Clash in Italy 2026 - SmackDown Fallout

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

 

A Happy Friday to you. There’s not that much to discuss at the end of this week but there’s enough for a short chat. I won’t take up too much of your time. So, without anymore ado, let’s get into it.

 

In the Realm of AEW, a couple things of note transpired. There was the return of Mercedes Moné for one. This doesn’t do much for me but I took a look at her match to see if we’re missing out on anything. She’s solid in the ring. I will give her that, but I have no desire to see a WWE return. She’s just too small for me.

 

Being petite doesn’t stop the ladies. There are the likes of Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan just to name a few but they are a little crazy or cheat. Their gimmicks, presentation make up for the lack of stature. I don’t know why I accept it more. I mean, I don’t really, but it works enough that I don’t complain.

 

With Moné, she leads with the prowess in the ring, as she should, however what’s to stop a larger lady from grabbing her by the scruff and stuffing her? Or sitting on her? Something about the way she presents herself makes it hard for me to believe and therefore, I don’t miss her. AEW fans seemed stoked so, I’m happy for them. I will remain unamused.

 

As for the Future, it seems a bit tied with the reimagining of Will Ospreay. He had himself quite the match against Mean Mark Davis to advance in the Owen Hart Classic. It took a few tries to get the W since the original ref got taken out. The Don Callis Family took advantage and sent out members to rig the game. Kyle Fletcher even tried to ruin Ospreay’s night but Konosuke Takeshita was on hand to block that move. The Riders of Death also showed up to lend some back up to keep Ospreay’s dream of headlining at Wembly Stadium alive. When the dust cleared and the new ref arrived, the match was finally Ospreay’s.

 

And so, it looks like the Callis Family will be the primary antagonist going forward which could lead to some interesting scenarios due to them outnumbering the Riders. The Riders will need allies. Yet, could there be defections and betrayals in the process? I hope so.

 

How it leads to the “1^st Strike” is hard to say at present all I’ll say is that I see MJF issuing it. He just makes sense if they do what I envision. I believe MJF is already allied with Callis so all the Riders, Jon Moxley especially, have to do is mess with the Callis Family enough that “something has to be done”.

 

It’s still early, so there’s plenty of time to get all up and in Callis’ craw and they should have a lot of fun doing so. The 1^st Strike should be a bit of surprise in of itself. And so should the hell that MJF catches afterwards for initiating it. It should be a blast if they go for it like I think they should. And once that’s done, you’ll see what I mean with the shit show that is sure to follow. A→B→C should be shocking but understandable. I hope they take their time and let it rip.

 

If they do it right, they should gain some additional curious viewership. They got me half watching. Granted, I watch the replay on HBO Max but I’m looking at it. I want to witness the Future come to be and so far, it continues to be Bright. Have fun out there.

 

Over on the outskirts of the WWE Universe, the AAA Mask vs. Mask match between El Grande Americano/Chad Gable and El Grande Americano II/Ludwig Kaiser has been getting a little attention so I went ahead and took a look. Many are calling it the Match of the Year but I don’t know about that.

They’re solid performers so getting a good match was no surprise but they kinda lost me with the interference. Call me a purist but I feel such a distinction should go to a cleaner match so, for me, Match of the Year is CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns. I think you have to give a lot props to someone who gets the flowers for losing and that was Punk. He’s the reason that match worked.

 

Reigns gets better at putting on a respectable match each time we see him but we have to admit it took him a while to get the hang of it. Punk knows what he’s doing out there and can clearly make something out of nothing. That is commendable. You can call yourself the “Best in the World” with proof like that available for viewing. Just my 2¢.

 

And so that brings us to tonight’s SmackDown. They were still in Italy so it already went down. What’s recorded for our viewing pleasure should be along the lines of Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints throwing down for Round 3. We’ll have a Fatal-4-Way between Bron Breakker, Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest and Trick Williams to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament. It could go any which way but I’m expecting it to go to Mysterio or Breakker. Then the Ladies will have at for the Queen of the Ring Tournament with Bayley, Kiana James, Jacy Jayne and Raquel Rodriguez in the mix. Rhea Ripley will see who else wants some after defeating Jade Cargill and Cody Rhodes will see if anyone wants to talk about his win over GUNTHER. It can technically be contested.

 

I’m cooking tonight but it’s a quick meal. I should be nice and comfortable for the night’s festivities. If you’ve got nothing planned, I suggest you do the same. Have a little no-money fun.

  

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)