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Austin: Smackdown Women’s Division Gets Big Upgrades

From Zelina to Nox to Shotzi to Toni, WWE Smackdown is seeing an influx of women’s talent, and Austin is here to break it down!

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Zelina Vega WWE Return

From Zelina to Nox to Shotzi to Toni, WWE Smackdown is seeing an influx of women’s talent, and Austin is here to break it down!

Lack of numbers on the main roster has been a problem for WWE due to talent being released or signing with other promotions after their contract expires. One area of the company that has perhaps suffered the most is the Smackdown women’s division. In June, 2021, the total number of competitors on the Smackdown women’s roster was seven: Bayley, Bianca Belair, Carmella, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Sasha Banks, and Tamina. Reckoning (Mia Yim) of Retribution was reportedly moved to Smackdown in April, but has yet to be seen or heard from on television. 

Zelina Vega’s return

The division now looks to be headed in the right direction, adding four new women to the roster in recent weeks. On the July 2nd episode of Smackdown, Zelina Vega made her return after a seven-month hiatus, having been released in November of 2020. Vega was introduced by Sonya Deville, and was announced as an entrant into the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Although Vega lost her match that night to Liv Morgan, she is a very talented competitor and could once again find herself in the title picture. 

Shotzi and Nox debut

Two more additions to the roster are NXT call ups Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart. The two debuted on the July 9th Smackdown, working as a tag team. Tegan Nox had not competed since August of 2020, suffering her third ACL tear in her time with the company.

Blackheart was also coming off of an injury, but was only sidelined for a couple of months. She recently held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships with partner Ember Moon, but lost them right before the injury to Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. Nox and Blackheart tagged in NXT for a number of weeks, so they have experience working together. Both women have been successful in the company and WWE appears to have big plans for them as a tag team, knocking off current Women’s Tag Team Champions Tamina and Natalya in their debut.

Toni Storm is in waiting

The final addition to the roster is another NXT call up that has yet to be seen. Also on the July 9th episode of Smackdown, a vignette was shown advertising that Toni Storm is coming soon. This will be a great move both for the roster and for Storm, as she has lacked a storyline or feud on NXT for a number of months. At only 25 years old, Storm is an immensely successful wrestler, winning tournaments and championships in Progress Wrestling, World Wonder Ring Stardom, and WWE. Storm won the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament, defeating Io Shirai at WWE Evolution. Storm also held the NXT UK Women’s Championship, defeating current Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley in the finals. 

Although the WWE Draft is right around the corner, it’s nice to see some new talent added to the depleted roster. All four of these women heading to Smackdown is the right call, giving them roughly the same number of superstars as Raw. While the new talent will shine, the Smackdown women’s division did take a huge hit recently. 

News broke that Bayley had suffered a leg injury in a training session and would be out of action for nine months. Bayley was arguably the most talented woman on the roster, and was set to challenge Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank. Sonya Deville made the announcement on Smackdown that Carmella would be the replacement to challenge Belair. Returning as a heel, Zelina Vega is another option to replace Bayley as top female heel on Smackdown. Deville also tweeted on Monday that Natalya would fill one of the final two spots for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

and now we have rumors of Sonya Deville herself returning to the ring sooner than later. The Smackdown Women’s Division is starting to heat up…

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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.

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Wyatt Sicks WWE

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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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


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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 

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WWE Jacob Fatu Roman Reigns Backlash

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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WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


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