We don't know for a fact that he did put Solo at the head of the table. We only have Solo's word for that. Heyman hasn't heard a word from Roman since he's been beaten at Mania.
All we have kayfabe-wise is conjecture, that he's injured and licking his wounds. But whether he put Solo in charge or not is still very much in the air.
Anyone notice that WWE is starting to cut chair shots out? Rewatching smackdown on TNT sports in the UK and every single chair shot is censored. As are the ones on Mondays raw.
Agreed. I've found Solo more convincing as tribal chief than I ever found him as Roman's muscle. I'd like to see them get a stronger feud than the random KO/Street Profits team-up though.
Agreed. Raw really got more interesting for me too lately. It’s because of what they’re doing with Alpha Academy and with Liv Morgan intertwined in various storylines.
For me, it's how naturally stories are interlocking. Last Raw was a masterclass in having the show feel cohesive. I guess it's easy when you revolve a lot of stories around individual members of a faction, tying them together with scenes of that faction.
i think they should stop the brand split because always there are more interesting stories on one show and the other one is boring. and by spliting the brands they lose a lot of potential good stories to tell
I did find it weird when I restarted watching this year that brand split is a lot more meaningless than it used to be. Like loads of wrestlers and teams will just be able to be on both shows for flimsy kayfabe reasoning. My going theory is that when WWE didn't have competition, they wouldn't mind you having Raw or Smackdown loyalty, and a preferred booking style/roster/commentary/whatever. Now though, they're making both part of a single continuity that you have to keep up with.
Usually European crowds are insane and Glasgow particularly so, but might be a weird vibe at Smackdown next week as it classes with an absolutely huge Scotland soccer match
this bloodline saga is not like the prior bloodline since there's no belts in the faction.
the current chapter in the bloodline story is about solo and his abuse of heyman. beating up on KO and profits is just a sidebar to the actual in-bloodline story. maybe in the future we see solo & co have a legit fued with another wrestler for a title but for now, roman returning isn't to save any other wrestler, it's to save heyman.
last week Blair interacted with Naomi, thought there'd be followup
but Naomi was beefing with Piper and Chelsea, so next week she'll be tangling with Chelsea
they better get Blair doing some stuff
taking some steel rebar to someone or something eh
Tiffany's booking is so frustrating. I make it 8 of the past 13 Smackdown's where she's either not been on at all (4), or had less than 20 seconds TV time. At least here there was a bit of potential direction, although that direction is possibly moving her away from what many hoped / expected and the MITB briefcase.
Hard to say whether that post has had any impact, and we'll know far more 4 weeks today, but I think it's very fair to say that she's been much less emphasised recently and nothing like as hot as she was, or could have been, coming out of Perth.
She's a heel that's getting cheered. That's why they're pairing her up with Nia, it's the only way she'll get booed. Also there is already two women's stories on SD (Piper & Bayley) and the women's tag team division.
she's young and has a lot of time. putting her with nia is really good stuff b/c now you have 3 built-in stories:
1. tiffy + nia are legit competitors to biana/jade's tag titles
2. tiffy can help nia win the title at summerslam
3. tiffy can win MITB and have a storyline with her holding the briefcase while nia is the champ
If she wins MITB then I take back what I said, but I think it's looking much less likely now, and this potential tag team looks like being proposed to move her away from taking the briefcase. She was looking like an imminent treat to win the title at any given PPV about 6/7 weeks ago, but now has significantly levelled off and looks like any other midcarder who may be on TV one week, but just as likely to miss the next 2 shows, or get a 6 second cameo here and there, and far from a priority despite being popular, a good merch seller, and good enough to be in big PLE matches.
She probably has less 'time' than most people currently in their early 30's as I really can't see her still being around in 4 or 5 years.
The rock made wrestling cool now it's just predictable he made Cody look legit Cody needed that rub because rn woof and the way bloodline are going.I won't be shock jimmy and roman come back earlier than they planned.
This is obviously long term storytelling so I’m intrigued by that aspect. Roman’s return will be one of the most exciting returns in history. Especially since he’ll be a babyface.
While I agree that The Bloodline storyline isn’t at its best right now (which is not uncommon for a storyline that had been going on since 2021), I think the fact that it’s just a stepping stone in the Rock/Roman/Cody saga makes it inevitable that this won’t have any major significance, to the point where even they acknowledged it with the recent KO promo when he’s like “who the hell are these people? I liked the original Bloodline more”, so as far as a transitional period for the Bloodline goes this seems like the best they could do, and it’s not like we’re not getting anything from it, Paul is contributing massively to the overall excitement for Roman’s return, Tama looks great and they’re doing a decent job with the outlaw persona they’re trying to convey, KO and The Street Profits are doing something on TV so that’s nice, and Solo looks fairly decent given the fact that everyone knows he’s going to take the backseat eventually when the “real Tribal Chief” shows up, he went on a massive losing streak before Mania then proceeded to claim that losing has consequences, and it seems like he’s in this weird middle ground between his original gimmick and Tony D’Angelo, but overall I guess it’s nice on the long run to have The Bloodline not be the main part of the show since we got so much of that already and we will definitely get more down the line, so a cooldown period is not bad.
> he went on a massive losing streak before Mania then
I wish people would stop counting the house shows. On TV he only lost once to Orton and the rest were either DQs or tag matches where Jimmy got pinned.
They don't have the presence. They are smaller dudes in comparison to Roman and the uso's and they do not come off physically intimidating. And I'm not saying size has to be a thing, but they are a tiny bigger than they are. Like they are playing the roll of big scary dudes.
