WWE SmackDown Reactions and Analysis

FroWrestling Podcast

In this episode we discuss WWE SmackDown including the Undisputed WWE Championship Match between CM Punk and Sami Zayn as well as the rest of the day's news and rumors!  Find us on all social media including: Spotify: Fro Wrestling Podcast Pandora: Fro Wrestling Podcast Facebook - Fro Wrestling Podcast On X - @frowrestling Instagram - @frowrestlingpodcast Discord - Fro Wrestling Podcast As well as these and many other platforms: Daily Motion, Rumble, Podomatic, Odysee, Bluesky, and many more!  Please support our sponsors: 3WA Wrestling www.worldwidewrestlingalliance...  Beezle Games - Sketchy People Doodle Games - Banani Market Foo Games - Legendary Elements ALL AVAILABLE AT www.thegamecrafter.com  Fro Life Educational Planning www.frolifeplanning.com  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fro-wrestling-podcast--2103073/support.

Transcript

00:22I got 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at Sacrifice.

00:27Woo!

00:28Slow Wrestling Podcast.

00:31As far as my witness, he is broken in half.

00:34And you are just a bucktooth nepo baby who ate dog food for a weird old man.

00:41Yeah.

00:42Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions.

00:47Did he do it?

00:48Cover.

00:50Oh, and a kick out.

00:52Unbelievable.

00:53I will never repair.

00:55I'm too hot to handle and too cold.

01:00And I am a macho-finity savage.

01:04Shut your mouth, you're thong-wearing fatty.

01:06It's me, Austin.

01:08Woo!

01:09Bang!

01:10Woo!

01:11Austin Podcast.

01:13Jacob 5-2 is all game.

01:16No breaks with it.

01:18Y'all are made.

01:19Three, four.

01:21Two.

01:23Three, four.

01:25Three, four.

01:27I said WWE, four.

01:30Four.

01:31Four.

01:32Four.

01:33Four.

01:33Promotional consideration paid for by the following.

01:38Hey, yo, Pro Wrestling Podcast listeners.

01:40Welcome to the show where we don't sing it.

01:41We bring it.

01:42Help us out.

01:42And click subscribe to show your support.

01:44Hey, look.

01:45Are you sick and tired of dropping far too much cash every single year?

01:50Latest new video game comes out in the world of pro wrestling.

01:52You've got to run out and buy it.

01:54And let's be honest.

01:55It's all the same thing.

01:56Slightly better graphics.

01:58Who cares?

01:58Is it really worth another hundred bucks?

02:01Put that cash back in your pocket.

02:02Grab Wrestler Unstoppable.

02:04Available totally free.

02:05All you've got to do is go to their website, app.wrestlerunstoppable.com right now, and

02:09they will get you hooked up with the opportunity to create a wrestler, sign contracts, get into

02:14storylines, headline PLEs, even build your own corporation, all included, totally free

02:18in Wrestler Unstoppable.

02:21Hey, look.

02:21If you want to become a member of the Pro Wrestling Podcast family, you want your name

02:24in the shout-out site, my good buddy John down in Texas.

02:27John, love giving you that shout-out.

02:28Then you've got to pop over to our Patreon page at patreon.com slash pro wrestling podcast.

02:33Sign up today.

02:34We have a loyalty rewards program.

02:36Here's the way it works.

02:37Multiple tiers, right?

02:38You just want to be notified.

02:40Every time we put up new content, you sign up for the free tier.

02:42No harm, no foul.

02:43We shoot you an email every time we put something new online, and you can check it out.

02:47If you like the content, wonderful.

02:48If you want to help the show with a monetary donation, dollar or more per month, you can

02:53get yourself into the shout-outs just like John in Texas.

02:56However, some people would love to be in the show.

02:59If you want to co-host a show with me, $15 a month contributors get to do that.

03:04$7.50 a month get entered into a drawing to also have the opportunity to co-host a show

03:08with myself.

03:09Welcome to this episode of the Fro Wrestling Podcast.

03:11I am Dr. Fro.

03:13I want to thank you for taking some time with us tonight.

