Opinion
Levin’s WWE SmackDown Live Review: July 10, 2018
No matter how much I wanted to see a compelling “Go-Home” show before Extreme Rules, once again WWE left me feeling a bit empty from Tuesday’s SmackDown Live show.
I hope the pay-per-view on Sunday is able to put the shenanigans of the past few weeks aside and deliver a solid show. If you have read my Tuesday night reviews the past couple of weeks, you know I am not optimistic about what’s set to go down. WWE has this awful habit of failing to sell its superstars when it’s most important.
The show opened with Miz TV with guests Kane and Daniel Bryan. In classic style, The Miz builds up the potential of a future match with Bryan while trying to stir the pot between the unconventional tag team.
“You’re The Miz, and you are terrible at everything,” Bryan offered in the best line of the night. “The one thing you are worse at than stirring the pot is wrestling.”
When are we finally going to get this match? SummerSlam, I am guessing.
This led to a tag team free-for-all with the addition of The Bludgeon Brothers, Sanity and The New Day added to the segment. And with that, a 10-man tag match was born.
Here are some other thoughts on the night.
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

I could watch these two wrestling every week for a year, as I have explained before. But when Rusev, who faces Styles for the WWE Title on Sunday, and Aiden English are watching and doing commentary, we all know what’s next. The Styles-Nakamura feud is this generation’s Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat saga. It tells a great story when the two are left to wrestle.
Rusev interferes in the match, in comes Jeff Hardy, who will face Nakamura on Sunday with the United States Title. Paige books a tag team match and Rusev pins Hardy after knocking Styles off the apron. I love how WWE continues to book the Bulgarian Brute as a powerhouse who is loved by the fans as one cool heel.
Asuka vs. James Ellsworth in a Lumberjack Match
This is on the wrong side of ridiculous. WWE is making a mockery of Asuka, who was once considered to be unbeatable. If the Empress of Tomorrow does not beat Carmella on Sunday, the company will continue to lose fans of the women’s division – one that is depleted because of Charlotte Flair’s hiatus and the fact there isn’t another solid feud to work around.
Sin Cara vs. Cien Almas
A friendship dissolved in professional wrestling. Who thought something like that would happen? Evidently, this is personal, but there isn’t much juice behind this feud. There were some decent moments from the high flyer Sin Cara, but not enough to win.
WWE should push Almas like it pushes Elias on Monday nights.
10-man Tag Match
It’s a typical ending to the show (I think we have discussed this before), but it was better than I expected. Daniel Bryan scores the pinfall over Eric Young (there’s a match I would love to see). Now, we wait for Sunday and hope the pay-per-view meets expectations. Something tells me it will be average at best.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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