SummerSlam 2025 - SmackDown Fallout...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

It’s a mixed bag of a week, isn’t it? Some stuff to consider generally speaking. The Wrestling World is more or less quiet but there are some changes coming down the pike that will certainly force us to think about what’s worth spending money on. We’ll get in to that in a little bit but let’s have our little chat.

We’ll make a stop in the Realm of AEW as we didn’t so much get glances at the Future but we did see how the present is moving along. The Riders of Death are still messing with people. Mike “Speedball” Bailey had to do what he had to, to survive against Jon Moxley and though he took the L, he was impressive. He’s got Babyface written all over him so I didn’t mind the uphill battle he tried to climb. It wasn’t exactly fair but we all know it’s not gonna be. That’s why Darby Allin had to throw some action in. That kid has been growing on me and his latest stunt continues to lead me to give him consideration. He “kidnapped” an interfering Wheeler Yuta to let the Riders know what he thinks of them. He left him in a body bag out back so, that’s their thorn in the side and it’s duly deserved.  It’s good fun and I have no problem with it. We’ll see what fun they get up to.

Over in the WWE Universe, we small folk have to contemplate how we’re gonna get our PPVs in in 2026. It appears that Disney/ESPN will have the rights to stream them exclusively at a pricey $30 a month through their standalone app. One would have access to all their sports offerings as well, of course, yet many of us are debating on whether it’s worth it. 

Peacock raised its prices recently too to $10.99 for their basic plan, but you can see how that’s still about $20 less than the new asking price. Word is that some cable plans that include ESPN may get content for free but those specifics haven’t circulated yet. 

Personally, I am in a bit of conundrum. I hope they offer a WWE only plan that’s less because I don’t know if I like enough sports for this to make sense economically. It automatically forces me to cancel Peacock just to free up some funds. I may have to take a look at my apps and see what I can do to streamline if I am going to break down and do it. I guess we have some time as the app Powers that Be may relent. Many online commenters have posted similar concerns or vowed to cut their losses completely due to the lack of affordability. You can catch the highlights online after the fact. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a necessity. 

I think there’s a brass assumption that many WWE fans are sports fans and that’s not exactly true. I watch sports on occasion. I was in to tennis in my youth. My family enjoys football and I don’t mind the occasional baseball game but at the same time, I’m not trying to set a time to watch. It’s more like, if it’s on I may watch for a spell sort of thing. So, a $20 increase for a bunch of stuff I don’t watch regularly doesn’t make a lot of sense. The brass may be a little surprised but we’ll see if push comes to shove in the end.

It’s not the funnest segue but that basically brings us to tonight’s SmackDown SummerSlam Fallout. There’s not much advertised so, I’m expecting some surprises to come crashing through. What we can expect is the Motor City Machine Guns sticking their toes in the Bloodline waters as they face the hired guns in JC Mateo and Talla Tonga/Hikuleo. Cody Rhodes will say some things and then John Cena will say some things or vice versa. Outside of that, we’ll have to wait and see.

The unofficial watch party should start at 8pm PDT. I don’t have to cook this time around so, I’ll be more leisurely than usual. Stop by if you’ve got no other evening plans but I don’t blame you if you prefer to go out and play. It is the summer.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)