The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you all over the world of skilled wrestling every Tuesday in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
It’s pretty clear which match should most important event Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, even when WWE might imagine otherwise.
The Web Wrestling Community passionately debated a report last week from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that, at the very least for now, WWE is planning on having the match for the SmackDown women’s championship between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley most important event Night 1. That might mean Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The Usos for the Undisputed tag team championships would must move elsewhere.
I get all the explanations WWE would want Flair and Ripley to be in that spot, seeing how the latter should earn a “most important event” spot by winning the Royal Rumble, the 2 have history going back to their WrestleMania 36 match and ladies being in a main-event spot is great to advertise the division.
That being said, Flair has only been back since December and the 2 have only interacted meaningfully twice on television since then, though last week’s SmackDown brawl and Rhea’s intense promo on Raw laid out a transparent story and leveled things up a bit. I even have little doubt Ripley and Flair may have a unbelievable match, however it doesn’t have to be the most important event. Despite the narrative WWE is attempting to push, Ripley is already a star and doesn’t need a main-event win to anoint her like Bianca Belair did two years ago and Becky Lynch did at WrestleMania 35.
If this had been Ripley vs. Belair for the primary time at Mania and WWE has a likelihood to advertise their recent young stars, perhaps you could possibly persuade me. However the case for Zayn and Owens vs. The Usos feels so overwhelming.
This can be a story nearly a full yr within the making as Zayn first approached Roman Reigns about helping The Bloodline on April 22, 2022 and Owens has been warning him concerning the consequence from the beginning. Zayn is arguably the most popular babyface within the WWE, and he and Owens crafted magic on SmackDown, reuniting as brothers and culminating within the hug that received a nuclear pop. The video of that moment had been viewed roughly 10 million times in lower than 24 hours across WWE social media, in line with Wrestle Ops. A win by Owens and Zayn would end the longest tag title reign in WWE history.
Putting this match anywhere else but within the most important event means someone – or multiple matches — might want to follow it, which is a tricky spot. If WWE is actually hell-bent on the ladies main-eventing, then move the tag match to Sunday and tell that story all in Night 2.
Because by pulling Cody Rhodes into the Zayn-Owens story as friendship mediator, you have got linked their two quests and made the overwhelming narrative of this WrestleMania about stripping The Bloodline of all its gold and ending their dominance. It was fitting that Zayn set off Jey Uso by telling him deep down he wished it was him and never Zayn who took the chair to Reigns — potential establishing a WrestleMania turn. By putting the tag match within the most important event slot on Night 1 you have got a likelihood to inform the primary two-night story since WrestleMania modified its format.
Imagine Zayn and Owens standing tall within the ring with the tag title as Rhodes comes out to have fun with them as Reigns fumes backstage – reminding the audience that The Tribal Chief may very well be next on Night 2. Then if Rhodes defeats Reigns, you finish the event with a shot of the three recent champions and back-peddling Bloodline to establish a six-man tag at Backlash – where the Bloodline also teamed up last yr.
The Bloodline has been the story that’s captured everyone’s attention in 2022 and as Rhodes would say, it’s time for WWE to “finish the story.” WWE’s priority needs to be to stay the landing and tell it to its fullest potential because the most important events.
It’s Pillar Time
Seeing MJF, Darby Allin, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perrry and Sammy Guevara — the 4 Pillars of AEW — each standing in a corner of the ring within the opening segment of Dynamite felt a bit like a turn-the-page-moment for the corporate. It was a powerful reminder of the young talent its roster has and this appears to be a signal that they’re finally ready to actually elevate them into a possible four-way match for MJF’s AEW world championship after they interrupted the champ’s short but entertaining re-bar mitzvah on his birthday.
Jungle Boy is prepared after taking good care of Christian Cage and he gave a confident promo bashing MJF for delivering the identical “hokey bulls—t” he has for years. Jungle Boy also mentioning how the three of them — unlike MJF — having grinded on Dark, Dark Elevation and even Rampage is an excellent distinction between them.
Allin has been ready for a very long time after winning the TNT championship twice. He threw his love for AEW on the market and bashed MJF and others within the back crying over their contracts, whereas he never wants to go away
Guevara, as a heel, had a much harder time getting the group behind his list of complaints and the way he overcame obstacles. He could have had the 2 best one-liners, calling it a re-circumcision and rebutting MJF’s line about him proposing to 2 women by bringing up Friedman’s fiancée leaving him.
MJF appropriately hit back with all of them needing to be paired with legends corresponding to Chris Jericho, Sting and Christian Cage to assist them and that he’s a proven star — unlike them.
