That’s it! 2026 vacations are in the books. Italy ruled. The wine very much tastes differently there than it does in Chicago. Beautiful country too.
Now, I’m back and had plenty of wrestling to catch up on. SmackDown, WWE Raw, NXT, AEW Dynamite … Exhale.
What the hell happened??
A PLE level Raw in Mexico City
-Raw this week had a fascinating and very entertaining opening segment. The crowd in Mexico City hand insane amounts of energy, which helped the angle, but each star involved did their part in making it great. Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio acted like the whiny heels they needed to be in order to get heat, Stephanie Vaquer came across as a star champion with her massive entrance, Rey Mysterio was the sympathetic legend, and then El Grande Americano was the fighting babyface ready to fight on the side of Vaquer because Rey couldn’t. Just a smooth segment with definitive sides and the audience bought it fully.
-As for the tag match between those four? A very good match with a very poor finish. The audience was white hot and the bout had the perfect amount of Judgment Day shenanigans, but it needed a conclusion. The fact that it simply ended because of interference gives the audience a reason not to get invested. They had the crowd here and it wasn’t rewarded in any way. Plus, interference happens all the time in WWE matches. Why does it matter in this one, but not in others? A have your cake and eat it too moment for the booking team.
-Je’Von Evans, welcome to the Money in the Bank ladder match. Like Sol Ruca getting in the match last week, Evans qualifying makes perfect sense. The guy was born for this match.
-Wow, Chad Gable vs. Dragon Lee for the WWE Intercontinental Championship is about as good of a WWE TV match that you are going to see. Incredible, but smooth action that all made sense and was well sold. Gable retaining was the right call, but because of the match quality and well executed babyface vs. babyface story, both guys came out of it stronger than they were going in.
-A bit of an odd debut for Lola Vice. She got a win and qualified for Money in the Bank, but there wasn’t much sizzle for her first appearance. After vignettes for weeks, Vice just got a regular entrance and that was that. Fine, but not a presentation that screamed the next big star.
-I continue to be a fan of the 946 promo videos. They look different than the rest of the show and that stands out in a positive way. Very Shield-esque.
Main event Penta
-Just a wonderful main event. Roman Reigns and Penta delivered a PPV-caliber match that had the audience hooked from minute one. Penta got a superstar entrance and was a more than viable Reigns opponent. The near falls with the Mexican Destroyers were beautifully done and kept the crowd on the edge of their seat. Penta winning here would have blown the roof off the place, but wouldn’t have made sense given all that Reigns has going on with LA Knight and the 946.
-Alright, let’s move to NXT. Lizzy Rain is an impressive developmental talent. Each time she’s out there her matches and character get over. I’ve said this before, but you can imagine a heavy metal Rain entrance at WrestleMania pretty easily. That said, she doesn’t have strong booking support right now and gets utilized as a gatekeeper babyface for heels. There is more there if NXT wants it.
-I can’t fathom how DarkState is still a thing. It’s like a fever dream that never ends. It’s a slightly better version of Retribution, but just as directionless. None of the guys involved can get over with the failed faction holding them down. Time to pull the plug and try something else.
-I don’t have very deep analysis regarding this, but I could watch Zilla Fatu destroy members of Birthright for two straight hours each week. Very entertaining. Still, Fatu vs. Birthright as a feud is far beneath Fatu and the upside he brings.
Truly shocking
-O.M.G. Myles Borne was lying about wanting to reunite with Tavion Heights? I mean, who could see it coming???! Shocking!! Listen, because it was so obvious that Borne wasn’t authentic, Heights looked really bad coming out of this. Gullible babyfaces aren’t fun to cheer for.
-As for Borne as a heel, well, it remains a questionable booking move. He’s as natural of a babyface that there is and now he’s going to move against the grain to try and get heat.
-The Kendal Grey medical situation is a bummer. She was a reason to watch the show each week. The segments of her working through the issues are fine to keep the audience looped in on her journey and her on the show each week, but the ring is where she shines. That element missing obviously hurts her presentation and the contributions she can make.
-Another win for Vanity Project. This time over a real duo of Cruz Montana and EK Prosper. The NXT booking needs to feed this group. Collectively, they are one of the best parts of the show. Matches like the one this week are why. Entertaining in-ring, but real heat-seeking work during the match in an attempt to actually get booed.
