WWE SmackDown 6/7/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show where The Bloodline opens the show with a lengthy talking segment and closes the show by putting Kevin Owens through the announce table, WE ARE SO BACK, BABY! It's like 2022 all over again!
Accordingly, we have a lot of Bloodline talk (and even some Kevin Owens talk) coming your way in this installment, which comes at the expense of covering some of the other things "SmackDown" had to offer this week. The Grayson Waller vs. Johnny Gargano match and the women's tag team match, for example, will be skipped over by us, and honestly we're not event going to talk about the segment with Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles except for a passing mention or two. You can get all the information you need on those matches and segments via our "SmackDown" live results page — in term of our opinions, The Bloodline is officially back to dominance.
With that in mind, did we approve of the new nicknames given to various New Bloodline members? Are we getting fired up for Piper Niven's first singles title match since burying her old "Doudrop" ring name by the side of the road? And most importantly, shouldn't Carmelo Hayes be calling himself "Them" for Pride Month? Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 6/7/24 episode of "WWE SmackDown."
Loved: Heyman's antics move The Bloodline forward
Just as Wade Barrett said that Paul Heyman hasn't been asked for much since Roman Reigns has been gone, I thought to myself, "Not much of anything is going to happen with this eons-long story until Reigns comes back, really." And all due respect to the Solos Sikoa, Tamas Tonga, and Tangas Loa of the world (not to mention whomever else is on their way back, ready to make their debut, or will otherwise intersperse themselves in this saga) like it or not, "The Wise Man" has been the straw that stirs this drink.
Whether that has been his scheming behind the scenes, doing Reigns' dirty work, shuffling back and forth between the dedicated Batphones for "The Tribal Chief" and The Rock seamlessly, or, as we've seen since Sikoa has taken his seat at the head of the table, virtually crapping his pants left and right as whatever may have been left of whatever the faction's moral doctrines ever were are thrown by the wayside, Heyman is the steadying force; the common thread; the guiding light, for better or for worse, and he has been since the very beginning.
Friday night's ceremony, of sorts, did more than just bestow unofficial nicknames on the former Guerrillas of Destiny. It furthered the latest Bloodline beef with Kevin Owens (and now a Bobby Lashley-less Street Profits), it reinforced the uncertainty with which Heyman carries himself these days, and it deepened the doubt in most viewers minds that wonders whether or not Heyman is long for this thing — at least in its current state. There are so many possibilities for Heyman moving forward and as long as that is the case, you can multiply that by 15 for what becomes of The Bloodline before all is said and done. Much like the faction's family tree itself, the branches extend in all kinds of directions as to where this can go. But no matter how it shakes out, you can rest assured that Mr. Heyman will be a driving force behind it all, regardless of incarnation.
Written by Jon Jordan
Hated: Two clashing storytelling methods
Social media is a great tool for wrestlers to use to progress storylines with another talent, up the stakes of a storyline, or set up a one-off televised match with another talent. However, when you have one talent primarily using social media with a couple posts responding to something from their opponent and other digital means to build a storyline while the other is appearing on television on a weekly basis to build the same storyline, it makes it much harder to not just create the build and generate excitement, but for fans to follow along with it if they aren't a follower, interacting with the posts, or even being shown them on television. This is certainly the case when it comes to LA Knight and Logan Paul's feud.
LA Knight made it clear he was searching for Paul more than once on television Friday night in between asking "SmackDown" General Manager where he was and grabbing a headset from the announce desk to send a warning to Paul Yes, Paul technically did appear on television in the form of a video, but he didn't really say much of anything aside from telling LA Knight he's not worth receiving a match against him or paying any attention to and more or less calling him cheap. It didn't do much of anything to move things forward, and just seemed like something that could've been skipped altogether and replaced with something more effective such as a response from Paul in the ring, backstage, or even in the video if he was too swamped with other things to travel.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Hated: Is the first round draft pick in the room with us right now?
Let me front-load this by saying that I am firmly a Carmelo Hayes fan. To me, he has the whole package: he has impeccable in-ring skill, he's great on the mic, and he has a character that he is solid in enough to be identifiable in a crowd, but that is flexible enough to cater to multiple storylines, thus maximizing his television and pay-per-view opportunities. If you think that makes me biased, that's fine, because it's clear that WWE also views him in this light. To have your main roster call-up be celebrated by being a first round draft pick is to be reassured of not only your innate greatness, but the positive impression that you've left on your employers and the audience you seek to entertain. Even if I wasn't a Hayes fan, there would still be high expectations and positive assumptions about Him.
So, what about his main roster run justifies those assumptions? Where did "first round draft pick" Hayes go?
Hayes has so much potential. He did decently well in the King of the Ring tournament, and taking a loss to a beast like Ilja Dragunov is, honestly, understandable. Then, he temporarily aligned himself with A-Town Down Under — weird, but harmless in the sense that everyone kind of knew he was too good for them anyway, and it didn't tarnish his overall character. After all, he was about to go into a feud with LA Knight! He was going to feud with one of the biggest Superstars of 2023! Hayes was going to be on the up-and-up!
