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In this episode, we discuss WWE Smackdown and everything leading to the King and Queen of the Ring, Killer Kross talks getting ghosted by WWE post release and what he thinks is going on with Triple H's Booking, and discuss a major injury on the SmackDown Women's Roster and its effects on Summer Slam Plans!
All this and the rest of the Day’s news and Rumors!
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All this and the rest of the Day’s news and Rumors!
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00:21I got 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at Sacrifice.
00:51I got 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at Sacrifice.
01:00I got 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at Sacrifice.
01:29I got 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at Sacrifice.
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02:29Hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode of the Fro Wrestling Podcast.
02:33If you've got questions, comments, something you want me to talk about in a future episode, the only way I'm
02:37going to know that is if you give me a call at the Fro Wrestling Sound Offline.
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02:43We will get to those questions, comments, concerns in a future episode.
02:47Today, jumping into various tidbits of news and heading into a conversation about SmackDown this week.
02:53Starting the show with Killer Cross, former Karrion Kross in WWE.
02:58He was doing an in-studio interview with Ariel Hawane, which was a wonderful interview, top to bottom.
03:04If you ever get a chance, check out their interviews.
03:06They're really, really phenomenal stuff.
03:08But in this interview, he made it very clear that since he left WWE, he's been watching the product.
03:16He takes a look at the booking in his perspective based on the way Triple H booked when he was
03:21in charge, especially NXT time and early right after Vince left.
03:25Versus now, he has a suspicion to kind of explain the shift in creative process and approach.
03:32What he believes is that Triple H's current booking, I'll give you the quote that he puts in here.
03:36He says, if I would, if I had to guess, I would say that there are people who call things
03:41in and he has to make the best of what they want to play out on television and the PLEs.
03:46That's just my guess.
03:47Basically implying that Triple H is not the man calling all the shots in creative anymore.
03:53At the end of the interview, he does one other quote.
03:55He says, he has his own patterns and I think they were aligned with what the audience mostly wanted to
04:01see.
04:01And that's speaking as a person who used to work for him.
04:04And I knew when he would call all of his shots and I had an idea of what he could
04:08and couldn't do.
04:09And to me, this looks like a situation where he can't call all the shots.
04:12And I don't mean that disrespectfully at all, which is incredible insight coming from a guy who did spend a
04:18significant amount of time working with Triple H, both in the NXT black and gold brand and when he came
04:23to the main roster.
04:25He has stated several times in the past that he hasn't really heard back from WWE at any point since
04:31his departure.
04:33And it's kind of a shame.
04:34You would think if Triple H was as big a fan of his, which I believe he strongly is.
04:38And if you take a look at the work he did prior to WWE and since leaving and MLW as
04:43the MLW World Heavyweight Champion,
04:45then you could make the argument that he is as talented or as incredible now as he's ever been.
04:50People who were giving him a hard time about not wanting to bump and things like that.
04:52He certainly proved that wrong in the last several months of his time in WWE.
04:56But right now, we're kind of in a holding pattern in terms of a big company other than MLW.
05:01He has his schedule booked out the rest of the year, but he, I mean, he said the people who
05:05were in control at the time of letting him go and not negotiating his new contract, they haven't reached out.
05:10He's still in touch with people within the company, but they haven't reached out.
05:13So we'll have to see how that plays out in the next several months when some of his dates get,
05:17you know, taken care of and whatnot and he frees up his schedule a bit.
05:20Maybe he makes him jump back to WWE if they fix things.
05:23Maybe he goes to AEW.
05:24We'll have to wait and see how it plays out.
05:26There is some conversation about what's going to happen at SummerSlam.
05:30We're going to get into it more as we get into the SmackDown review.
05:32But just before we get to that, the word came out this week that Rhea Ripley is injured.
05:37Now, I don't know if this is legit or key fave and it's sad that we have to say that.
05:40But when you see what happened with Seth Rollins last year, you can understand why.
05:44There may be some questions.
05:45Last time she wrestled was a clash in Italy in terms of being on television, but she did, was a
05:50part of the European tour.
05:51So there's a possibility she picked up an injury somewhere along the ways on that tour.
05:55Now, they haven't said what it is.
05:57I'm sure they're going to update us as time goes on.
05:59But the reason this is so relevant is there's another report out that is indicating that there is huge plans
06:04for SummerSlam involving Rhea Ripley and JC Jane as her opponent at SummerSlam.
06:10Now, even a blind man can see that JC Jane is not in the tournament, which would imply that somebody
06:14else would win and challenge Liv Morgan, which will also imply that Liv is going to lose to Charlotte.
06:19If Liv loses to Charlotte, it kind of blows up the opportunity for Charlotte and Jade Cargill to have their
06:27feud at SummerSlam.
