The Post's Joseph Staszewski's weekly column on the world of professional wrestling every Tuesday, Post Match Angle
Triple H quickly made his mark on WWE by correcting a number of perceived mistakes of Vince McMahon.
The biggest so far is Karrion Kross' surprise his return on "Friday Night SmackDown" last week. Cross was flanked by his wife Scarlett and immediately shoved into the main event photo. If there was a WWE-his multiverse like Marvel, this would be retired McMahon not debuting Kross' solo and asking Jeff his Hardy for the job, as his It will be a dressed up version of Earth 1218.&M Gladiator and finally free him. McMahon is notorious for miscasting and underutilizing many of Triple H's former NXT stars on the main roster.
Under the watchful eye of Triple H as head of creative, former NXT Champion Cross is his No. No. 1 contender Drew he defeated McIntyre and Scarlett put an hourglass in the ring to put his undisputed WWE Universal his champion Roman He Reigns' attention. As Triple H featured him on his NXT, this is the cross it should be. Quickly undoes damage taken by McMahon. The return of Kloss and the appearance of Dexter Lumis (released in April) on this week's "Monday Night Raw" also adds an element of anticipation to who's next to return. Preferably Bray Wyatt and Johnny Gargano.
Triple H also has little time to hold his tournament for the Women's Tag Team Championship his after several months of silence under McMahon following the suspension of Sasha his Banks and Naomi. was not wasted. Clearly, bringing back the former champion would be a huge moment for Triple H. He can do just that and right another McMahon wrong by having more talent and meaningful stories to dedicate to the department. There's no reason why Toxic Attraction's Gigi Doran and Jaycee Jane aren't called out soon. So is Mandy Rose. Teaming Iyo Sky with Dakota Kai and Alexa Bliss with her Asuka adds her star power and immediate storyline to the female tag team her scene.
Overall, the women's division seems to receive particular attention. is. triple H. The majority of the SmackDown women's roster were in Gauntlet her match to determine champion Liv Morgan's next challenger. The match itself was well booked. Sonya Deville earned her first televised pin since May 2020, and Raquel Rodriguez was eventually pinned by Shayna her bazzler after defeating her three opponents.
It's also time to introduce former NXT Women's Champion girlfriend Baszler as the bad guy and win a one-on-one singles title match. Her only opponent was Becky her lynching match at WrestleMania 36 without fans. She'll likely partner with her real-life friend Rhonda Rousey to complement former UFC champion heel her turn as an intimidating duo.
On Raw, Ciampa finally shines. The former NXT Champion (you can see the trend here) has a great promotion, playing a pay-per-view quality match against Bobby Lashley at the US Championship on Monday. WWE incorporated Ciampa's real-life ties to the legendary Harley Racing (the first ever U.S. Champion) to add depth to the contest. That should give fans hope for a long-awaited push to what looks like Finn Balor or a resurrected Kevin Owens.
There were also more subtle improvements. Those include a commitment to longer matches, a reconnection with wrestling history, stories that play out throughout the show, some cliffhangers, and putting the best in-ring wrestlers on TV (see Mustafa Ali and Ricochet). It is included. short match. Talents can now say "wrestler" instead of "sports entertainer", "hospital" instead of "local medical facility", etc.
Also book or look forward to something on Raw and SmackDown Imagine doing than hours before the show. This Monday, we knew that the Women's Tag Team Title Tournament was about to begin, with Ciampa going up against Lashley. Her SmackDown fans later this week know that Riddle will hear from them to see another Women's Tag Team match for her tournament and Intercontinental title defense. important for promoting the show and for the storyline continuity that was missing at the end of McMahon's run.
Triple H certainly still has work to do. He should bring in more teams, add prestige to the men's tag team division, make Survivor Series meaningful again, give wrestlers their first names back, and sign big free agency when the time comes. must be
But the King of Kings relied more heavily on the former star of NXT, correcting some of McMahon's wrongs in the process, to make sure he's no longer normal business in WWE. I wasted no time to show people.
Positive Steps
Hopefully, last Wednesday was her first step towards progress in the AEW women's division. The day began with the company's announcement to add veteran Madison Rayne as a coach and to include the women's game before the usual 9:30 p.m. "Dynamite" timeslot. The tag team match between the Britt Baker-Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm-Thunder Rosa teams was truly timed, and the quartet delivered and captivated the crowd. It also led to talk of Rosa defending her AEW Women's Championship in her intense match against Hayter in Battle of the Belts III.
