I know people can get super obsessed with villagers in animal crossing fitting an Aesthetic, but I love my little guys. What island theme would suit this, though

SnK Episode 70 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 170 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

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RATE THE EPISODE 167 responses

This episode received good ratings, though it wasn’t as hype as previous episodes have been. We presume this is likely due to the primary focus on Gabi and Falco over the Survey Corps/Warriors. Overall, though, the episode was solid for most respondents. 

Beautiful😍✨

MAPPAGOAT 

Its pretty good

Alright for what it was.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING GABI AND FALCO MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 167 responses

The majority of the most favored Gabi/Falco moments from the episode were in the second half, starting with Gabi’s unfortunate encounter with the horse with 29.9% of the vote. Behind that is Kaya and Gabi’s argument about why Kaya’s mom had to die with 27.5% of the vote. At 21.6%, Kaya remembering Sasha was favored and at 13.2% was Kaya taking Gabi and Falco to her old home. 

Gabi's character is so real. LOVED her and Kaya's argument; the va's went all out & it made me cry

Why do ask us what our favorite Gabi/Falco moment was without the option "I don't have one?" Falco's cool and all but Gabi's story has literally been nothing but a drag to me from start to finish

Would have chosen the horse thing for my favorite moment but went with Kaya remembering Sasha instead. At this point so close to the end of the manga I'd rather focus more on moments with characters I enjoy than obsessing with a character I utterly despise having some misfortune (to put it mildly)

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS FOCUSING ON OTHER CHARACTERS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 168 responses

This pie chart was a bit more colorful than the previous one, with the largest piece going to Mikasa’s headache with her flashback to the night Eren saved her (26.2%). Behind that moment, 16.7% most enjoyed Hange confronting Floch and Co. about their involvement in leaking information about Eren, 16.1% favored seeing Hange remembering Sannes’ warning. 14.9% liked seeing Mikasa and Louise’s brief conversation in the dungeon and 13.1% liked the moment with Magath and the Warriors discussing their retaliation. 

GIVE HANGE A BREAK </3

WHICH FLASHBACK HAD THE MOST EMOTIONAL IMPACT FOR YOU? 169 responses

Nearly half of respondents were most touched by the moment at the end of the episode where Kaya talks about Sasha saving her and says she wishes to become a person like her. 29.6% got most emotional over seeing the flashback to the night Eren saved Mikasa, and 18.3% were most impacted by Hange remembering Sannes’ warning.

RATE JEAN’S OUTFIT 169 responses

Jean doesn’t do anything in this episode really, but he sure did come dressed in, erm, a unique outfit. Overall most people were neutral or felt that he needs to up his fashion game. Although 34.3% altogether ranked on the higher end, feeling he’s a total fashion icon. We’re questioning the legitimacy of these claims or whether they were just being sarcastic for the fun of it. lol

WHO WERE YOU MORE EXCITED ABOUT TO SEE SHIRTLESS? 159 responses

Eren thirst won out on this question, with 70.4% being most excited to see his half naked body in the previous episode. Though Reiner stans came through for him in their support of his shirtless moment this week with nearly 30% of the vote (and commentary).

Poundtown

More half naked Reiner thx

My only disappointment is that the shirtless reiner scene wasn't longer.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE AN EXCUSE TO TALK TO YELENA? 169 responses

When asked if respondents would like an excuse to have a conversation with our chaotic bae Yelena, 40.2% said they would absolutely love a reason to talk to her. 29% aren’t sure if they would want to or not, while 16.6% were a solid “no.” 14.2% didn’t care about this question. 

Yelena is hot

AS ALWAYS, WE’RE GONNA ABOUT CUTS. MAPPA LEFT OUT FALCO’S THOUGHTS ABOUT IT NOT BEING THE RIGHT TIME TO TELL GABI HE DELIVERED EREN’S LETTERS. THOUGHTS? 165 responses

There was a brief moment in the manga after Gabi’s misfortune with the horse where Falco thinks to himself about how he’s not yet ready to tell Gabi about his involvement in Eren’s attack on Liberio. 35.8% had completely forgotten this was a thing at all, while 24.2% felt it would have been a nice thing to keep, although ultimately unneeded. 20.6% feel it wasn’t a big deal since he tells her later anyway, and 9.7% feel that this thought of his will come up at a later time. 

