Fort Worth, Texas, played host to Friday Night SmackDown after WrestleMania with the Texas leg of WWE‘s TV tour in full effect—MNR emanates from Laredo, Texas, this Monday, where the scheduled showdown between heavyweight champion Roman Reigns and recent challenger Jacob Fatu.
There are several expected post-Mania debuts/callups reported for tonight, and the rumors gained further traction as the post-Mania cuts were announced prior to WWE SmackDown going on air.
FATU ELEVATES, BLOODLINE STORYLINE BACK IN FULL EFFECT
If it wasn’t clear on Monday when Roman Reigns brought The USOS, Jimmy and Jey, to the ring with him in a rekindling of the former “Bloodline story” that launched Roman, Jey, and Jimmy into a new stratosphere, then tonight’s opener fully cemented the direction.
Jacob Fatu challenged Roman for his heavyweight title to end the ‘Raw after Mania’ on Monday, and Roman gave Fatu a week to reconsider the challenge. The entire narrative surrounds Jacob ‘not being ready’ and then being forced to acknowledge Roman as his ‘Tribal Chief.’
Fatu cut a promo that doubled down on the idea that he isn’t turning down anything, but his collar, and The USOs came out to challenge the narrative. They were a bit more receptive to the idea of Fatu than their ‘chief,’ but their appearance prompted Solo and MFT’s (missing Tala Tonga) to join their family ringside.
Solo told Fatu he could beat Roman but admitted he would need an army to do it—referring to his gang of Samoans. The problem is that Fatu joining Solo would be the exact same Bloodline feud that came to an end from inside a WarGames cage(s).
A match between Fatu, who rebuked the offer, and Solo was made with ‘Bloodline Rules’ as the stipulation. Then, in a backstage segment, The USOS offered their help should the MFTs involve themselves, to which Jacob responded by saying he did not need any help.
The two men, once embroiled in a heated family feud after Solo brought Fatu into the WWE as part of his Bloodline 2.0 faction, beat on each other in the main event with nearly every family member ringside. The MFTs were out from the jump, but The USOS decided to watch from the stage and keep some distance from the reluctant Fatu.
Jacob Fatu had things well in hand until JC Mateo pushed him off the ropes with the ref distracted. Fatu managed to regain momentum and picked up the win clean, without any help whatsoever, and he won the match after a pop-up moonsault off the Samoan Slam combo.
Following the match, The MFTs jumped Jacob to send a message, and The USOS decided to run towards ringside. Yet, they never lifted a finger, and still, Fatu managed to take out everyone in the ring. He dismantled the family before hitting a frog splash onto Tama, who was placed on the commentator’s desk.
Fatu told Jimmy and Jey that he would see them and Roman on Monday. After the confidence of singlehandedly taking out the entire ‘non-Bloodline’ portion of the family on WWE’s roster, he is clearly ready for Roman from his perspective.
RHEA RIPLEY TRADES RAW FOR THE TITLE, FIRST SD PROMO
The WWE women’s champion gave some credit to the woman she won the title from at Mania, Jade Cargill. She said of Cargill, ‘she can go,’ seemingly squashing the pre-WM42 feud that developed on social media. She said she would be a fighting champion, basically issuing an open challenge.
Fatal Influence answered the call to make an official debut after interfering with the tag team title match earlier in the night (see results below). Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Lainey Reid introduced themselves to the WWE Universe©, or at least those unfamiliar with the NXT brand. Rhea gave them credit for taking out legends in the first match of the night, but asked them to ‘stop while they’re ahead.’
Aldis came out and booked a match between Jacy Jayne and Rhea Ripley as ‘punishment’ for her faction’s earlier interference.
RHEA RIPLEY VS JACY JAYNE
The crowd booed Jacy and the gang so much that she could not even cut her promo, and Rhea acknowledged the heat that Fatal Influence was garnering. The match was actually very well received, and Jacy was able to show her abilities, but the booking was mainly to get heat on the heels.
Fatal Influence jumped into the ring after Rhea was set up for the win following her finisher, and the crowd booed further as the frustrating tactics from this faction could gain real heat.
In the back following the match, Rhea was seen in a weird interaction with Charlotte as they passed on another ‘in medical.’
BRIE BELLA & PAIGE(c) VS CHARLOTTE FLAIR AND ALEXA BLISS—Tag Team Titles
The tag champs opened the action tonight after delivering a pre-match promo. Brie thanked her sister, and Paige got her return pop, but that is when Flair and Bliss, former tag champs, came out to challenge the WM winners.
The match between legends was ultimately used to set up the debuting Fatal Influence as Jacy Jayne jumped in the ring to cause the DQ, followed by the rest of her faction. It was a big swing from the NXT callups, especially from the former NXT champion Jayne—beating former WWE champ Stephanie Vaquer to earn the title.
The debut was strong, but it might have been even better if they cut the promo immediately after it, because the crowd wasn’t happy to see them back out there later in the evening.
DAN HOUSEN VS THE MIZ
Some fans worried Dan Housen would be used as a backstage segment act without ever getting his chance to show off his in-ring prowess, but the worry was unfounded as he once again earned a singles opportunity—this time against The Miz. Dan Housen won his match against Kit Wilson via ‘curse,’ and the match was booked similarly tonight.
Dan Housen managed to curse both The Miz and Kit, who eventually showed up ringside to interfere, only to be hit with sparks from the ring apron fireworks. The distraction/fire to the eyes was enough for Dan Housen to sneak in the rollup win.
OTHER TIDBITS
– Ricky Saints will debut next Friday on SmackDown as the former NXT champion received the big call-up. Saints hinted at an SD call-up without ever naming the blue brand specifically, but we can now hope for that Cody Rhodes ‘Nightmare’ faction.
– BLAKE MONROE… COMING SOON—The former NXT North American champion appeared on screen with a vignette teasing her debut
– Trick Williams celebrated his U.S. title win at Mania with an in-ring segment alongside rapper Lil Yachty and the ‘Gingerbread Man’ mascot. The ‘ginger’ reference was a shot at Sami Zayn, who was exactly who was revealed to be under the mascot head. Sami caught the champ and rapper off guard by hitting them with his ‘candy cane’ prop, and it now looks like this feud will continue to Backlash.
– R-Truth and Damian Priest successfully defended their tag titles in a match against the struggling MFTs.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
