It was an uber-hot crowd in Bologna, Italy, at the Unipol Arena for Friday Night SmackDown. Roman Reigns was scheduled for the show with Seth Rollins and CM Punk— pushing to secure the long-rumored triple threat match for WrestleMania. WWE has been on their Euro tour for two weeks, and Monday’s show in Belgium was huge, with John Cena and Cody Rhodes sharing the ring for the first time since the ‘turn felt around the world.’
With WrestleMania’s main event picture nearly clear, it is now time for the rest of the card to take shape. The stacked and versatile Friday card accomplished much of that throughout the show.
The Tribal Chief Holds Trials on Punk And Rollins
Roman Reigns was in rare form tonight as he headlined the final segment of SmackDown. The tag titles were the official main event, but when Roman came out saying he screwed Punk at RAW because Punk screwed Roman at the Rumble, you knew it was going to be a roller coaster. Reigns went on to say that Rollins tried to kill him with the stomp, so he tried to kill Rollins on RAW.
Roman did not waste time inviting anyone out to the ring that might want smoke, and it did not take long for things to start burning. Rollins’ music hit, and his strides to the ring meant to match the rhythmic tone of the choir crowd. He immediately began chastising Roman for interfering in his match and not allowing him to destroy Punk, who Rollins classified as ‘the biggest threat’ to the sport/company.
He told Roman that he understood their history was too grand to bypass, and then he said it was time for a new chapter to be written. Before Roman could respond, Punk’s music hit, and he was ready for the war of words. He said his hands ‘weren’t taped up to hold a mic,’ but he needed to get some facts straight before the fighting commenced.
He took an extra beat before speaking so that both Roman and Seth could hear the ‘CM Punk’ chants reigning down from the crowd. Punk told Roman that the Rumble is ‘every man for himself’ and that he was taking the elimination too personally— claiming that Roman is unfamiliar with the Rumble Rules because he is ‘never in them.’
Punk brought up the favor before thanking Paul for ‘serving up his Tribal Chief on a silver platter. Roman looked at Paul, and Punk took his shot. He put Roman down, but Seth was all over him before he could take advantage. Rollins went after Punk, who went after Roman, then after Rollins, until WWE brass could get all three split apart, and SmackDown ended before it went any further.
We can expect an official announcement for this triple threat match by next week, but the wrestling world will immediately begin speculating what the favor will be and whether Punk is ready to declare.
Can Randy Orton Kick It At WrestleMania?
Not since Pat McAfee has WWE had such a prolific punter as they do in Randy Orton. But the “Viper” had his ‘long toe’ retired after WWE banned his ‘kick to the head’ finisher that he popularized in the early 2010s. However, the WWE has become much more lenient when a superstar performs a ‘banned move. In the Vince McMahon Era, the superstar was likely fired, or at best, you end up on Vince’s s**t list. It’s tough to decide which is worse, considering you inevitably end up in the same place.
Kevin Owens has pushed back harder than anyone in the locker room has before when it comes to ‘banned moves.’ Yet, Owens has utilized the ‘Package Piledriver’ on Cody and Zane, something K.O. says he doesn’t regret. He made that clear when he joined Orton ringside in a promo battle to open the show. Despite believing Rhodes and Zane were equally deserving of his wrath, he claimed that Orton did not.
He asked Orton to forgive him for the beating he threw the veteran superstar, and if he could, then Owens could ‘forgive Randy’ for choosing Cody’s side in their Friendship War. Orton was not having it and challenged Owens on his own former gimmicks, specifically the notion of Owens being ‘the fighter.’
Randy then promised to bring the fight to Owens by delivering a kick to his head at Mania. The match was neither issued as a challenge nor as a GM mandate, but more like the A-side that needs not worry about his place at Mania— mid-card titles and #1 contender spots are not needed when you’re the draw. The match certainly adds to the ‘card of cards,’ but without a meaningful stake or sensible gimmick, it remains vulnerable to getting lost amongst ‘the stars.’
Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman—U.S. Title #1 Contender’s Match
Fatu and Strowman have provided some terrific moments during their off-again/on-again feud, but they are like two neutron stars orbiting each other with violent brushes that you know will result in a head-on collision. You have to wonder what it would have been like if Jacob had been given the squash and jumped right into the U.S. title reign, but WWE is going to make him earn it. How else is there to see this situation when Fatu has to get through ‘The Monster Amongst Men’ to get his shot at LA Knight’s title?
Strowman said before the match while chatting it up with Knight that this was his chance to stamp his ticket to WrestleMania, but unfortunately, the schmoz was in, as is typically the case with this crew. Tama Tonga and Solo both came out to beat down Strowman, causing a DQ in the process.
With the former ‘new’ Bloodline outnumbering Strowman, LA Knight came out to make the save. Strowman was announced as the winner by DQ, and commentary went on as though the outcome of this match was good enough to earn the title shot.
It was clear that Fatu was confused and unhappy with the play Tama and Solo ran, but he officially crashed out on Solo once the trio was backstage. The cameras caught Solo throwing things backstage before addressing Solo directly. Solo began to claim that Fatu looked beat, but he knew better than to offer that kind of rationality. Fatu accused Solo of helping his own cause and told him to stay out of business when he’s ‘handling his.’
(NOTE: It was later confirmed that Strowman will challenge LA Knight for his U.S. title next week on SD.)
Jade Cargill vs. Liv Morgan
After the tag champs crashed Jade’s empty arena pre-recorded interview, the match was booked between Liv and Jade. Jade’s slow burn return from the injured list mirrors how her ‘time-release’ debut was rolled out, and in a lot of ways, this feels worse because the heat was so intense for her revenge arch. It is difficult to sell a ‘bad blood feud’ when both wrestlers are booked for the same show without it being ‘on sight.’
Jade performed her ‘few moves of doom’ and looked great. If she has been perfecting a couple of things over time as opposed to trying to learn too much all at once. Liv even attempted to pull the heel move of ‘bolting’ from the match. Jade went and ‘dog walked’ her back to the ring, and the Warrior vibes were real.
In the end, Naomi came in and attacked Jade to continue their feud, but Jade looked terrific, and if her segment achieved anything tonight, it was the confidence that she was ready to be let off her leash. The Naomi-Jade program should excel immediately, however it looks (Mania or not). However, adding Bianca to this narrative is the kind of drama that admirers of this program will appreciate.
Other Tidbits/Matches
- Tag team champ The Street Profits were successful against Legado Del Fantasma despite Santos’ interference. Oddly enough, Santos was heard screaming, “This isn’t over,” as the segment concluded. The tag division will continue to be showcased next week when The Street Profits defend their titles against Pretty Deadly next week.
- Jimmy Uso and Damian Priest defeated Drew McIntyre and former U.S. champ Shinsuke Nakamura in the first match on tonight’s card. Priest was able to get the pinfall victory over Nakamura, but it did not stop Drew from throwing Priest a beatdown that could keep him out of action for a couple of weeks. Drew got the best of the former WWE heavyweight champion, but they could be headed for a title-less match at Mania.
- Zelina Vega had Piper Niven nearly beaten before women’s U.S. champ Chelsea Green provided the necessary distraction to cost Vega the match. Niven picked up the win, but this feels like Vega and Green is the eventual direction (maybe for Mania?). Still, it would be nice to see Niven get her own opportunity, and a potential break from Green offers opportunities.
- Interestingly, WWE began providing match graphics for WM41, and Cody-Cena had both the Saturday and Sunday dates for WrestleMania on the graphic. It seems unlikely that Cody-Cena will occupy any other day than the Sunday main event slot, but you have to wonder how much is set, considering WrestleMania plans only took shape after Chamber.
- WWE announced that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe will host The Roast of WrestleMania, which isscheduled for the final night of the two-day event. The poster for the card read “Tony Hinchcliffe and friends,” which could be almost anyone in comedy, including Shane Gillis and Jeff Ross. Hinchcliffe is a longtime WWE fan and has co-hosted Joe Rogan shows, specifically when wrestlers are guests that week. Hinchcliffe is not without controversy if you remember his inappropriate comment at a Trump Rally that angered many minorities, specifically the Latin community he insulted.
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