I honestly forgot about it but it would have been really cool to see his thoughts in a better way, if that makes sense.

MAPPA ALSO CUT THE BEGINNING OF PIXIS AND YELENA’S CONVERSATION WHERE HE ASKS HER ABOUT HER CELL, TO WHICH SHE RESPONDS IT WOULD HAVE A BETTER VIEW WITHOUT THE BARS. THOUGHTS? 165 responses

Though a small detail, a few lines were cut from Pixis and Yelena’s conversation as well. 42.4% feel that it was unneeded and feel ok with the cut. 23% thought it wasn’t necessary to begin with, and 20.6% had completely forgotten about this as well. A handful didn’t care or feel saddened by less Yelena content. 

Maybe the actress wouldn’t come in to say one line l idk

I knew something was missing

HOW DOES IT FEEL GETTING TO RELIVE GABI’S EARLY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AGAIN? 167 responses

We get to reexperience Gabi’s evolution from a perpetuator of Marleyan propaganda to someone who learns to “understand Reiner’s feelings” and see that those she was taught to hate are just like her. 25.1% of respondents feel unbothered by her initial resistance to see things any other way as they know where her arc is headed. 22.2% were never annoyed by this facet of her character to begin with and are totally enjoying the ride. 15% love her but can’t help but feel frustrated by these early moments of her development. 13.8% have always felt annoyed by her character and so their feelings remain unchanged, and 10.8% simply stated that they had forgotten just how annoyed they felt by her at all in the early portion of this arc. 

It's annoying AF but looking back/knowing what I know now makes me more empathetic to her storyline. She still annoying AF rn, though.

Back then I was just antsy to get back to the other plot lines. But I’m enjoying this a LOT more this time around.

It's a mix of painful and Gabi I love you but you need sense knocked into you, ya know?

Always hated her, always will, nothing the anime does changes my hatred of her

To quote Eren, "I always hated you".

I feel bad for her, she doesn't deserve this

She’s so annoying but I found Eren just as annoying in the beginning and I grew into loving the character. The get the reasons for her character but boy yams really made her so fucking annoying

Gabi Braun Must Die

HOW DO YOU THINK GABI’S BELIEFS WOULD HAVE DEVELOPED HAD SHE BEEN THE ONE TO MEET EREN INSTEAD OF FALCO? 168 responses

The majority has spoken. 54.8% feel that if Gabi had been the one to encounter Eren at the hospital, her views would have mostly remained the same, as opposed to Falco who was probably a better person to put into that role narratively speaking. 24.4% don’t want to say for sure as there is no way we will ever know, and 14.3% feel that she would have had her views altered to a slight degree, but would still not have been as empathetic to Eren as Falco was.

DID KAYA TALKING ABOUT WANTING TO BE LIKE SASHA HAVE MORE EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON YOU WHEN INITIALLY READING IT IN THE MANGA, OR IN THE ANIME? 168 responses

Overall, the anime had a profound effect on the emotions of the audience. 36.9% state that they were equally impacted in both mediums, though if a side was chosen, 32.7% felt that the anime made the scene more impactful, versus only 19% who thought that Isayama nailed it better in the manga. Only 11.3% were unaffected by this scene in either medium.

PORCO AND PIECK GOT ADDED DIALOGUE IN THE ENDING SCENE, ARGUING THAT THEY MUST RETRIEVE GABI AND FALCO DUE TO THEM BEING VALUABLE WARRIOR CANDIDATES, AND THAT IT WOULD TAKE YEARS TO RETRAIN A NEW BATCH. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS INCLUSION? 167 responses

MAPPA included dialogue of Porco and Pieck vouching for saving Gabi and Falco ASAP, arguing that they should get them for the sake of the warrior program and that losing their talent would be a blow, and it would take ages to train up new warrior candidates. This is most likely just their excuse to appeal to Magath while wanting to save Gabi and Falco because they care about them. 41.9% felt that their commentary added more depth to the situation and the urgency to retaliate against Paradis and get Gabi and Falco back. 28.1% were simply content to get more content of them. 18% weren’t super excited about it, just stating that it was alright, while 9.6% just felt “meh” about the addition. 