03:14Tonight, we are jumping into all things SmackDown.

03:17But before we do that, if you've got questions, comments, something you want me to touch on in

03:21the future episode, the best way to get that going is to go to the Fro Wrestling Sound offline

03:26at 267-642-1160.

03:28Let me know what you want me to talk about.

03:30Is it a question?

03:30Is it something you want me to review?

03:32You want my input on something?

03:34Whatever it is, put the questions, comments, or concerns in there.

03:36I will get to those in a future episode, especially when we do an episode with a lot of listener

03:41feedback.

03:42From here, I just got to get into it.

03:44A very shocking episode of SmackDown this whole week.

03:49The tie-in with AAA, everything going on down in Mexico, cross-promotional things going

03:55on, very, very cool things.

03:57And AAA's show, we're going to do that on a future episode.

04:01Tonight is a big night because we have SmackDown, and then we're going to have AAA, Triple Mania

04:0634, Night 1.

04:07It's going to be taking place a little bit later.

04:09So let's get into SmackDown.

04:10They start the show with Randy Orton cutting a promo, basically putting whoever wins the

04:14championship match in the main event on blast, on notice, that he'll be coming for his

04:1915th world championship.

04:21And I think it makes a lot of sense after defeating Cody last week that Randy Orton go

04:25into that world championship picture.

04:27However, you have to decide who do you want him to face.

04:30And that's going to, I think, play a lot into whatever happens later on in the show.

04:34Because Randy Orton's CM Punk, to me, is a program that is destined for a WrestleMania

04:38opportunity.

04:39Randy Orton's Sami Zayn could be.

04:42I don't necessarily think it needs to be.

04:43I think that might be more advantageous, more interesting for the short term.

04:47But at some point, we got a report that they're already booking towards the main events of

04:51WrestleMania 43.

04:53And depending on what happens tonight, that's going to play a role in setting us on the path

04:58towards WrestleMania.

04:59So with Randy Orton cutting his promo, I really didn't know what to think.

05:02I'm not sure who to drive, you know, who to put my chips on in terms of who's going

05:07to win tonight.

05:08We'll get to that a little bit later.

05:09From there, AAA Cruiserweight Championship, Ray Phoenix defending against Ricky Saints.

05:14This is a fantastic match.

05:16And look, everything Phoenix is doing lately, I think WWE is finally figuring out what they

05:20got when they signed Ray Phoenix.

05:22He sat there doing a whole lot of nothing for a very long time.

05:25And now he's getting an opportunity to really shine.

05:27And the fans love it.

05:29Just like they love Penta.

05:30This is a style of wrestling WWE has not always embraced.

05:33But they are right now.

05:34Ricky Saints, it's nice to see him in a match that's meaningful.

05:37And it has some consequence to it.

05:40The only hard part I have with Ricky Saints is I'd like to see him stop losing all the

05:44time.

05:44I really would like to see that.

05:45I mean, like, he got into the business a little later in terms of WWE than a lot of

05:49people do.

05:49And I don't want to see him waste his entire time he's on the main roster always jobbing

05:54to people.

05:54But at this night, he is going to lose to Ray Phoenix.

05:57And that's, you know, I think that's necessary.

05:59But after the tournament, Ray Phoenix and Penta go into the finals.

06:01You got to keep Phoenix strong.

06:03Especially heading into Triple Mania, where you're going to see a host of other talents

06:07going to town, including Ray Phoenix.

06:09And it could be a very exciting show.

06:12I should say this whole week, Triple Mania, the Mexico City Raw, we have Worlds Collide

06:18coming soon.

06:19So keeping Phoenix strong is going to be essential because you do have that other match coming

06:22up in the future.

06:23Phoenix wins here tonight.

06:25From there, we get what I think is a complete throwaway match, Paige versus Nikki Bella.

06:29And this is one of those things where there's some action outside the ring.

06:31When they get back into the ring, there's a quick roll up for Nikki Bella to win.

06:34And I feel like when you have a feud like this that you're building, and obviously originally

06:38they were building towards the Bellas versus Paige and AJ Lee, that falls apart when Brie

06:42Bella gets injured.

