As we open the curtains for tonight, The Bloodline made their way to the stage. It was just confirmed that Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns will be battling for the right to the Ula Fala in Tribal Combat during the season premier of RAW on Netflix. This new Bloodline have been doing some insane things lately, like what happened to LA Knight, Apollo Crews and Andrade last Friday. Geez… That’s all I can say for now.

This is the second time I’ve seen that “Put Jacob Fatu in Fortnite” sign, and I simply didn’t understand it. You don’t want this man in the game. Regardless, Sikoa accepted Roman’s challenge and promised to leave his Bloodline behind if Reigns does the same. The audience still had an issue with this version of the Bloodline, but none more than Drew McIntyre since I suspect he finally grasped that Solo was responsible for costing him the title back at Clash at the Castle, not Jey.

McIntyre made sense when he said that Solo was the only one within the family that stood up to Roman and stuck his ground. Jey and Sami were firm to some aspect, but not fully since they still decided to assist. Jimmy, however, I knew he wasn’t going to stand up to Reigns. He stayed at his feet since returning. Drew was preparing to take out all of the original Bloodline members, while Sikoa takes care of Roman. Once that’s over, the Scottish Warrior wants a match with Solo.

Unbeknownst to them, Jimmy was in the vicinity as he pulled McIntyre out of the ring and whacked him with his crutch. And since the new Bloodline have a 6-man Tag Team match against LA Knight, Andrade and Apollo Crews, they needed to refocus as a messy brawl was underway.

The Bloodline vs. Apollo Crews, Andrade & LA Knight – 6-man Tag Team match

I’m not sure why, but the amount of time it took for Crews to finally land a drop kick on Tama Tonga was too long. Ha! All that damn running around and dodging. Of course, that’s part of the game, yet why does it take so long to execute? Apollo really took his time dropping Tonga on his face just so Fatu and Sikoa could wallow in the corner. LA Knight and Andrade came in on their own moments to fight Tama, who’s snarling again.

This make-chief team have been doing a good job cutting the ring in half. Fatu tried to help, yet he was tossed on the floor. Andrade and Crews go flying with success. LA Knight had Solo lined up, unfortunately for him, Sikoa had him scouted. The second that Jacob was tagged in, he bulldozed Apollo, then Solo added to that. Crews was in desperate need of a tag due to Jacob’s assault. Andrade and Fatu square off.

This is the first time I’ve witnessed Fatu receiving a Meteora, plus that double Moonsault splash and reeling from it. Despite that, due to Solo’s secret tag, Andrade was at the mercy of a very painful and concerning double team from Fatu and Solo. Andrade’s head hit the apron hard. To add more salt to injury, Sikoa shoved Andrade into the post.

LA Knight hasn’t gotten in the match yet as he’s forced to watch Andrade getting massacred. El Edolo did manage to avoid the squashing in the corner to tag the Megastar as he unloads on the Bloodline. He thought that after tagging Apollo in to body splash Tonga it would be over. That didn’t stop Crews from transitioning into the crossface as LA Knight kicked Fatu into the announcement desk. And out of nowhere, Shinsuke Nakamura ambushed Knight. Well…

Anyway, Solo broke Apollo’s hold on Tama, then singlehandedly Samoan Spiked Crews to end this match.

Winners: The Bloodline 

You know, despite how irritating Chelsea Green has been for the majority of her being here, she did become the first Women’s US Champion by fighting as hard as I’ve ever seen her fight… with a little help from Piper Niven. I think she was doing just fine till that. Congratulations nonetheless.

Following the main event where Cody Rhodes defended his Undisputed Championship against Kevin Owens with success, the Prize Fighter put Rhodes on a stretcher to the hospital because of the banned pile driver move. He decided to crown himself the Champion. It was later updated that Cody is at home resting due to excessive swelling in the spine.

Owens had Rhodes defended after that Stunner, but the referee was taken out. And when the new one arrived, Cody was regaining his strength back. In some way, he was screwed to some extent. I can relate to Kevin when he said that you can only push a person so much till they snap, but he hasn’t fully gotten there. There’s a bit of restraint left. What happens next will be on the heads of the referees and management.

Up next, we have the revival of the Grayson Waller Effect with special guest Braun Strowman. The Monster of all Monsters came out in Santa garments with presents for the fans. Waller already made the mistake to insult the audience by calling them “poor”. Strowman found himself disgusted by their presence as was I. Grayson pitched the idea that Strowman and A-Town Down Under should team up after SmackDown has gone hectic. Braun didn’t even finish his enraged sentence once Carmelo Hayes showed up wanting to settle business with Strowman due to last week’s lost. Ha! Egotism.

“So Braun, you big ugly dumb Santa Claus b*tch, let’s run it back!” said Hayes. My eyes did a double take. Never does one of Waller’s segments have a conclusive ending with no fighting. Ha! Strowman was throwing palm trees at Hayes.

Braun Strowman vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes actually thought he was being smart the entire beginning of this match by ducking and weaving, to some effect was promising, but Braun wasn’t going down quick enough. He tossed Hayes back inside the ring like a sack of flour. Carmelo did cut the big man to the mat for a moment, yet he kept showboating rather than keeping his foot on the gas pedal.

All that effort was shredded with that massive boot to the face of Him. God knows what Hayes’ actual game plan was, yet he won after Strowman threw him back inside the ring by the count of nine. Braun didn’t make it though. Everyone was appalled and shocked. The silence was so loud. Because of this, Strowman chased after Hayes.

Winner: Carmelo Hayes by count-out

Alex Shelley vs. Johnny Gargano

Shelley was running on angry fumes because he truly made Gargano feel the sharp end of his rage towards the betrayal. I think the early flurries dissipated a little after Johnny tripped Alex off the second rope as he hit his face against the turnbuckle. Later on, Shelley was able to regain some of his starter back by twisting Johnny’s arm, so Gargano shot him a kick to the side of the face.

Shelley regained control when he stomped on Johnny’s hand, then managed to send Johnny crashing near the barricade. Everything turned around in favor of Johnny due to that slingshot spear. He went for it again and got the door slammed in his teeth. Alex went even further with a brutal kick to the back of Johnny and bended his left arm. Gargano delivered two kicks before shoving Shelley into the second turnbuckle.

Johnny nearly got disqualified if it weren’t for the official trying to separate them from the corner. While the referee wasn’t looking, Gargano delivered a cheap shot. So, Shelley made him pay by tripping him into the turnbuckle. We can see that Shelley had the upper hand, so Tommaso came to distract him a little. Chris Sabin saw this and warned Ciampa to stay away.

Back inside the ring, Shelley’s crossbody unintentionally turned against him in a roll up in favor of Gargano.

Winner: Johnny Gargano

Naomi & Bianca Belair (c) vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae – Women’s Tag Team Championship match

Am I the only who thinks there’s better connectivity between Bianca and Naomi, then Jade and Belair? Their entrance felt different, but I’m not sure how to describe it. Maybe because they’re both indulging in dancing? And speaking of indulging, that’s what LeRae has been doing as she continues to slither between Nia and Tiffany. She encouraged Stratton to prepare a celebration party for when they win… if.

Belair and LeRae started things off as Bianca used her power to shove Candice around the ring. At some point, that became too much, so Nia has been tagged in. Jax missed with an elbow drop as Bianca brought in Naomi for a double team. That went semi-well enough until Nia pumped Naomi in the air, then delivered a massive headbutt.

It’s speculated that Belair didn’t notice the tag Nia made to Candice as she continued her attack on LeRae. Once she saw Nia rushing in, she dodged it as quickly as possible, but her face collided with LeRae’s knee and her body suffered at the end of a Samoan Drop. That didn’t work, so she began playing with Belair’s braid, which the referee was very vocal about.

As Nia kept the official busy, Candice applied painful pressure on Bianca in the corner. Candice and Jax performed a beautiful double team on Bianca that almost ended the match. But Bianca kept pushing back as she managed to escape the opposition, resulting in Jax accidently knocking out LeRae, in order to tag Naomi as she used her fast-paced offense.

Nia was able to utilize some quickness of her own, but that wasn’t sufficient since Naomi powerbombed her, then Belair delivered the 450 splash to no success due to Candice’s interception. Suddenly, Tiffy arrived to provide some “support” to Nia and Candice as the crowd chanted: “Cash it in!”

Bianca was almost taken completely out if it weren’t for Naomi’s vigilance, but once tagged, the official thought she came in illegally since he didn’t witness it. He was distracted by Nia. Meanwhile, Jax kept shouting at Stratton to hand her briefcase over for use… the official caught that as if Tiffany was deliberately being slow. That gave Belair the opportunity to knock Nia off the apron and tag Naomi to finish the job with a spilt-legged Moonsault on Candice. She deserved that golden win.

Winners: Naomi & Bianca Belair 

 

TOP PHOTO: Naomi and Bianca stand in victory. Courtesy of WWE