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Pat McAfee was the guy on the phone all along?
That’s what we learned during this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown in St. Louis, where Randy Orton calls home. That’s who the next challenger to the WWE championship has been cutting it up with the past few weeks, the guy who has been reminding him of exactly who he is, and what he’s capable of.
He is the Attitude Era, apparently.
That’s what McAfee told us when he revealed himself and cut a big promo about why exactly he would nut shot Cody Rhodes wearing an RKO shirt. He’s pissed at the road WWE has taken itself down — he misses the edge of the Attitude Era, essentially. He even hit the old Kevin Nash talking points about wrestlers being too short and wrestling too long.
This feels a bit like a zero sum game to me. The heels are pissed that the product sucks — the heels who have so much support it’s a topic of conversation on how they need to go about getting them booed or turn the white meat babyface. Orton is great, Rhodes sucks, and none of this is worth watching, I guess.
McAfee has plenty of detractors but he’s still got a voice that carries and having him talk about how much the business needs saving from the current champion is a dangerous play, especially if Orton isn’t actually going to win the title at WrestleMania 42. Cody winning, then, to far too large a portion of the audience, is going to be a negative.
Even if the idea is to get closer to Cody’s turn, I just don’t get doing this.
Later in the evening, Rhodes showed up after the tag team title match to randomly hit Kit Wilson with a Cross Rhodes before grabbing a microphone and hitting a home run with it.
He shit on McAfee as the guy on the phone by saying it would be like if Scott Hall and Kevin Nash revealed the third member of the nWo wasn’t Hulk Hogan but Disco Inferno. He called him a “stoner, grifter, Logan Paul without muscles, human hat rack. You and everyone who represents you — and I know who I’m talking to — can kiss my ass.”
Then he asked if they were going to fire him, seeing as it worked out so well the last time.
Hey, they wanted edge, right? That’s what Stephanie McMahon even said! The idea, then, seems to be that Cody has to become the very thing McAfee wants, to defeat the man who is going to save the business from him if he doesn’t?
I thought Rhodes was great with his response, but I still don’t understand going this way with the story.
Trick Williams has impossible aura, and we need to give WWE credit for actually making all the right moves with this young man. They aren’t pushing too hard too fast but he’s clearly on the right trajectory. This week he was paired up with recording artist Lil Yachty, who was actually hugely entertaining as a side kick playing into him while he cut a promo on Sami Zayn.
He ain’t taking no lip from the Gingerbread Man, he said.
Sami’s response was to put himself over as the guy who will humble the up-and-comer, because he’s all presentation and isn’t going to hold up under the bright lights. Trick rightfully pointed out the only reason Zayn is on the card at WrestleMania is because of Trick Willy.
Then Carmelo Hayes showed up.
Hayes was pissed, asking for his rematch. Zayn shot him down, saying it will have to wait. Then, hilariously enough, it was Trick who suggested they do it now instead. Sami instantly changed his mind — this guy just adopts what anyone says to him, huh? — and agreed to do it on this very show.
They had a good match in the main event, one that ended with Zayn yet again taking advantage of the referee checking on a possible injury by hitting the Helluva Kick in the corner. This, presumably, tightly wraps up Carmelo’s part in all this, and that’s the right play, at least for right now. Sami vs. Trick is the match.
They ended the show with Trick Willy and Yachty celebrating with the title after taking out Zayn. They absolutely have something here, and yet again they booked it the right way not involving Hayes in the WrestleMania match to keep the spotlight where it belongs.
All the rest
- Rhea Ripley and Michin had a fun match, one the former emerged victorious in while staring down Women’s Champion Jade Cargill. Her new crew put the boots to Ripley before Iyo Sky showed up to make the save, making clear Ripley isn’t going to have to do this thing alone. Is there any world she doesn’t win the title at the big one?
- Tama Tonga finally said what everyone has been thinking: “Why are we fighting for that lantern?” Naturally, Solo Sikoa sent him out to square up with Uncle Howdy for it, and the crowd was as quiet as could be. The match wasn’t very good, and then Sikoa tried to assist Tonga and ended up costing him the match. Tonga then took the lantern from Sikoa and just straight up gave it back to Howdy. I’m actually mind blown at everything about this story.
- I’m not sure why WWE re-signed Matt Cardona. I’m starting to believe the fringe talk that Triple H still doesn’t like him and just wanted to bring him back to job him out and make him look bad every week. Here, he lost to Aleister Black, and it all just feels like a humiliation ritual.
- Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley & Lyra Valkyria in a fun tag team match that was immediately followed up with the tag team champions attacking both squads. Nia Jax & Lash Legend have consistently had the upper hand on everyone, to the point that none of these teams look particularly compelling as challengers right now. Just me?
- Are you a believer in Danhausen yet?
- The Miz & Kit Wilson were given a tag team title match because R-Truth is R-Truth, much to the chagrin of his partner, Damian Priest. They’re still cursed, of course, and that played out with Miz refusing Danhausen’s help. Truth tagged him into the match, and the crowd just said to hell with it and went with the zaniness. Miz almost got double cursed, but used the referee as a meat shield. Because of that, he couldn’t count to three for The Miz, his arm suddenly unable to tap the mat a third time. He used the other hand when Priest got in and put Miz down. This was hilariously dumb, and great fun all around.
Another good show from the blue brand headed to the big one.
Grade: B+
Your turn.