I like how they all piled on about the need to take immediate action

I want to say I enjoyed it and it added depth but thinking about it longer makes it sound like they only care about rescuing them only because their valuable warrior candidates. Like, it makes it seem like they don't actually care that much about them, even if I know that's not the case. LOL 

Any extra scene with Pieck is much appreciated!!

made me sad that they only see them as soldiers and not kids that need saving.

WHICH MOMENT FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 165 responses

The vast majority (65.5%) of manga readers are most excited to see Zackley blowing up in the anime (bye bye, poop machine!). At a distant second was seeing Eren his cell at 22.4%. Only 7.3% are looking forward to seeing Mikasa and Armin pleading with Zackley to see Eren, and Yelena and Pixis got minimal love. 

My memory is not working well, did Wit showed Zackleys poop machine or was it supposed to be shown in the next episode?

WE GOT CONFIRMATION THAT EPISODE 16 OF THIS SEASON IS GOING TO END ON CHAPTER 116. THOUGHTS? 159 responses

The plurality of respondents (42.8%) seemed a bit disappointed, but had no problem accepting this cliffhanger. 27% seemed rather displeased, but nonetheless were also understanding of MAPPA’s decision. In contrast, 10.7% looked back to the Promotional Video (which had content from up 122) and expressed their PAIN. 8.2% actually wanted the season to end on this cliffhanger, so they were rather pleased instead. We also received a lot of write-ins.  

There absolutely needs to be season part 2, i don't accept any early endings

I am... not sure yet.

As long as it means less cut content lmao

Don't really care much where it's gonna end. I just hope the pacing is good.

i read it ages ago idek which chapter 116 is

I want people to stop complaining about the trailer “lying to them”.  Also my anime only gf is going to be very frustrated with where episode 16 ends.

I thought it would end with 122 according to the preview and it would have been, IMO one of the best cliff hanger ever since all the logic of the plot turns around with revelation about Eren path shenangians. However, I think it's really fine since it allowed MAPPA to take its time to show us the story without making to much choices or compromise. It also means longer s4 part2 if there's one.

I dare you to stop at chapter 114 and fluster up all Levi fans

I am going to die waiting for Paths. 

I need to recheck chapter 116 I forgot about almost everything happened after ema encounter in 112 :D

I don't care as long as they all cover it eventually.

Chapter 119 would have been a better end, but well, I'm gradually learning to lower my expectations for this season

I just roll with whatever they give me xD only fearing Hange's farewell </3

:((((

both 122 and 116 are okay for me tbh

It's all fine to me

Someone explain this whole "ending on chapter 116" thing please

It should've been 117 :/

I was hoping for 119, but I get why they picked 116

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING FOR AS A CONTINUATION? 169 responses

In a nearly unanimous vote, the large majority of respondents feel that the series is best wrapped up with a “part 2” of the final season over the potential for MAPPA to conclude things as a movie (or as movies). Hopefully we’ll have an answer from MAPPA on this front at the end of this run. :)

Another season or movie series works as long as they keep to the source material

I’m happy with either. 

I really really reeeeeeally hope it's not movies. I do not want movies! It would take literal years for fans outside of Japan to get a proper conclusion to the series. Last time people waited years for a season so many people stopped caring, moved on and the popularity took a huge hit it never recovered from. I'm worried that due to Demon Slayer's success they're gonna get greedy but SNK movies wouldn't even make a fraction of what Demon Slayer made. That series is a behemoth over there, it's insane. And I love SNK but Evangelion it is not, and people aren't going to wait and will lose interest. Just please, NO MOVIES!

Final Season Part 2 BUT with lots of time to adapt it

part two but don't call it part two XD.... let's stay in a hiatus for an anime season or 2. or more i don't care , i hope they have enough time to make the amazing job they are doing right now :) 

Series Spin-Off after Final Season Part 2 !!

A movie would be super sick but unrealistic

Whatever MAPPA decides is best

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

The scenery is a 10/10

gabi braun and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad island vacation. 

Gabi sucks

All hail the Eldian Empire

I thought it was overall really good and funny because of the scenes where falco and gabi were just arguing,, it didn’t have much blood and all but I still really liked it!

I never noticed this in the manga, but seeing gabi constantly almost give them away and falco anxiously making up excuses felt like watching reiner and bert again 😂 

Gabbbiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! Kaya MVP btw.

Bless MAPPA for delivering on the shirtless scenes after we got robbed in Season 3. lol :p But seriously, this episode's scenery was gorgeous.

It was like the calm before the storm that's about to come with the next episode. Episode 71 will be when everything starts to violently turn

people should understand Gabi's character even more

I think Falco was very cute the whole time

Gabi beating that guard was way more brutal in the anime, but the scene of her slapping Lisa's hand away was badly done here.

It was a bit boring, but it was needed for character development

One thing I noticed about this episode is how heavily it featured female characters being influenced by other female characters/female characters in general (Louise and Mikasa; Kaya and Sasha; Kaya and Gabi; arguably Hange depending on how you identify them) which was a nice reminder that of the fact that AOT isn't one of those shows that falls heavily in the 'one token girl' dynamic. Isayama worked to include a wide variety of female characters with very differing outlooks, which clash occasionally, without it ever being about romance. 

Like most of this season (except episodes 1 and 7 maybe), I appreciate Mappa's work but that's all. I'm sad, disappointed, and I guess it's a good thing this season will end on chapter 116. Let's hope they will have enough time to adapt Part 2 and make it legendary, because this first part is good at best. Also, I totally forgot how annoying Gabi was back then. I really like her now, but geez, she was awful this episode.

Felt good to see Gabi get horsebite all over again. Can't wait to see how MAPPA extends Nicolo punching her lol

cool episode, i’m looking forward to seeing more of gabi’s development in the future episodes :))

The horror of mikasa's newly resignified memory... PERFECT. i was fearing they would use wit's romanticized scene... which worked just fine in the first season BUT NOT NOW! because the whole connotation of the memory is different. ALSO! the scenery was insane! 

Horse for President!

Damn, MAPPA's killing it on the scenery this episode. I really enjoyed the animation as well as the plot and voice acting.

In spite of the animation quality I had to give it an obligatory 1 because it was a Gabi episode, and anything involving Gabi automatically decreases the overall quality of the story

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 156 responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated!

Jake Reviews Stuff: Amphibia: Marcy at the Gates

Marcy arrives! The Plantars make it to Newtopia but first have to deal with a slight ant problem and a new addition to the family, as we finally meet the adorkable Marcy. Legs in two months under the cut. 

So as you could probably tell by the tone the last few weeks, doing this has weighed on me a bit. While I do love talking about this show week after week, as well as having a recurring series here to bring in readers, the split quality of the Season thus far has been a challenge. Now when I say split I don’t mean like star vs season 3 where it was either really damn good and some of the show’s best writing or “oh god what have they done to marco’s character this time”, it’s more either really good standout episodes ore more forgetable average ones. See a good episode I can gush about, dive into big charcter stuff, motviations, that sort of thing. I defintley will with owl house at some point and have with other shows. A bad episode can be taken apart and taken to the cleaners, which I haven’t done much of but probably should and if you want any taken to task yourself, I do comissions. But self promotion aside, the point is a meh episode just dosen’t leave me with a lot tot alk about and hte recaps became really dry as a result as I just couldn’t find a lot of jokes, and having a busy few weeks on top of that didn’t really help, nor did the antipciation for this week and the intersting setting of newtopia. 

