Welcome back to another round of Quick Takes—a post that indulges in the topics that aren’t worth dedicating a full article to, but are still on my mind.
Each week, I try to cram in as many smaller talking points as I can via a speedier process, and I invite you to chime in with your own thoughts about these topics and anything else by keeping the discussion going in the comments below! Drop some more talking points in there for everyone to chat it up about, too!
Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s topics.
Retribution, aka Justus?
WWE trademarked the term JUSTUS and then BAM, hit us with a protest group called…Retribution.
What? Why not just call them JUSTUS? That’s a better name, more fitting and more marketable. Retribution sounds more like one of the bland pay-per-view names they’ve cycled through like Vengeance, Payback, Unforgiven, etc.
The group itself was presented significantly better on Raw than on SmackDown, I feel. For Raw, I was excited to see this mysterious group of rebels tossing a molotov cocktail and raising hell.
On SmackDown, I thought to myself “Wow, these guys are smaller than I imagined and I have no idea who they are. Are they teenagers acting out as vandals for the first time?”
It went from a group where I was speculating it might include Tommaso Ciampa, someone like Killian Dain, maybe AOP, Brendan Vink, etc….to a group that seems like they’re from EVOLVE or something.
It looks like they’re sticking to three men and two women. Maybe those two women are Chelsea Green and Vanessa Borne. If so, I don’t think this gimmick fits them. I would think a better fit, if they weren’t working on other things, would be Ruby Riott, Ember Moon (still injured, though), Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart.
I think we can rule out someone like Dominik Dijakovic based on the height of the guys on SmackDown, too.
Really, I’m thinking this went from super interesting to pretty lame. WWE is going to have to convince me on multiple levels that they have an actual plan (which I don’t think they have), that the plan is good (ha), that the right people are involved (we still don’t know a single person in the faction) and that the right opponents will feud with them.
Somehow, with the way 2020 has been going, I have my doubts. Can you blame me?
The Rock Buys XFL
What world are we living in? This is insane!
The XFL makes its return and then goes under a second time in its first season and The Rock ends up buying it with a group of others. This feels like stuff you throw out there as a joke.
But hey. Maybe this is going to be a great thing. What’s the worst that could happen, right? It fails to have another go?
Maybe the third time is the charm and with The Rock and others at the helm, they’ll do a better job than Vince McMahon.
But how crazy is that that he was even interested in the first place? And is Vince pissed about this or fine with it? I’d assume he’d probably be more okay with someone he knows being the new owner rather than some yahoo somewhere.
This does feel like some musical chairs stuff, though. This company’s passed around, The Rock’s connections with wrestling and football, Vince connecting wrestling and football…
Stuff from Raw
- Nia Jax suspended indefinitely – Meh. Interesting segment, but I’m not all that into where this is going to lead.
- Raw Underground – I did a whole podcast about this.
- Is Shayna a babyface? – It’s weird. They seem to be positioning her as a face, rather than the baddest heel on the brand. I don’t think that’s going to work and I’m curious why they’re heading in that direction.
- Morgan and Riott reunite – Sure. Neither were going anywhere on their own. At least maybe now, they’ll take the tag titles and we’ll move away from The Golden Role Models soon.
- How good is Orton’s run? – Seriously. How good is he? This is the best version of his character we’ve seen in a long while. Not a big story. I just wanted to mention it again.
AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw Night 1
- They really just sort of sprung this out of nowhere, didn’t they? I didn’t even know it happened until after the fact.
- Veda Scott – I’m not familiar with her work, but I’ve heard her name. That’s neat that she’s on the commentary team.
- Shaul Guerrero – With Vickie joining AEW, I’m not surprised. Shaul wasn’t awful (if so, I’d have called her shaulful) but she’s no Fink, obviously.
- Madusa – “Hey, I’m Madusa. Here’s a tournament. Bye.”
- Tay Conti – I never was a fan of her in NXT, but she impressed me more here than I figured she would. That’s not saying much, of course. She still is not someone I’d put the belt on or anything. But this was a step in the right direction, so good for her.
WWE SummerSlam: You’ll Never See It Coming
Why is WWE giving these pay-per-views taglines now?
WrestleMania: Too Big for One Night. Money in the Bank: The Risk is Worth the Reward. Backlash: The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. The Horror Show at Extreme Rules.
Someone clearly has a thing for subtitles. Is it Bruce Prichard? Is there some new exec who has this as their baby?
Mania was fine, but Extreme Rules was awful, for instance. SummerSlam already has a tagline, too. What’s wrong with The Biggest Party of the Summer?
Frankly, I don’t see the point. I doubt anyone is on the fence about watching these shows and they’re persuaded to take the plunge by having SummerSlam called “You’ll Never See It Coming” as well.
Adam Cole and Pat McAfee
I was one of those “it’s a work, c’mon” people from the start, but I’m glad WWE managed to convince so many that the beef between Cole and McAfee was a shoot.
This is fun! It could be a total mess if McAfee isn’t up to the task, but he’s still an athlete and Cole’s a great talent to be in the ring with. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing what they do with this feud.
Dexter Lumis out of North American Championship Match
That sucks that an injury is taking him out of the ladder match. He’s been progressing and I would have enjoyed him getting that spotlight.
We don’t know who is going to replace him, but it’s going to be either Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano, Ridge Holland or one of the three people who are competing next week.
For that matter, we don’t know one of those three, either. Kushida, Cameron Grimes or a mystery person.
Who’s the mystery person? Well, that’s a mystery. Duh.
But if I had to venture a guess, I’d say Tommaso Ciampa is my top pick. If not, maybe it’s someone like Bo Dallas coming from the main roster and that’s why they want to make it feel special.
I can’t imagine it’s just Jake Atlas or Mansoor or Danny Burch. They’d just announce it if it were a regular active person and not something worth going “Oh hey, look at that” for.
Marty Jannetty
Good lord. Talking about killing someone on Facebook? If it’s true, it’s awful. If it’s just b.s., it’s still awful. Just stop it, man…
Triple-Brand Battle Royal for SmackDown Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender
Bayley will defend her title at SummerSlam against the winner of a tri-branded battle royal.
I’m really, really hoping this means we’re getting someone different as a challenger and not just an excuse for Nikki Cross to earn another opportunity. In fact, don’t do anyone on SmackDown at all. Bayley’s already fought Naomi, Tamina, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, etc.
Let’s go with someone new and fresh. Maybe Mickie James? Xia Li? I’d love to see Mia Yim get this spot.
What are your takes on these topics? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