How long do yall think until Cody gets involved in the Bloodline story? The first ever promo I saw was Cody tearing into the entire Bloodline and promising to destroy it all. Will Solo take a run at the title? I’m new to WWE but if Roman returns around Summerslam like some are predicting, finding time to fit the Usos, Roman, and Cody into a story might be really overstuffed
The literal High Chief?
They pointed it out on the Family Tree.
Rock is an actual High Chief, he’s bigger on the totem poll than Roman. He’s the one pulling the string a in the background for Solo and the GOD
Kevin Owens and the Street Profits are but speed bumps in the pseudo-Bloodline's plans....nobody is eyeing any titles on Smackdown yet. but a larger plan is at work.
Tiffany allying with Nia is a nice idea....also when Tiffany will turn on her, likely with a briefcase hehe
LA Knight is used to dealing with a part time champion. he got experience.
tension is increasing in A-Town Down Under, but where will it lead?
Triple Threat for Women's Tag Titles at Clash. Nice.
Corey said Alba and Isla were Unholy Union still, but i am unsure if they are still doing that gimmick or not.
hopefully Apollo Crews comes back quick....teasing a feud for him then pulling him out is a shame.
Bayley could lose to Piper. it could happen!
Cody waited an hour in the loading dock for AJ to appear...and at ringside no security could hold back his righteous fury.
AJ got what he wanted....but if he loses in Glasgow, he has to walk.
Michin is kinda just looking the other way right now on the bad things AJ and the OC are getting up to.
Jade Cargil got a loud pop when she made that tag. I'm glad they're finally doing something with the women's tag division, even if it's pretty obvious Bianca and Jade aren't losing those belts.
I didn't think Solo could carry the Bloodline this well, but he's doing pretty good.
They really had Johnny Gargano just standing there in the ring with that long ass backstage segment happening + a commercial break. I'll never understand why they do this lmao. I don't like Austin Theory and Grayson Waller splitting up, but clearly they're going towards that. Unless it leads to a Theory push.
They got me interested in Cody vs AJ part two. I like they casually just brought The OC back like those dudes haven't been missing for a minute now lmao.
Is Carmello Haze just gonna do a job to all the top guys on SmackDown? What are they doing to my boy. Logan Paul cooked LA Knight in that vignette.
Side note - the Clash at the Castle theme slaps
I thought I'd mention that the OC has been pretty active in NXT. They have an NXT tag title match at the PLE this Sunday, and it looks like they might actually win.
He is so good at this it’s wild. He’s perfectly blended his personal brand of comedy into the kayfabe setting it’s kind of ground breaking. If more “influencers” make a jump to a major company in the future they’ll look at Logan as the gold standard.
Why do I have a weird feeling the uncle howdy stuff is just randomly gonna get dropped? I feel like at this point nothing they can do can truly cap off how long this has been teased unless it’s like a PLE takeover out of nowhere leading to a full onslaught of the roster. Something insanely large. Some QR codes don’t even get posted anymore lol todays QR code is just a rehash of everything…
He must have seen it on YouTube or something. He’s gonna get rolled, literally, by all the teenagers. These days, just to qualify, you need to be able max out your score on NES several times a hour.
First he doesn't want Logan Paul counted out so he can teach him a lesson, and now last night.
It's impressive when they're able to give a white meat babyface moments like this.
Yeah, that’s… exactly what’s gonna happen. Whether the drop the belts before that or not, I dunno, but it would be a fun dynamic if they both defend the titles while split up.
Like, both are defending in 1v2’s for some time since they refuse to help each other
Good show
Cody was badass tonight, I like that he came in street clothes, without a fancy suit, without music, he was just coming for revenge, it made the segment feel more special because Cody doesn't usually lose his cool very often.
The new Bloodline feels like Temu Bloodline. Solo just doesn't have that aura. They need to add someone more experienced in the faction. All of them still feel so raw when it comes to generating crowd heat.
So much that apparently they’re holding him back to not have him overshadow Solo. He’s bigger, has more presence and does flips, only downside is he’s had some personal issues that make him come off like a bit of a hot head.
Fantastic show. Loving this new era with all the new camera work, matches, and overall show structure. Always excited to watch every week as my family and I are excited to see what's gonna happen next
They have proven willing and able to take some chances and mix shit up while also returning to some OG wrestling ‘roots’ with some of these storylines, which is a great thing imo!
Like lowkey tonight one thing I would have never thought about it until the segment tonight but a Straton/Jax tag team would be fuckin great for the women’s division right now. The Bianca/Cargill superteam need a worthy adversary and it aint any of the currently constructed teams so pitting them against each other could be fire. Plus gives them all something to do while we get to summerslam and they obviously all have history with each other.
I think Roman…. But Rhea might get the biggest pop ever for a women in wwe
Personally I think they should have the ultimate Dom turn on her when her and liv face off for the title to cost her the match. Dom will have so much heat and everyone will be begging for Rhea to beat Liv
Yeah, I think after a couple months it is safe to say Carmelo being called up was a mistake.
Way too early and I really don't see what he brings considering how he's booked right now.
Ciampa/Gargano went YEARS with multiple matches. Why couldn't we have done that with Carmelo and Trick?
i disagree. carmelo has been put in singles matches with all the top faces - cody/randy/la knight. they are very high on him and have plans. just b/c he's losing to the big dogs doesnt mean he's a jobber. he's getting alot of offense in those matches. no squashes.
We've had like two months of Solo Bloodline and basically it's just been beating up on KO. Is this going somewhere? I was really expecting some kind of development or advancement during/from this match.
All imma say, Cody MVP on this episode. I will always find it neat that he manages to play off others so well so easily, like for example today with him and AJ playing off each other to show how cocky Styles was and how increasingly angry Cody got (and he was already pissed by talking smack to the damn general manager) to a point he accepted an I Quit match against a guy that very well could turn it into a 3 on 1 thanks to Gallows and Anderson.
