SmackDown Checks the Itinerary One Last Time Before Elimination Chamber...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

 

Happy Friday! It’s been an okay one for me so far. Nothing worth complaining about. As usual, there could be worse things. As for the Wrestling World, there’s always something going on but I’m only interested in a few things. Let’s have a quick chat, shall we? Here we go.

 

There’s no real need to stop by the Realm of AEW as Uncle Edge appears to have things under control. The back and forth between him and the Death Riders is underway and he has enlisted the likes of Willow Nightengale to handle Marina Shafir. This is the sort of thing that has to happen in order to make this all interesting so, I’ll leave them to it.

 

In the Land of Free Agency, it appears that Aleister/Malakai Black’s return is more or less imminent. Couldn’t have given me better news. I anxiously await the day. There’s also talk that Lucha-Mitsu’s (aka Penta) brother, Rey Fenix may also be acquired by WWE soon. His look isn’t as Yoshimitsu-esque but I feel, if he is acquired, I’d have no choice but to call him Yoshi-Libre given his association 😉 We’ll see what happens.

 

In somber news, the older brother of Shinsuke Nakamura, Osamu Nakamura, unfortunately passed away recently, having succumbed to cancer. Apparently, he wrestled as well. It’s such a shame. He was only 53. Nakamura should be allowed to grieve but to serve as homage to his brother’s passing, he should let the pain infuse his recent reimagination. It could give him a darker edge that may be beneficial with new arrivals on the horizon.

 

A few commenters feel he’d be a good counter to Black when he returns. All the spooky ones need some counters and I’m thinking the Wyatt Sicks could get in there as well along with Finn Bálor when he’s feeling more demon-y. There are options here but my point is that hopefully, Nakamura can prosper through and with his pain. My sincere condolences to him and his family. お悔み申し上げます。

 

It's not an ideal segue but this, for the most part, brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. It’s the final Go-Home Show before the big show tomorrow. Regardless, life goes on in the WWE Universe. There’s always another battle to fight. The “war” is never won. And so, we have qualifying matches for the Men’s US Championship. LA Knight will try on Santos Escobar again. Carmelo Hayes will see if he can trip Braun Strowman up and Solo Sikoa will focus on gold for a bit while he takes on Andrade. Trish Stratus will stop by to represent Canada and Cody Rhodes will have some final words on what the Rock / “the New Shang Tsung” is asking of him. It’s a long night. Let’s see if they have some fun with it.

 

The unofficial watch party will start at 8pm PST. Gotta stick to the schedule on Fridays. Stop by if it’s too cold outside for you.

 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)