Opinion
Mcleod: The Simple Storytelling Of Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole
Adam Cole has embraced being an old school heel champion, and it’s opened up a world of possibilities for his feud with Johnny Gargano, according to Scott Mcleod.
Adam Cole has embraced being an old school heel champion, and it’s opened up a world of possibilities for his feud with Johnny Gargano, according to Scott Mcleod.
One of the great things about NXT is the ability to properly showcase the majority of it’s stars despite only being an hour a week. Even only getting a brief glimpse of someone gives all you really need. Two examples of this on NXT this week with a Matt Riddle training montage and the latest installment of Adam Cole’s BAY BAY Championship Celebration Tour.
Last weeks we saw Cole getting on a private jet to defend the title at download but this week was even better. We had Cole going to Gargano’s fathers pizza place where he hangs a picture of himself on the wall before telling the same trainees Gargano tried to inspire in the lead up to Takeover they should give up.
Considering that Gargano and Cole’s first match in New York was very much a last minute thing they’ve turned this it a good story. They did everything they could in the last couple weeks before to make this seem like a main event with men talking about why they deserve to be NXT champion.
Their 2 out of 3 falls match was of course amazing with them building until their third fall with kick outs galore. Cole had a legit claim to a rematch having pinned Gargano clean in the first fall and wanted the him to prove he could beat him in a straight one on one match.
I didn’t think the Takeover 25 match was as good but still a strong match. Given the talent of both men it would be difficult for them to have a bad match. The latter half was especially great with Cole teasing using the Undisputed Era only to take advantage of the leg giving out to pick up the title.
I love the difference in the way both men carry the title with Gargano being a man of the people going back home to try and inspire up incoming wrestlers. Whereas Cole is surrounded by a group and takes a private jet to his title defences. Very similar to when Ric Flair would take on the likes of Dusty Rhodes or Ricky Steamboat.
This something NXT does really well which is building great stories out of simple ideas. A problem I have with most main roster stories is that they go to over the top to find a reason for people to feud rather than two people just don’t like each other.
The main theme of Gargano and Cole’s feud is two men who want to be at the top of NXT and to do so they need to be NXT Champion. However they go about in completely opposite ways which is what puts them at odds and sets them apart from each other. While they both came up through the indies Gargano is proud to work for the title while Cole just expects to be champion.
I’ve gone from not being sure if they should have second match to now I need to see the rubber match after seeing what Cole did this week. Gargano losing the title so soon actually lends to the story as his character is strongest when he’s chasing a title.
What will happen next? Spoilers be damned, we’ll have to stay tuned to see!
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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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