Thankfully a combination of a really good few days, a better sleep schedule, and a really good episode this week, and a pile of scary go round collections for a dollar have reinvgorated me, so hopefully I can get back to doing what I love: Overanalizing children’s cartoons. So with that we can dive right into the episode. The keithdavidpocalypse is upon us! Pitter Patter! We open with Spring and Anne in the cart. Their close to newtopia, but Anne is worried they never found Marcy, while Sprig isn’t because her last friend turned out to be “Evil”... which Anne harshly rebuffs. And both sides are understandable: To Anne, Sasha was her friend.. a manipualtive and bossy friend sure but one who genuinely cared for her, she just may not know how to deal with people. To Sprig, Sasha is some asshole who abused his friend, tried to murder his Pop Pop, and works for a guy who tried to murder his whole town. It’s really understandable he woudln’t have the same warm fuzzy feelings Anne has.. insert your own Sashanne joke here.  We also get our first actual look at Marcy who to my suprise, rather than be another form of manipulative.. is simply an awkward nerd, constnatly playing video games, reading books , cataloging shit, and trying to get her friends to play d and d. So me if I knew what d and d was in high school. 

Anyways, the family finally DOES make it to Newtopia, impressive as you’d expect when the guard won’t let them see the wizard no way no how. Antique references aside, the guard at the gate actually has good reason for not letting them in as they have a tiny barbari-ant problem. A species Hop Pop is, in a nice touch, unfamiliar with due to the Valley not having them. We quickly see them in action as one approaches the plantars, basically a giant ant with ant-lers. Yes I used a pun there sue me. Anyway, our heroes ward off the ant they do find with some really cool team manuvering, and Polly showing she has spiked teeth. It’s a cool sequence. However they quickly find themselves outgunned, outplanned, outnumbered and outmanned. They gotta make an all out stand. Their gonna need a right hand man. Also I finally saw the film version of hamilton, as you can tell. Utterly magic. 

Said Right Hand Man, er woman, er tween comes in the nick of time as a cloaked Marcy sprays some black goo and sets it ablaze, scaring the ants off, snatching a stalemate from the jaws of defeat,  then rappeling down on a rope shot from a crossbow, also making polly want one because of course. She then.. Faceplants. Still a solid 8/10 entrance Marcy.  Marcy is played by Haley Tju who you may remember from such shows as The Loud House. And that’s all I know her from but given Stella’s one of my faviorites and Haley’s performance is part of that, so it’s unsuprising she’s great here. Also fun fact I learned by looking at her trope page: She actually played a younger version of London, brenda song’s character, on the Suite Life I Pray for Death but Death Won’t Come.. or On Deck for those who’ve never watched it. But I like the fact two londons are now on the same show together.. and an actually good noe at that! Horay. But yeah Haley is a great VA and what little i’ve seen her in and a welcome addition.  Marcy and Anne happily reunite once htey both realize who the other is, and hug and etc, before Marcy decends on the plantars, talking on and on and on about geeky stuff and how she likes the found family trope. ... I may really relate to this  mediums sized child, as I too am a huge nerd with no filter and was probably a lot like her at that age. It’s also clear she very transparently sees this as a combinaton of a video game and a d and d session, but said skills have actually benifited her as rping a rogue allowed her to easily bluff her way into the kingdom’s good graces and now she’s a sworn agent of the king as we’ll find out.  She quickly wins over the Plantars, measuring hop pop’s head, gushing over him being a farmer (which he almost instantly adopts her over and asks to point blank later), and then noticing Polly’s legs are about to come in and giving her the note seen in the review image, my faviorite gag. Sprig however is more out and out hostile and has his reasons we’ll get to in a second.  Marcy escorts her new family and sorta girlfriend to the makeshift war room set up by three scholoary newts who quickly resolve their planning disagreements by beating the piss out of each other. Just like real politics.. and that’s not a cheeky jab between the actual caning in the sentate that happened once and the various duels in the revolutionary and early america eras.. yeah the only reason the preisdent hasn’t been shot for challening one of hte many people he hates for a duel without realizing he really can’t see through that squint too good is that it’s now illegal and not the kind of illegal he can hide like usual.  Anyways after the Newts scoff at our heroes, but Marcy vouches for them and reveals that the ants are getting closer because i’ts gotten warmer....