06:44But we don't want to see this slop.

06:45We want to see a legitimate match between these two ladies, unless they are so banged

06:49up, so old, so out of shape that they can't go anymore.

06:52And I don't believe that.

06:53So if that's not the case, then why aren't we putting them in a better position to have

06:57a more premium spot on the card?

06:58This could have main evented to show if you gave them enough time to tell a story.

07:01Instead, we get a throwaway match.

07:04This is the bathroom match.

07:05This is if you're in the arena, you're disappointed in this match.

07:07It took longer to do the entrances than it did for the actual match.

07:11What a trash way to waste a date on both of their contracts.

07:15From there, Trick Williams is out.

07:17He is talking about money in the bank.

07:19It's obvious that he's going to be a part of that.

07:21And there are early odds makers out there thinking that Trick Williams may be the man to

07:25win money in the bank.

07:26Like, I don't know how I feel about that considering his place on the card and how many people they

07:31have at the top of the card.

07:32I love getting somebody new into the mix, but I don't know if it's time for Trick Williams

07:36just yet.

07:37Then again, you rushed him right back into the United States Championship.

07:40You got to do something with the guy.

07:41So he's up there.

07:42He's celebrating talking money in the bank.

07:44He calls for Lil Yachty.

07:45Lil Yachty does not come out.

07:47Calls for him again.

07:48Does not come out.

07:49And then Baron Corbin is dragging Lil Yachty out of the back.

07:52Um, this obviously he had given him a beat down and they go to check on him, Trick and

07:57a referee and everybody's, people are checking on him.

08:00And as that's happening, Baron Corbin reappears and attacks Trick Williams with the kendo stick,

08:06lays him out.

08:06Obviously, obviously this feud is far from over.

08:09We're probably going to get a rubber match between the two.

08:12Um, I'll be honest with you.

08:13I'm ready to turn the page on this, this feud already.

08:15I don't feel like these two click.

08:17I don't feel like they have good chemistry.

08:19I don't, the feud itself is not doing much for me.

08:21I had more excitement watching the Lil Yachty fight with Baron Corbin than I have anything

08:25with Trick and Baron Corbin.

08:26And that's not a knock on Trick or Baron Corbin.

08:28Some people just don't match up well with certain other people.

08:31I'd much rather see Trick revisit that feud with Carmelo Hayes, who's been doing virtually

08:35nothing on television, or move on to a different opponent.

08:38Perhaps Trick Williams, now that he's firmly entrenched as the babyface, maybe he faces a

08:42Damian Priest, somebody who needs to have something to elevate them back into a singles

08:47championship picture.

08:48I don't know.

08:49We'll have to wait and see.

08:50From there, there's a backstage segment where Gunther and Finn Balor end up getting into

08:54a verbal confrontation in front of Nick Aldis.

08:57You actually see Dan Housen trolling around behind the two of them.

09:00Not sure what his role was in this whole situation.

09:03They didn't lean into it too much.

09:05There is some physicality between Gunther and Balor, so obviously that's the next feud

09:08for the two of them.

09:09I'm okay with it.

09:10It's a filler feud.

09:11I think Gunther needs a more prominent role.

09:13And then I also would love to see Finn Balor get a chance to be in a main event spot

09:17once again,

09:17because I think he's been held down for far too many years.

09:20And then we get to what is one of the more interesting matches of the night.

09:23Chelsea Green defending the Women's Championship against Nia Jax.

09:26Not because of anything particular shocking in the match.

09:30Of course, we get interference from Lash Legend.

09:32We get interference from Tiffany Stratton.

09:34Chelsea Green picks up the win.

09:35That's not what surprises me.

09:37What surprises me is how she's being referenced on television.

09:40She is no longer being referenced as the interim WWE Women's Champion.

09:45She's just being introduced as the WWE Women's Champion.

09:49Is this an indicator that perhaps Rhea Ripley is injured more seriously than we thought?

09:53She did do a report this week talking about how bad her body is feeling, how difficult it's

09:58been on her all these years in wrestling.

