The New Bloodline Takes Over MSG & Smackdown

New York shows are always special for the WWE, that territory represents a sort of historical homebase for the company, though relationships have changed through the years. With a six-man tag between Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens facing off against The New Bloodline’s ‘Tribal Chief’ Solo Sikoa, the freshly debuted Jacob Fatu and Bullet Club OG Tama Tonga announced for Money In The Bank one week from Saturday, this edition of Friday Night SmackDown had all the ingredients to make for a special show.

The Bloodline Segment

Smackdown opened with The New Bloodline making their way through the back and to the ring after arriving in their car in a very Roman-esq entrance. SmackDown shot the cold opening with the idea of a small swerve, but it would be The Bloodline getting swerved as they only made it a few steps outside ‘Gorilla” when the big screen showed Rhodes, Orton, and KO also arriving and making a beeline for the ring. The Bloodline decided to stand their ground, and they didn’t have to wait long as both the face and heel teams were matched off, staring at each other like someone lost in the calmness before the storm.

The fight broke out, and KO made the most of this segment by landing a Swanton Bomb from the top of the audience tunnel and onto Tonga. The segment cut to break just as Nick Aldis was making his way to help break things up—he was too late. By the time we came back from break, Cody and his crew hijacked the sold-out (19,701 seats filled at Madison Square Garden) show after demolishing WWE security, and he was demanding The Bloodline come to the ring to finish a story he ‘thought he finished at WrestleMania.’

It didn’t take long before Nick was right back out to ringside, this time with ‘NY City’s Finest’ as company. Cody Rhodes called Sikoa a ‘seat-filler’ as opposed to the true “Head of the Table,” but then the faces ultimately went away quietly as they were escorted to an SUV that was seen leaving the arena. We were SURE that was the last we’d see them…

Acknowledge When It Isn’t Working

The closing segment was the “Acknowledgement Ceremony/Jacob Fatu Welcome Party,” with the Bloodline now at full strength and their wiseman hostage by their side. Solo dropped a bomb on Paul last week by saying Roman was never coming back, and Paul continued the brilliant performance that has helped this storyline from sinking.

As awesome as it is to see the Tongas and Jacob in a WWE ring, the crowd is not buying Solo Sikoa. They don’t hate him, it’s worse, they seem bored. WWE once made the correct decision by continuing to cram Roman down our throats until we saw in him what Dusty had all those years ago in a Florida gym somewhere. However, if the investment you’ve made on this brand is tanking then you cannot look at this as getting over a single superstar, but rather risk bringing down the rest of the faction with you.

Solo Sikoa gave Paul the Ula Fala and expected him to give him the same pageantry he once gave to Roman. But Paul refused, and the crowd erupted again in what may have been the biggest pop of the night. Solo looked angry, Paul looked terrified, and Solo spiked Paul and began screaming at him, “I loved you, I trusted you,” before ordering Jacob Fatu to drop a top turnbuckle headbutt on Paul, grabbing at his throat and writhing in pain.

Then, one of the sickest things to happen on WWE TV in decades, this faction ruthlessly and unapologetically took the 58-year-old Paul Heyman and power bombed him through the commentary table. He did not move for the remaining time he was seen on camera. The wind was taken from the crowd collectively before they turned on the New Bloodline, chanting obscenities that were poorly cut from the live feed. This was raw, this was visceral, and if the crowd did not care about Solo at the beginning of the segment, they will now never forget the order he gave on “The Wiseman,” and you have to assume Roman will make it a point to remember when he inevitably returns.

Money In The Bank Qualifiers

Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Candice LeRae—Women’s MITB Qualifier

The women’s MITB is starting to take shape after multiple underdog qualifiers. Jade walked into this match with all of the promise of securing her place. She military pressed Candice over her head and then threw her to the outside and onto a waiting Stratton.

Jade Cargill seemed in control until Nia Jax came out quickly, followed by Bianca Belair, who attempted to keep her tag partner’s chances alive after Belair failed to secure her own spot in the ladder match. Belair and Jax were in each other’s faces as Jade attempted to recover on the outside, but with her tag partner’s attention pulled elsewhere, Indie Hartwell came out to take advantage of the opening by throwing Jade into the outside corner post. That action opened up Stratton’s chances, and she took full advantage by landing “The Prettiest Moonsault” on LeRae for the win.