Marcy has a plan though: Spread scentshrroms around that will release a pheremone which will drive them off, having throughly studied Amphibia’s various flora and fauna and thus knowing how to deal with them. I’ts something I like about the character and how she adds to the other huamns group dynamics. Alll three deal with issues diffrent ways; Anne has plans, but rarely thinks them through, Sasha does think hers through and is a master manipulator while Marcy is a ballance between the two: She does throughly think things out and have well thought out clever plans.. she just also tens to rush into things or go forward with a nose in a book or without a thought to how dangerous soemthing is. She’s prepared, she’s just not very aware of her surrondings, which is amood. 

But Anne is nervous about her coming along as is sprig which sets up both’s conflicts with her for the episode: Anne wants to protect Marcy, since she just got her back and her only other remaning friend now clearly wants to stab her and she has a better option now love interest wise. However Marcy convinces Anne, 2nd capefire this episode nonwithstanding, she can handle herself. She also calsl her annabannna which is fucking adorable.  The other conflict is that Sprig dosen’t trust her.. he has no rational reason not to give she’s a sweetie, but is a bit gunshy about another human girl working for a dictator popping up in their life. And while he’s probably wrong, while I think Marcy isn’t working for the best people probably she’s likely too oblivious to genuinely relaize she’s doing crimes if they have her doing them or was given a fake justification. I could be wrong, and will gladly eat crow. Metphorically i’m not going to bake a real crow. I don’t have the right seasoning. And i’d also be cursed but eh I doubt I can get poorer. But it’s understandable he has reservations, especially since while he dosen’t say it he’s likely worried Anne will get hurt again. He’s a good boy, he’s just being paranoid over probably nothing.  Anyways onoto the plan: The plantars and new girl marcy are gonna:

Okay phermone them whatever, the point is they head into the Ant Hole, witht he conflicts continuing as the plantars progress; Sprig is naturally suspcious and Anne is worried about her precious gurl. The group fight some more ants, and Marcy seemingly wonders off.. only to instead BLOW THEM A FUCKING TUNNEL with some chemicals from some flowers she found, then instant sprout a plant cage.. and accidently trap polly. NOOOOO.> Thankfully she frees her and tosses some plants on the ants, which is fun to say.  We then get to our climax. OUr group find the queen who ihs horrifying.. a good mom as sprig points out but horrfing. Nice design though i’m just.. not an insect guy and sometimes this show leaves me in abject terror. this is one of those times. Our heroes plant the mushrooms, phrasing I know but this review is late as is and i’ve already used up my archer refrence for the day.  Anne dives to Save a seemingly oblovious Marcy.. whose mad at Anne over it.. while Anne is udnerstandable Marcy wants her , NEEDS her to understand...

No not that erik. That, much like Anne herself, Marcy’s grown and changed over these past three months. She can handle herself now and she needs her ot see that. Also sprig gets attacked by an ant baby, which not only wakes up the queen, who can hear but can’t see but now knows something’s arry, but causes said queen to unleash a hoarde of ants.  Marcy however naturally has a plan: She’ll dive into the queen’s belly and get sprig, the plantars will hold them off and Anne finally trusts her lady enough to fiht off. I don’t have a lot to say I just really like this character arc and Marcy’s character: She’s a bit oblivious, ab it obessed with nerdy things which again relate.. but when push comes to shove she’s also clever, a master planner and has clearly studied her ass off about this world and knows it well. She’s throughly likeable.  And that likeablity finally gets through to sprig when she gets him out and swings him. Trust earned, anne’s faith in her gained and the mushrooms go off and send the ants running. Misson Complete.  With the mission complete our heroes finally enter Newtopia and meet the mysterious Lady Olivia, whose been sending Marcy on her missions, and is likely her spymaster. Not that i think Marcy realizes that but Marcy’s love of midevil fantasy means she blends in well with thier courty apperance and introduces anne and co to her.. Olvia isn’t impressed but is cordial about it at least.. even with Sprig breaking shit. And yeah , Amphibia has a king over all of it, as Hop Pop puts it “We aren’t savages”. It does make sense it woudln’t come up every day though, it’s not as if the king really cares about the valley... but more on speculation about him in a minute. Hop Pop wisely gives the two “Friends’ some alone time, and the two talk things over: Anne explains how she found sasha.. and it didn’t go great, and Marcy vows that the two of them can go their own way now. Maybe iwth tounge. we dunno. The two then look over anne’s phone while anne recounts her anne-tics.. and we get to the king. And it’s KEITH DAVID BITCHES AS WAS PROHPISED A FEW WEEKS AGO. And he has myserious plans and wood carven figures of both our heroines and possible gaybies. “The game can finally begin. “