06:28But hey, whatever.
06:29Maybe you save that for later and keep Jade with Tiffany Stratton for now.
06:31I don't know.
06:32We'll have to wait and see.
06:34But as it sits right now, Rhea Ripley and JC Jane sounds like it is somewhat softly penciled in for
06:41SummerSlam as we go forward.
06:43And that card's going to have to start coming into shape sooner or later because they're going to need time
06:46to build those things.
06:47It's August 1st and 2nd.
06:48I get it.
06:49It's a month and a half away.
06:50But in terms of professional wrestling, that's not an eternity anymore.
06:53That'll get here before you know it.
06:55But that being said, got to get into what went down on SmackDown last night.
06:58A lot to talk about.
07:01Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore on commentary.
07:03They opened the show with Kathy Kelly talking to Jade Cargill, B-Fab, and Mee Chin.
07:08We know that there was going to be a match later on in the show.
07:11We're going to get to see Jade Cargill against Sol Ruka versus Lyra Valkyria versus Charlotte Flair to open the
07:17show in the first round match of the Women's Queen of the Ring tournament.
07:22And this, look, there was so much they could have done here.
07:24I think the reason WWE is booking this tournament the way they are is they really do not want to
07:29put anybody over at the expense of somebody else.
07:33I think they really want to make sure they keep everybody strong.
07:36And let's be honest, I have tons of respect for that.
07:39I really do.
07:39But at the end of the day, somebody's got to win matches.
07:41So the match itself was actually pretty fire.
07:44It was very solid, great work between everybody.
07:46When you look at the talent that is in there, I don't think they were going to beat Sol Ruka
07:49again now that she won a championship.
07:51I don't think you're going to see Jade or Charlotte take a fall because both of them have to be
07:55in marquee matches for SummerSlam.
07:56So I thought from the beginning it was pretty obvious that Lyra Valkyria was in the match for the purpose
08:00of taking the fall.
08:01But she may also be in there.
08:03And I would not be surprised if we see her have a massive character shift in the coming weeks and
08:07maybe go heel.
08:08Her and Bayley or maybe just her, don't know.
08:10But it certainly seems like that would be something that would help freshen up her character.
08:14We get to the end of the match, and when we see the finish, Flair put in the figure eight
08:19leg lock on Valkyria, who ends up tapping out.
08:22And Charlotte Flair will advance in the tournament to take on Liv Morgan, which should be a phenomenal match.
08:28One that really could be a headline pay-per-view quality match to begin with, especially with Liv being a
08:33world champion and Charlotte always being on the hunt for a championship.
08:36She hasn't been in the world championship picture in quite some time.
08:38It is time to get her back in there.
08:40Let's be honest.
08:41It really is.
08:42They do have Meechan and B-Fab in the back.
08:44They confront Tiffany Stratton.
08:46Chelsea Green comes out.
08:47What I don't like here is it feels like they are putting this Tiffany Stratton-Chelsea Green thing in fast
08:53forward.
08:54Like a couple weeks ago, she wanted nothing to do with Chelsea Green.
08:57Now all of a sudden, she wants to be her bestie.
08:58It's too fast.
09:00Slow burn, slow build.
09:02We don't need to rush everything.
09:03We really don't.
09:04There's ways to tell a story without making these two besties.
09:07You can do the same things you're going to do with them anyways without them being best friends.
09:10Later on, we see Finn Balor talking to Kathy Keller.
09:13He runs into R-Truth and Damian Priest.
09:16Now obviously, this is like a mini reunion of old school Judgment Day.
09:20I don't want to go down that road again, but it was interesting to see them interact and have some
09:25screen time together.
09:26I really hope they take this opportunity to do something of some substance with Finn Balor.
09:31He deserves that opportunity.
09:32He's been pigeonholed for so long in that faction.
09:35Now he finally breaks away.
09:36One of the first things you do is put him on the screen with the people he used to be
09:39in the faction with.
09:40A little disconcerting for me.
09:42You get into Paige and Brie Bella defending their championship against Fatal Influence.
09:47I was actually surprised here.
09:49Not that the championships didn't change hands.
09:51That does not surprise me.
09:52What surprised me is I was expecting some kind of schmoz finish for Fatal Influence to pick up the win
09:57because they were booked so strong coming over from NXT.
09:59And it seems like since that original first week or two booking, they've kind of been allowed to flounder and
10:05kind of tumble down the card a bit.
10:06I would have liked to have seen something more substantial here for them.
10:09But at the end of the day, we end up seeing Paige reversing a pin attempt for a win and
10:16Paige and Brie retain.
10:18Then we get to Sami Zayn in the back talking to Johnny Gargano.