10:00Is she maybe worse off than we really realized she was?

10:04Is she coming back anytime soon?

10:05Does she need a longer time off?

10:07None of these are all important questions.

10:09None of these have been answered anytime recently.

10:11She did put up a photo recently where she was wearing a knee brace and it looked like

10:15she was very far from being ready to come back to the ring.

10:17Maybe the toll of the road is actually starting to get to her.

10:20We might not be seeing her as soon as we thought we were.

10:22Have to wait and see.

10:24From there, we get Damian Priest and R-Truth challenging the War Raiders for the AAA World

10:29Tag Team Championship.

10:31Keeping in mind that the War Raiders are scheduled to defend those titles tomorrow night at Triple

10:36Mania Night 2.

10:38But this night, they end up battling against Priest and Truth.

10:41They end up picking up the win with a double powerbomb on Truth to end the match.

10:44What is interesting about the match has nothing to do with the match itself.

10:47It's after the match where Damian Priest, he helps R-Truth up again much like he did previously.

10:54And this time, he clotheslines R-Truth and hits him with a South of Heaven turning heel.

10:59And I think this is kind of overdue.

11:01I like Priest as a babyface.

11:03I really do.

11:04But he's just not on the level as a babyface to get over, to be considered a World Championship

11:09contender.

11:10And I think that's something he should be.

11:12This is why I said earlier, I think he would be a great challenger for Trick Williams.

11:16He's now freshly minted as a heel.

11:19Trick is the babyface.

11:21Priest needs something to elevate him.

11:23Trick needs something that is fresh.

11:25This would be a great pairing, in my opinion.

11:28However, I believe that both of them will be heading into Money in the Bank.

11:31And that makes me believe that even though the oddsmakers think that Trick Williams may

11:35be the favorite to win, I don't think you make him the winner.

11:38I really don't.

11:39I think the better option would be to have somebody else win and have these two have a

11:42nice, long feud.

11:43I think they could do some magic together.

11:45And I do think that they would gel a little bit better than Trick Williams and Baron Corbin did.

11:50From there, some backstage malarkey going on with Fatal Influence.

11:54Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Tatum Paxley.

11:58There's a whole trust issue still going on with Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley.

12:02Alexa Bliss telling Tatum to just give her more time.

12:04She'll come around, basically.

12:07I don't know how I feel about this.

12:09I feel like it's dragging on far too long.

12:12I'd like to see more interaction, more wrestling action.

12:16But we're not there yet, unfortunately.

12:19From there, we get a backstage segment.

12:22Ray Phoenix is in the back talking to Kathy Kelly.

12:24As he's talking to Kathy Kelly, Ricky Saints walks up.

12:27And if you remember, I said earlier that in the match, he offered to shake his hand.

12:32He blew him off.

12:32This time, Ricky Saints offers to shake his hand.

12:36And instead, he attacks Ray Phoenix.

12:37So this is obviously not going to be a one-and-done match.

12:40This is going to be a more substantial match.

12:41It stretches out over a couple weeks.

12:43It should be very interesting.

12:44I hope they keep this going.

12:46I hope Saints picks up a win here and there over Phoenix.

12:48That way, you know, it's not so lopsided.

12:50And hopefully, this helps both talents get better prominence on the television product.

12:55I like what I'm seeing with this.

12:56I give it a thumbs up for sure.

12:58And from there, we get into the main event.

13:01So the main event, CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.

13:05This is a match that Punk demanded after the things that have been going down with Sami Zayn last week

13:11in the Johnny Gargano match.

13:12Things like that.

13:13The match is solid.

13:15It really is a lot of physicality.

13:16The guys look great.

13:18They really did.

13:18Nobody was getting gassed out.

13:20And then towards the end of the match, Johnny Gargano comes out.

13:23And he gets involved.

13:24Candice LeRae is in tow with him.

13:26He's trying to get the WWE Championship belt to use it on CM Punk while Candice LeRae distracts the referee.

13:33He ends up eating a GTS.

