Charlie Davis: More WWE PPV’s than you can shake a stick at. Which means more predictions! I also watched Raw this week because I hate myself!
Forrest Hollingsworth: If you or your loved ones have been impacted by Raw, consider watching literally anything else.
Monday: RAW
Charlie: Takeover: In Your House happened and it was pretty good, though not horrifically memorable, but I have a bone to pick so… As I stated above, I watched Raw this week. Mind you, not all of Raw, but I watched some of it. Why? I don’t know. I literally have no clue, but I did. I really…cannot understand how anyone is watching this three hour show weekly and has anything but contempt for it. Didn’t end up mentioning it last week, but Raw recently ended with Alexa’s doll Lilly stalking Shayna Bayzler backstage and murdering her? Maybe? It was unclear, but what WAS clear is that WWE have no respect for who Shayna used to be or what she can actually bring to the table. This week, there was no mention of what happened, only Nia telling Alexa that Shayna wanted her in Hell in a Cell because of course. That gimmick match means nothing anymore so why not! I am not even going to mention the Eva Marie and Piper Niven stuff because its going to a place that I can see a million miles away.
Forrest: The problem is the lack of alternatives. There’s just so few people actively performing on any given Raw that almost any conceivable match-up has been seen before. There’s a lot of rumors about a big Summer/Pre-Fall wave of NXT call-ups and I honestly believe, despite being frustrated by how the main roster further dilutes performers, that it is out of pure necessity.
Charlie: I promise I’m not here to drag WWE through the mud even if they deserve it. All I’m here for is to watch a wrestling product that makes me happy and isn’t incredibly reductive. Three hours of Raw is long enough when the snow is hitting on all cylinders, but it’s not and it hasn’t for a long while. WWE has been surviving on nostalgia for so long that it wouldn’t know getting new talent over if it bit them on the ass. My time with Raw this week was bad, but it did it for you fans, as always. RKBro continues to be the best thing on the show wrestling and character wise aside from the New Day who always, always delight despite what they are given. Something interesting is brewing between MVP and Kofi so if you are interested in anything on this show, that would be the one thing I would keep and eye on.
Tuesday: NXT
Charlie: I’m here first and am so happy to tell you that NXT was firing on all cylinders this week. It felt like an old episode of NXT, like the ones before they were shunted onto USA. Although I hate the way Joe was treated in him being released, the role they have devised for him is incredibly perfect. He not only put the fear of God into Kross, but choked out an increasingly disrespectful Adam Cole. It was great.
Forrest: One of the single best NXT episodes ever! Kross’s best character work to-date is looking absolutely terrified of the re-debuting Samoa Joe? I never would’ve guessed, but I loved the segment, and I think that’s kind of essential work to recontextualize Joe in the way they need to, both as management and as means to have him work without taking bumps. There’s a ton of questions about how the main roster can release someone but NXT can re-sign them, crossovers with UUDD, Twitch streaming rights and permission, etc that are here too, but we don’t have time to unpack all of that.
A quick shout out to the idea of KOR and Cole choosing opponents for each other’s next matches, too. There’s a lot of narrative meat there, and the potential to bring new and old people into the feud, to do some really legitimate heel or face work, and to create a story leading into their own match-up in July is one of those things that sure, only works because fans are aware of the artifice of wrestling booking and are willing to overlook it, but also because it’s such a more interesting prospect than weekly booking usually is.
Charlie: This episode really just acted as a vehicle for Joe to get across his new role and interact with everyone that’s been disrespecting Regal recently. Run-ins with Pete Dunne who is probably the man they should have put the belt on at Takeover, Johnny who had some key moments of comedic goofiness and the KOR and Adam Cole stuff. I really liked this episode, it felt like a return to form in a big way but only time will tell if they can keep this momentum.
Thursday: Impact!
Charlie: Thursday was actually eventful on Impact so we can talk about something that’s actually been noticed for quite some time, but we hadn’t seen it make its way onto TV yet. Don Callis fired Sami Callihan at the end of Against All Odds when he turned up at Daily’s Place to attack Kenny and The Young Bucks. The management figures inside of Impact have been warring for quite some time now, especially after Callis seemed to have duped Impact into thinking Kenny was actually on their show because he wanted to be. No. He was just here to take the belt. So he did that and now the locker room is without a champion that cares or the belt to fight over. After his actions last Saturday, Don has been promptly fired, confirming the news for a few weeks that he no longer has any owning stake in Impact. I don’t know what this means for the story, but it is an interesting development at least. As you can see above, it will be Kenny and Sami at Slammiversary which is a very funny PPV name.
Forrest: I don’t have anything to say I just wanted to share this tweet:
https://twitter.com/TheDonCallis/status/1405978660025294853?s=20
This should be in the MoMA.
Charlie: AGREED. One of my biggest sins is that I’m kinda a mark for Don. He’s a really great heel.
Friday: Smackdown, Dynamite
Charlie: The Dynamite schedule is so messed up that I cannot wait until it switches back to Wednesday. It seems like somewhere along the way, AEW figured out that some people aren’t watching either.
Forrest: I missed Dynamite this week, mostly because the idea of a worked MMA match doesn’t appeal to me at all, but also because the Friday time slot is rough.