Final Thoughts: This was a really damn good episode. Whiel I summarized more than usual , both conflicts were great, all the plantars got to shine, there were gags a plenty, an intriguing new member of the main cast and a mysterious new antagonist. I mean given it was revealed the Newts were behind Toad tower a few episodes back, I figured Andidas wouldn’t be a good guy, even if he’s played by upstanding gentleman and god among men keith david, , but it’s a question of what his end goal is, how the girls got here, and what his plan ofr them is that i’m curious to see play out as the season goes on, as well as see if Marcy is a pawn or not. Newtopia also looks intresting and i’ts nice to have a new solid setting to build on now we’re here, as well as new mysteries to unlock> Ther’es also the honest possibliity marcy, who claims to have found bubkuss, might simply want to stay in a world where she gets to live out her dreams and isn’t picked on or bullied. Again we’ll see all speculation but this episode was damn good. For now this is the clear highlight of the season and i’tll be intresting to see where it goes from here. Until next time courage. 

The week in review:

Raw 11/30 NXT 12/02 NXT UK 12/03 Smackdown 12/04 Takeover War Games 12/06 + Main Event 12/03

Raw:

...Yeah hi, what the fuck is with the doll trapped inside of the table? Is that a metaphor for Alexa??

I’m so happy for her being able to have segments with Orton. Good for her.

Alexa’s like a mere inch taller than me so she’s a nice gauge as to to how tall the men’s roster is in comparison, and Randy? Fucking tall.

So the writing was on the wall; Fiend cares about Alexa (whether the nature is abusive is irrelevant to this point) and Randy has figured out how to use Alexa as a pawn to manipulate Fiend. I was kind of hoping Fiend/Alexa were in control of the gameboard, but it seems I’ve been duped.

The only complaint I have about this is how... compliant and helpless Alexa was in this segment. She’s not only been possessed/traumatized into caring about Fiend, but furthermore she does care about him, so why wouldn’t she be fighting against Randy when she was in his arms? The writing of her character in this particular segment seemed shallow. I know she can play whatever emotion they want from her, so to not ask for any emotions at all is curious.

Also the only person who isn’t a heel here is Alexa, and I won’t really hear any argument on the manner. Fiend is a predator at best. Orton is a psychotic douchebag.

My head hurts. Imagine Becky being stuck in a tag team with Lana rather than throwing a huge fit about not being able to defend her title for fucking months.

“Sarah you wouldn’t understand, but Shayna and I are about to-- *starts smiling like a fucking idiot*” Wow I want to defend wwe’s incessant need for giving Lana a storyline but I’m so fucking tired of abysmal promos. God. I. Miss. Becky. WHY is the Raw women’s champion wrapped up in this??

“First of all... ew.” lolololol

Shayna’s hatred for Lana is fucking hilarious.

Why is it, whenever Nia and Shayna do their dual barricade ragdoll move, Nia always gets the lighter one?

Nia fucking pummeled Lana lmao.

I kind of wish this story had a live crowd, I’d like to see if all of this was actually buying Lana some goodwill from the audience.

Hilarious watching Lana sit on the bottom rope for a few seconds before climbing through onto the apron, before slinking down to a sitting position, before finally collapsing onto the floor barely peering into the ring. Tf is she doing rofl.

Now she jumped up onto the apron lacking any enthusiasm, tagged herself in, and is climbing onto the turnbuckle while seemingly sobbing. What in the fuck lmao.

God Asuka is working overtime here.