13:35And then he ends up planking in the middle of the room again.

13:37And here's...

13:39I know I sound like a broken record.

13:42But if you've been listening to the last several episodes that I've been doing, my biggest complaint recently has been

13:47that they keep booking the referees to look like they have a sincere mental problem.

13:54They can't use their brain for what it's meant to be.

13:56When you're a referee, your job is the action inside the ring.

14:00Your job is the people who are actually supposed to be wrestling, not this peripheral stuff.

14:04That's not what you're supposed to be doing.

14:06This is just another match where the referees take him far too much time worrying about Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae.

14:13They're not involved in the match.

14:15Inside the ring, Sami Zayn goes to pick up the championship belt that was dropped by Gargano.

14:20And Kevin Owens hits the ring.

14:22He picks up the championship belt, turns around, goes to hit Zayn with it, who moves.

14:26And he accidentally hits CM Punk.

14:29And he has a look on his face like, oh well, hit him anyways.

14:32And he turns around, he goes to hit Gargano, or I'm sorry, he goes to hit Sami Zayn.

14:36Zayn stops him and low blows him to take Kevin Owens out.

14:39Picks up the championship belt, hits CM Punk with it.

14:42He's now in the corner.

14:44He hits the Huluva kick.

14:45And the shocker of the night, Sami Zayn defeats CM Punk to become a two-time WWE undisputed champion.

14:54I absolutely did not have that on my bingo card for this weekend.

14:57I really didn't.

14:58I thought Punk was in for a long reign, all the way to Mania, where I thought he would lose

15:01it.

15:02And instead, we're getting Sami Zayn right now as champion.

15:05Which begs the question, does this mean Sami Zayn moves into a program with Randy Orton?

15:09I'm okay with that.

15:10It's been done before, but it's been quite a while since we've seen it.

15:14I think it would be interesting.

15:15I don't think it's a WrestleMania-level match, so maybe this is a good time to do it.

15:19I mentioned that earlier.

15:20So I think that may be what they're driving for.

15:22But we'll have to wait and see.

15:23Overall, I've been saying this lately.

15:25I've been giving my ratings on these shows out of five stars.

15:28I felt like this was a three-and-a-half-star show.

15:30I really do.

15:31There's things I really, really enjoy.

15:33Every match Ray Phoenix is in, I love.

15:35But then you counter that with something like the Nikki Bella Page match.

15:38I really enjoy the fact that you get some physicality with Gunther and Finn Balor and things like that.

15:43But I'm bored to death with Trick Williams and Baron Corbin.

15:45I actually love the Chelsea Green stuff.

15:48But then I'm kind of bored with the War Raiders and Priest and Truth.

15:51That's been going on for too long.

15:52I'm bored with the Fatal Influence stuff.

15:54But then you come out and you really set up a further Phoenix and Saints feud.

15:58And you have this killer main event for the WWE Championship with a shock championship change.

16:03I love all of it.

16:04I think it's a fantastic show.

16:05I think they did a lot of really good things here.

16:08Just a few things that really needed to shift and change.

16:10And look, if you're one of these people who gives five stars to everything, your opinion means nothing.

16:15You dilute the five stars.

16:18That's not the way it's supposed to be.

16:19A five-star show is something that is exceptionally over-the-top phenomenal.

16:23A four-star show, it should be pretty close to that.

16:26This was neither of those.

16:27This was slightly under that level.

16:29So like I said, about three and a half stars out of five for me on this show.

16:33Got to touch on a few things before we go this time.

16:36Everybody's been wondering, where is Jordan Grace?

16:38There are some other talents that are not getting a lot of exposure.

16:40Ivy Nile.

16:41These two have been on the main event a lot recently in the past several months.

16:45And now WWE has copywritten the name for Iron Built.

16:49And the theory is that Jordan Grace and Ivy Nile may be being paired up to be the next women's

16:55tag team challengers for the tag team championship down the line.

16:58They may be pairing off.

16:59This would be a great way to use both ladies.

17:01Get them on the television.

17:02Get them some TV time.

17:03Get them into some feuds that actually matter.

