WWE/AEW Takeaways from the Week(8/14/22 – 8/20/22)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
- Mr. Money in the Bank… Finn Balor! - November 28, 2023
- A Quick Fix: 3 Changes to Make with AEW Programming - November 4, 2023
- And The DEVIL is….. - November 2, 2023
Another week has passed in the world of professional wrestling and what a week it was! Raw, NXT, Dynamite and Smackdown all delivered stellar shows that left the fans going home happy. There is very little to complain about with the content we got this week. It’s an exciting time to be a wrestling fan. But enough of that, let us move right into the top takeaways from this week in wrestling!
Honorable Mention:
NXTUK No More!
News broke this week that NXTUK would be no more after this last bit of tv tapings airs. What does that mean for the talent? Well, we saw some of stars from that show make their way on to NXT programming as they debuted on Heatwave. An invasion of sorts, but in the sense that they are all there together to takeover (pun intended). More like, we have these great talents that can really enhance this show we already have so why not use them and put on another Worlds Collide event?
Unfortunately, though, there just isn’t enough room for everyone and we saw a mass release of NXTUK talent. I don’t think these are permanent however seeing as how WWE also released a statement that they will be opening up an NXT Europe brand sometime next year. I can see a lot of those talents re-signing when that promotion gets started.
We will see in due time, but in the meantime, I think there is a lot to be excited about for the future of NXT 2.0 with the additions they made this week.
Monday Night Raw:
Your Theory Was Wrong
One of the most over hyped takes that circulated the internet after Triple H took over was that Theory’s push was going to end now that Vince was gone. He was a Vince McMahon project and Triple H was going to bury that thing faster than he did the 24/7 segments.
WRONG!
When Theory was on NXT, who did Triple H align him with? One of Trip’s absolute favorites, Johnny Gargano. You don’t do that with someone you’re not ready to get behind. If anybody knows how much that can help a talent, it’s Triple H himself. D-Generation X anybody?
Since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, Theory was on a lengthy losing streak. That was under Vince’s creative. This past week on Raw was the first time we got to see how Theory would be booked under Triple H’s vision. It was a very good main event against Dolph Ziggler that not only saw him win… but win cleanly. Theory is going to be just fun under the new management. He’s young, talented and marketable. The exact kind of person you want to build your company around for the next era.
AEW Dynamite:
Honeymoon Over?
I wish I could use this time to brag about how great this episode was. I wish I could geek out with excitement over the CM Punk/Mox segment that was absolutely fantastic. Hell, I wish I could continue to praise the work Christian and Jungle Boy are doing with their program, because it’s really good. But I can’t.
Prior to the Mox/Punk battle, a certain cowboy was called out by CM Punk. It seemed very odd and out of place, but once he moved on from it I was able to forget it relatively quick due to how great the rest of the show was. But then reports started to fly out.
- “CM Punk went into business for himself.”
- “CM Punk threatened to quit!”
- “Hangman and Punk have backstage heat!”
- “Locker room divided due to CM Punk’s selfish ways!”
On the cusp of the one-year anniversary to his return, CM Punk is once again being painted a backstage villain. I don’t know if the reports are true and honestly, most of the people commenting don’t either. It’s very easy to paint this picture when most have a pre-conceived notion of who Phil is. Kenny Omega’s post show promo for the crowd didn’t seem to help matters any either.
To make matters worse, there is now a rumor swirling around about Warner cutting Dynamite down to one hour. The dominos seem to be falling, but not in the direction AEW or their fans want. Hopefully, this is all nonsense, and we can look back on it in a few weeks and laugh. I don’t think any real wrestling fans want this to happen. It’s not good for the business overall. And it’s an absolute shame it had to happen on the week of what I think was one of their best overall Dynamite’s in a very long time.
Smackdown:
Sami Zayn – The National Treasure
When Sami Zayn returned a few years ago from injury, he was thrust into a managerial role for Cesaro and Shinsuke. He was able to flourish and rise from that spot like the phoenix as he became Intercontinental Champion. His run as IC champion was highly entertaining and he was even able to get a Wrestlemania program with Daniel Bryan with it.
From there, he has gone on a run for the ages when looking at the entertainment aspect of professional wrestling. Every segment he has, is gold. It’s not “okay” or “pretty good.” They are fantastic! He almost stole the show at Wrestlemania this year with his program against Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass crew. The moments he shared with Brock Lesnar had people wanting a tag team run for the two of them and now on this week’s show, he had one of the segments of the year as he was finally able to gain Roman Reign’s approval.
Sami Zayn, in my opinion, is the most entertaining character in all of professional wrestling today and this past week’s show proved that. Going from chicken shit heel to sniveling henchman to hometown babyface (holy shit what a pop he got) and back to Roman’s lackey all within a 2-hour time is absolutely incredible. I welcome anybody reading this to tell me another performer that cannot just pull that off… but make it look easy.
If you’re not giving Sami his flowers at this point, I want to know what is wrong with you. He is every bit the complete package as all of your favorites. The only difference between him and them though… he’s better at it.
About Author