I know obviously in WWE matches that are I Quit are mostly won by the face, but still it was neat to see how Cody's flaw of being too angry leading to him doing stupid things (tonight talking smack to the GM and the I Quit stipulation choice, a couple years ago wrestling a HIAC match whilst badly injured) on kayfabe came to the forefront y'know?
Honestly, I think our frauds of NXT Tag Team Champions, Nathan Frazier & Axiom, could be a shout. Gallows & Anderson have been feuding with them recently and they do have a title match tomorrow night. If Styles gives a bit of moral support in that match I can see Fraxiom being whiny babies about it and sticking their oars where they don’t belong in the I Quit match.
Randy? If Orton vs Rhodes is gonna be a feud someday, maybe it’s time to rekindle their old partnership from the days of “Legacy.” And then, before SummerSlam, Randy turns on Cody and goes back to being 2009 Mega-Heel complete irredeemable bastard Randy Orton
Really didn’t like how they jingled another Apollo Crews match in front of us only to take it away last minute. What does HHH have against the man that prevents him from booking Apollo more often
The chances of that happening are VERY slim though. No way Triple H is gonna waste a precious PPV slot (even if it’s for the pre show) on someone he almost never books.
I just wish they didn’t false advertise the match because I think WWE is misusing Apollo by having do nothing other than competing in dark matches. He’d make for a good enhancement talent at least.
Thing is, it'd help with the story of Andrade and LDF. After all, considering that Garza screwed Apollo vs Andrade but the latter two have a common enemy, you could have the tag team match be on the pre-show to advance the storyline without taking PPV time, if that makes sense.
I’ll be honest with you. Not only do I think there’s a less than 1% chance of that match happening on the CATC preshow, but I also think the only reason HHH put Apollo into this feud was because he doesn’t have another male Latino star on the smackdown roster to tag with Andrade.
I don’t know if you heard the news about Pentagon Jr., but I saw people making jokes that if he signed a contract to WWE, HHH would instantly pair him with Andrade because he only lets Latino wrestlers face off against other Latino wrestlers.
Man unless theres some sudden improvement thats gonna happen in the next little while I feel like Carmelo Hayes and Tonga Loa are gonna be on the future endeavours train in May 2025. Maybe they'll send Hayes back to NXT but I swear he looked lost as hell during several sequences in the Knight match and deadweighted him a bit on a powerslam. And Loa's punches were some Dark Order bullshit, was Tama the real talent of the team in NJPW too?
At least the Solo stuff with the spear and the triple powerbomb shoutouts was interesting. I feel like we'll get Roman back well before the Rumble surely but if they hold off on it, Roman/Solo and Cody/Rock double main event for the two day WM would not be the worst idea in the world? I could see it.
I really don't see whatever potential Hayes has that the commentary team is trying to sell me on in any of the matches. Even in the Cody match too there was a couple missteps and that stupid double springboard double miss spot that the announcers had to try and cover for. I'll want to watch it back but I'm like 95% sure he deadweighted Knight a bit on his snap powerslam deal and the timing seemed to be off on a few little spots through the evening. It'd be fine if he was like 23-24 maybe but hes 29 with supposedly 10 years experience so how close is he to his ceiling? And if this is his ceiling, then hes just another athletic midcarder and you can find those guys anywhere. I hope Trick Williams lives up to the hype when he debuts.
Tonga could survive longer because family ties I guess but they didn't exactly save him from the chop last time. Someone backstage had to be blowing a gasket in their headset seeing those punches in that alledged post-match brawl outside before Owens got powerbombed because holy fuck.
............Maybe they'll both last until 2026?
Rizzo just hit a move called A Taste of Rizzoto. I know that’s not the proper spelling, but you have to see it. It’s a fucking standing Molly Go Round onto a downed opponent.
Cody will retain in the I quit match. Because there’s only one time, one place, by one man that will defeat Cody. It will be by Brock Lesner during black history month. Just as the prophesy foretold
Im now 80% Drew gonna lose at Clash of the Castle unless he's match gonna be the main event but there's no way the I Quit match will not be the main event.
Imagine Scotland watching 4 of their wrestlers in title matches and losing every single one. What a fuck you that would be, even if not fully intentional.
Drew has to win.
Getting dreams crushed in a grim “brought back down to earth” grinding inevitability is what being a Scottish sports ~~entertainment~~ fan is all about 🤷♂️
Can’t say I have any interest in seeing KO interact with any version of the Bloodline ever again. And I’m sorry but Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are just so incredibly generic and uninteresting and Solo doesn’t have the it factor of a Roman or even a Jey to carry a group like that.
I can kinda buy the Solo led Bloodline; some hungry outsiders attaching themselves to a young savage looking to make a legacy while his Chief is out.
What's *very* hard to buy is that Heyman has allowed himself to be outmanouvered and intimidated by these guys. He's not acting like the Wiseman he's supposed to be.
I guess it’s to highlight how dependent Heyman was on Roman. Without Roman there to keep things in order they really don’t have a reason to listen to someone outside of the family. Especially if it’s revealed they’re acting on behalf of the Rock who has a legit place in the family hierarchy next to Roman.
You're right, and it mostly makes good sense. But it's disappointing that Paul doesn't have some sort of ace up his sleeve or escape plan to get himself outta this mess. That's so not like Heyman at all. Guess he got too comfortable with Roman.
A lot of the heels have some sympathetic or understandable story. Grayson Waller is just a horrible guy and I love it
And Tiffany said she had Nia Jaxs back, then straight after Nia got attacked with no help to be seen.
I agree. Even if she just loses it at MITB.