-Mason Rook is the new number one contender to the NXT Championship. Good move and a strong triple threat this week with Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars as well. The match to build to is Waller vs. Zilla Fatu. To make that as enticing as possible, Waller needs a run of viable title defenses and Rook will provide that for him.
It’s Wednesday, you know what that means
-AEW Dynamite, here we come! It seems as if I’m the only one that finds Christian Cage obnoxious. The dead father gimmick was fine as a heel, but as a babyface trying to work it into promos is off-putting. Cage and Adam Copeland continue not to have chemistry as a reformed legendary tag team.
-The Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay dynamic was interesting to watch this week, but Moxley kind of buried the AEW World Championship during his promo backstage. ANY belt around anyone’s waist doesn’t mean they’re the best, but the belt that Ospreay has does. As the guy challenging for the top title on PPV, Moxley needs to act like that championship is the most important thing.
-Ouch. Chris Jericho took a nasty Destroyer bump on the outside of the ring. Don’t try that one again, Chris. A feud with Nick Wayne is the appropriate use of Jericho at this point. Nothing special between them this week, but their program continues on and Jericho is able to function as a nice foundation for Wayne to grow his heel character.
-After last week’s confrontation in the ring, it was pretty easy to see that Adam Page and Brodido would be getting an AEW World Trios Championship shot sooner than later. They earned one this week in a fine match against The Conglomeration. Page and Swerve Strickland now will stand across the ring from each other once again. Grab the popcorn. Strickland and New Level vs. Page and Brodido should be an All Out match and is the most marquee trios title match the company has had since The Elite vs. Death Triangle best of seven series.
Find a lane, Jack
-Jack Perry has been on a journey to face all of the best champions in AEW history? Since when?? Perry’s gimmick and storylines change every other week. Don’t get too invested in whatever this is.
-Glad to see the show give some time this week to build up the AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship street fight for All Out. Brawling Birds vs. Divine Dominion has been an excellent feud in the AEW women’s tag division and though it got a very A to B chapter this week with the singles match between Lena Kross and Jaime Hayter, it was enough to further interest and get the heel challengers some momentum. A good match too.
-Poor Francesco Akira. He was a punching bag for The Death Riders during the main event and lost the match for his Will Ospreay-led United Empire team. I liked the show-closing angle with Moxley torturing poor Akira in a submission as Ospreay was forced to watch. It painted Moxley as ruthless and Ospreay as a sympathetic protector. A nice touch. Overall, the show this week added quite a bit of depth to the Moxley and Ospreay program at All Out. It needed it.
-And finally, a journey back to WWE and SmackDown. Sami Zayn? Chef’s kiss. Zayn regularly gets the tone right on his mic work and his championship victory promo to start the show this week was perfect. Zayn acted like the fighting champion that everybody clearly sees as the opposite. There’s your heat.
Money in the Bank qualifying rolls on
-Phew. WWE is telling a long-term story around Randy Orton winning his 15th world title. Bravo on that, but it’s good for that chase not to run through Money in the Bank. Trick Williams was the correct qualifier and is a perfect fit for the match given his trajectory so far on the main roster. A clear up and comer that’s in the biggest up and comer match of the year.
-It’s hard to really rag on Kyoki too much. The gimmick isn’t very good, but Hiromu Takahashi is certainly getting a decent sized check each week to do it. Not a fan of the disqualification finish this soon into the feud with the MFT’s. Paints the Bakusai team as weak.
-Dating back to his days in AEW, you never know how things like sit-down interviews will go for Cody Rhodes. Sometimes his instincts are off and he’s too self-indulgent. Other times, he finds the perfect lane and connects with the audience like nobody else in wrestling. This week’s interview with Michael Cole was an example of the latter. Rhodes came across as a real person with conflicting concerns. The current Rhodes path is a bit cloudy, but this was a nice outing for him.
Triple threat incoming
-I’ll never say “no” to a Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens match and they didn’t disappoint in the main event of SmackDown. That said, Zayn retaining the title because of CM Punk was an obvious chapter in what this story has been between the three guys. Triple threat incoming for Money in the Bank in New Orleans.
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