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SMACKDOWN, JUNE 21, 2024
HOMECOMING
It made perfect sense for Drew McIntyre to ruin CM Punk’s Chicago homecoming. However, this was done in such a way that you got distracted from thinking about Drew and almost forgot about it, until that amazing image of Drew standing over Punk as the garage door opened. CM Punk’s show opening promo, drawing the parallels to his famous 2011 homecoming and Drew’s failed homecoming championship match was fantastic. Another thing that was fantastic was Punk’s reaction to Paul Heyman, and the camera work capturing it. The relationship between Punk & Heyman was highlighted throughout the show, possibly leading to more between them in the future. Heyman revealing that he had an agreement with Roman to keep The Bloodline’s hands off Punk opens up a whole lot of possibilities in the future. Adding to the layers of this story, you always have to wonder if Paul can be trusted. Punk vs Drew is the issue at hand, but seeds were planted for potentially big things in the future. Punk vs Drew continues to be the best feud in wrestling currently. There was no mention of Punk being cleared, something he said he would probably be able to confirm in Chicago. So hopefully there have been no major setbacks there. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk together in a WWE ring just hours after we learnt of AEW’s disastrous Dynamite rating really makes you think about a lot of “what if's' '. This was a homerun, captivating, must-see opening to Smackdown.
FATU HAS ARRIVED
The long rumoured debut of Jacob Fatu finally came, and in spectacular fashion. This is as good of a debut I can recall in WWE in recent years and immediately Fatu is a major player. If you are unfamiliar with Fatu, I can assure you there is no end to what this insane talent is capable of. This was the shot in the arm The Bloodline needed, and Smackdown in general needed, after a few weeks of Solo’s group feeling a step below where they needed to be. Cody Rhodes is once again back in the mix with The Bloodline, likely leading to a big PLE championship match between him and Solo Sikoa. There was no way WWE were giving away Solo vs Cody with no build, so we knew something was up. The possibilities are now endless thanks to the great long term booking and slow character development of all the characters involved here. Short term we are heading towards Cody, Orton & KO mixing it up with Solo and his crew. Then after that? There are many months of returns and reunions of the original Bloodline group that are mouth watering to think about. Paul Levesque was certainly not lying during the Wrestlemania press conference when he hinted about how they were just getting started with this thing. Another thing worth noting is that The Tongan’s looked as shocked as everyone else at the arrival of Fatu, and remember, they aren’t blood relatives.
MONEY IN THE BANK
The rest of Smackdown was focused on the Money in the Bank qualifying matches, which delivered some top level in-ring action, on top of the excellent storyline development elsewhere on the show. The women's three way over delivered massively in my opinion. Chelsea Green is getting over with the crowd organically due to her excellent work over the last year. Chicago was always one of the hardcore WWE crowds that would gravitate to the heels, but with her pulling out a suicide dive, it seems clear that there is intention behind it. Even if she doesn’t win MITB, she could be a huge talking point coming out of the match. Bianca Belair didn’t win after promising Jade Cargill she would, so it looks like this may be the start of friction between the two if Cargill qualifies next week.
On the men's side, Andrade and Carmelo Hayes both qualified, due to Bloodline interference costing Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. I didn’t like that Tama Tonga was willing to align with Hayes. He has been presented as an unhinged madman since his debut and I didn’t think it fit the character. Andrade had an impressive showing in his match. He has been lost in the shuffle ever since his WWE return, and this was his best in-ring performance since he's been back. The finish was excellent with Andrade brilliantly catching a rolling Grayson Waller mid move. Hopefully this is the start of a clearer future direction for Andrade.
Smackdown has largely been solid, but unspectacular since Wrestlemania. Not the case this week as this was one of the best episodes of WWE TV this year.
I can be reached at matthewmacklin90@gmail.com
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