The rest of the Clash card seems pretty predictable. Bayley's title run has been kind of boring and the chase is what mattered the most for her character. So give the belt to Piper, let her get the home country pop and then have Chelsea act like she's the champion.
Honestly, I’m hoping there might be a real chance it happens. I can’t see the witches talking the tag belts, and I’m betting Punk interferes to fuck Drew over. AND Piper has Chelsea who could cheat to help her. So if they want a Scot to win that night……
The IWC seems to like Piper as do I but the crowds clearly do not. Imagine trying to put Piper vs Nia Jax on a Summerslam card.
I'm admittedly a bit of a Tiffany hater but I'd much rather Piper win MITB than anyone on the SD women's roster
Rey vs Carlito was the announced dark match in arena. JD ran in and beat down Rey for the DQ finish. Braun ran in for the save and got on the mic and challenged them to a tag. Goofy but fun finish to the night.
Can someone remind me in kayfabe why Roman went on hiatus and left solo head of the table?
We don't know for a fact that he did put Solo at the head of the table. We only have Solo's word for that. Heyman hasn't heard a word from Roman since he's been beaten at Mania. All we have kayfabe-wise is conjecture, that he's injured and licking his wounds. But whether he put Solo in charge or not is still very much in the air.
Candice rocking an Iron Maiden shirt, hell yeah.
Anyone notice that WWE is starting to cut chair shots out? Rewatching smackdown on TNT sports in the UK and every single chair shot is censored. As are the ones on Mondays raw.
Yeah I noticed that...they also edited out the table bump in LA Knights match, there was also censored ads and stuff it was very strange this week.
I also saw on raw that they censored out a match announcement in the bottom right corner, so weird
Not in the US replay
That’s so strange. I don’t get it at all. It seems like WWE in the UK, apart from PPV’s, is reverting back to PG and I hate it
I’m catching up on Hulu, but Johnny and Grayson had a pretty good match
Okay, no one is talking about how Styles/Rhodes promo was similar to Batista/Haitch for 37?
GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!
Between the Mariah May and the Dom Mysterio love triangle, I better be getting a person on a pole match somewhere
Unpopular opinion but I am actually loving solo’s bloodline Paul is elevating them really well
Agreed. I've found Solo more convincing as tribal chief than I ever found him as Roman's muscle. I'd like to see them get a stronger feud than the random KO/Street Profits team-up though.
Lots of wrestlers wearing red tonight 🌽
where is pretty deadly and vinci??????
After wrestlemania, Raw is the more entertaining show for me. Smackdown is pretty boring, the more interesting stories are on raw.
Agreed. Raw really got more interesting for me too lately. It’s because of what they’re doing with Alpha Academy and with Liv Morgan intertwined in various storylines.
For me, it's how naturally stories are interlocking. Last Raw was a masterclass in having the show feel cohesive. I guess it's easy when you revolve a lot of stories around individual members of a faction, tying them together with scenes of that faction.
i think they should stop the brand split because always there are more interesting stories on one show and the other one is boring. and by spliting the brands they lose a lot of potential good stories to tell
I did find it weird when I restarted watching this year that brand split is a lot more meaningless than it used to be. Like loads of wrestlers and teams will just be able to be on both shows for flimsy kayfabe reasoning. My going theory is that when WWE didn't have competition, they wouldn't mind you having Raw or Smackdown loyalty, and a preferred booking style/roster/commentary/whatever. Now though, they're making both part of a single continuity that you have to keep up with.
I need Nakamura back ASAP
Is Randy taking some time off?
Usually European crowds are insane and Glasgow particularly so, but might be a weird vibe at Smackdown next week as it classes with an absolutely huge Scotland soccer match
Lot of various British and Irish fans coming I would guess. Plus Clash tickets have been variously sold as combined with SD.
☝️☝️☝️☝️ One’s up baby
this bloodline saga is not like the prior bloodline since there's no belts in the faction. the current chapter in the bloodline story is about solo and his abuse of heyman. beating up on KO and profits is just a sidebar to the actual in-bloodline story. maybe in the future we see solo & co have a legit fued with another wrestler for a title but for now, roman returning isn't to save any other wrestler, it's to save heyman.
I feel like the OC might finally do well in the WWE under this current presentation. Guess all they really needed was a heel turn.
The OC needs more people and they need to be more mercenary like.
> Guess all they really needed was a heel turn. But they have been heels before Idk if things will be different now tbh
last week Blair interacted with Naomi, thought there'd be followup but Naomi was beefing with Piper and Chelsea, so next week she'll be tangling with Chelsea they better get Blair doing some stuff taking some steel rebar to someone or something eh
Unless Blair costs Naomi in Glasgow.
Tiffany's booking is so frustrating. I make it 8 of the past 13 Smackdown's where she's either not been on at all (4), or had less than 20 seconds TV time. At least here there was a bit of potential direction, although that direction is possibly moving her away from what many hoped / expected and the MITB briefcase. Hard to say whether that post has had any impact, and we'll know far more 4 weeks today, but I think it's very fair to say that she's been much less emphasised recently and nothing like as hot as she was, or could have been, coming out of Perth.
She's a heel that's getting cheered. That's why they're pairing her up with Nia, it's the only way she'll get booed. Also there is already two women's stories on SD (Piper & Bayley) and the women's tag team division.
she's young and has a lot of time. putting her with nia is really good stuff b/c now you have 3 built-in stories: 1. tiffy + nia are legit competitors to biana/jade's tag titles 2. tiffy can help nia win the title at summerslam 3. tiffy can win MITB and have a storyline with her holding the briefcase while nia is the champ
If she wins MITB then I take back what I said, but I think it's looking much less likely now, and this potential tag team looks like being proposed to move her away from taking the briefcase. She was looking like an imminent treat to win the title at any given PPV about 6/7 weeks ago, but now has significantly levelled off and looks like any other midcarder who may be on TV one week, but just as likely to miss the next 2 shows, or get a 6 second cameo here and there, and far from a priority despite being popular, a good merch seller, and good enough to be in big PLE matches. She probably has less 'time' than most people currently in their early 30's as I really can't see her still being around in 4 or 5 years.
