WWE is on an incredible run at the box office. They have had a series of sellouts and gates along with merchandise sales that are the best they have had in at least a decade or two. So, what they are doing with their product is working in a purely financial sense. The booking since Wrestlemania, however, has been haphazard.
The booking of the women’s division has always seemed like an afterthought outside a few of the bigger acts. This continues to be the case. Rhea Ripley, before her injury, was booked as one of the top stars in the company. Which she is. But what about the rest of the women’s roster? With multiple women’s matches on each show, how many of them have a storyline behind them? Or even a reason for happening?
On Raw, two of the six matches were women’s matches. The first was one of those convoluted triple threat matches that are always awkward. This was no exception. Iyo Sky, Kiana James, and Zelina Vega were in the match. And that is the first questionable decision. Iyo belongs as the former champion, but Kiana and Zelina? Zelina has only wrestled in two singles matches in 2024. She lost both. Her primary role has been a manager. Since when do managers get the chance to fight for a title shot?
Then there is Kiana James. She has wrestled on the main roster three times in 2024. Only one of those was on Raw and it was three months ago. Also, what is her gimmick? I cannot remember hearing her speak on TV. The only thing we learned from her appearance here is that she carries designer bags. Okay. Yet, there she was looking to earn a title shot.
The match itself was a mess. All three awkwardly did moves and frequently looked terrible. Then Liv Morgan shows up and distracts Zelina. Why? Liv is in a storyline with Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. What business does she have with Zelina and how stupid did Zelina look for being distracted by someone standing at ringside? She did not take the pinfall either, which I thought was the reason she was in the match since she is a manager. No, someone thought they needed to protect Zelina and have Kiana lose. Baffling.
Usually, WWE pays closer attention to the men’s roster, especially their main eventers, than the women’s roster. But now this bizarre and lazy booking has crept into their top angles. The CM Punk-Drew McIntyre angle on Smackdown, their hottest feud, was a blown opportunity. In fact, it was lame. The tension between Punk and McIntyre has been building for months now. Punk has one upped McIntyre repeatedly. The time had come for McIntyre to extract some revenge in a violent and memorable way. Instead, we got that.
If you did not see it, the beatdown of Punk took place off camera. An interview was going on in the back when we heard banging on the elephant door behind them. An official opened the door, which was stupid considering they were on high alert for the Wyatt Sicks, and Punk was lying bloody on the ground with McIntyre standing over him. What a heat killer.
Imagine if Thanos had killed Loki off-camera in Infinity War. Then Thor just told us he had been killed. All the drama would have been sucked out of what was a major angle in the movie. This is the same. This should have been a major moment in their feud and a moment that turned this feud into a blood feud. Both literally and figuratively. For whatever reason, they did not have the guts to do what they needed to do.
After Punk cost McIntyre the title in Scotland, Drew’s home country, it made sense for Drew to seek revenge in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. The image of Punk being beaten and bloodied in front of that crowd and the emotions that would have induced is not something we have seen from WWE in years. It was disappointing, but not the only puzzling move on Smackdown.
Smackdown featured three Money in the Bank qualifying matches, which meant three triple threat matches. These types of matches, while considered “modern” by fans, are old and tiring. It has been almost thirty years since Terry Funk, Sabu, and Shane Douglas started the triple threat craze. Thirty years. That is not modern. It is also a copout because the winner usually wins in a fluky away. Not to mention these matches are another No DQ match.
The first two of these matches featured fluke finishes. The least likely person in those matches, Chelsea Green, and Carmelo Hayes, won. They wasted Hayes pinning Randy Orton, opting for a roll up after a distraction. What could have been a big moment for Hayes was rendered a joke. The same goes for Chelsea. Bianca Belair hit her finisher on Michin, Chelsea then threw Bianca out of the ring and pinned Michin. Again, a fluke.
Even the Bloodline-Rhodes angle had issues. Yes, it was mostly good. Seeing Jacob Fatu debut, and looking trimmed down, was a good piece of business. The interactions with Solo and Heyman were great and advanced the story of Roman’s return with Solo claiming Roman will never return. That all worked.
Here is the thing. Earlier Cody decided he wanted to face Solo on his own. No one at ringside. How stupid was that? He claimed he had a plan and did not need Owens and Orton at ringside, but turns out, he did not have a plan. He went down without any backup. The Bloodline interferes in every match, but he goes down without backup. They made him look like a fool.
WWE is hot right now. Attendance and the box office are at levels they have not seen in years. Cody Rhodes is the top wrestler in the world, despite what internet fans say about him. There is a lot that is working. That does not mean it will last forever. In fact, it will not last forever. It cannot. But if they want to extend this hot streak, they need to do better than this. Business will not turn down overnight. One or two bad episodes will not stop their momentum. But eventually these will accumulate.
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