SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
With Wrestlepalooza taking place this Saturday, Raw this week served as the final selling point for the new PLE. As the Usos are set to take on Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed on that show, Jey Uso’s recent issues with LA Knight boiled over into this week’s show. After Jey laid out Knight with a Spear last week, Knight confronted him as he and his brother Jimmy arrived at the arena. The confrontation got heated to the point where Adam Pearce and other officials had to break it up. Knight met Pearce in his office as he demanded a match against Breakker & Reed for later in the night, but Pearce was only willing to grant his request if he found a partner.
Despite his issues with Jey, Knight’s partner of choice was none other than his brother Jimmy. While he initially turned down the offer, a tense discussion with Jey led to Jimmy changing his mind. In addition to that, we had an appearance from John Cena, a face off involving the participants in this Saturday’s Mixed Tag Team match, and Stephanie Vaquer looking to build momentum going into her title match against Iyo Sky this weekend as she took on Kairi Sane.
Latest developments:
At Summerslam, John Cena lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes. Immediately after the match, Brock Lesnar returned after a two-year absence and laid Cena out with an F5. On the September 5 Smackdown, Cena was in the middle of a U.S. Title match with Sami Zayn when Lesnar appeared once again. After pulling the referee out of the ring and hitting Zayn with an F5, Lesnar proceeded to hit Cena with two F5’s. When Lesnar got backstage, he looked into the camera and told Cena that he’d see him at Wrestlepalooza.
Cena opened the show this week to cut a promo where he admitted he could’ve said no to a match with Lesnar and it would’ve been easy, but the chants from the crowd is the reason why he said yes. He said being the last real champion isn’t about wearing a belt or being in the main event, it’s about operating with hustle, loyalty, and respect. While he admitted that he’s afraid of Lesnar and he could fail in their match on Saturday, he vowed that he won’t back down. Cena said he founded Suplex City, has taken Lesnar’s best shot for over 20 years, and is still standing. He ended the promo by saying his jorts are stronger than Lesnar’s jeans and to come get some if he wants some.
Analysis:
Cena did as good a job as he could in this segment to sell the match with Lesnar on Saturday. While the build for this match started strong with what happened at Summerslam, getting away from it for a month really cooled it off. In addition to that, just having Lesnar F5 Cena and then say I’ll see you at Wrestlepalooza backstage afterwards was a lazy way of putting the match together. Just like Lesnar’s feud with Cody Rhodes two years ago, there hasn’t been any explanation given to why he targeted Cena in the first place. While it’s great that we’re getting this match, the underwhelming build for it can’t be ignored.
With all that aside, the crowd reaction for Cena here was another clear example of how much of a relief it is that he’s a babyface again. The fact that the show this week was in his home state of Massachusetts helped a lot, but reactions like this show why turning him heel in his retirement year shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Although Cena and Lesnar have had memorable matches in the past, it’s hard to say what a match between them in 2025 is going to look like. Regardless, it’s still a big match that will likely be more of a spectacle than anything else. With the build for it being the way it’s been and all of it feeling so rushed, don’t be surprised if this feud ends up extending beyond Saturday and we get a rematch at Crown Jewel.
Grade: B
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Latest developments:
At Summerslam, Lyra Valkyria failed to win the Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Becky Lynch as Bayley accidentally cost her the match. The following night on Raw as Bayley attempted to apologize, Lyra told her to stay out of her life. Since then, Lyra has had issues with Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez. Last week, Lyra went one on one with Raquel in a match where Perez distracted Lyra as she had the advantage. Despite taking out Perez with a drop kick through the second rope, Lyra lost to Raquel after being taken down with the Tajana Bomb.
This week, Lyra faced Perez in a match where Raquel was kicked out of ringside after she got caught tripping Lyra by the referee. Despite her injured back being attacked throughout the match by Perez, Lyra eventually picked up the win with the Nightwing. Raquel & Perez attacked Lyra after the match until Bayley appeared to clear the ring of both of them. Bayley looked as if she was about to attack Lyra, but she then ran outside the ring and randomly hugged Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves, Alicia Taylor, and several fans in the front row. Later backstage as Lyra entered Bayley’s dressing room after she heard screaming from outside of it and thanked her for her help, Bayley snapped at her and told her to stay out of her dressing room before storming off.
Analysis:
While not as good as Lyra’s match with Raquel last week, this match accomplished what it needed to as it set up everything that happened after. When Raquel and Perez attacked Lyra after the match, Bayley coming out to make the save felt inevitable. Funny enough, this was the first time Bayley’s appeared in front of the crowd since Summerslam. Instead of her just attacking Lyra as expected, it was odd to see her just hugging people randomly. What was even more strange was the way she just snapped at Lyra when she went to check on her in her dressing room afterwards.