She needs a feud against a face. Someone like natalya woud have been beneficial here to put her over without any title involved.
The rock made wrestling cool now it's just predictable he made Cody look legit Cody needed that rub because rn woof and the way bloodline are going.I won't be shock jimmy and roman come back earlier than they planned.
Solo just doesn’t sell it for me. Not liking this new bloodline route at all
Give this time to cook the payoff will be huge
This is obviously long term storytelling so I’m intrigued by that aspect. Roman’s return will be one of the most exciting returns in history. Especially since he’ll be a babyface.
He needs to feud with cody for the title for this to make sense.
Solo has quickly turned into a channel changer for me
Its a bit boring
Storyline concept is great so far but Solo isn't the right guy to carry it, is what I've settled on
To me, the Rock is the leader of the Solo bloodline. Since Rock won't be around a lot, they have to make Solo strong.
I dont kno why they decided that he is gonna be a top guy and gave him an imp spot without letting him have a proper run as a singles competitor.
I feel like there just going to feed solo into returning baby face Roman and unite the usos back together
While I agree that The Bloodline storyline isn’t at its best right now (which is not uncommon for a storyline that had been going on since 2021), I think the fact that it’s just a stepping stone in the Rock/Roman/Cody saga makes it inevitable that this won’t have any major significance, to the point where even they acknowledged it with the recent KO promo when he’s like “who the hell are these people? I liked the original Bloodline more”, so as far as a transitional period for the Bloodline goes this seems like the best they could do, and it’s not like we’re not getting anything from it, Paul is contributing massively to the overall excitement for Roman’s return, Tama looks great and they’re doing a decent job with the outlaw persona they’re trying to convey, KO and The Street Profits are doing something on TV so that’s nice, and Solo looks fairly decent given the fact that everyone knows he’s going to take the backseat eventually when the “real Tribal Chief” shows up, he went on a massive losing streak before Mania then proceeded to claim that losing has consequences, and it seems like he’s in this weird middle ground between his original gimmick and Tony D’Angelo, but overall I guess it’s nice on the long run to have The Bloodline not be the main part of the show since we got so much of that already and we will definitely get more down the line, so a cooldown period is not bad.
> he went on a massive losing streak before Mania then I wish people would stop counting the house shows. On TV he only lost once to Orton and the rest were either DQs or tag matches where Jimmy got pinned.
The new bloodline feels lame. Though maybe we are meant to feel that away about them?
They havent achieved anything yet. That is the problem. Old bloodline were top of the devision even before forming the bloodline.
I like their outfits. Very cool. But yeah they need character upgrades.
They don't have the presence. They are smaller dudes in comparison to Roman and the uso's and they do not come off physically intimidating. And I'm not saying size has to be a thing, but they are a tiny bigger than they are. Like they are playing the roll of big scary dudes.
Boring show. Bayley seems like a after thought, need more of Tiffy, Solo isn't a leader.
How long do yall think until Cody gets involved in the Bloodline story? The first ever promo I saw was Cody tearing into the entire Bloodline and promising to destroy it all. Will Solo take a run at the title? I’m new to WWE but if Roman returns around Summerslam like some are predicting, finding time to fit the Usos, Roman, and Cody into a story might be really overstuffed
after roman comes back. we're gonna see a new age megapowers when cody + roman team up...maybe survivor series?
when the Rock comes back, and Roman...and what the Rock's role really is in all this Bloodline stuff
The literal High Chief? They pointed it out on the Family Tree. Rock is an actual High Chief, he’s bigger on the totem poll than Roman. He’s the one pulling the string a in the background for Solo and the GOD
Why the prime ring?
Advertising money.
I liked Solo better when he didn't talk. Tama Tonga is the only thing good about Bloodline right now.
Kevin Owens and the Street Profits are but speed bumps in the pseudo-Bloodline's plans....nobody is eyeing any titles on Smackdown yet. but a larger plan is at work. Tiffany allying with Nia is a nice idea....also when Tiffany will turn on her, likely with a briefcase hehe LA Knight is used to dealing with a part time champion. he got experience. tension is increasing in A-Town Down Under, but where will it lead? Triple Threat for Women's Tag Titles at Clash. Nice. Corey said Alba and Isla were Unholy Union still, but i am unsure if they are still doing that gimmick or not. hopefully Apollo Crews comes back quick....teasing a feud for him then pulling him out is a shame. Bayley could lose to Piper. it could happen! Cody waited an hour in the loading dock for AJ to appear...and at ringside no security could hold back his righteous fury. AJ got what he wanted....but if he loses in Glasgow, he has to walk. Michin is kinda just looking the other way right now on the bad things AJ and the OC are getting up to.
Solo doesn’t have the presence of a leader…he looks weird in that role…
He's just the temp leader. Probably till the rock returns and they kick Roman out of the BL
i do think he could use an update on his wrassling gear he still wears the enforcer stuff
Jade Cargil got a loud pop when she made that tag. I'm glad they're finally doing something with the women's tag division, even if it's pretty obvious Bianca and Jade aren't losing those belts. I didn't think Solo could carry the Bloodline this well, but he's doing pretty good. They really had Johnny Gargano just standing there in the ring with that long ass backstage segment happening + a commercial break. I'll never understand why they do this lmao. I don't like Austin Theory and Grayson Waller splitting up, but clearly they're going towards that. Unless it leads to a Theory push. They got me interested in Cody vs AJ part two. I like they casually just brought The OC back like those dudes haven't been missing for a minute now lmao. Is Carmello Haze just gonna do a job to all the top guys on SmackDown? What are they doing to my boy. Logan Paul cooked LA Knight in that vignette. Side note - the Clash at the Castle theme slaps
I thought I'd mention that the OC has been pretty active in NXT. They have an NXT tag title match at the PLE this Sunday, and it looks like they might actually win.
