The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
Jey Uso now has his reason to thrust himself back into The Bloodline story, but what a messy road — with some potholes to patch — WWE took to get here.
The Bloodline, who Uso confronted for the first time on SmackDown, cost him the Intercontinental championship thanks to a viscous superkick and Samoan drop on the announce table from Jacob Fatu on Raw.
It ended Uso’s reign — one fans were excited about and Roman Reigns expressed his pride in — at just 28 days.
His title-winning moment was epic and meaningful and at the time felt like a validation of the connection Uso made with the fans.
Now it feels a bit emptier. It’s just a brief moment to appease the fan base before pulling Uso back into the story from which his singles run was supposed to separate him.
That should be part of the crux of his reasoning for wanting to take out Fatu and Solo Sikoa now. WWE likely just didn’t want the IC title held up by the Bloodline story.
The title change continues a rocky run for the Intercontinental championship since Gunther’s reign went on the longest run in its history at 666 days. The title has changed four times in the past six months, with some curious decisions there, too.
Many believe it should have been Chad Gable instead of Sami Zayn beating Gunther at WrestleMania 40. It was a nice moment to reward what Zayn had done for WWE for the prior year-plus, but did little to elevate him beyond that moment and increase his number of IC title reigns to four. Gable just might have gotten over as an ascending babyface instead of being stuck as a mid-card heel.
Then when WWE had a chance to establish Bron Breakker as a dominant force, they actually had Zayn pin him clear in their first match at Money in the Bank to set the young star up to win on the grander stage of SummerSlam. It is an understandable strategy, but it feels like the fewer times Breakker loses the better. But now he is a two-time Intercontinental champion because they had him lose 51 days later to Uso.
Seeing Uso with the title felt like validation and added some gravitas to his encounter with Reigns on SmackDown and his interaction Trick Williams two weeks ago.
Breakker earning the Intercontinental championship back via the Bloodlines help doesn’t add to the prestige of winning it back. Breakker, like Gunther, should be beyond needing outside help to beat anyone.
It raises the question of whether Uso even needed to lose the Intercontinental championship to have a beef large enough to go back after the Sikoa’s Bloodline. He already seemed pretty upset at just them showing up even if Sikoa was arguing they were there to help.
What if Jimmy Uso arrived to help thwart the Bloodline’s attempt to have his brother drop the belt, making up for all the time he cost his Jey championships? Maybe it escalates to a point where Reigns helps make the save in a show of goodwill. What if WWE had Fatu or another Bloodline member face him or the title? It might have left Jey wrestling even more with whether to reunite with Reigns. WWE went in the easier direction.
There are ways to make it right down the road as this should be the start of the long and dominant title run Breakker and his character deserve. Uso’s next stop after Bloodine business is over should be a world heavyweight championship quest. Uso has pinned Reigns so beating Gunther isn’t a stretch.
Jey Uso appears ready to be pushed back into this family war, but what a strange road WWE took to get there.
Front and Center
The open to AEW Dynamite last week was exactly what it needed to be, different and gritty with new world champion Jon Moxley further setting the tone for his fourth reign. He was being driven in the back of a pickup truck with his new faction as the footage of their attack on Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream also rolled.
It was treated like the A-level story it is with three separate segments throughout the show, something not done enough in AEW. That was followed up on Collision with Moxley giving a backstage promo explaining why he is carrying the AEW world championship in a briefcase. Collision ended with the group destroying Dark Order — but the impromptu squash AEW Trios championship match felt like overkill.
The 10 Count
MJF’s talent is unquestioned, but it’s getting a little stale that too many of his heel feuds are about the babyfaces needing to find a way to get him in the ring for a match. Adam Cole did as good a job as he could explaining why fans should get behind him now, but it’s not an easy sell.
Cody Rhodes invoking his daughter to explain why he was to win the first (yet meaningless) Crown Jewel championship felt a little much. It was amazing to hear Gunther follow up on it and roast Rhodes for doing so.
What’s intriguing about this Bloodline story is that the issue is not quite over who is in charge but that the family is divided. Does anyone ever unite the sides into a super Bloodline in the end?
Halloween Havoc on Sunday will be the true unveiling of NXT’s new-look women’s division, but Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia bring a level of crispest, stiffness and quickness that was easy to see versus Fatal Influence. The roster has a new standard meet.
In an industry where the referee is too often left to look clueless and hung out to dry, WWE did a great job Jessika Carr correctly awarding the win to DIY because they pinned the legal man and the Street Profits did not.
Kevin Owens of course is right in his promo about the disrespect shown to him by his storyline suspension after all the worse attacks WWE stars have gotten away with. The injustice! And of course, after my column last week, WWE couldn’t help itself and showed the attack videos.
Final Testament might be the perfect Wyatt Sicks opponent. The matches will be bonkers, the fans already hate them and they can easily take the loss in the end. Leaving it unknown when the Wyatts will show up is the right call and homage to what Bray Wyatt and the Undertaker once were
Scott D’Amore’s rebooted Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling made a strong first impression and man it is great to have Mauro Ranallo back calling wrestling.
All Business Orange Cassidy is exactly the character change he’s needed after Jerry Lynn’s pep talk and years of him “not caring.” Can’t wait to see what finally sparks him to be the leader AEW needs against Jon Moxley.
Samantha Irvin will be sorely missed in WWE, as she reportedly will be pursuing a music career. Her voice, cadence and passion just added a little extra gravitas and meaning to the matches she announced.
Extra: Ethan Page’s promo about the struggles of his journey before his NXT championship rematch with Trick Williams was so good, he can use it to make it as babyface at some point.
Wrestler of the Week
Anna Jay, AEW
AEW’s title eliminator matches needed a moment like what Anna Jay got at Battle of the Belts, pinning women’s world champion Mariah May after her return from a tour in Japan with STARDOM. Hard work, improvement and going the extra mile to represent the company should come with rewards. You can see a new confidence in Jay. Even if she doesn’t win the title, she is set up to live near the top of the card for a while
Social Media Post of the Week
Match to Wath
Nic Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship at Bound for Glory (8 p.m. Saturday TNA+, Triller)
Adding Frankie Kazarian as the special guest referee makes this math even more fascinating, especially in a clash of two babyfaces. Would Henry — who seems duo — or Nemeth be OK winning with Kazarian screwing one of them? Does Nemeth turn heel with Kazarian to make a Hendry’s win mean more or does Kazarian force his way way into a future triple threat?