So instead of having Bayley just turn heel by attacking Lyra, it seems like they’re going to take their time with this. In all honesty, having her in a split personality phase for a while is a much better idea than her just being the same heel that she was when she led Damage Control. This will really give her the chance to grow as a character and just from what we’ve seen so far, this is the most interesting she’s been in years. In addition to that, this will give Lyra a strong storyline to be a part of that doesn’t involve a title. While this week was only the start of all of this and it’s hard to predict where it’ll go, it looks like something that has a lot of potential to be good.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Latest developments:
On the Sept. 1 Raw, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch stood in the way of C.M. Punk as he attempted to go after her husband World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and then proceeded to slap him multiple times. In response, Punk told Becky that she would regret ever putting her hands on him. The following Friday on Smackdown after Becky once again slapped Punk multiple times, Punk’s wife AJ Lee returned after a decade absence and attacked Becky. Last week as AJ was confronted by Becky and Rollins, AJ agreed to give Becky her title back that she took the Friday before if the two of them agreed to face her and Punk at Wrestlepalooza. After Punk appeared and chased Rollins off, Rollins accepted the challenge for the match.
This week, both couples met in the ring for a face off where A.J. told Rollins that she wouldn’t even be back if he hadn’t used his wife as a human shield. Becky then brought up A.J.’s neck issues that she talked about in her book, which A.J. said in response that it’s not her neck that she should be worried about, but she should be worried about what she’s going to do next. Rollins then brought up how Punk has a habit of leaving when things let him down and that A.J. better hope that he doesn’t leave her when Becky rips her to shreds. A.J. slapped Rollins as Rollins then motioned for Becky to attack her, which oddly led to the two of them arguing. Becky left in anger and as Punk left the ring to chase Rollins, Becky reappeared in the ring as A.J.’s back was turned and hit her with a Manhandle Slam. Becky slapped Punk as he checked on his wife before she left the ring as she & Rollins laughed and kissed in the aisle way to end the segment.
Analysis:
While maybe a little too long, this segment really delivered in being the final selling point for the Mixed Tag this weekend. This has been the best storyline in the company over the last few weeks and for how great it’s been, this match deserves to be the main event of Wrestlepalooza. As good of a card as the show has overall, this match with all the star power and personalities involved feels like the one with the most juice. While everyone in this segment was great, AJ and Becky were the stars of it. They showed here why adding them to the Punk and Rollins feud was the best thing they could’ve done to spice it up.
This segment really peaked at the end when Rollins & Becky pretended to argue just so that they could outsmart Punk & AJ. With AJ getting the better of her in their last two interactions, Becky had to get her heat back before this weekend. Having her bring up AJ’s neck issues and then attack her afterwards made for a great angle they can expand on in the match. With how great we’ve seen Becky and AJ interact together so far, they have the potential to have a long feud beyond this weekend that stretches into next year. Although we’ve seen some great Mixed Tag matches before with the Ronda Rousey one from WrestleMania 34 probably being the best, this one coming up this Saturday has all the ingredients to top it.
Grade: A
Latest developments:
This week, Stephanie Vaquer was backstage along with Iyo Sky and Adam Pearce to sign the contract for their Women’s World Championship match at Wrestlepalooza. Immediately after, Asuka & Kairi Sane barged into the room as Asuka told Vaquer that no one is ready for Iyo. Vaquer told Asuka to get out of her face, and then Asuka acted as if she was going to challenge her to a match. Instead, Asuka said that Vaquer would face Kairi, which Kairi seemed surprised by. Vaquer agreed to the match, and Pearce made it official for later in the night.
As the match took place, Kairi stomped onto Vaquer as she hung from the top rope. Later as Vaquer regained the advantage, she took down both Kairi & Asuka with a cross body from the top rope outside the ring. Vaquer continued to build on this momentum with the Devil’s Kiss followed by the SVB to get the win. After the match, Asuka was about to confront Vaquer in the ring until Iyo ran out to stop her. Iyo argued with Asuka until Asuka eventually left the ring as Iyo and Vaquer shook hands afterwards.
Analysis:
Funny enough, this was Vaquer’s first match on TV since the Raw before Summerslam. From how this match turned out here, it showed us what we’ve been missing out on. While a good match, the outcome was never in doubt as there was no way Vaquer was going to lose heading into the title match with Iyo this weekend. With the popularity of both women, it’s a little hard to predict who’s going to win the title on Saturday. What isn’t hard to predict though is the likely involvement of Asuka in the outcome.
Other than the match itself, seeing how she plays into the outcome is going to be the most intriguing aspect of all of this. The heel work Asuka’s been doing lately has been great and it opens the door for many great feuds including ones with Rhea Ripley, Vaquer, and Iyo. While it would be a great moment for Vaquer to win on Saturday, not having her wrestle on TV for so long cooled her off a little bit. On top of that, Iyo winning could set up a potential rematch between her and Rhea for Crown Jewel in Australia, which could potentially even headline that show. Regardless of how it turns out, it’ll be a relief to have an actual Women’s World Champion again.
