I’m calling it quits for now on Night 2, but this morning I have watched up to the beginning of Edge vs Balor… loved the entrances.
I enjoyed the triple threat match, it lacked the storytelling of Asuka vs Belair and the ending was obvious, but it was three large men just smashing each other to inflict pain, and there’s always room for a match like that. While the triple threat was a pleasant surprise I still preferred Asuka vs Belair. Asuka took several really big bumps in that match.

I skipped through a chunk about 20 minutes long after the Fatal Fourway, I thought I missed a whole match, but no, it was just video game packages. Also Shane vs Miz, “Shane’s still got it!” and then he went down like a sack of Kevin Nash. Then they just jobbed Miz to Snoop Dogg :D - technically, he was featured in Def Jam Fight for New York, which IMO was one of the best wrestling games of all time (though I preferred Vendetta). That segment caused another fairly big space between matches, probably 20 minutes.

So, night 2 doesn’t seem to be running as smoothly as the first, Shane getting injured plus some production/pacing issues.

I give credit to Snoop Dogg for improvising. It was obviously a train wreck, but he kept the casualties to a minimum.

Maybe. I think Reigns has been doing a great job... but it kind of feels like they have to end it eventually. I get the idea of prolonging the chase, but you also have to strike while the iron is hot. And Cody coming back after that gruesome injury. I dunno if there's going to be a better moment.

And, the WWE has been sold. It will now be owned by UFC parent company Endeavor. So, the WWE will be owned by someone who's just normal everyday evil, and not super genocidally evil. Positive news to me.

Better than the alternative lol

Also what a shit ending to night 2.

Wanted Cody to win and that press after show with Triple H was a big FU to Cody - "The story never finishes"

It's not just Cody. They still have one chapter left to tell in the story of the Bloodline - The End of the Bloodline. And with it, the Beginning of the End of the Tribal Chief.

Roman may have won at WrestleMania, but Jimmy and Jey didn't. Now Roman's emotional abuse, manipulation, and overall BS is going to kick up to another level. And as time goes on, and that BS rams up, Jey, Jimmy, and even Solo, will slowly but surely come to the realization that Sami, Kevin, and Cody were right all along. In the meantime, Cody will work his way back up (beating Brock is a GREAT place to start) he will work his way back through the Bloodline, all while playing a vital role in helping Jey, Jimmy, and Solo come to their senses. I could even see him winning MITB where Solo was also in the match. The next night, he comes out and tells Roman "I'm cashing in on you at SummerSlam. You and me, one more time, inside Ford Field, for the Undisputed Universal Championship." And that's when Roman's abuse REALLY kicks up. Not just on Jimmy and Jey, but especially on Solo for failing to keep Cody away from him. Now he has to face him again. He gets so fed up w/ their failures that he lashes out on them more, and his cousins get more and more pissed at his bullshit every time and it the tensions get thicker and thicker until FINALLY...

After 3 LONG years...

FINALLY...

Jimmy, Solo, and ESPECIALLY, Jey, have had enough. And they FINALLY pull the trigger. They beat the Holy Shit out of Roman, leave him laying a battered, broken, and bloody heap. And they finally tell him to fuck off and he's on his own - And just like that, after 3 years, the Bloodline is dead. And now, Roman has to head into SummerSlam, licking his wounds, an mental and emotional wreck, and try to do it on his own for once - And he fails. And that's when Cody finally gets his big win and we crown a new champion. Now we have TWO huge moments that 80k people will pop for: Cody's moment of triumph and the sight Roman losing EVERYTHING. And putting the exclamation point on the theme of this story: Without the Bloodline, his family, Roman is nothing. The biggest reason why he has held the titles fort his long is because of Jey, Jimmy, and Solo. Without them, he's done for, and deep down, he KNOWS it. THAT'S why he keeps such a tight leash around them and does all this emotional manipulation to keep them in line. So when they finally decide, Enough is Enough and bail on him, his days as champion and being the Tribal Chief are numbered.

From there, they can tell the story of the Jey, w/ Jimmy and Solo by his side, standing up to Roman again and challenging him for his place as Tribal Chief. And then Cody can start his reign as champion.

Damn man.

In 24 hours time, Cody went from a prodigal son turned to hero to.....a jobber lol.

Dude got destroyed so bad last night.

I cant see him winning against Lesnar.

The WWE/UFC merger. I don't think this is going to be good for Wrestling fans. Although MMA fans will benefit from having events that are like the Pride FC days where they actually had production values on their show.

But this takes us even further from a possibility of some actual diversity and competition in the industry. The worst time for WWE was the era after the WCW/ECW purchases where they basically put trash on RAW/Smackdown and left all the good matches and such to the PPVs.

Either way, I doubt this is going to be good for wrestlers, viewers, or the future of the industry.

Also,

You could always stretch the story out further and add more chapters. But at a certain point, if you keep pushing off the payoff, fans get tired of investing. See the NWO. I can be proven wrong, but I think Mania was the right time.

So HHH unveiled a new World Championship and... meh...

I definitely think there should be two championships, but Roman Reigns' reign has been stronger because there was only one champion. And, I think beating him will mean more if it's for both champions. If the plan is still to have Cody beat Reigns, and it should be, then it would make more sense to me to have Cody win the titles from Roman, and then magnanimously relinquish one title to ensure that there are more opportunities. And they could have, and I still think should have, done that at Mania. If they are going to have this title, I think it should be Mcyntyre winning it. He really needs something to boost him, and fits what they seem to be looking for as the "anti-Reigns". And having a UK champion going into MITB makes sense, although it would make more sense if he won it there.

My real concern with this is that it seems like this makes the most sense if they're planning on Roman having the title much longer. There could be a long term story with the holder of the new title pointing out how they're a working man's champion eventually leading to some kind of clash. And that story *could* work, but it's way too late. The Bloodline story is great, but its run its course, and needs to end gracefully. Otherwise it becomes like the NWO, or the Vince/Stone Cold rivalry, or Evolution, stories that worked but went on way too long.

Overall the booking has been shaky since Mania. Whether that's Vince's involvement, the sale, or general post Mania figuring shit out. There are some things that are working well (Bronson Reed is being booked nicely, Trish's heel turn is looking good, Chelsea Green is becoming a great character, Dominic Mysterio is the best heel in the business atm), but some stuff that's not going well (the Bloodline stuff is meandering, Cody/Brock feels a bit like filler, neither women's champion really has a great feud, the women's division in general is not being booked all that well). Things aren't flowing together as well as they had been before mania with storylines connecting and intersecting in ways that made sense.

Hopefully, this is just the typical growing pains that happens after Mania blows off the biggest feuds and things will be back on track soon. But, while I hate to take rumors as fact, a lot of this stuff feels very Vincey. And while I think Vince still has a decent amount to offer, I don't think he should be the final say just one voice.

On the AEW side, looks like Punk is likely coming back soon. Which gives them potentially the biggest feud in wrestling, at least among the "smart" fans. Regardless of how you feel on Punk or the Elite, there's no doubt that his return could be at the very least, a hot angle. I think in retrospect all the CM Punk drama will be seen as either the fingerpoke of doom moment for AEW, a moment that turned off the most loyal fans, or the Montreal Screwjob, a largely unfortunate event that wound up leading to a big boom. We'll see which way it goes.

Closest to the Big Gold Belt we'll get.

Though the WWE logo ruins it lol