LA Knight rolled Hayes up for the victory on Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown". Any signs of the up-and-up are apparently flipped upside down.
Dramatization aside, it's not like Hayes losing to Knight due to a cheap and opportunistic move like a roll-up is a death sentence. Like I said previously, Hayes is a strong enough performer, and he is absolutely capable of bouncing back from this embarrassing loss. Even as Knight was celebrating and cutting a promo to an absent Logan Paul (with the headset mic off, which is unintentionally hilarious), Hayes was seen doing his job and keeping kayfabe alive by arguing with the referee. Even if this isn't an instant burial for Hayes, it doesn't look too hot.
Hayes is doing charity work, and he shouldn't have to be. In fact, as someone who is fresh on the roster, his push is more time-sensitive than the people he's graciously putting over. I understand taking a loss here and there as an initiation to the main roster, and the effects of the "big fish in a small pond" transition from NXT to the main roster, and all of that. It would make sense if Hayes was green, but he's already paid his dues. He carried NXT through its near-disastrous Vince McMahon-conceived 2.0 rebrand, and was one of the top names when Shawn Michaels took over. Besides, when the company touts you as one of the best this new generation of wrestlers has to offer, and then puts you on television to put people over — it feels disrespectful, and it feels anticlimactic. Soon, Hayes' confident touts of being the "first round draft pick" will sound like nails on a chalkboard, because Hayes is not booked to live up to that name. It is unrealistic to ask people to believe in new talent, just to pile on minor loss on top of minor loss until it breaks that new talent's back.
Hayes is Him, and while he shouldn't be excused from fighting his way to the top of the main roster because of that, there is no reason why Melo should constantly be missing on Friday nights.
Written by Angeline Phu
Loved: Piper Niven has earned her title shot
A few weeks ago, Piper Niven attacked Bayley because she wanted a shot at the WWE Women's Championship. Bayley confronted Niven (and Chelsea Green, who was behind Niven after she took the mic from her) and told her that she respected her and if she had just asked for a match, Bayley would've given it to her. Regardless, they will have a title match at Clash at the Castle.
For anyone questioning why Niven is getting a title match, she reminded everyone that she's been "scratching and clawing to put Scottish wrestling on the map since 2008." She won championships in the UK, Europe, and Japan before participating in the Mae Young Classic in 2017. Niven reminded the champion that she was a force to be reckoned with before ever coming to WWE and that Bayley shouldn't underestimate her. Ever the cheerleader, Green hyped her up and reiterated Niven's points to the champ.
Niven is one of the most underrated wrestlers in the company. She had a lot of setbacks due to that very unfortunate, stupid gimmick she had a couple years ago. It made a lot of fans forget just how good Niven is. This promo not only reminded fans of her past success, but solidified why she should not only be the number one contender for the Women's Championship, but why it's not going to be easy for Bayley. Niven and Bayley have never wrestled each other before. It's also nice to see new women in the title picture as well as a new matchup.
Written by Samantha Schipman
Hated: Please don't actually fight forever
Back in late 2022/early 2023, Roman Reigns used to regularly refer to The Bloodline having "a Kevin Owens problem." It's a problem that Roman had back in late 2020/early 2021, as well, and it's a problem the new incarnation of The Bloodline has in 2024, as Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa are still dealing with Owens three and a half years after he became the first Reigns challenger to lose multiple main event title matches due to Bloodline interference. Owens excels in the role, of course, and he's always seemingly been the quintessential team player for WWE, but as a long-time fan, I'm start to getting a little sick of him being stuck in the pro wrestling equivalent of "Groundhog Day."
The weirdest thing about it for me is that, unlike most of the other primary Bloodline opponents — most notably Sami Zayn and Jey Uso — Owens hasn't really gotten much out of his long history with WWE's most prominent faction. Zayn went from annoying heel jobber to never-say-die, borderline main event babyface; Jey went from tag team specialist to single superstar. Owens came into the Bloodline story as a borderline main eventer in his own right, someone who can challenge for the world title and put on a competitive showing before ultimately losing, and 42 months later he's ... still that, basically. He's largely stayed in the same place on WWE's totem pole, not undergone much character change, and plays the same role in the Bloodline saga he always has. After all, how many times now have we seen some version of the group triple powerbomb Owens through the announce table? At least three, right? Possibly more? It flattens any character arc Owens might have had, as nothing really Owens-centric stands out about his time fighting The Bloodline because it all blends together. He's consistently treated as a threat, but he never gets to be Cody Rhodes, the central protagonist standing tall at the end of the story. His role, for years now, has more often involved being the glue that holds other people's stories together.
