-Solo Sikoa and Jey Uso opening up Raw this week with a promo segment was fantastic. Those two guys cut an old school pro wrestling promo that did a stellar job in setting up a main event with stakes. Sometimes that’s all promos need to do. Bravo to both guys.
-How hilarious is Sikoa? That guy is feeling it out there in the babyface spotlight and he’s by far more compelling now than at any other time during his main roster run. There’s an effortlessness to the way he carries himself. He comes across as cool, yet totally comfortable and content in his own skin. That’s a tough line to walk. Ask Roman Reigns. More on Solo Sikoa here in a little bit.
-Alright, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. WWE fans don’t know how to feel about The Bloodline. Still. Is the faction babyfaces or heels? Right now, they are getting cheered like good guys, but Reigns applauding a vicious assault on Royce Keys last week isn’t exactly admirable. Their lack of definition hurts them and everything that enters their orbit — LA Knight, Sikoa, etc.
-Penta and Laredo Kid had a helluva match. Not G1-style craziness, but a helluva match inside of what WWE presents. They didn’t entirely ditch the lucha element because they were on Raw, which gave the match and current tournament to crown a lucha number one contender for Roman Reigns a dose of something special.
-Like, Penta has to win the tournament, right? Penta vs. Reigns in Mexico is a money match. There isn’t another tournament winner that fits the moment like Penta does.
-Austin Theory vs. Akira Tozawa wasn’t a great match, but was an effective heat mechanism for Theory and Maxxine Dupri.
-Right now, the Oba Femi and Bron Breakker showdown segment has secured over five million views on Instagram. Social media views aren’t the gospel on what’s popular or over in pro wrestling, but damn. There’s some interest there.
-I’m of two minds on the Femi and Breakker stuff. On one hand, Breakker is a cold character right now. The Breakker vs. Femi match is massive, but only when Breakker is on a similar level to Femi. Right now, Femi is at a much higher spot than Breakker is and that leaves money on the table if the company hits “go” on a match between them soon. Why not leave that one out there for when both are sizzling hot? Now, on the other hand, Breakker’s obsession and preoccupation with Femi makes for intriguing television. A feud against Femi is a viable way to heat Breakker up again and the audience seems invested in when the dude is going to snap. WWE has a money angle there if they keep playing their cards right. Too early? Time will tell on that, but anything is better than watching Breakker play a background character to Theory and Dupri in The Vision.
-Tell me if you’ve read this anywhere before … “the promo segment between X and Y was entertaining, but how is the audience supposed to feel about X or Y?” Yep, you guessed it. Another babyface vs. babyface deal — this time in the women’s division with Stephanie Vaquer and Becky Lynch. There was some chemistry between Vaquer and Lynch, but again, do the babyfaces have to bicker? Vaquer and Lynch were more likable together than Reigns and Seth Rollins were in the lead up to SummerSlam this year, but both women being back and on the babyface side of the ledger is a major advantage for the show. It provides better depth than the women’s division on Raw has seen in ages. I don’t understand diluting the fan response to these two in the name of getting a match teased between them. There’s plenty of time for that and this week was too soon to play any kind of card regarding dissension between them.
-Well, I’m sure Dominik Mysterio is just thrilled about his booking now! Geez. Mysterio did a clean job to Dragon Lee this week and then Lee got decimated by Big Cass. Given the recent report on Dom’s opinion of his creative, this finish came across as a “don’t mess with us, kid” kind of move from Triple H. Consider Dominik put in his place. LOL.
-Of course Iyo Sky was the mystery partner for Sol Ruca. I kinda had my money on Becky Lynch until she walked out for that promo earlier in the night. Sky and Ruca against Judgment Day was a solid match and one that highlighted Ruca. She nailed her big spots and was able to grab a bit of the Sky popularity dust. Overall, a good night for Ruca and she’s now positioned for a WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship rematch.
-Ok, so Solo Sikoa is rejoining The Bloodline? Jey Uso beat Sikoa in the main event this week and that was the stipulation that was agreed to. Interesting. The story itself makes for appointment viewing next week. Sikoa joining up with Roman Reigns again despite his outward disdain for the group will make for compelling television. That said, it’s awful timing for Sikoa. He’s just now finding his voice and personality as a babyface and that has a better chance of growing bigger when it’s not bogged down with Bloodline stuff. I’m cautiously intrigued about this.
Is Solo Sikoa better off on his own or heavily tangled up with The Bloodline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Zack Heydorn on Bluesky @zackheydorn.bsky.social.