Grade: B
Latest developments:
Last week after Jimmy & Jey Uso came to the rescue of LA Knight as he was being attacked by Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed, Jey shockingly Speared Knight. This week as Jimmy & Jey arrived at the arena, Knight confronted Jey and things were about to turn physical until Adam Pearce intervened. Knight demanded a match with Breakker & Reed, which Pearce agreed to if he could find a partner. Knight asked Jimmy to be his partner, but he initially declined. After a tense argument between Jimmy & Jey that followed, Jimmy agreed to be Knight’s partner.
In this week’s main event, Knight got the hot tag that saw him hit a Top Rope Elbow onto Reed followed by an Uso Splash from Jimmy. Breakker later hit Knight with a high-flying Shoulder Tackle outside the ring and as Jimmy kicked Breakker down as he stood on the top rope, Reed hit Jimmy with the Jagged Edge for the win. Breakker & Reed attacked Jimmy after the match until Jey came out with a chair and hit them both with it. As Jey was helping up Jimmy, Knight grabbed the chair and acted as if he was going to hit Jey with it. Despite throwing the chair down and shaking Jey’s hand, he laid out Jey with the BFT to end the show.
Analysis:
Ever since Clash in Paris, this has been treated as the main event storyline on the show with this week being no exception. Having Knight confront Jey as he and Jimmy were arriving at the arena really set the tone for how this all played out throughout the night. Once Knight was told that he had to find a partner for the match at the end of the show, everyone knew that he was going to pick Jimmy. Having it done that way was well done as it not only added more heat to the issues between Jey and Knight, but it also caused issues between Jey & Jimmy. From how Jey told Jimmy not to worry about who he was talking to when he was on the phone to how he told Jimmy he couldn’t team with Knight as if he was giving him orders, Jey’s really coming off as a heel more and more.
While the thought of him turning heel a month ago seemed outrageous, it’s starting to feel like a real possibility now. Much like the last two weeks, the match we got as the main event was an afterthought to what happened after it was over. After what Jey did to Knight at the end of last week’s show, it was only right that Knight get his payback at the end of this week’s show. For how much the issues between Jey and Knight have been escalating recently, it feels like a waste to give us another Breakker & Reed Tag Team match as opposed to having Jey and Knight face each other one on one. Although the match on Saturday will be fun and it’ll be great to see the Usos team together for the first time in a while, the brewing feud between Jey and Knight has made that match feel less interesting.
Grade: B+
As the New Day & Grayson Waller continue to be a thorn in his side, Penta went one on one with Kofi Kingston this week. Despite Penta having the advantage, Kofi turned things around when he kicked him off the ropes and hit him with a Splash to the back on the floor. Penta eventually rebounded but as he went for a Penta Driver, Kofi escaped it and nailed him with the Trouble in Paradise for a near fall. The two of them exchanged strikes until Penta knocked Kofi down with a kick to the face. Xavier Woods distracted the referee as Waller tried to interfere, but Penta kicked him. Kofi attempted to take advantage of this with a roll up, but Penta turned a springboard from the second rope into a Mexican Destroyer to pick up the win.
Analysis:
Once again, this was another impressive showcase for Penta. While these matches have become repetitive, it’s hard to complain about the action. The springboard that Penta turned into the Mexican Destroyer was arguably the best way he’s ever done the move since he’s been in WWE. As great as the action is in these matches, they need to do something different with Penta. Whether that means putting him in another feud or they bring Rey Fenix over from Smackdown to team up with him, they desperately need to switch things up with him soon.
Dragon Lee had a chance at revenge this week as he faced El Grande Americano in a match where the two of them exchanged chops until Lee hit Americano with a sit down Powerbomb for a near fall. As Lee was standing against the turnbuckle, another Americano appeared and kicked him in the head but despite Lee being hit with a Springboard DDT immediately after, he kicked out. AJ Styles then showed up to attack the other Americano and threw him over the railing to even the odds. Then from behind the timekeeper’s area, another Americano appeared and hit Styles with a Springboard DDT. Then as the referee was distracted by that Americano, the other Americano pushed Lee off the top rope and that allowed the original Americano to trap Lee in the Cabaneria until he tapped out to get the win.
Analysis:
This El Grande Americano storyline has now become more confusing than ever. While confusing, it’s hard not to be entertained by it. The match itself was fun with the involvement of the other Americanos being what stood out the most from it. From how it looks now, this seems to be leading to a new stable forming with all the Americanos. As weird and confusing as this storyline has become, it’s succeeded in creating intrigue to see how much more confusing it can get.
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