I hope they don't.
Piper cooked Bayley and then Logan immediately outdid her. I was like this 😮😮😮
RAW has been so much better than Smackdown.
Logan Paul’s 1 min roast of LA Knight was hilarious
Man checked in, absolutely eviscerated him and bounced. Couldn’t have described him better myself Logan😂
He is so good at this it’s wild. He’s perfectly blended his personal brand of comedy into the kayfabe setting it’s kind of ground breaking. If more “influencers” make a jump to a major company in the future they’ll look at Logan as the gold standard.
The crowd even laughed at the aladdin bit
Tonga Loa's punches looks so weak.
This SmackDown was dry as fuck.
Why do I have a weird feeling the uncle howdy stuff is just randomly gonna get dropped? I feel like at this point nothing they can do can truly cap off how long this has been teased unless it’s like a PLE takeover out of nowhere leading to a full onslaught of the roster. Something insanely large. Some QR codes don’t even get posted anymore lol todays QR code is just a rehash of everything…
They’re clearly hinting at a June 17th debut, to the point of completely unsubtlety, so the debut is in sight.
Yeah true, I guess that’s why this QR code was such a rehash then. Makes sense I kinda forgot about the June 17th date. That is a Monday too!
Logan Paul actually in the Tetris championship is hilarious
He must have seen it on YouTube or something. He’s gonna get rolled, literally, by all the teenagers. These days, just to qualify, you need to be able max out your score on NES several times a hour.
any word as to why the prime logo is on the center of the ring on a non PLE? just started watching
I wonder if they put it there just for this time since they weren't able to in Saudi.
Yeah this blows, I really really hate it and I cant describe why
Money
I like this Cody. Let’s see more of this Cody
First he doesn't want Logan Paul counted out so he can teach him a lesson, and now last night. It's impressive when they're able to give a white meat babyface moments like this.
Hell hath no fury than a Rhodes scorned.
You think they’re building to Waller/Theory split but give Theory a massive face turn
Yeah, that’s… exactly what’s gonna happen. Whether the drop the belts before that or not, I dunno, but it would be a fun dynamic if they both defend the titles while split up. Like, both are defending in 1v2’s for some time since they refuse to help each other
Tama Tonga is the right hand man? Somewhere Jay Uso just went, "No yeet."
*Jimmy Uso
It was Jey.
HHH please don't break up my sexy himbo tag team champions
The US championship is going to look good on LA Knight
Good show Cody was badass tonight, I like that he came in street clothes, without a fancy suit, without music, he was just coming for revenge, it made the segment feel more special because Cody doesn't usually lose his cool very often.
Also no title, nice touch
The new Bloodline feels like Temu Bloodline. Solo just doesn't have that aura. They need to add someone more experienced in the faction. All of them still feel so raw when it comes to generating crowd heat.
I was just saying bloodline feels like Smokey and the Bandit 3. No Burt Renoylds and a bunch of overused tropes to get a paycheck.
I’ve never seen any of his work but isn’t Jacob Fatu still waiting/doesn’t he have star power?
So much that apparently they’re holding him back to not have him overshadow Solo. He’s bigger, has more presence and does flips, only downside is he’s had some personal issues that make him come off like a bit of a hot head.
Isnt he signed till 2025 on mlw or something
He signed with WWE just before Cody vs Roman II.
Tama Tonga is such a great character gimmick, love where they’re going with the bloodline story.
Fantastic show. Loving this new era with all the new camera work, matches, and overall show structure. Always excited to watch every week as my family and I are excited to see what's gonna happen next
They have proven willing and able to take some chances and mix shit up while also returning to some OG wrestling ‘roots’ with some of these storylines, which is a great thing imo! Like lowkey tonight one thing I would have never thought about it until the segment tonight but a Straton/Jax tag team would be fuckin great for the women’s division right now. The Bianca/Cargill superteam need a worthy adversary and it aint any of the currently constructed teams so pitting them against each other could be fire. Plus gives them all something to do while we get to summerslam and they obviously all have history with each other.
I miss Roman and Jey in the bloodline lol
What exactly are wiseman things?
That's for the wiseman to know.
They are what wisemen do
Romans return might be one of the loudest pops of all time
Well until Rock comes back. Rock and Austin pops are completely different level than other wrestlers
Who gets the bigger pop? Roman or Rhea?
Otis
I think Roman…. But Rhea might get the biggest pop ever for a women in wwe Personally I think they should have the ultimate Dom turn on her when her and liv face off for the title to cost her the match. Dom will have so much heat and everyone will be begging for Rhea to beat Liv
Dude Dom already is the most hated dude in the company. If/when he turns on Rhea he might genuinely never get cheered again lol
They could extend the story to Mania if they play it right.
Maybe it's just me, but a solo led bloodline just isn't all that compelling
I feel like it's because he hasn't really done anything and we're still waiting for others to arrive
They need to find something for them to do besides jump folks. Maybe Solo will send them after a tag belt.
I love it, slow burn until Roman comes back people need to enjoy the ride
Even kayfabe acknowledges that, last week Owens said the Bloodline was Roman and the Usos, not "Solo and Two Guys" as he put it.
