Burgundy LaRue

The number to look at is Hour 2, at 2.574 million. That's about 20% higher than normal over recent weeks. So at least some NFL fans stuck around beyond forgetting to change the channel. Having the NFL lead-in was huge. But Smackdown took full advantage of it. They made sure that Roman was the first person we saw, title in hand and looking great. KO has a 'dad bod' but unlike Jericho, he covers up with a shirt and has tremendous cardio. And they didn't try to sell him as some flawless figure, but rather a scrappy underdog who won't go away. We'll see if Smackdown can retain any of it, but popping a number like this even once is good stuff for wrestling these days.

I've said the same thing. Samoan Dynasty + Flair = Vince's dream come true. Pesky Roman coming to WWE with a family already!

They're loading up Smackdown because it's coming on right after a NFL game. They're also doing an IC title match with Zayn-Big E and Asuka/Charlotte defending the women's tag titles. I see by the tumbleweeds that RAW is holding everyone by bated breath tonight!

I think Roman has reached that point on a more permanent basis. By several accounts, he and Heyman handle most of their own story/creative. If he had Fiend shipped to Raw, good on Roman. Imagine the Tribal Chief interacting with Rambling Rabbit and Wobbly Walrus, who conveniently disappeared once Fiend was off Smackdown. I would love to know the backstory of how they got Roman to come back. I'm sure a nice sum of money was offered, along with private quarters so he doesn't have to deal with half the roster not following COVID protocols. But it feels like there's more to it than that.

I'm only half-joking when I say that FOX has a hand in booking Smackdown.

On one hand, that video is such a fever dream that I get a laugh out of it. On the other hand, gotta imagine no one envied McIntyre for having to act alongside the Mucinex phlegm monster as voiced by Braun Strowman.

Taker is supposedly going to be at the PC more to work with the big guys. With there being no house shows right now, it may be more of getting them reps with someone who will drill into them what Vince wants. Definitely possible. I seem to remember a rumor of Lee being told to 'tighten up' a few months before he was sent to RAW. Him nearly breaking his neck on the tope he did several weeks ago didn't help, either.

The merch was limited edition and scheduled to be pulled around this time, anyway. Is WWE petty? Absolutely. But all of the Taker anniversary stuff was always for a short offer time.

Brandi's promo was terrible and racial code switching at its worst. Great way to bury a new talent in Jade Cargill by giving her too long of a promo out of the gate, then have Brandi come in with that garbage.

Carmella is a case of someone maximizing their potential. She's very good at the character work and can have solid matches. I thought she was the best worker in the triple threat match with Becky and Charlotte at Summer Slam 2018. No one will mistake her for a 5-star technician, but she knows how to get the most out of herself. Not sold on this new character yet, but I'll wait and see.

That's the beauty of the feud. The match is secondary. The reason it's even happening is because Jey won't bend the knee to Roman. Had Jey done so, everything would likely be fine. But as such, Roman has to kill Jey on Sunday, then excommunicate him. Cold world.

Roman was on First Take to promote the season premiere of SmackDown. He mentioned his match with Braun and how he'll beat down the Monster. I'm guessing Braun was trying to play off that, only to run into the buzzsaw that Roman has become on Twitter.

WWE has done a much better job of keeping real-life couples together for the past few years. It's not exclusive to Charlotte. For example, they moved Zelina to SD so she can travel with Aleister. Same with Montez Ford and Bianca Belair.

With Andrade-Zelina, I think having to move 4-5 people anytime they want to transfer Charlotte plays a factor. As soon as Charlotte was drafted last year, we knew Andrade-Zelina-Aleister would be right behind her. Throw in Garza this year. Needing to move that much of a roster for one person can be burdensome.

Roman manipulated Jey into accepting the HIAC match. Roman is determined to break Jey because he didn't bend the knee.

This is why Xavier Woods uses the name of Austin Creed for UpUpDownDown and LeftRightLeftRight. He owns it and can grow/expand into the gaming world without WWE interference. He also just started an UUDD merch store, so there are ways of wrestlers doing what they want if handled correctly. If there's anyone who I think could leave WWE over this, it's Woods. The money he's making away from WWE has to be incredible.

It doesn't help that WWE still has guys on their roster who have been accused of grooming/flirting with underage girls. Aalyah is 19, but it still feels iffy considering the optics. Imagine if Austin Theory was still on RAW as a Rollins discipline. He's 23, so he'd be more age appropriate for the angle. But with what's been said about him, no one would be comfortable with it.

Comes down to how the production schedule for Black Adam shakes out. It's supposed to start early next year, but who knows how much COVID has pushed back things.

Yeah, the title of High Chief in Samoan/Polynesian culture is a big thing. That person is the go-to contact for their family and not to be questioned. It's a real thing, not just a storyline device.

I wonder if McIntyre and Hurt Business will have to sit out. Hurt Business had a match with Retribution last week, with McIntyre helping to lead the charge against them to close the show. Truthfully, most of RAW should be out for the next two weeks.

MOS beat me to the punch! They have all tested negative, but this is a precautionary move by WWE. RAW is going to get hit hard if this is true, with some or that roster being roommates or partners with NXT talent, and all the moving around between the two shows. AFAIK, the only SD talent affected is Nikki Cross, who is married to Killian Dain.

Heyman's history with the Samoans and how it ties to Roman has been canon since 2015. He has said in the past that if he could work with anyone beyond Brock, it would be Roman. This has been discussed on TV and in interviews/vignettes. Heyman mentioned their joint history again in the video he narrated for the UC match. They also positioned Roman as being anointed for greatness since birth, with the pictures of him being held by Hogan and Savage as a baby furthering that story. My guess is with his return, Roman went for a full reset. Works with Heyman with creative control. No one expected Jey to win. The point is to show that if he's willing to do that much damage to family, how far will Roman go with someone he cares nothing about? They stumbled into a lot of it by chance and circumstance, but there's a line to draw between Roman and Heyman for five years.

Supposedly, they're thinking about moving to an amphitheater in Tampa. But there are also rumors of them starting to travel again.

Take any interview on a WWE podcast with a block of salt, folks. Guaranteed at least half of it is in character and blurs the lines. Besides, Roman was saying RAW is a cheeseburger and SD is fillet mignon. That if fans prefer a 'fast food' story like a cheeseburger, watch the red show. If anything, he was being critical of RAW (in character, IMO) and many would agree with him on that.

If rumors are to be believed, Roman and Heyman have creative control over their story. He's the one bright spot they have in terms of ratings. Bayley and Sasha do well in their quarter-hour breakdowns, but Roman has helped SD bring back some of their overall numbers. It's going to be funny to watch Roman become the prom king with the IWC while working as a mafia-influenced sociopath when that's not the intent.