Charlie: It is, but next Saturday marks the end of that and has a stacked card that should really give us some goodies. Outside of the MMA thing which I will admit had a good presentation at least, this episode was smooth sailing. I watched AEW right after tuning into Smackdown and damn…the presentation of Dynamite as a wrestling show is just better. Things feel fresh and exciting instead of scripted and drab…it’s just something I noticed. Things are kinda in stasis a bit in AEW, which I suspect is because they are going back on the road again soon, but I will take this time to mention a handful of things that were really great this week. Also, Andrade has a surprise for us. I hope its what I think it is.
- Darby’s handicap match against Ethan and Scoprio was great. Darby had a spot where he zip tied Ethan’s feat together to get him out of the match. I cannot wait for this singles blood feud to EXPLODE.
- The Wingmen have become an exceptional lower card menace.
- Team Taz is still trying to kill Hangman Page and they are the perfect team to heat him up before he goes after the title.
- KENNY OMEGA AND HIS CARTOON VILLAIN ENCOUNTER WITH JUNGLE BOY. I will make it known that Kenny first started turning heel last year during the Elite’s trios match with Jurassic Express. This year, he’s a full blown heel fighting Jungle Boy for the title. I love that timing. Some people have poked at Kenny’s character in regard to him being too cartoonish for his manipulations of the Young Bucks earlier to be consistent with his character, but it’s always been the same character. His childish antics juxtaposed with the very sinister way he manipulates the closest people around him is perfection. He’s insecure, broken and trying desperately to grab at straws.
- Kaz and Eddie finding each other through a common goal now that Mox is out for a while is really good. I am digging Elite Hunter Kaz.
- The six man main event was GREAT! Matt getting beat up really bad and the Good Brothers being there to protect him at all costs showed me a lot about their characters. The Bucks were the prize that Don wanted to gain, the Good Brothers are there to make sure they and Kenny are always protected. Also, Nick with the cold spray will always make me pop.
Also: this rules
Forrest: Elsewhere, Rey should stop going into matches on behalf of Dominik and then losing. Imagine if you saw your dad getting his ass kicked every week on national television.
Charlie: Smackdown was largely fine, if not boring. The HIAC change was annoying and pointless, but ended the way I anticipated it was going to. Sami and Kevin have been subbed in and that match which is relying on a million years of blood feud and backstory should be one to see if they let them actually go. The one thing I am annoyed about is that Jimmy seems to have accepted Roman, but that’s not the most interesting story beat. Why do this now? On a nothing Smackdown? I don’t know. Whatever, man.
HIAC Predictions
WWE Championship — Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre (Hell in a Cell):
Charlie: This one could go either way, but I think it’s still Bobby. If nothing else, the allure of a Bobby v Brock match is still alive and will be until it becomes clear that it maybe won’t happen.
Forrest: There was a lot of reasonable concern that Drew was going to be really damaged by his WrestleMania loss, but I don’t think he has been. He’s consistently one of the best performers on Raw, consistently given some of the most screen time, and consistently in the title picture — he’s not hurting for anything, but Bobby still needs that big title moment or feud outside of Drew. This is the opportunity to do that, to give their feud the end it needs (as HIAC is meant to, historically) and to then move on to someone or something new for Bobby. As you said CD, I’ll even take Brock.
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship – – Bianca Beliar vs. Bayley (Hell in a Cell)
Charlie: A late addition to the card that tells me more than anything else that the Hell in a Cell stipulation is dead. It means nothing anymore. It used to signify the end of a blood feud, but no more. I’ll be disappointed if Bianca doesn’t retain.
Forrest: There are less than 10 women actively performing on the SmackDown roster right now, a series of Bianca beating them all would be unbearable. I expect Bayley might win just to keep things interesting, but I also think Bianca will get another shot, and a big win, at SummerSlam. I’m still pretty endeared to both of them.
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Charlie: Another late addition! I have no clue about this one, but I do know that Sami seems not well and uh…Kev maybe you should do something about that. I’m calling this Sami wins via DQ.
Forrest: Sami’s fine, it’s everyone else that’s the problem. Hope he gets a nice clean win.
Raw Women’s Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair:
Charlie: These two are wonderful in the ring together, but I’ve seen this or some combination of this so many times that…I’m just not interested anymore. They have ranked Rhea’s character and I’m just. I can’t. I’m calling it for Charlotte.
Forrest: Well, at least Asuka isn’t here to take the loss. Rhea hasn’t cohered into anything really compelling yet so I think it might be time to let Charlotte — who is undergoing a bit of a career reinvention, surprisingly — take over.
Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler:
Charlie: I can’t with this one. I don’t know, Alexa wins by possessing Shayna.
Forrest: Is this the first match Alexa is booked for since WrestleMania? That can’t be right. Is that right? Huh. Shayna don’t re-sign with WWE challenge.
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro:
Charlie: These two have been fantastic together, but the feud has continued since Wrestlemania without really any big developments. Seth takes this one and we have a blow off at Summerslam or something.
Forrest: From a pure in-ring perspective, I could watch them go at this a few more times, but I want bigger narrative things for Cesaro, and SmackDown is in a pretty good place to provide that right now. He needs to cement the win and move on.
Charlie Davis is the world’s premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Match Club.
Forrest is an experimental AI that writes and podcasts about comic books and wrestling coming to your area soon.
