The Rock’s SmackDown appearance – What the hell was that segment?

This week was surely an eventful week in pro wrestling. I had a lot of ideas for what I wanted to write about, but not enough material to flesh out full columns, so I decided to just put everything into one column. So, here are my thoughts on what happened in wrestling this week.

AEW

AEW Grand Slam – I’m not going to go all negative on this and focus on the backstage drama because, at this point, we all know how chaotic the whole thing was. But as an event itself, the show was actually good.

My only problem with the booking was Mercedes winning over Harley Cameron. While Harley lacks in-ring experience, she is a wrestler who got organically over, which is very rare in AEW. When that happens, AEW should take advantage of it—because if they don’t, WWE might take notice, and she could switch brands once her current contract is up.

So, I would have put her over Mercedes and given her a huge push with the title instead of keeping the belt on Mercedes, who is, quite frankly, one of the coldest characters on the roster right now.

The Grand Slam Ring Controversy – This has been covered a lot by pretty much everybody in the business, and I agree with them—this was a rookie mistake on AEW’s part. They should have made sure they had their ring ready in Australia before they arrived instead of hoping to find one once they got there. The fact that they weren’t able to find a 20×20 ring and had to go with an 18×18 one was noticeable and could have been dangerous for the talent. In fact, they’re lucky that only one person got injured because it could have been much worse.

The Thunder Rosa Run-in on Dynamite – Again, it’s stuff like this that makes AEW look amateurish and takes attention away from the actual product. Dynamite was a really good show, but because of two people who either went into business for themselves or were told to make Thunder Rosa look bad, nobody is talking about the rest of the show.

This segment made Thunder Rosa look bad, made Kris Statlander look even worse because everyone forgot she was in the ring, and made Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne look weaker as heels. Worst of all, it made AEW look bad for allowing this to happen.

NXT/TNA

Ricky Saints’ Debut – Speaking of AEW, former AEW talent Ricky Starks, now known as Ricky Saints, made his debut on NXT this week, and boy, did NXT make sure he looked like a major star.

The fact is, Ricky is more over after two weeks in NXT than he was during most of his AEW run. This, at least to me, shows how AEW fails to recognize when they have someone who can actually be a draw for their company. Ricky is just the latest former AEW star to look way better in NXT than he did in AEW, just like Ethan Page and Lexis King, who have also received strong pushes and now feel like bigger stars than they ever did in AEW. This makes AEW look bad.

The TNA/NXT Partnership Is Heating Up – This week on NXT, we saw Moose make his debut, and it was announced that The Hardys will wrestle on NXT next week. Then, on Thursday, Cora Jade continued her program with Masha Slamovich by attacking her from behind, while Oba Femi made his TNA debut and will be part of a huge eight-man tag match on next week’s show.

This is big for a number of reasons, mainly because it’s probably the first time WWE has sent their top guys to TNA since the partnership started last year. I feel like we’re in for something major heading into WrestleMania season, and I can’t wait to see where all of this goes. Also, the fact that The Hardys are coming back to WWE through this partnership is a big deal for a lot of fans. I hope this won’t be a one-off and that Jeff will be able to get the redemption he’s seeking before they retire.

WWE

Road Dogg Returning to SmackDown’s Creative Team – I know a lot of fans and some columnists are down on him being put back on creative, considering how bad his last run was, but I’m willing to give him a chance. If last night’s SmackDown is any indication of what he can do, I’m on board.

Outside of The Rock segment—which I’ll talk about in more detail later—this show was really good and made all the top stories feel important. That’s exactly what a good head of creative is supposed to do.

The WrestleMania Build Feels Cold – I really hope things pick up after Elimination Chamber because, right now, it just doesn’t feel like WrestleMania season.

I love Jey, and I’m happy they took a chance on him for Mania, but this program with Gunther just feels like a TV feud rather than a WrestleMania-worthy main event. My thoughts on Jey right now? He’s the new Kofi Kingston “flavor of the month.” By that, I mean he’s over because fans want him to get a big world title run for everything he’s done in his career. But once he gets it, his popularity will slowly decline, and fans will move on to the next guy. So while I get that he’s the most over guy right now, I also feel like his big moment will be overshadowed by bigger stars—especially Cena’s moment and The Rock’s return. After Mania, he might be forgotten.

As for Tiffany vs. Charlotte, my biggest fear is that Charlotte wins and kills Tiffany’s momentum as a top face. Tiffany has been one of the most popular women’s division stars since her call-up, and this should be her big breakout moment. But the way this build has been going—especially with her still stuck in a feud with Nia and Candice—makes her look inferior to Charlotte.

This should be a passing-of-the-torch moment, similar to Ric Flair passing the torch to Sting in 1990, but I’m not sure if it will be.

The Rock’s SmackDown Appearance – This is the reason I waited until today to write this column. What the hell was that segment?

Last year, the “Final Boss” character was a cool, strong heel who would do anything to make Cody’s and Seth’s lives miserable. The Rock reinvented himself. Even though he had trouble staying in character, he still went all in and made it work.

Now? He’s just the same old boring Rock, here to promote WWE and kiss up to the fans. Last night was one of the worst segments of his entire career. Right off the bat, we didn’t even know if he was a heel or a face—because after the big Mania announcement, he kept switching between both personalities. The whole “trying to recruit Cody” story isn’t interesting, and I’m not looking forward to the next chapter. This whole thing feels like a desperate move to sell more tickets for Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania.

While I was never a big Rock fan, I recognize that he’s one of the biggest draws in wrestling history. But if he really wants to be the “Final Boss,” he needs to go all in—not just half-ass it like he does in most of his movies.

Conclusion

On that note, this is my take on what happened in wrestling this week. With Mania season entering its final stretch, I hope things pick up and get even more exciting.