And you know what, in a vacuum, that's fine — somebody has to do it, he's good at it, I get it. But it's been years, man. One of the subheaders on Owens' Wikipedia page is "Feud with The Bloodline (2022-present)." That's a long time for any wrestler to be defined primarily by a single feud, let alone a wrestler as skilled as Owens. And shouldn't he really be getting a shot at Cody at some point? AJ Styles is about to wrestle his second WWE Championship match in a month, and my dude was feuding with Karrion Kross not too long ago. It feels like Owens needs a break from the same old storyline, and he could be extremely valuable at the top of the card. And if you have to turn him heel to do it, so much the better. Just change something, because I worry that KO is potentially getting as bored with performing the same play over and over as I am with watching it.
Loved: The unfinished finish, and Solo's transition to The Tribal Chief
On Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown", Kevin Owens and The Street Profits took on Solo Sikoa's new Bloodline in an intense six-man tag team match. Regardless of how you feel about the finish and this new iteration of Pacific Islander dominance, this match accomplished far more than any three-count can convey.
Before anything, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford deserve their flowers. Sure, they might have been the subject of Bloodline ire last week, but they kind of felt like the odd ones out coming into Friday's match-up — they felt like just some guys to stand by Owens to make this a somewhat fair fight. For what they lacked in long-term storyline relevance, however, they more than made up for in in-ring spectacle. Dawkins has improved so much in the ring, and he is giving Bron Brekker reason to sweat with how well he runs those ropes into that corkscrew punch. Ford is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the roster, and when everyone was fighting on the outside, I was just waiting to see him soar through the heavens and into a pile of bodies. Dawkins and Ford's performances offered the perfect hook to the deeper story that this match is trying to tell.
We have to talk about Sikoa and The Bloodline during the closing moments of the show. Whether you love this new gang of Samoan intimidators or can't stand them (trust me, I'm in the latter camp), the narrative impact of this closing segment overshadows any personal biases against or for them. This entire time, Sikoa has been poised to be the next Roman Reigns — he has been heralded as the next Tribal Chief. However, with his Samoan Spikes and war cries, he didn't have the sophisticated malice that Reigns had. He looked like a little kid running around in suits that didn't fit him, and a bunch of red shirts that were sourced from a Goodwill bin.
Friday night, however, there was a definitive shift in Sikoa's persona. A wrestler's moveset is one of the key ways they communicate their character — Nia Jax's slow but deliberate offense helps establish her as a powerhouse threat, and Cody Rhodes' combination of old-school punches and new-school springboard moves add to his image as a new installation of an old dynasty. This is especially true for signatures and finishers: Liv Morgan's Oblivion contributes to her character as a conniving risk-taker, and Chad Gable's Chaos Theory imparts images and sensations of Olympic mat work. So, when Sikoa deliberately traded in his Samoan Spike for a spear on Montez Ford, the indication is very clear: he is shedding his past as Sikoa "The Enforcer", and assuming Reigns' character through his moveset.
The connection between moveset and character also extends to tag teams, and are perhaps even more salient to tag teams than singles competitors. The Usos (miss you, Jimmy) and 1D, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart's Hart Attack — when we see these finishers being performed, we can easily recognize and identify them. So, it should not be lost on the astute or seasoned WWE viewer that Sikoa and MTF (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) performed the triple powerbomb most popularly associated with The Shield, yet another faction that Reigns was heavily involved in. With this triple powerbomb spot, Sikoa not only assumes Reigns as he was during "The Tribal Chief" era, but Reigns as he was during his most formative years on the main roster, as a member of The Shield. Sikoa is not just taking over the mantle of "The Tribal Chief", he is taking over Reigns' entire history and personality.
The assimilation is done. The transformation is complete. Sikoa has been anointed as the new Reigns on a far more intrinsic level than any opening segment can convey. He has changed who he is, fundamentally, in order to be more like Reigns. If there was any doubt that Sikoa would be a true, genuine, new "Tribal Chief", than this complete acceptance of himself as Reigns would do well to dash any skepticism.
There is something especially beautiful about pairing this complete transition with a disqualification finish. With disqualifications, there is so much opportunity to continue the story. Nobody was pinned, nobody tapped out — the disqualification finish robs the audience of a cathartic ending to a match, and a definitive winner. The disqualification ending is absolutely a jumping-off point for an even deeper feud, and it is the "unfinished" nature of this finish that makes it the most contrastive pairing to the definitive transition of Sikoa from "Enforcer" to "Tribal Chief". Friday's events were the epitome of the two opposites of the spectrum: one's metamorphosis was completed, and another's journey was prolonged because of an inconclusive ending. Through their contrasting properties, they highlight each other, like how the deepest valleys make their neighbor mountains look even taller. There is also a linear quality to this — because this match was inconclusive, Sikoa has room to launch his new persona as the completed, metamorphosed "Tribal Chief."
Sure, The Bloodline may be tired, corny, and played out. Regardless of your fatigue for this family-based faction, however, this much is true: there was so much narrative work being done with the finish of Friday's show, and we are privileged to watch wrestling that begs us to dig deeper into its narrative.
Written by Angeline Phu