Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga Beat Up Jimmy Uso on WWE Smackdown

There was no wing-eagled belt presentation or congratulatory segment planned for Cody Rhodes during the first SmackDown following his WrestleMania XL victory over Roman Reigns. Instead, SmackDown opened live from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit with Cody delivering an overview of his final face-to-face with Rocky and acknowledging the evening’s main event and its implication—no longer is Cody Rhodes the hunter, he is now the hunted.

As for Cody’s first defense, it would be decided in the main event of next week’s SmackDown following a pair of triple threat matches acting as a sort of qualifier. After the two winners produce a #1 contender, the challenger will face Cody at Backlash on Saturday, May 4^th, in France.

LA Knight vs Santos Escobar vs Bobby Lashley

LA Knight qualified first in SmackDown’s opening match of the night. If given the TV time to do so, these three could probably put on an amazing match, but with the respective factions waiting to interfere, it was destined for a schmoz. The fact that there is no DQ in a triple threat meant LA Knight could take advantage of being the only factionless superstar out there and able to focus on himself and the win.

Kevin Owens vs AJ Styles vs Rey Mysterio

Kevin Owens made history by narrating his own backstage walkthrough to ‘Gorilla’ and then eventually through the curtain and out onto the ring. It was supposed to be a nod to the ‘Goldberg shot’ guys have been getting lately for the main event. In fact, both Sami Zayne and KO received that shot during their WrestleMania walkouts.

Unlike the different meshed styles in the first triple threat match, this one had three participants whose styles blended well and in an exciting fashion. All three took turns leading, but KO seemed to have the momentum throughout the match, staying one step ahead of his opponents. KO hit a triple-stacked German Suplex at one of the match’s high points, but soon after, Rey was able to hit his 619 on Styles. However, Owens managed to gain momentum again after hitting Mysterio with the Stunner.

Styles was able to stop at Hurricanranna from the top turnbuckle, and then he turned the block into the Styles Clash in which Rey’s body landed on KO. That was enough to keep KO down while AJ took the pinfall victory. Next Friday, we will get a WrestleMania rematch between LA Knight and AJ Styles, but this time, the winner will earn himself a shot at Undisputed champion Cody Rhodes. A different era, indeed.

WWE Landscape Changes

While Cody did not get the pageantry deserved for his accomplishments, he did get his flowers from “The Wiseman” and newly inducted hall of famer Paul Heyman. The segment produced the biggest twist of the night and perhaps the most significant change in the overall landscape of the greater WWE product. As Heyman acknowledged Cody’s win, he also seemed prepared to speak for “The Tribal Chief” himself, but he was cut off by Solo Sikoa, who looked to be in a bad mood. Solo made it clear to Heyman that the group had a disappointment that needed to be severed. This was a great piece of short-term misdirection, making us believe his dissatisfaction rested with Paul Heyman, but really, his ire was pointed directly at Jimmy Uso.

Jimmy cried out in confusion, and Solo embraced him with a hug. That is when a hooded figure dressed in black with a red rag tied to his waist jumped into the ring and attacked Jimmy. As the audience, we saw the enforcer role usually played by Jimmy being used on Jimmy. It had a great effect.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WWE (@wwe)

The hooded figure revealed himself to be Tama Tonga, the son of legendary 80s-90s wrestler and bona fide bad a** Haku, the newest member of the reformed Bloodline. The pair beat on Jimmy, and then attention was turned to “The Wiseman.” It was decided, seemingly by Solo Sikoa himself, that Paul would remain the mouthpiece for “The Bloodline,” and whatever Solo has planned for the faction includes Heyman. However, upon acknowledging this new Bloodline regime change, Heyman tried calling Roman Reigns, an action that was countered by Solo when he took Heyman’s phone and stomped it.

“I love you,” Solo said sadistically to his brother Jimmy, lying in the corner before placing a chair over his head and smashing him. All the while, Heyman is yelling at Solo that this was not part of Roman’s plans.

While it was announced that Roman Reigns would likely be taking a break following WrestleMania, having the transition take place like this is far from how Vince McMahon would have done things. This segment following a WrestleMania where we were repeatedly reminded that ‘Vince is no longer in charge’ and this is a ‘new era’ is reason to believe that Triple H is not only in charge but looking to change the landscape of WWE.

Looking at the optics, Roman Reigns was replaced with a young NXT-groomed talent who brought in his ‘cousin’ from the Indies. If you’re unfamiliar with Tama Tonga, he has been a Bullet Club staple since nearly its conception, and his time in New Japan has made him one of the top talents outside the WWE universe. The three newest members of the revamped Bloodline stared on from the stage entrance as Jimmy was motionless and being attended to by WWE officials.

Later, in the backstage triage, Heyman was being interviewed on the status of Jimmy’s condition when Tonga came along and claimed to have orders on behalf of the “Tribal Chief,” but whether that means Roman is on board with the plan change or that Solo is coming for the crown.

In-Ring Action

• NXT call up Cameron Grimes faced off against former NXT champion Bron Breaker. Breaker, who uses the overused spear as a finisher, made quick work of Grimes.
• In a match that made zero sense in how it came together, Naomi challenged Tiffany Stratton. She beat her by pinfall… the in-ring action was quality, even if the storyline was frustratingly nonsensical.
• Once again, Cargill was booked as a monster but hidden within the comfort of a tag match. Teaming with Bianca Belair, the two look like a force together, but what happens if you remove Belair?

Mario Mungia

Mario Mungia Jr. has a decade worth of experience as a combat sports journalist and correspondent which began with ThaBoxingVoice (TBV) as a podcast co-host, writer and editor-in-chief. Aside from his online resume, Mario spent a fair portion of his early career working for Spanish/English magazine Premier Round and the Mexican website Izquierdo. Mario has also contributed to NYFights while simultaneously working for MIC Sports Network as part of the broadcast crew covering local high school sports. Since then, he has launched his own podcast/live stream (Infighting/Work In Progress) and is covering pro wrestling for FightsATW.

See author's posts