10:22I guess maybe this is going to be the thing that snaps Gargano out of his funk.
10:25I guess that's what they're going for.
10:28If it gives them something substantial to do, that's fine.
10:31But right now, I don't think he needs to be in the conversation.
10:33Certainly not with Cody and Sami and Gunther and all that.
10:38I think Gargano needs to stay out of it.
10:40That being said, there is some conversation.
10:43There's Candice LeRae back there yelling at Gargano to do something about his depression.
10:50Then you have Sami Zayn talk about how he has to clear the air with Cody.
10:54Zayn thanks Gargano for the advice.
10:56The weird part there is that he didn't say anything.
11:01He's just laying there catatonic.
11:02It's becoming a weekly thing.
11:04Sami Zayn goes out of the ring.
11:06He's like a tweener right now.
11:09Part face, part heel.
11:10Rhodes comes out.
11:11They have this thing where they go back and forth.
11:13Talk about the last couple years worth of booking.
11:15Oh, I owed you this.
11:16Or you did this on your own.
11:18Or didn't do this on your own.
11:19And I was there for you.
11:20And I celebrated with you at WrestleMania 40.
11:22Or Cody's the common denominator.
11:25Or all these other people turning on him.
11:26And all these things.
11:28But it would really...
11:30I thought this was great at laying the groundwork for what is obvious.
11:34Cody and Zayn need to have a match.
11:36Now here's my dissent.
11:38Okay?
11:39I believe that Gunther right now is going to win the championship next week.
11:46And I don't like the idea.
11:48Because I would really love for Cody to lose the championship to Sami Zayn.
11:52I don't have the die hard, I have to be at Mania feeling anymore.
11:56I used to have that.
11:57I don't anymore.
11:58I really think it would be helpful for Sami to win that championship at SummerSlam.
12:04We do have the moment where Rhodes slaps Zayn and all that stuff.
12:06And Zayn grabs a chair.
12:08Looks like it's going to get serious.
12:09But it doesn't.
12:10This is obviously something fans are going to want to see.
12:12And I actually don't know who they'll side with.
12:14Because Cody gets his chair of booze too now.
12:17But definitely something to be worthwhile them booking.
12:19And putting in as a main event storyline for SummerSlam.
12:23The way it's looking right now.
12:24It looks like Gunther may win the championship.
12:26And we'll get into why in a few minutes.
12:27But Gunther may win that championship.
12:29And then who does Gunther go on to face?
12:31Does he face a returning CM Punk?
12:33I don't like that idea.
12:34Again, we'll get into that later.
12:35But what do you do with Gunther after that?
12:38And what happens to the Gunther Brock opportunity?
12:40That just goes by the wayside.
12:41We just never get to see that, I guess.
12:43Because it's pretty obvious, I think, to everybody.
12:45It's going to end up being Oba and Brock at SummerSlam.
12:49Unless you have Oba win the King of the Ring.
12:53He challenges Gunther.
12:54And somehow Brock gets put in as a three-way.
12:56I could see that happening.
12:58I would not be overly upset about that.
13:00Except I really wish that when you win a stipulation for a one-on-one match.
13:03You got your one-on-one match.
13:04But storyline, it makes sense.
13:06So, I don't know.
13:06Maybe that's where we're headed.
13:07We do see the Solo Sokoas, Jacob Fatu piece in the back.
13:13Jacob kind of doing Roman's dirty work.
13:15Which, this entire segment makes Solo look like such a baby face.
13:19It really does.
13:20And I'm not hating it.
13:21I'm going to be honest with you.
13:22I'm really not hating it.
13:23But what I am hating is I'm so tired of Bloodline vs. Bloodline nonsense.
13:27I don't need to see that ever again.
13:28It needs to be done.
13:30It needs to be over with.
13:31And that doesn't look like that's the case anytime soon.
13:33So, whatever.
13:34It looks like we're leaning that direction.
13:36Something's going to happen at some point, obviously.
13:39Then we move on to what is, in my opinion, the greatest match of the night.
13:42Ray Phoenix defending the AAA Cruiserweight Championship against Axiom.
13:47This match, if you have not seen it, go back.
13:49Make the time.
13:49It is worth it.
13:50This is a phenomenal match.
13:52Especially for matches being shown on television.
13:54Like, if they were on pay-per-view, you would imagine they would probably get some more time.
13:57They didn't get as much time as I would have loved for them to get.
13:59But every minute that they had, every second they had, was high impact, high tempo.
14:03Beautifully done.
14:04I really enjoyed every single bit of this.
14:07We get to the Gunther conversation with Nick Aldis, stating that Sami Zayn is going to be the special guest
14:13referee.
14:13As I said earlier, we'll get to that in a few minutes.
