Finally, the Rock has come back to ... finish the story?! It's the Untitled Monday Blog!

 

"It's what's best for business, brother. I'm sure you understand."

Good Morning!

HOOBOY. The hits just keep on coming over in the WWE, don’t they? Bayley turned on the rest of Damage CTRL before they could turn on her (minus a conspicuously absent Dakota Kai) and announced her intention to fight IYO SKY at WrestleMania for her championship! A good segment that got us on the road to WrestleMania, and one that wasn't nearly as memorable as what followed later, unfortunately.

Friday’s episode of SmackDown featured what may be the most wildly divisive segments in history, as the Rock all but took Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania spot in exchange for … well, for Cody to elect to fight for the cheap piece of plastic that the winner of the losers’ bracket holds, according to Roman Reigns. After that vicious burial – one that went WAY further than Seth’s verbal attack on Roman’s title last Monday – Cody basically conceded his WrestleMania main event to The Rock. A handshake, a hug, words that Cody tried SO HARD to mask with a plastic smile…and that was pretty much the end of “finish the story at WrestleMania” for this year.

Or so we think! Social media has gone absolutely bonkers over the weekend, with the hashtag #wewantCody getting all kinds of traction. Even the most staunch Rock fans, and many of those same Cody supporters, still want to see Roman versus Rocky…just not right now! Everything over the last two years in the WWE main event has revolved around some form of “finish the story.” And whether that story was Cody winning the title, Cody winning at WrestleMania, or Cody beating Roman…it’s been so long that all those goals are one in the same. It’s not going to be the ending that’s been telegraphed if Cody goes after the secondary title (and that’s what it is – it’s a title literally created because WWE couldn’t figure out how to get just one title off Reigns, and Seth has spent the last year making it relevant) and just lets the Rock walk into WrestleMania as a title challenger. 

But it could also … not be that. We’ve got Raw tonight, and literally weeks of TV, between now and ‘Mania. Maybe there’s a path we’re just not seeing yet. Maybe the two-nights, two-losses Roman Reigns WrestleMania is still a possibility! I understand all the anger, and even I watched Friday’s show muttering “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” before taking a beat and collecting my thoughts. It probably helps that I’m not overly invested in any one side here – I like Cody, I like Roman. I’m fine with a Rock/Roman match, which is probably the biggest match WWE has had in a Legend versus Superstar match since Rock versus Hogan at WrestleMania X8 – a match I saw live hanging from the rafters in Toronto.

I hate to be part of the “let it play out” crowd, but that’s part of the whole “Let’s Watch Some Wrestling” vibe, man. If we get closer to Philadelphia and what a lot of fans are feeling now still holds true…well, then I guess we have something to worry about. But for now, remember that change can happen and whatever you’re hoping is on that WrestleMania XL card can probably still happen!

Unless you’re one of us Punk fans. We get nothing and like it!

The “Let’s Watch Some Wrestling” Vengeance Day Recap!

…our list, guide, PPV recap, or little blurb for this week’s as-yet-untitled Monday blog

So, as I’ve probably said before…NXT tends to get graded on a curve. It’s a developmental brand first and foremost, with some delightfully dumb characters, and performers who are still learning the craft – or at least are learning to do it in the style preferred by the WWE. That being said, I enjoyed Vengeance Day from start to devastating finish! Let’s dive in!

Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker defeated Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals

I picked Trick Melo gang to win this one, and was WRONG. But that’s cool – I really wasn’t sure how they were gonna play the ending, considering Melo and Trick have appeared on SmackDown recently, and Bron Breakker showed up on SmackDown and is scheduled for Raw tonight. Melo making the save while Trick dodged out of the way of a Breakker spear was a dramatic way to end the match, and foreshadowed what we’d be getting later – especially after Williams insisted Melo be in his corner for the main event. A good match with a scary spot – apparently the ropes were a little loose and it’s been reported that all four guys came out of this match a little dinged up – and the silly bad guys get to keep being silly for a while longer.

Dijak defeated Joe Gacy in a No Disqualification Match

Plunder match, brawl, slugfest…whatever you want to call it, this match was a fun, short romp with some silly weapon spots. Gacy wearing a trash can while headbutting Dijak was cool, and the little army men that Gacy set up on a table before tossing Dijak through it was a good idea, even if the guys didn’t stay vertical. Duct taping Dijak’s eyes didn’t stop the big guy, and he got the win in another fun fight. 

Tony D’Angelo, Stacks Lorenzo, and Adriana Rizzo defeated Lucien Price, Bronco Nima, and Jaida Parker in a Six Person Mixed Tag Match

The Family went over, as expected, in a match that was disjointed and had more brawl than wrestling match. But that’s okay, since the Family was going in hot after OTM (that’s right, the Mafia are the good guys in this story) took out Rizz and the restaurant. Rizz had an especially cool spot, and the Family generally looked like champs in this one. It didn’t overstay its welcome, and the right guys won, even if it did kinda feel like a match we’d see on any given Tuesday.

Lyra Valkyria © defeated Roxanne Perez [and Lola Vice] for the NXT Women’s Championship

I wanted Perez to get the win here, but it looks like we’ve dovetailed things into some interesting directions. The initial half of the match was a bit slow, but once Perez hit Pop Rox I thought it was all over…and then Lola Vice cashed in her not-Money-in-the-Bank contract! Things were a little more chaotic after that, especially with the interjection of Valkyria stalker Tatum Paxley, and in the end it was Paxley that cost Perez the win, shoving her out and allowing Valkyria to hit her finisher on Vice for the pinfall. 

The lesson in all that? Don’t cash in a contract until after the match! 

Oba Femi © defeated Dragon Lee for the NXT North American Championship

Both guys played their roles to perfection here, with Lee taking bumps like crazy and selling for the big guy, and Femi playing up his size and power while still not hesitating to make Lee look good in spots as well. A little long, but Femi retained, which was the right call. Maybe Lee moves up to the main roster after putting the new champ over one more time?

Ilya Dragunov © defeated Trick Williams for the NXT World Championship

Was absolutely GUTTED that Trick wasn’t able to pull out the win. Carmelo Hayes accidentally cost him the match, as a redirected attack ended up injuring Trick’s knee. After a hard hitting match, Dragunov retained and Melo went in to console the challenger…only to chop block Williams after he turned around. Melo followed up with about a dozen chair shots, leaving his former partner lying in the ring. I’m really hoping this lasts until Stand and Deliver, where these two stars should be able to close out the show with a hell of a main event.

If you’re looking to check any of this one out before Tuesday’s NXT show, I’d recommend the opener and the main. The women’s match was pretty good, too!

Oh, and for the record...that puts us at 4/6 for the night, and 6/10 for the year. A solid 60%!

I'll openly admit I still haven't caught up on Collision as of Monday afternoon. Had a busy weekend, and really wanted to talk about the Rock Cody Roman stuff. But I think if there's time tomorrow, I'll make another post about tonight's Raw AND share some thoughts on AEW's weekend show.

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! As per usual, this week we’ll be watching RAW on Monday night, NXT on Tuesday night, and AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night. Thursdays are for putting all that stuff into a nice, convenient blog for you to check out on Fridays – we call it the Casual Friday blog, and it’s up at 9am Mountain time on Friday, appropriately.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and we’ll see you back here Fridays and Mondays. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!