That makes Stratton the fourth qualifier among Chelsea Green, Io Sky, and Lila Valkyria (and spoiler alert: Naomi). With one more spot left following the conclusion of SmackDown, we’ll see how this rounds out, but Stratton was a fantastic addition to the match that usually spotlights the most athletic.

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Santos Escobar—Men’s MITB Qualifier

Of all the qualifiers for MITB, this triple threat was the most deliberate. After weeks of chasing Paul, Knight learned last week that he would get an opportunity to get his hands on Paul in a match, which is the opportunity in and of itself. This is either fortunate booking or intentional, but it would have been wise to let fans in because it feels like these qualifiers can be completely manipulated.

I think Logan Paul came out and said something, but it was difficult to tell with how much the feed was cut because the NY crowd was chanting “STFU” loudly over Logan’s promo. Things worsened when Logan trolled the crowd by bringing out Tyreese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. WWE was in Indiana for RAW this past week, and Haliburton was seated in the front row as a guest, but he was eventually put on camera with the Miz’s tag team title belt on one shoulder and his phone (with Logan Paul live on his FaceTime) in the opposite hand. So, bringing out Haliburton is great continuity, and after “Who Killed WCW’s” successful run, maybe Creative is choosing to reuse some old storylines from that era that got over big—Rodman-Malone anyone?

As the three men got ready to compete on the inside, Haliburton locked eyes with fellow NBA player Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks and Team USA. After a brief staredown, Haliburton waved him off, but Brunson looked serious, and they should be signed up immediately. The action in the ring started quickly as LA Knight didn’t waste any time throwing legal hands at Paul. Still, Paul continues to get better and better, and he kept pace with Escobar while continuing the match’s story arc with Knight (his actual feud). Without overlooking Knight and Escobar’s talent, Logan never ceases to amaze, and you can see his in-ring work improvement, which only comes from a serious student of the game putting in real work outside of Mondays and Fridays.

Paul, ever the opportunist, did not want to risk losing the match by playing either Knight or Escobar’s game, so he resorted to the brass knucks, this time delivered to him by Haliburton. As Haliburton slammed the knucks on the stairs, showing their authenticity while simultaneously risking alerting the ref of the foreign object. That is when Brunson jumped the railing to prevent the heel tactics, this received one of the loudest pops of the night. The crowd started chanting MVP while Logan screamed at Haliburton to hand him the knucks. Escobar attempted to take advantage only to see the momentum shift quickly to LA Knight.

Paul rolled up Knight, but he reversed and managed to get the 1-2-3 pinfall victory over Paul. Paul was not happy, and Haliburton still had the knucks as they surrounded Knight. That is when Brunson, who was escorted back over the railing, jumped right back over and brought a chair into the ring to help Knight and neutralize the heel threat. Knight advances, but this potential storyline goes beyond MITB if this is indeed the direction they’re taking things. If not, it was a fun SmackDown segment and another memorable WWE moment in the Garden.

Naomi vs. Blair Davenport vs. Indi Hartwell—Women’s MITB Qualifier

This match really showed the depth of talent within the WWE women’s division as none of the women in this match, other than Naomi, are given much consideration at the moment and are in the building stage, but all three women helped to put on a show. Indi worked well as the opportunist in the match, and they took Naomi’s veteran lead when they needed to and stepped up when called for, but the overall booking was a bit clunky.

Indi Hartwell interfered in Jade’s match earlier, and Jade came down to return the favor and attacked Hartwell in a move that led directly to Indie being pinned by Naomi. Did Hartwell not prepare for the consequences of her clearly premeditated interference earlier in the evening? What did she think the consequences would be– and if she did not believe there would be consequences, then that needs explanation too—and why is the incentive to interfere in Jade’s match greater than the incentive to focus on an opportunity that leads directly to a title match?

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

The WWE produced a terrific video package celebrating the life and legacy of the recently departed Sika Anoa’I, one-half of the legendary Wild Samoans and the Hall of Fame, father of future Hall of Famer Roman Reigns.

On behalf of the entire staff here at FightsATW, our thoughts and well-wishers are with Roman Reigns and his family.

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.

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