We have a big SmackDown In A Nutshell, and after a massive WrestleMania we wonder what’s next for the Bloodline?
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It is at one time both a simple and complicated ask. After all, for the first time since before the pandemic, Roman Reigns holds no gold. The former WWE Undisputed Universal Champion was defeated by Cody Rhodes to close out WrestleMania 41. That isn’t the only item, but it is absolutely the biggest one we have. Many top WWE officials and Superstars promised that, following ‘Mania, WWE would never be the same. Without Reigns at the top, they weren’t kidding.
Of course, with Roman losing, that means that Cody Rhodes is our new face that runs the place. Rhodes finished his story, so what’s next? Well, we may not know what-yet-but we should know who by the end of next week. Nick Aldis announced two triple threat matches for this week. The two winners battle next week for the honor of being the American Nightmare’s first challenger.
The RAW After WrestleMania was much more like we’d expect. Will the SmackDown after be the same? It is time to find out, so let’s crack open this Nutshell!
Best Match of the night:
Nice win for Naomi, which seemingly gets her a shot at Bayley. The new champ wanted to hand the shot to her friend, but Tiffany had something to say about it. Their match was good, both looked strong, but it wasn’t yet Tiffy Time.
Both of the men’s triple threats did the trick, but Styles/Rey/Owens was super. We get a Knight-Styles rematch next week.
Worst match of the night:
Breakker is going to have his squashes, and he did again tonight. Just doesn’t make it a good match, or, perhaps least best.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
Cody
Rocky
Rocky sucks
You deserve it
Bayley
Star of the Night
This show leaves me wondering…are we witnessing the beginning of the big push for Solo Sikoa? After he and new arrival Tama Tonga stunned the world, it only got bigger. Heyman was being asked about Jimmy Uso and why it happened. Tonga came into the picture and simply said “By orders of the Tribal Chief”. Either that’s now Solo, or Reigns is dealing directly with the young member of the faction, and Heyman is about to need to find a new gig.
Spot of the Night:
The sequence introducing us to Tama Tonga stands out. But in terms of significance, I would say Sikoa destroying the phone may generate more questions…like what’s next for the Bloodline, and who’s calling the shots?
Jobber of the Night:
Cameron Grimes for one. He had no chance against Bron Breakker. Jimmy Uso for another, as he was laid out by his own family.
Upset of the Night:
Heyman looked like he was about ready to wet himself, so I would say he was pretty upset.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
In a segment that gave us more questions than answers, we saw Solo Sikoa stepping up as the heir apparent. What we don’t know is, is this the younger brother and cousin getting power hungry? Or is he executing a plan that not even Hall of Famer Paul Heyman was aware of?
As it is, Sikoa looked quite like a crime boss. He silenced Heyman to call out Jimmy Uso for losing. He hugged his brother, told him he loved him even. And then stepped away as we saw Tama Tonga make his WWE debut. Together, the two decimated Jimmy Uso. Perhaps the even bigger shock was Sikoa destroying the Reigns-phone when Heyman was attempting to call Roman. We may have seen the Bloodline lose big on Sunday, but their story is far from over.
What’s next for the Bloodline indeed.
Botch of the night:
Jade’s choke slam on Chelsea Green wasn’t the most crisp.
LOL Moment of the night:
This one goes to a sign, poking fun at the disastrous decisions made by the blundering billionaire owner of AEW. CM Punk Was Right. Yes, yes he was.
Owens stole Byron’s mic because he wanted the cool camera shot out to the ring. Grabbed the Detroit Tigers belt, told the guy he was keeping it, pushed Punk’s shirts off the table. Walked out, poked fun at how both he and Rey have sons considerably taller than them, and it was just all around good fun.
Noteworthy Moment:
When it happened and how it happened, I think a lot of us didn’t think that Santos took out Dragon Lee. Now we know that Santos denied being the one who took him out. Not that we’d expect anything less. It didn’t get revealed tonight, but you have to think it’s coming. That, or a bigger swerve than that perhaps. Stay tuned.
Overall lowlights:
Some might be unhappy that Tiffany didn’t get a shot at Bayley, but it isn’t her time for gold yet. Having her get a shot and lose now probably isn’t good, but I get the disappointment.
Overall highlights:
The Rhodes promo was good, but that Bloodline segment was better. It does prove what many have said-this storyline is so good, and has so many twists and turns, that a title was not necessary. Now, will we see the Uso brothers reunite? Was this Roman’s call, or is Solo going rogue and we’ve got a Bloodline split feud coming up? Just when some wrote this one off, they show they have plenty to go.
The men’s triple threats rocked. AJ and LA are going to bring it.
After the final bell:
Sure, we only got one surprise this week on SmackDown, but it was a damn big one and complex. What next for the Bloodline seemed a good question going in, and now things are even less clear than they were at the opening bell. We’ve got a lot of story to tell, and you have to be excited because the two most established names in the group are nowhere near this right now.