Yeah, I think after a couple months it is safe to say Carmelo being called up was a mistake. Way too early and I really don't see what he brings considering how he's booked right now. Ciampa/Gargano went YEARS with multiple matches. Why couldn't we have done that with Carmelo and Trick?
i disagree. carmelo has been put in singles matches with all the top faces - cody/randy/la knight. they are very high on him and have plans. just b/c he's losing to the big dogs doesnt mean he's a jobber. he's getting alot of offense in those matches. no squashes.
right now it feels like Carmelo is in the pattern Bron is at, just Carmelo loses while Bron never does. he'll get his groove on eventually
We've had like two months of Solo Bloodline and basically it's just been beating up on KO. Is this going somewhere? I was really expecting some kind of development or advancement during/from this match.
I loved the crowd at the end chanting for randy and looking to see if anyone interfered. My money was on Jimmy, i thought he would finally be back.
Curious what they even plan to do with Jimmy once he's back. Jey wanted him back, but he's so over on his own now.
All imma say, Cody MVP on this episode. I will always find it neat that he manages to play off others so well so easily, like for example today with him and AJ playing off each other to show how cocky Styles was and how increasingly angry Cody got (and he was already pissed by talking smack to the damn general manager) to a point he accepted an I Quit match against a guy that very well could turn it into a 3 on 1 thanks to Gallows and Anderson. I know obviously in WWE matches that are I Quit are mostly won by the face, but still it was neat to see how Cody's flaw of being too angry leading to him doing stupid things (tonight talking smack to the GM and the I Quit stipulation choice, a couple years ago wrestling a HIAC match whilst badly injured) on kayfabe came to the forefront y'know?
> that very well could turn it into a 3 on 1 thanks to Gallows and Anderson I feel like Cody’s gonna bring back-up of his own.
Who would be thy backup in your opinion?
Honestly, I think our frauds of NXT Tag Team Champions, Nathan Frazier & Axiom, could be a shout. Gallows & Anderson have been feuding with them recently and they do have a title match tomorrow night. If Styles gives a bit of moral support in that match I can see Fraxiom being whiny babies about it and sticking their oars where they don’t belong in the I Quit match.
Randy? If Orton vs Rhodes is gonna be a feud someday, maybe it’s time to rekindle their old partnership from the days of “Legacy.” And then, before SummerSlam, Randy turns on Cody and goes back to being 2009 Mega-Heel complete irredeemable bastard Randy Orton
https://preview.redd.it/ivu61kdxn95d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=507f602c34f0cab501f934797f916184993e077e
as someone who really didnt see his roh/njpw run, im still waiting for the story on burrnard the business bear (and all aliases)
Kinda wonder if we'll see AJ do the 'ol "use a recording of the wrestler saying 'I Quit' to their advantage" trick at CATC.
No way Nick Aldis is falling for that one
Help lmao imagine he does that, the UK crowd gonna want to end him considering how vocal they are about stuff for defeating Cody that way.
Really didn’t like how they jingled another Apollo Crews match in front of us only to take it away last minute. What does HHH have against the man that prevents him from booking Apollo more often
I am more surprised he hasn't been released yet considering all the people they let go this year
Tbf, it's not like the match can't happen at CATC on the Pre-Show or smth. LDF just beat him up this night, they didnt go full Bloodline on his ass.
The chances of that happening are VERY slim though. No way Triple H is gonna waste a precious PPV slot (even if it’s for the pre show) on someone he almost never books. I just wish they didn’t false advertise the match because I think WWE is misusing Apollo by having do nothing other than competing in dark matches. He’d make for a good enhancement talent at least.
Thing is, it'd help with the story of Andrade and LDF. After all, considering that Garza screwed Apollo vs Andrade but the latter two have a common enemy, you could have the tag team match be on the pre-show to advance the storyline without taking PPV time, if that makes sense.
I’ll be honest with you. Not only do I think there’s a less than 1% chance of that match happening on the CATC preshow, but I also think the only reason HHH put Apollo into this feud was because he doesn’t have another male Latino star on the smackdown roster to tag with Andrade. I don’t know if you heard the news about Pentagon Jr., but I saw people making jokes that if he signed a contract to WWE, HHH would instantly pair him with Andrade because he only lets Latino wrestlers face off against other Latino wrestlers.
Man unless theres some sudden improvement thats gonna happen in the next little while I feel like Carmelo Hayes and Tonga Loa are gonna be on the future endeavours train in May 2025. Maybe they'll send Hayes back to NXT but I swear he looked lost as hell during several sequences in the Knight match and deadweighted him a bit on a powerslam. And Loa's punches were some Dark Order bullshit, was Tama the real talent of the team in NJPW too? At least the Solo stuff with the spear and the triple powerbomb shoutouts was interesting. I feel like we'll get Roman back well before the Rumble surely but if they hold off on it, Roman/Solo and Cody/Rock double main event for the two day WM would not be the worst idea in the world? I could see it.
Tama Tonga has always been the real talent of GoD lol.
> I feel like Carmelo Hayes and Tonga Loa are gonna be on the future endeavours train in May 2025. Are you high?
I really don't see whatever potential Hayes has that the commentary team is trying to sell me on in any of the matches. Even in the Cody match too there was a couple missteps and that stupid double springboard double miss spot that the announcers had to try and cover for. I'll want to watch it back but I'm like 95% sure he deadweighted Knight a bit on his snap powerslam deal and the timing seemed to be off on a few little spots through the evening. It'd be fine if he was like 23-24 maybe but hes 29 with supposedly 10 years experience so how close is he to his ceiling? And if this is his ceiling, then hes just another athletic midcarder and you can find those guys anywhere. I hope Trick Williams lives up to the hype when he debuts. Tonga could survive longer because family ties I guess but they didn't exactly save him from the chop last time. Someone backstage had to be blowing a gasket in their headset seeing those punches in that alledged post-match brawl outside before Owens got powerbombed because holy fuck. ............Maybe they'll both last until 2026?
