SmackDown Closes Up Shop for Bad Blood....

 How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

Happy Friday! Well, there are plenty of things we can discuss this evening but I’m only going to touch on a few. Shouldn’t take too long. You’ll be hearing a lot from me with Bad Blood this weekend so, I’ll try not to ramble on. Let’s get into it, shall we?

We’ll begin in the Realm of AEW as they finalized their deal with Warner Bros./Discovery. Content will be posted to Max and they’re locked in for the next few years. Congratulations to them! It’s nice to seem them getting a foothold. I never ascribed to the tribalism that floats around so, I don’t mind them succeeding. Don’t know why that would be a problem. There should be alternatives in a free market. It may not be my bag but I’m glad it’s out there to showcase talent that may not get the recognition they deserve otherwise. Onwards and upwards!

I also followed up on the BCC vs. Bryan Danielson Saga and I see we’ve come to the “Ballad of Wheeler Yuta” chapter. I don’t know anything about the guy but I liked what I saw. The begrudging joint Trios Title Holder didn’t want to play with his team. Doesn’t like what they’re standing for currently. Yet, once pushed, he proves that he’s got the killer instinct after all. But it doesn’t stop there. At the end of this week’s Dynamite, after Danielson’s match Jon Moxley and Crew headed out again to greet a “furious” Danielson and to make more vague claims of this not being about them. Yuta again comes to the rescue with a hammer in hand and the intention to unite with Danielson in a Tag Team match to settle some of this. 

Yuta does come off as the “kid” of the group so I found it fitting that he’s trying to get some respect. He’s a little stilted on the mic but nothing doing it won’t fix. Though not the most intimidating specimen, he does show that he knows what he’s doing out there so that's something. Not sure what the end game is at present but I will say I got Danielson pegged. A Mox/Danielson feud could spiral into hilarity with relative ease but I’ll let ‘em play it serious for now. There should be some time 😉

Elsewhere, restraining orders were issued to both Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev. Their altercation apparently got physical but it seems it was dished out on both sides so it's pretty murky. What is clear is that their little boy was involved and that is where everyone is showing sympathy. It’s never good when little ones are in the middle and so, most are just calling for peace for their son. It’s about all one can do. Garcia already filed for divorce and so, it’s just a matter of finding a way to forgive and do what’s best for their child. Hopefully, they figure it out. Good luck to them.

In the WWE Universe, there are a few things going on of interest. One of the recurring themes seems to be representation. Many social media posters are pointing out the lack of it for black men in WWE. Now, this is hard to “correct” as WWE operates as a popularity contest first and foremost. I think people forget that. They can’t help who the fans take to. True, there’s a habit of lumping all those of the same ethnicity together and whatnot but who takes off varies and is somewhat out of their hands. I think that was most proven when Roman Reigns was initially shoved down our throats. We refused that vehemently. 

I think WWE should stick to this sort of thinking, though. It inadvertently keeps them fair and that’s what’s really the underlying point. Are people of color being fairly represented? Personally, I think they could do better with men of Asian descent. Most would cite the Bloodline but that’s more Polynesian and somewhat understandable given how many run big. Yet, of the East Asian persuasion there’s only really Shinsuke Nakamura and Akira Tozawa. If anything needs fleshing out, it’s that demographic but again, I understand it’s no easy feat. The Japanese style of wrestling doesn’t always fly for Western audiences so again, it’s not the easiest bill to fill. 

I thought there was some hope with Jinder Majal and his up and coming faction but alas, that got axed. We’ll see what the future holds but I’ll just conclude the point by saying whoever sells, sells. The color WWE should really focus on is green.

In other news, Martha Hart, Owen Hart’s widow, has some words for the Vince McMahon documentary and she’s not happy with how they glossed over Owen's death. I have to side with Ms. Hart as she’s right. His death was a clear case of negligence if you look at the facts. Word is she settled with WWE out of court a long time ago but I don’t blame her for still being bitter. Just a little oversight could have gone a long way and a good man wouldn’t have left us too soon. Nonetheless, what’s done is done and hopefully that will forever be a reminder that we should all be better safe than sorry. Forever my condolences to the Hart Family. I understand the loss will always hurt.

In lighter news, focus in the WWE Universe is on Bad Blood. Cody Rhodes is even going so far as to call it the greatest PPV ever. Most of us can’t help but say, hold on. I would say maybe in 15 years if it’s even remotely true. They were phoning it in for a while, so it’s not all that hard to surpass some old shows but I would never say “ever”. I missed a lot of the classics so I personally don’t have a frame of reference. But I’ve been pretty consistent in the past 10 years or so and I can say that the PPVs have only gotten consistent themselves in the past couple.  Triple H taking over has definitely been an improvement. The Old Guard just didn’t have the full vision. Yet, having set the standard, it would always be hard to talk to them. They think they know and to a certain extent, they did but the product had grown stagnant. It wasn’t growing so, something had to be done and I’m glad it was. WWE was going to suffocate itself otherwise. 

But I digress, tonight’s SmackDown should send us all home so we can rest up for the big day tomorrow. We can look forward to the return of AJ Styles. Naomi will see what Tiffany Stratton has got this time around. There will be a Tag Team Triple Threat as DIY and the Street Profits see if they can take the Titles off of Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa. And we’ll take a look at all that has come to be that led to the unlikely pairing of Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. 

There’s a lot of speculation that The Rock may make an appearance either tonight or tomorrow and I’m not sure how that plays into everything at present. Reigns needs allies. Would The Rock side with him? Perhaps view the taking on of the Tongan Brothers as no different as hiring thugs? And where’s Paul Heyman? He’s got to be “recovered” if he’s directing vignettes. I suppose we’ll see what they have in mind soon enough. In the meantime, the unofficial watch party will be at 8pm PDT. You’re always welcome to join the fun if you don’t have anything better to do.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)