how with Solo Sikoa. And Cody Rhodes will make this “I Quit” Match official with AJ Styles. 

The unofficial watch party starts at 8pm PDT. I won’t be watching live tomorrow but I will catch up around 4pm PDT. If you got other things to do, feel free to do the same with me then. I’ll probably post my Matches of Interest later tonight but no promises. We’ll see how the night goes.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)