WWE.com and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down the latest SmackDown and Raw with 10 thoughts.
SMACKDOWN TAKEAWAYS
1. HAKU EFFECT: It took two appearances for Haku to turn Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga into WWE Tag Team Champions, and that's totally awesome. The insertion of the baddest man that ever strapped on a pair of wrestling boots instantly elevated Tama and Talla to the championship level. Maybe it’s just me, but Haku standing there with his staff and directing traffic is pure gold. For The MFTs to become champions so soon after they separated from Solo Sikoa allows the allure to grow. If you know anything about Haku, when he talks, you listen. He has that kind of cache. Many new-age fans may not be aware of Haku’s history, but they will.
2. GREEN WITH ENVY: I am not here to put a rubber stamp on Chelsea Green’s career because she’s done pretty well for herself over the years. She’s has many memorable and unique moments during her time in WWE. So, how ironic is it that when she finally "arrived," it had nothing to do with being powerbombed into a dumpster or smacked with a Kendo stick. Her opening moments of SmackDown with General Manager Nick Aldis immediately elevated her. Chelsea gets it, and people remember her for her dedication. Despite her broken orbital bone, her moment with Aldis won the fans to her side even more. She will remain the Interim WWE Women's Champion and stay in the spotlight, whether that will be the Matt Cardona and Gunther conflict and/or Jacy Jayne situation.
3. ADVANTAGE KO: CM Punk may have walked down the aisle at the TD Garden in Boston to a nice reaction, but it sure felt like he didn’t walk to the backstage area with the same overwhelming support. With this Friday's Undisputed WWE Title Match in Owens’ home country of Canada, maybe that was the plan. Even though some of the barbs that The Best in the World and KO threw back and forth had the casual fan running to Google to see what it meant, the delivery said it all. It felt so real to me, which brings plenty of interest heading into SmackDown. I'd say Owens won this verbal sparring session heading into the huge match, and that’s impressive.
4. DIFFERENT NIGHTMARE: If it happened once or twice, then you could probably explain it away. But Cody Rhodes lost his temper yet again and targeted Randy Orton, maybe the worst he’s ever lost it, in the final moments of last week's SmackDown. It truly looked as if he was going to take Orton’s head off with that chair before a handful of officials prevented that from happening. The two will meet on Sunday Night’s Main Event, and while a turn to the dark side might not be in the works, those final moments are pushing me toward that direction.
5. LAYERS FOR ALDIS: Regardless of whether Nick Aldis does or does not ever get into a ring again to wrestle after his SummerSlam match against Gunther really doesn't matter. Just by getting into the ring and competing, his General Manager role has become all the more complex. In the opening moments of SmackDown, he was able to create different layers to what could easily become a bunch of stale actions by the GM. Pre-SummerSlam Aldis, for instance, would never have been able to relate to Chelsea’s plea.
RAW TAKEAWAYS
1. D.T.H. | Don’t Trust Heyman. Paul Heyman is positioned himself as the diplomatic middleman between Oba Femi and Bron Breakker in a conflict to determine the future of WWE, despite being linked to Breakker and The Vision for some time. It was interesting that Heyman went out of his way to mention pleasing shareholders. We’ve seen this from Heyman before in terms of straddling the fence just to have ulterior motives, and I can’t help but to believe this is heading down that path by his scolding Breakker in the ring and the handshake to Femi that obviously annoyed Breakker. Heyman once again proved himself a natural "bad guy," and what better way to enhance that than to cheat "the future of the WWE"?
2. TV GOLD: I am just going to leave this here: Rey Mysterio will turn 52 in December, but it sure didn’t look like that during the incredible Intercontinental Title Match at Raw. Mysterio and Chad Gable put on a virtuoso in-ring performance in the latter’s first title defense. We all assumed that the two were going to put on a solid showdown, but the fast-paced, back-and-forth action truly defied expectation and gave you the feeling that Mysterio could pull off the upset. On a show that featured some top luchadores, Rey and Gable outshone them all.
3. ROMAN the "BAD GUY": There is no other way to view Roman Reigns now than as the "bad guy." How he’s treated the members of his own family could be framed as tough love, but it’s more than that. He went out of his way to embarrass Solo Sikoa by stomping on his glasses, making comments on his watch, asking why he’s even looking him in the eyes, etc. How he treated Jacob Fatu stood out the most to me. The disrespect, with the lack of acknowledgment of the black Ula Fala, pulling him off Solo, ordering Solo to take out LA Knight. While Raw seems to be setting up for a Roman vs. Solo showdown, my desire is Roman vs. Jacob after Raw.
4. LOST IN IT ALL: The match between Je’Von Evans and JD McDonough opened the door for Big Cass to decimate the Young OG (actually twice) for the third straight week. It also interjected Dominik Mysterio into that program. But let’s look past all that to the actual match that led to it all. Maybe Chad Gable vs. Rey Mysterio was the "Match of the Night," but Evans against McDonough was not far behind that. McDonough's in-ring performance never disappoints, even if it seems to get overlooked by other events. Monday night was one of those.
5. JIMMY AND JEY: Short and to the point: The Usos had themselves a great night on Raw, both backstage with Solo Sikoa and in the ring during the climax of the show with LA Knight. I don't know. I just liked how layers were added to The Bloodline vs. Solo and Knight rivalry, and this came from the best tag team in the history of WWE.