14:15I love the storyline.
14:16I hate the storyline.
14:18Does Sami cost Cody the championship because of their issues right now?
14:22Does he cost Gunther the championship because of their past feud when it was over the Intercontinental Championship?
14:29Does Sami not do anything of value?
14:30And it ends up being one of these things where we lead that match into being a three-way at
14:34SummerSlam.
14:35That could possibly happen as well.
14:36So there's so many different angles they could take with this in so many different directions.
14:40From there, we go to the Trick Williams-Little Yachty segment, which I love Little Yachty sticking around.
14:45He's actually doing a very nice job.
14:46Celebrity involvement is a beautiful thing sometimes.
14:49This one I have no problem with.
14:51They were talking about how everybody and their brother has kind of beaten each other or tied for record or
14:56whatnot.
14:56They're going to have a multi-man match to determine the number one contender for the United States Championship.
15:01Trick Williams wishes he was still in the tournament for the King of the Ring.
15:04Not going to happen.
15:05So instead setting up this next feud, which was very well done.
15:09Again, everything that we've seen from Ricky Saints and Carmelo Hayes has been absolute fire.
15:13So them getting in the ring again is not a bad thing.
15:15It'll be interesting to see who comes out of this and who is the official challenger.
15:20But definitely good things happening in that mid-card scene, at least in terms of the United States Championship.
15:28Solo Sacco and Royce Keys interacting again.
15:31Again, trying to recruit Royce Keys to the MFTs.
15:36The reality here is that it's obvious that Solo wants to make sure that Jimmy Uso does not win the
15:43King of the Ring.
15:45Match.
15:46That'll come into play later on.
15:48We'll get to that a little later.
15:49We get Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green against Meechian and BFab.
15:52What I absolutely love here is that Meechian and BFab pick up a pin here.
15:57Meechian landing a Styles Clash on Chelsea Green for the win.
16:00That is a talent that doesn't get anywhere near the number of wins that she should.
16:03There's a beatdown that goes on with BFab, Meechian, and Cargill beating down Tiffany Stratton.
16:09Obviously, they're headed towards a Cargill-Straton feud again.
16:12We've been there, done that, not all that long ago.
16:15So it's a little disappointing, especially when we had so much built into the Charlotte Flair possibility.
16:20But whatever.
16:20We'll go on from there.
16:22And then we get to the main event.
16:24I apologize.
16:25No, first we have Kiana James in the back taking credit for doing everything for Julia.
16:29And Julia talking about how she knows how to fight and whatnot.
16:31And then she ends up slapping Kiana James.
16:33So obviously, that's going to further.
16:34Then we get to the main event.
16:35Royce Keys, Finn Balor, Jey Uso, LA Knight.
16:38I think everybody going into this wanted either Finn Balor or LA Knight to win this.
16:42And I love that Solos Toccoa gets involved, hits a Samoan spike.
16:46It looks like it's going to help Royce Keys win.
16:49At the end of the match, though, you end up seeing Keys send Knight crashing to the mat.
16:56LA Knight responds with an elbow drop off the top rope.
17:00Royce Keys, he sets him up for a BFT.
17:03He avoids it, delivers a spine buster to LA Knight, goes for the pin.
17:07But Jey Uso breaks up the fall with a frog splash off the top turnbuckle.
17:11And then ends up pinning LA Knight for the win and moving on in the tournament.
17:15Now, one, I didn't want to see LA Knight lose.
17:19Two, I certainly didn't want to see him be the one to take the fall.
17:22And I hate to say this.
17:23I just said how I hope they do something substantial with him.
17:25But I would rather seeing Finn Balor take the fall here, not LA Knight.
17:27LA Knight is in a position where he could legitimately be a main event star.
17:30And he kind of squashed that when Jey Uso beats him.
17:33But now Jey Uso moves on in the tournament.
17:35So we're going to see Jey Uso represent Raw against, I believe it's Javon Evans in the next round.
17:41I feel like they're moving towards a Javon Evans Obafemi final.
17:45Maybe not if Brock attacks Obafemi and costs him his opportunity.
17:49But we're going to have to wait and see.
17:50But this was, in all seriousness, a relatively good episode of SmackDown.
17:56Nothing that I really hated.
17:57Nothing that I absolutely loved.
17:58But better booking than has been lately.
18:01I'll just put it that way.
18:03That's all the time we have for this episode.
18:04Check back with us next episode.
18:05We run down the latest wrestling news and rumors.
18:07Special thanks, as always, to Suno for creating music and sound effects used in the show.
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18:35I'm Fred Froelich, better known as Dr. Fro.
18:37I want to thank you for taking some time with us today.
18:38Until next time, take care.
18:40Have a great night, everybody.
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