The entire segment dripped with passion from all of them, loads of biting dips in to reality and was an outstanding showcase for just how talented all of them are. A four-way match alone is a breath of fresh air for the world title picture, and so this whole segment to begin a Dynamite had rather a lot to love about it.
The ten Count
While Taya Valkyrie didn’t exactly answer Jade Cargill’s challenge in Canada, adding the talented multi-time women’s champion across promotions is a plus for AEW. She is precisely the step up in competition the TBS champion Cargill needs each as a personality and an in-ring performer. Valkyrie would definitely be believable ending Cargill’s undefeated streak and help turn the TBS title more just like the TNT belt by way of in-ring motion so the present champ can move on to greater things. Telling the story of them having the identical finisher needs to be easy and effective.
The more we see from Grayson Waller, the more it’s clear he’s already higher than lots of the heels on quite a few wrestling firms’ most important rosters. His segment going to Johnny Gargano’s house last week is one other level for him as his overall meanness and intensity grow.
The scene with Roman Reigns once more questioning Jey Uso’s loyalty backstage on Raw was three years of storytelling multi function snapshot as we head to the crescendo of this portion of the Bloodline story. In a while, Reigns continued to land some biting verbal body shots on Cody Rhodes, but The American Nightmare fending of Solo Sikoa felt significant. Reigns has yet to actually get to Rhodes like he has everyone else but Seth Rollins.
Way an excessive amount of TV time is being spent on this Roxanne Perez injury angle to make me consider she won’t show as much as defend her NXT women’s championship within the ladder match at Stand & Deliver. At least, it’s going to hopefully let NXT restack the deck at the highest of the division round her.
If CM Punk isn’t coming back to AEW soon, paying off “Hangman” Adam Page’s hints that he desires to reconcile with The Elite could be the next neatest thing. It was one in all Dynamite’s best endings shortly after an outstanding trios championship triple-threat match. Then to go off the air with Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson coming to back up Hangman against the Blackpool Combat Club should leave the audience wanting to see what path this takes now. On “Being the Elite,” Matt Jackson fired up the old Elite group chat, only to see Kenny Omega exit it. This a big-time story and feud within the making.
Seriously, what’s it going to take for Rey Mysterio to finally fight his son Dominik? Perhaps bringing his mom into it this week on SmackDown will do it. If I’m Dominik, I tell my dad that when you beat me I’ll leave The Judgment Day, but when I beat you then you have got to retire. Would that be enough?
The look of fear on Gunther’s face when he thought Sheamus and Drew McIntyre each weren’t going to reply the ten count was great. While Imperium interfering for the DQ in that circumstance didn’t appear to make sense – outside of defending Gunther – it was the one logical method to force a triple-threat match as punishment for his or her actions.
MLW looks prefer it’s got just a few things cooking with Alex Hammerstone defending his world title in a long-awaited rematch against Jacob Fatu Tuesday on “MLW Underground.” Also, the gritty-looking stuff they’ve done with Raven entering their Battle Riott and leading a bunch of Calling Card Attackers that features Rickey Shane Page and Akira is price maintaining a tally of.
Has anyone come closer to winning a championship more times in the previous few months – without actually winning – than Jeff Jarrett? If AEW isn’t going to place a belt on him, it’s time to maneuver him out of title pictures.
Impact did a unbelievable video on Gisele Shaw’s journey within the business as a transgender wrestler. Highly really useful it.
Extra: Have had slightly little bit of time to play WWE 2K23 and have been overall impressed with the small sample size. The character models look unbelievable, wrestlers’ move-sets and styles feel unique and authentic even when facing CPUs and it could take two finishers to place away a top star. Also, WarGames is barrels of fun. Played my first one with nWo vs. Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock and Undertaker. The Invasion match we never got.
Wrestler of the Week
Masha Slamovich, Game Changer Wrestling
The Impact star became the primary woman to win the GCW World championship by submitting Death Match King Nick Gage on the “Eye for and Eye” pay-per-view on Friday night. The 24-year-old Russian, whose toughness and unique style is making her one in all women’s wresting’s fastest-rising talents, got to have fun with parents contained in the ring at Melrose Ballroom.
Match to Watch
Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo, AEW Dynamite (Wednesday, 8 p.m., TBS)
What constitutes a dream match is subjective, but this one is appointment television – even when it seems like AEW attempting to pop rating. Del Vikingo, 25, is top-of-the-line luchadores on the market straight away with a highlight reel that may make anyone on the old And1 mixtapes jealous. This match needed to be nixed in 2021 due to injuries to Omega and will likely be the Best Bout Machine’s first TV singles match since that very same yr.
Across the Ring
“Friday Night SmackDown” will likely be at Madison Square Garden on July 7.
AEW announced “Forbidden Door” will happened on July 25 on the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto.