The ballad of Jey Uso continues this week. Kevin Owens wasted no time making his presence felt and his feelings known. And I’m thrilled they got this out the way quickly. After Sami Zayn’s warm welcome last week, I wondered how this might complicated things with KO. While he seems okay with Sami’s position, KO has no love for Jey. That said, he related to Jey’s circumstances. Much like a later moment with a different wrestler, Kevin kept it real about his past transgressions and complexity. He understands that no sins go unpunished and he certainly paid his dues for his. But he also informed Jey that a lot of the locker room wants the former Bloodline member out of Raw immediately.
Yeah, about that.
The Judgment Day’s offer still stands and they spent most of this early segment, and the rest of the night, selling themselves to Jey. They actually worked like demons in horror movies: isolate the main character and leave them no other choice.
It started with the impromptu match that saw Jey team with a very reluctant KO against Finn Balor & Damian Priest.
Jey & KO got along and worked well together until the former accidentally kicked the latter in the mouth. Now, it looked inadvertent even while Jey ponders Judgment Day’s offer. In fact, my one criticism for this opening match was the lack of tension on that front. It didn’t take anything from the match and obviously they still got to the main point, but I’m always down for more logical suspense.
But after the kick and KO taking the pin, Jey tried explaining what happened. But his track record works against him. Would KO or anyone trust his word? The Judgment Day might and they made sure they let him know that they’re fans too. Even after that match, they want him on their side. And still, Jey seems open to the idea. He’s making too many enemies at the moment, and we still don’t know who SmackDown gets as compensation, meaning that enemy list won’t get shorter any time soon.
I don’t know if Judgment Day works with Jey and on the real, the man is crazy over as a face right now that it seems silly putting him with anyone else. But I’m curious how long they play this out. And yeah, I’m interested in seeing him as part of that group, even if it’s for a few weeks.
B-Sides
Return of the Funky Man
NIA JAX IS BACK!!!
Nia Jax is back and in full effect. And she wants the Women’s Heavyweight champion.
How did we get here? Well, it started with the championship main event match between Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez. For those who missed it, this served as Raquel’s rematch after Dirty Dom did dirty things at Payback. Adam Pearce banned Dom from ringside, which left Rhea all by her lonesome. How would she handle Raquel without Dom?
They booked the match perfectly at the start. Raquel showed power and aggression early while putting Rhea on her, back. Rhea looked human and confused. While I never saw a title change happening, I enjoyed seeing Rhea look vulnerable.
Eventually, the champ found her footing and it became an excellent back and forth contest between two powerhouses that rocked my world. Rhea even pulled off a Frog Splash, complete with a top rope shimmy. Don’t believe me? Watch the video below. Just reminds the world again that her