“False prophets belittling their families for their own gain.”
This line came out of this week’s VHS Confidential segment on Wyatt Sicks. It explains the group’s motivation and values. Bo said… to himself… that family is the most important thing and that this group is now a family. More importantly, they bonded as a family after being cast aside.
This makes it more obvious why they are targeting Chad Gable, and why Chad’s words to Otis and Jey Uso ring hollow. The Wyatts would never target Otis because he didn’t abandon his family. Neither would Jey, because he fought to keep his family but ended up leaving because he was the victim.
I don’t know how long this motivation lasts, given that it is general enough that they can target so many people for their actions over the decades, including Seth Rollins. There are holes in why they target some people and not others.
But that’s for later. Right now, it makes sense, given what happened to them and what Chad is doing at Alpha Academy. Chad’s words and pleas may have gotten through to Otis, but it’s nice that they’re leaving it open to interpretation and not giving a definitive answer yet.
The Wyatts got even more interesting and also spiced up this thing between Chad and his old family.
B-sides
Shaking dog
I don’t know where this story is going with New Day and Final Testament. I’m still there simply because I’m confused, if only because I can’t quite figure out Karrion Kross’ mind games or what they’re trying to do with the various twists. Take what happened this week as example A.
Xavier Woods fought Karrion in a rematch for beating Xavier last time Raw came to watch us live. I liked starting the match with Karrion holding out his hand and Xavier hitting it and then throwing punches. I’m all for starting matches aggressively in that context. It also helps play into Karrion’s mind games. In fact, he repeatedly asked Xavier to “shake his hand now” when things looked dire for the New Day member. It was a nice touch that showed Karrion was more than a little crazy.
The two engaged in a very physical match that didn’t last long, but was marked by many violent blows. The ending surprised me, though, if only because I didn’t expect Xavier to win. He took down Karrion with a rollup once the big man got a little too big for his britches and got too excited. Then this happened:
Is the plan to isolate Xavier and give him solo success while Kofi sticks by his side? Maybe. And then I imagine an arrogant Karrion saying he did this for Xavier, much like Rikishi said he crushed Stone Cold for The Rock back in the day.
And one more thing. Corey Graves said that Karrion’s question to Xavier, “Shawn Michaels or Marty Jannetty,” was a “thinly veiled” reference to Shawn and Marty’s careers. Man, on what planet is that thinly veiled? There’s no veil there; it’s an obvious reference.
360 What’s happening around
Dakota Kai came into this Money in the Bank qualifier with simple instructions: win. IYO SKY wants Damage CTRL to return to the top and every win, especially the big ones, means a lot to her. And if the wins aren’t adding up, then she’s going to make changes.
This came into play even more when she faced Zoey Stark and Ivy Nile this week. Understanding this, I watched the match from her perspective. While she certainly had her moments, the biggest ones came for Ivy, who did a German Suplex two Zoey, who showed her usual aggression, was caught off guard by Kari Sane, who wasn’t much help when Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre stopped her in her tracks. All the commotion and chaos allowed Zoey to claim the victory, defeating Dakota in the process.
Damage CTRL is on everyone’s list right now, which is an interesting position for them to be in. And this development potentially has huge implications for IYO’s success, or lack thereof, in the ladder match for the briefcase. While the Women’s Tag Team Champions don’t do much for me, I like them as simply more people out for Damage CTRL’s blood.
Money to hit
This qualifier for Money in the Bank was everything on Ilja Dragunov. I knew he wasn’t winning, so it made sense to showcase him in a match with two of the biggest guns in WWE. He made his statement early when Sheamus and Drew McIntyre took their attention away from the Czar and he made Sheamus pay. That got everyone’s attention, and Ilja kept all eyes on him as the match continued.
The first two acts were mostly Ilja attacking or counterattacking. He rarely let Drew and Sheamus go one-on-one, made sure to stay on top of either man when he had the advantage, and took them down with his signature moves. In fact, you could argue that the only reason he didn’t win was because Drew left the ring after Ilja nailed a Torpedo Moscow.
Sheamus sent Ilja out of the ring for a real showdown with Drew. They threw bombs at each other, with Drew getting the final blow and punching his ticket to the fight. Money in the bank.
A very good main event that put Ilja in the spotlight. He looked great in defeat because he looked like he belonged in the league. Ilj’s greatest strength is that everything looks real; he doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. After everything went wrong with Ricochet and Bron, this was a good spot for him.
Simple
- Lots of drama surrounding Judgment Day this week. We found out Rhea wasn’t happy, Finn thought Damian Priest was the problem, and Dirty Dom was still as dirty as ever. Their storyline is the most interesting part of Money in the bank for me, because it connects to so many other facets.
- On that note, Liv Morgan retained her championship after defeating Zelina Vega, partly thanks to Dom trying to “help” Zelina but failing miserably.
- Rey Mysterio defeated Dom thanks to Liv’s attempt to help him but failed miserably. Maybe these two really are meant for each other?
- Seth stirred up even more discord in Judgment Day when he said Finn was jealous that Damian won a championship that Finn couldn’t. Given the slight tension between Finn and Damian, this is worth watching closely. Money in the bank.
- Sami Zayn and Bron Breakker gave us a fantastic segment:
Raw book again like an 80 pound baby. This show gave us more story and discussion segments than matches, but it all felt important and contributed to the whole. A great show that moved at full speed and whetted my appetite for more. Money in the bank.
What do you say, Cagesiders? Is Finn right about Damian or is it jealousy?
Make your voice heard !