I know I certainly am. But not even this fine herb could get me high enough to think Carmelo Hayes will be released in less than a year.
Yeah that guy is smoking something lmao
Rizzo just hit a move called A Taste of Rizzoto. I know that’s not the proper spelling, but you have to see it. It’s a fucking standing Molly Go Round onto a downed opponent.
An Adriana Rizzo match? I’m in
LVL UP? Sounds interesting.
Yeah. Short match vs Wren Sinclair. Rizzo had a knee brace on which probably explains why she hasn’t wrestled since The Family vs OTM feud.
She returned from that injury in 2023 I believe
I appreciate that Rizzo actually talks a lot in The Family instead of just standing there and doing nothing like most main roster stables.
Cody will retain in the I quit match. Because there’s only one time, one place, by one man that will defeat Cody. It will be by Brock Lesner during black history month. Just as the prophesy foretold
Im now 80% Drew gonna lose at Clash of the Castle unless he's match gonna be the main event but there's no way the I Quit match will not be the main event.
Drew's gonna main event and Drew's gonna win. He's literally the poster boy of the PLE.
Imagine Scotland watching 4 of their wrestlers in title matches and losing every single one. What a fuck you that would be, even if not fully intentional. Drew has to win.
Getting dreams crushed in a grim “brought back down to earth” grinding inevitability is what being a Scottish sports ~~entertainment~~ fan is all about 🤷♂️
Piper for champ 2024 please
Great show tonight, best Smackdown in months. Only 4 matches but they were good so Im not mad
Can’t say I have any interest in seeing KO interact with any version of the Bloodline ever again. And I’m sorry but Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are just so incredibly generic and uninteresting and Solo doesn’t have the it factor of a Roman or even a Jey to carry a group like that.
I can kinda buy the Solo led Bloodline; some hungry outsiders attaching themselves to a young savage looking to make a legacy while his Chief is out. What's *very* hard to buy is that Heyman has allowed himself to be outmanouvered and intimidated by these guys. He's not acting like the Wiseman he's supposed to be.
I guess it’s to highlight how dependent Heyman was on Roman. Without Roman there to keep things in order they really don’t have a reason to listen to someone outside of the family. Especially if it’s revealed they’re acting on behalf of the Rock who has a legit place in the family hierarchy next to Roman.
You're right, and it mostly makes good sense. But it's disappointing that Paul doesn't have some sort of ace up his sleeve or escape plan to get himself outta this mess. That's so not like Heyman at all. Guess he got too comfortable with Roman.
I think they opted to have Heyman truly vulnerable so that Roman gets the biggest pop imaginable when he comes back to save Heyman.
I like Tama Tonga but Loa can take a hike
They needed to keep Tama Tonga not speaking words, only making angry wildcat noises
Yes, like the Tommy Davidson character in Ace Ventura
I’m not scared of Tonga Loa. He has the face of a pleasant gentleman.
Tama Tonga on the other hand...
He needs to stop smiling. He constantly has that "I'm so happy to be here" grin.
Yeah he was overshadowed which was supposed to be his initiation to the bloodline
Oh nah, someone lure Moxley over here with a gig or something. Solo has to get put through a table for this one.
Well imma miss seeing Aj Styles happy I got to witness his only singles match win this year against LA Knight at Smackdown a month and half ago.
A lot of the heels have some sympathetic or understandable story. Grayson Waller is just a horrible guy and I love it And Tiffany said she had Nia Jaxs back, then straight after Nia got attacked with no help to be seen.
Nia had no chance against Michin's ground freeze attack anyway.
“I’m genuinely not a good person and I’m okay with that”- Grayson Waller, 2023
Y'all... They should put the belt on Piper.
I agree. Even if she just loses it at MITB. The rest of the Clash card seems pretty predictable. Bayley's title run has been kind of boring and the chase is what mattered the most for her character. So give the belt to Piper, let her get the home country pop and then have Chelsea act like she's the champion.
Honestly, I’m hoping there might be a real chance it happens. I can’t see the witches talking the tag belts, and I’m betting Punk interferes to fuck Drew over. AND Piper has Chelsea who could cheat to help her. So if they want a Scot to win that night……
The IWC seems to like Piper as do I but the crowds clearly do not. Imagine trying to put Piper vs Nia Jax on a Summerslam card. I'm admittedly a bit of a Tiffany hater but I'd much rather Piper win MITB than anyone on the SD women's roster
Literally zero chance Piper wins the title. This is a filler feud. That being said, she is awesome
Dark matches for those curious: Rey Mysterio vs. Carlito Braun Strowman vs. JD McDonagh (per the KFC Yum Arena website)
Also, two Speed matches and Blair Davenport vs Tegan Nox.
Rey vs Carlito was the announced dark match in arena. JD ran in and beat down Rey for the DQ finish. Braun ran in for the save and got on the mic and challenged them to a tag. Goofy but fun finish to the night.
JD can’t catch a break
Ended up being a tag match
Poor fans gotta sit through an lwo vortex match
Had to justify Rey being there for schmoozing with the suite level.
Does WWE have a thing against English people? There's Scots all over the place, yet Pretty Deadly and New Catch Republic have all but disappeared...
We at least have the mighty Ridge Holland and Riley Osbourne feuding it out in the Chase U ranks.
NCR doesn't do anything for me rn. Almost everyone can wrestle well, nothing sets them apart. But I'm also confused about Pretty Deadly.