Rosa also leans towards"sandbagging". Props to What You're Doing claims Baker brought into the feud wearing a shirt that read "Sandbagging Since 1994" against her . It seemed like a deeper and more thoughtful presentation than ever before. Rayne, who works in the well-booked Impact Women's department in recent years, can help. She will also face TBS Champion Jade Cargill on Dynamite this Wednesday. For Cargill to work with a veteran like her Rayne is always good for her development. Please continue to use AEW.
No More Friends
Almost subtly on AEW TV and "Being the Elite" we saw the impending collapse of the Undisputed Elite, but Adam It still felt like a sudden for Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly are back and will soon turn on the Young Bucks. Perhaps Cole will try to jump into the process before turning on him like Nick and Matt Jackson have done in past companies and inevitably reconciling with 'Hangman' Adam Page for the upcoming trios title tournament. was. No matter how you got there, it's good to see the Elite backing up and having a much-needed big angle towards AEW.
10 counts
WWE prepared a trick to lure the crowd back behind Liv's Morgan after defeating Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam Better. The SmackDown crowd let the Women's Champion boo last Friday, but her meek responses and explanations didn't help. If the crowd doesn't cooperate, will the necessary heal attempting for Rousey affect her turn? That's a big concern.
Tony Kahn also needs a more prominent story to unfold the Rampage chapter in the near future. Even if it's C and D level talk. The Mance Warner vs. Jon Moxley match was great this week, but even a small build would have gone a long way.
WWE Women's Tag Team Tournament Prediction: Iyo Skye and Dakota Kai will defeat Raquel He Gonzalez and Aaliyah. Sasha Banks and Naomi are back to face off against the winner.
Many people, myself included, were hesitant about AEW adding an All-Atlantic Championship. But I have to admit that PAC plays defense in different countries (his three games in the UK in July). This is a great way to make a difference and extend AEW's reach.
Perhaps Sami Zayn's souring relationship with The Bloodline could lead him and Kevin Owens to wrest the tag team titles from The Usos. . Either that, or the 24/7 title story, or he sacrificed his title and now we can't make money together.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White has remained undefeated in his G1 Climax so far and has been a hot topic in post-fight promotions.
If Solo Sikoa had been quickly called up to the main roster and hoped to join Bloodline, his win in the Fall Count Anywhere match against Von Wagner would probably put him in NXT a little bit more. It means staying longer. The same can be said for new Women's Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.
I was very intrigued by the official announcement of AEW's video game AEW: Fight Forever. The game includes Casino Battle Royale, Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match, Unlicensed Lights Out Match, and Standard Match Types. There are also mini-games like Mario Party. No release date has been revealed, but this definitely feels like Kenny Omega offering a very different type of wrestling his game.
Rare Ripley has a bit of a cool china vibe. She becomes the heater and enforcer of Damien her Priest and Finn her Valor, in her constant desire to defeat Dominic her Mysterio.
Pat McAfee kicking a ball into a crowd with a Telestrator is brainless and a lot of fun.
Bonus: Congratulations to Sammy Guevara and Tay on her Conti marriage, Sean Spears and Cathy on her Lee pregnancy announcement.
Wrestler of the Week
Champa, WWE
Yes, he lost a match to Bobby Lashley at the United States Championship on Monday, but few have seen WWE stock prices soar lately. After an excellent and inspiring promo, the former NXT Champion, donned to the ring in his mentor's Harley Racing robes, managed to push the Almighty to the limit in what was arguably the best match of the night. All of which continued to build Ciampa's credibility and made him feel like a threat to everyone.
Honorable Mention: Konosuke Takeshita, AEW
Match to Watch
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Chris Jericho, AEW Interim World Championship, AEW Dynamite (Wednesday, 8pm, TBS)
This is the AEW World Championship rematch from the clash at Revolution in February 2020, Moxley defeated Jericho to win the belt just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Moxley asked his WCW-era "The Lionheart" Chris his Jericho in this match, so it will be interesting to see how that story is told. And while this dynamite his entire card is stacked how this match ends and if anything happens after all he gets an idea about his CM Punk status against his outs must. If Moxley wins clean and Jericho has no reason to come back and ask for another match, Punk should think they're ready for Chicago - or Tony Kahn has another surprise in store. increase.