17:05And I would love to see anything that gets Jordan Grace back on TV because she is far too good

17:09to be sitting on the sidelines.

17:11It's really a disgrace that they haven't figured out more to do with her.

17:15There is an update on El Jijo de Viquillo who has been out for several months.

17:20He had an ACL tear.

17:21They said six to eight months.

17:22He did give the update that he's able to walk faster than they thought.

17:26But he's still nowhere near ready to return to the ring.

17:28He's getting to spend some more time with the family and friends and kids and things like that.

17:32But he is definitely itching to get back into the ring.

17:34He says weird being home when he's usually gone so much it's hard to be home that much.

17:38I understand that there is some update to the Bailey contract situation.

17:43People are wondering what's going on with Bailey.

17:45Is she re-signed?

17:47Is she not re-signed?

17:49And word came out today according to Brian Alvarez, I believe it was, that she has not signed a new

17:57contract.

17:58That they have, though, agreed to terms for a new contract.

18:01And the understanding is that she will re-sign with the company but has not officially put pen to paper

18:06yet.

18:07But this is exciting news if you're a WWE fan.

18:09Not so great if you're an AEW fan.

18:11Word was that they were ready to pounce on her if she became available.

18:14And, you know, fortunately for WWE, unfortunately for AEW, it sounds like she's probably going to be sticking around at

18:19WWE for the foreseeable future.

18:21I would imagine she's getting between a three- and a five-year deal.

18:24And at that point, especially on the heels of things Bailey has said in the past, I don't know how

18:28long she's going to want to do this anyways.

18:30I think this may be one of her final contracts.

18:32And even if it wasn't, I just don't see AEW going hard at her five years from now.

18:36Or whatnot.

18:37So, again, we'll have to wait and see how these things play out over time.

18:40But it's definitely interesting to get that update and see what's going on with Bailey and her contract situation.

18:46That's all the time we have for this episode.

18:47Check back with us next episode.

18:49We'll run down the latest wrestling news and rumors.

18:50Special thanks, as always, go to Suno for creating the music and sound effects we use in our show.

18:54Today's show is sponsored in part by various games from TheGameCrafter.com.

18:59Look, if you want to support independent game creation, TheGameCrafter.com is how you can do that.

19:03I've got three options for you.

19:04One, from Beezle Games, grab a copy of Sketchy People.

19:07It's like Pictionary meets Chutes and Ladders.

19:10If that's not your flavor, it's not your cup of tea, maybe you just want to go shopping.

19:14You go hit the supermarket, grab what's on your list, get in, get out, see who can do it the

19:18fastest.

19:18You can do that with Banani Market by Danny Doodle Games.

19:22Fantastic excitement for everybody.

19:24But maybe you're like me.

19:25You're a sci-fi junkie, a little bit nerdy.

19:28Legendary Elements.

19:29Cruise around the cosmos, grabbing relics on your way to the final challenge in Legendary Elements by Freddy Food Creations.

19:35All three games available at TheGameCrafter.com.

19:38Check them out.

19:38I have a copy of all three.

19:39They are fun for the whole family.

19:40You've been playing the same games your whole life.

19:42Get rid of the Yahtzee.

19:43Get rid of the Monopoly.

19:44Get rid of the Parcheesi.

19:45Get rid of the chess checkers and stop dealing the cards.

19:49Play something new.

19:50Check out independent games at TheGameCrafter.com.

19:52Like I said, sketchy people, Banani Market, and Legendary Elements.

19:56If you're looking for your next career decision, maybe you need some help, you know, higher ed, college, university life.

20:01Maybe you just need some formal training for your next opportunity.

20:03Go to my website at FroLifePlanning.com for all your higher education needs as FroLife Educational Planning is for today,

20:10for tomorrow, and for life with FroLife.

20:13I'm Fred Froelich, better known as Dr. Fro.

20:14I want to thank you for taking some time with us today.

20:16Until next time, take care, everybody.

20:17Have a great one.

20:45We'll see you next time.

21:17We'll see you next time.

21:20We'll see you next time.

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended