Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down Monday Night Raw on Netflix and recaps SmackDown with 10 takeaways.
10
Red-hot Uce: You can moan and complain about yet another five-plus-minute entrance through the crowd by Jey Uso to kick off Raw all you want, but when you continue to get a reaction like the one Uce has been getting, just sit back and enjoy. Nobody is hotter than Uso in WWE world, and unless something unforeseen happens between now and WrestleMania 41 in two months, I think WWE will crown a new champion. And who better to do it against than the most dominant competitor in the company, who has held either the Intercontinental or the World Heavyweight Titles for 925 of the past 1,045 days leading up to WrestleMania? Gunther provoked Uso into selecting him on Monday in a disrespectful way. After already seeing this match at last month’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, the next nine weeks leading up to The Showcase of the Immortals will give time for the rivalry to breathe and grow.
9
Bringing it: I am not quite sure why The Judgment Day’s Liv Morgan and Racquel Rodriguez wrestled Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY and Dakota Kai other than maybe getting Kai back in the ring after a brief hiatus, but in reality, who cares why? It could have been the best (at least most surprising) match of the night, with the four women approaching the tag team matchup like a championship was on the line. The crowd was into it from the start and, even if it wouldn’t have been, I have to credit SKY for possessing a style that would allow that to happen organically. SKY continued to show that she is one of the top players in WWE, and if she can’t get on a roll in singles competition, then there is a path for her and Kai to take over the tag division. (I’d be remiss not to mention that Morgan had one of her better matches).
8
Penta is on fire: You have to give it WWE for putting a lot of effort and thought into creating an aura around Penta. Monday’s video package worked on multiple levels with maybe at the top being the presentation of the flames behind him while delivering his message. It’s just next-level stuff that sets WWE apart from everybody. To slowly build Penta and set him up with opponents that can keep up with him is one thing, but to be able to help him relay his message is another. You don’t want to do too many video packages with a Superstar, but this one was well-timed for Penta to push the message of “Cero Miedo” to Ludwig Kaiser. Penta has no fear toward anyone, especially Kaiser and his sneak attacks. I’m still all in on Rey Mysterio being Penta’s “Wiseman,” if you will, in the ring, but this will do for now.
7
AJ Styles stronger than ever: For a moment, albeit brief, it sounded like AJ Styles returned to his old stomping grounds of Nashville and the place where he injured his foot four months ago to announce his retirement. Well, that didn’t happen. It was quite the opposite (Side note: Good decision to bring out “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio knowing that he would get booed by the pro-Styles crowd) Mysterio and Styles don’t have much of a history, and there’s no real situation present to put them together, but how can’t you be excited about Styles and “Dirty” Dom? Dom is an underrated grappler, and Styles is a future WWE Hall of Famer. Just to have Styles back on Monday night is exciting. Now, Dom might be just a step to Bron Breakker and an Intercontinental Title Match. Either way, Styles makes Raw better.
6
Enter The Creed Brothers: Let me be the first to welcome The Creed Brothers to the table of an ever-growing stable of good tag teams from Raw. Monday’s match against the titleholders was a coming-out party for The Creeds in terms of the casual fan. The superplex/moonsault combo illustrated the explosive and technical ability inside the ring. They have the experience and success from NXT, but Raw should allow them to illustrate their talents more. This may have been the start to that. The referee’s quick DQ of The Creeds for using a tag belt as a weapon allows for a return match rather than just a one-and-done. Even in defeat, The Creeds took advantage of their opportunity.
5
Are we going to get Punk vs. Cena? CM Punk did a flawless job of talking smack on Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, John Cena, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Finn Bálor and Logan Paul within a couple of minutes. Even “Dirty” Dom Mysterio caught a stray. That actually might be a record, even for Punk. While it makes the most sense for Punk to take the title off of Rhodes at the main event at WrestleMania, there is a reason why Punk continues to bring the way Cena declared himself in the Elimination Chamber while the rest had to earn their way into the match. This may be Elimination Chamber-specific, but Cena vs. Punk continues to be low-key teased while the others are being mentioned as a smokescreen.
4
Logan Paul in Prime form: It was far from being perfect, especially at the start but Logan Paul’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match against Rey Mysterio, but it illustrated why Paul is in conversation to main event WrestleMania. First, he’s despised, and it comes across from the fans as genuine dislike. But let’s put this into perspective: Paul hadn’t had a singles match since losing his Intercontinetal Title to LA Knight at SummerSlam six months ago, and other than some rust early, you couldn’t tell. That says a lot about him regardless if you like him or not. Paul won the match with a punch from his titanium-reinforced right hand and then pulled off a crazy DDT, dubbed by Pat McAfee as “The Paulverizer.”
3
Do we have a Solo problem?: Solo Sikoa returned to SmackDown and delivered a spike to Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes after Rhodes pinned Tama Tonga in a tag team main event tag match pitting Tonga and Jacob Fatu against The American Nightmare and Jey Uso. After a month of Fatu keeping at least a portion of his group together following Sikoa losing the Ula Fala to Roman Reigns, let’s hope this reignites the flame between Rhodes and Sikoa over pushing The Samoan Werewolf back to where he was, namely behind Sikoa. Fatu has made a gigantic leap to being a main-eventer in Sikoa’s absence, and it is impossible to imagine that he will take a step back. No words were said, no reactions were seen, so all we can do is speculate.
2
Screw SmackDown: Drew McIntyre made his way over to SmackDown in the transfer window and seemingly turned over a new stone. Fed up with Raw, McIntyre took more of a diplomatic approach to his move to Fridays, hyping SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, possibly to get some preferential treatment. Doubtful that will work because McIntyre is such a good “bad guy” and has embraced the role unlike any other Superstars right now. Punching his ticket to the Elimination Chamber with a Triple Threat Match win over Jimmy Uso and LA Knight was the expected outcome.
1
Tiffy/Charlotte/Nia: Charlotte Flair’s return from a year off because of a knee injury hasn’t been peaches and cream outside the ring. Inside it is another thing. But the SmackDown crowd in Memphis, Tenn., was very much pro-WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, even more so when Nia Jax showed up to inform Tiffy that she would be facing her next week for the title. Do we think that Jax will take away Tiffy’s WrestleMania championship spotlight? Of course not, but as Charlotte said, “this is getting interesting now.” Indeed, it is.