SmackDown Shows Everyone the Door for BackLash...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts!

Happy Friday! So, there are a few things going on in the Wrestling World but nothing rocking it. Just stuff going on so, this should be a relatively short post. We’ll be able to get the weekend started pretty quickly so, let’s get into it shall we.

In the Realm of AEW, they’re getting ready for its Beach Break event happening next week. It’s not quite a PPV but it’s enough to get them to change their regular schedule as Collision was bumped up to Thursday to create a 2-Night event. All I’m looking at is the Steel Cage Match between Samoa Joe and Jon Moxley. I’ll definitely take a look at that with an eye towards the Future. Yet, in terms of news, social media has been a bit of a stir for AEW.

Will Osprey has always been a staunch proponent for AEW and he stirred it up again by proclaiming that their wrestlers are better wrestlers than WWE’s any day of the week and most are saying that’s a matter of preference. I don’t doubt they’re generally better technical wrestlers but WWE’s are more entertaining by far. I’ll check in on AEW just to see how they do things and compare and contrast but they still read as second rate to me but respectably so. It’s clear some will always work better there and I’m glad there’s a place for them ‘cause WWE can be cold when it comes to what sells. Small guys always have an uphill battle ‘cause no one is afraid of them. And it’s always a crapshoot when the Crowd is unfamiliar. Like I keep saying, WWE is definitely a popularity contest so, if an up and coming wrestler isn’t ready for that kind of challenge one may want to stay with one of the smaller promotions and develop one’s brand. The WWE song & dance is certainly not for everyone.

One-on-one jabs then started up between Ricochet and a NXT up and comer, Je’von Evans. Most speculate Evans was instructed by WWE reps to take down his X/Twitter posts but I believe Ricochet’s are still up. Ricochet tries to have fun with the riffing online but I have yet to be taken by any of his attempts at “burns”. I like Ricochet but the charisma factor has always been a bit on the lacking side. If I were him, I’d stick to the high-flying and pick my spots very carefully. I think if he kept his mouth shut, he could develop a sort of mystique but if he’s gonna keep trying to talk, I’d take it more a comical route. Be playfully “stupid” or “silly” so it’s clear he’s not really going for the jugular. It’d be something along the lines of how The Miz does it, knowingly cheesy and whatnot.

Over in the WWE Universe, we’re getting ready for BackLash. That goes down tomorrow and Randy Orton is admitting feeling a little vulnerable ahead of his match with John Cena. It will be the last showdown for these 2 and Orton isn’t sure how to approach it as a Face. We all know that the Viper tends to be a Heel when it comes to facing Cena. This is the first time they’ve worn the other’s hat. Even though they’ll be in Orton’s hometown, he’s not sure the fans will have his back. Being Cena’s Farewell Tour and all, they may give him all kinds of shit. 

It kinda cracks me up how Orton kinda stumbled into being a Face recently. If you ask me, he’s been the Viper he’s always been just more playfully so and the looseness gave him a sense of accessibility. He was usually too busy “viping” but in recent years he’s been having more fun out there and in interviews and such. He’s been more open and forthcoming so we’re seeing a different side of Orton and it’s not all bad. Orton admits he’s not exactly a hometown guy but I think as long has Orton goes out there and stays competitive, it should be a good time. 

I don’t expect him to win but he should make Cena work for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of DQ or no-contest ending but given the set-up, Cena is probably going to come out all right, one way or another. Orton just has to keep it interesting. He’ll be fine.

In the outer regions of the WWE Universe, there’s possibly some Oscar buzz for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s performance in The Smashing Machine.  I have a hard time believing this because The Rock doesn’t exactly have great range but stranger things have happened. Just to look at it, if they do get any Oscar consideration it will probably be in technical categories, probably more like “Best Makeup” or Editing or something. Guess we’ll see. I’ll check it out when it streams.

And so, that brings us to tonight’s SmackDown.  They’ll send everyone “home” for the big show tomorrow. We can expect an intriguing match between Aleister Black and Carmelo Hayes. Jade Cargill will try to take a bite out of Nia Jax as they battle for a shot at the WWE Women’s Championship. LA Knight and Damian Priest will form a brief alliance to take on Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa. And John Cena will make an appearance to scold us once more. 

The unofficial watch party will start at 8pm PDT. There’s a bit of a heatwave rolling across Southern California so, I don’t blame you if you want to go out and play. It’s too hot to do so during the day. I’ll be here for the homebodies. 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)