It has been a couple of weeks since WrestleMania 42 concluded its two-night extravaganza, and tonight in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we will see the rest of the post-Mania callups. The ‘RAW-after’ WM is one of the biggest shows of the year because of the callups and debuts from returning or repackaged talent.
Tonight, we see the debut of Ricky Saints, a week following the first set of callups. The room for Saints and other newly called-up talent exists following last week’s layoffs, mostly from the SmackDown roster. With Oba Femi and Je’Von Evans becoming major talents each week on WWE TV, there is a desire to continue that success with fresh talent at the helm, receiving meaningful bookings.
CODY RHODES WELCOMES RICKY SAINTS
Cody Rhodes opened tonight’s show with a promo announcing he has been cleared for action after Randy Orton’s post-match punt at WM42 night one left his eye badly damaged. The injury was initially considered much more severe, potentially keeping him out of action, with concern about his orbital area.
Fortunately, Cody avoided serious injury, but he couldn’t avoid Ricky Saints from chasing all the clout he could on his blue brand debut. Saints is well-known as one of Cody’s star pupils, training the former NXT champion at his “Nightmare Factory” wrestling school alongside names like Jade Cargill.
Saints came at Rhodes hard, claiming his title reigns have aged him 30 years while he stood in the background for each of his milestones. Saints asked for a fight with the benefit of their friendship as the basis for taking this shot. Cody asked Ricky what would be different between now and the ‘last time’ they shared a ring together—hinting at their shared history that extends to both of their times in AEW.
RHODES VS. SAINTS
The GM booked the match for the following hour, protecting Saints from being overexposed in the main event scene, considering he will be relegated to a mid-card feud to kick off his initial program. It was a smart way of debuting Saints as a major talent while tempering his immediate expectations.
Saints showed out, and he performed well on both sides of the match with his smooth offense and solid defense. Cody picked up the win, though Saints survived a swell of offense from the champ.
In the post-match, Gunther made an appearance to choke out the champ, furthering their rumored feud.
THE USOS VS SOLO & TALA TONGA—Tag Team Match
Solo cut a promo following the post-match beatdown on the SD tag champs (see below) courtesy of Talla Tonga. There were no other MFTs in the ring, and the contrast between Talla Tonga and Solo helps add to the optics of another ‘monster’ figure in WWE—the blue brand’s answer to Oba Femi.
The explanation for the missing MFT members was used to get Jacob Fatu over—Solo said he took them out with his actions last week to close out the show. The segment helped showcase Solo and the MFTs after some dissent from the rank in file, specifically Tama Tonga, who has challenged Solo’s decision-making as the faction’s leader.
The USOS eventually came down to the ring to inform Solo that Jacob Fatu is not to be touched while he and ‘The OTC’ have business. Jey made it clear that they were ‘telling’ Solo, not asking, and that prompted Solo to give the order to Talla Tonga.
The ‘tallest Tonga’ big-booted Jey before taking out Jimmy, and Solo grabbed the mic to tell the USOS that ‘Roman is not’ his tribal chief.
The match itself was used to put Talla Tonga over as a force, and he put together some quality offense to do just that. In the end, all hell broke loose when Jacob Fatu made his way ringside. There was some initial hesitation from Talla Tonga, but Fatu eventually put Solo’s enforcer through the commentator’s desk.
Fatu took out Solo and Talla Tonga, but when he found himself in the ring with The USOS, he merely shoulder checked them on his way out of the ring. Jacob picked up the mic midway down the aisle to ask them to send Roman a message that he was going to ‘dog walk’ him at BackLash.
RHEA LOOKING FOR ALLIES ON SMACKDOWN
Flair and Bliss took on the newest callups from NXT in Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx—collectively making up the faction Fatal Influence. The trio made its major debut last week, spanning two segments and working with top talent.
Before the match, Rhea Ripley approached Flair and Bliss as they were wrapping up a backstage interview. Ripley admitted that Fatal Influence’s numbers game is too much to overcome alone, offering up a partnership of sorts.
Flair was hesitant as she referenced having to work alongside Rhea last November during WarGames, claiming that she did not see a reason to revisit that one successful teaming. She hilariously commented on Bliss and Rhea sharing a ‘goth look’ before saying that her tag partner was all she needed.
The match was well told—getting over the idea that Flair and Bliss do, indeed, need help with the numbers. By not listening to Rhea, Flair lost the match after being pinned by Jayne. Fatal Influence attempted the post-match beatdown until Rhea ran down to make the save.
Flair shook Rhea’s hands as a sign of good faith by acknowledging that they did need the help. The tag champs, Paige and Brie Bella, were interviewed in the locker room immediately after the segment, and they gave a cryptic response about how they’ll handle Fatal Influence’s impact on the SD roster.
Other Tidbits
– Dan Housen took a beating at the hands of The Miz and Kit Willson following the kayfabe vampire’s theft of The Miz’s daughter’s bike. The online skit was well received by fans as The Miz continues to go out of his way to get Dan Housen to the next level.
– Damien Priest and R-Truth defended their tag titles successfully against Fraxiom. Priest looked incredible in the match, hitting a “South of Heaven” and a ‘Razor’s Edge’ to pick up the pinfall victory. After the match, Talla Tonga beat down on the tag champs with Solo barking orders the entire time.
– Royce Keyes picked up another singles victory tonight on SmackDown, but it was his backstage segment with Jacob Fatu that was much more interesting. Keyes reminisced over their humble beginnings together before letting ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ know that it was time to ‘lock in’ and take down the newly reformed Bloodline. Solo and Talla Tonga attacked Keyes and Fatu following that meeting, and now Fatu has somebody in his corner who is emotionally invested.
– Sami Zayn appears to be in a directionless character arc, but there was an interesting moment when he approached Cody backstage to confront him over comments he made about the former 2x U.S. champion. Sami said that he and Cody were the ‘last of a dying breed’ and the “only real good guys left” before the champ cleared the air by claiming they were nothing alike. It was a contentious segment, but we have been here before, and these two seem destined to circle the waters in a never-ending backstage program. Zayn’s ‘Gingerbread Man’ segment ended with Trick Williams putting his hands on him.
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