*Bonus* online exclusive: how fun, Lana and Asuka are singing and dancing together. This division is turning into a garbage fire rq.

Oh is Mandy still out with an injury in kf?

Love it when new debuts get no fucking entrance. Yikes.

Mia Yim had such a dope theme song and entrance, I can’t believe it’s been scrapped so that she can call herself “Reckoning” and hang out in some dead-end group. Shame.

Oh my god. Mia loses to Dana via rollup after taking virtually no offense. What a waste of everyone’s time. I see this going nowhere, absolutely nowhere.

*Bonus* online exclusive: lmfao the Nikki Cross interview was worth a mention. First off, Nikki looks gorgeous. Second, I feel like this is the beginning of her run of not appearing on Raw because she isn’t deemed developed enough outside of a tag team, which is sad. Third, rofl @ her giving Sarah sheep’s stomach chicken to eat, I have no words. Anyway, she should be a solid midcarder. Get it together wwe.

Highlight: Probably the Nikki Cross online exclusive

---

NXT:

They got Shotzi something that glows. Wow.

Why is there a silhouette as if Io isn’t already added to the team? Why wouldn’t she be? Shayna was in last year’s, why wouldn’t Io be in this year’s? Is this supposed to be suspenseful?? lmao plz.

Indi did not take a bullet for you, she was just an idiot. Also why does this bitch still have a neck brace on? It was an Eclipse, let’s get real for a second.

Why you acting like your team is cohesive anyway? Doesn’t Dakota hate you? Didn’t Toni just turn heel for virtually no fucking reason, after defending/consoling Shotzi and attacking Candice like a sore loser? *sigh*

I know fans are really into WarGames but I find the alliances really fucking weak every year. It’s as bad as Survivor Series, just with more weapons and brutality.

So Xia Li lost some matches and now she’s being tortured... okay. I’m gonna keep my comments on this to a minimum cuz I can tell this will be some long-term story.

Oh I really like how their respective team members are standing up in the back on balconies. I really fucking like the layout of this arena. Huge fan.

Why Shotzi vs Raquel though? Why is the team captain fighting? That’s not typical for these, is it?

Ugh failure to throw Shotzi through the ropes. There’s just... a skill gap in the division, you know? And Shotzi and Raquel are on the lower end of that gap. I don’t care if people love Shotzi, she’s MILES away from being a champion. What saves her is her risk-taking, but it’s just a matter of time before that bites her in the ass.

Shotzi’s offense is doing a minimal amount of potential damage to her opponent while taking herself out in the most convoluted way possible. She’s Sasha Banks on steroids.

You call it innovative, I call it foolish.

Raquel just standing there waiting with stairs in her hands. Beast.

Shotzi can’t have a kf leg injury, that negates 95% of her offense!

Limpy vs Gimpy

Setting up that ladder in the corner was clunky as shit.

A pure ladder stip is hard to have in a women’s singles match, but this match is a big pile of meh.

Honestly I’m not about to complain about all of these women getting involved because this is borderline boring.

AYYYEEE it’s Io! Io saved this match tbh. Love her, THAT’S my champion.

Give Shotzi’s team the advantage, I doubt they win anyway.

To be honest; you have former nxt champion Ember Moon, inaugural UK champion and former nxt champion who fought against Charlotte fucking Flair at WrestleMania Rhea Ripley, and current champion that beat Charlotte fucking Flair for the title Io Shirai. The idea of that team losing is laughable at best in kf. But they will, cuz fuck babyfaces.

*Bonus* online exclusive: What surprises could you possibly have in store aside from some random weapons? Also fuck your howl. Edit: she was talking about her stupid new tank, wasn’t she...

Highlight: Io showing up at the end of the ladder match

---

NXT UK:

Who’s this green-shirt bro and why did he run over there to break up the brawl as if there aren’t 2 dozen officials already? Men needlessly getting involved in women’s fights irritates the shit out of me.

He also got in the way of the shot for the majority of this clip. I hate him. 

I hope Jinny wins this future match.

This Aleah girl is like a cross between Kacy and Alexa, and honestly I hate it. Which is odd cuz I love them. She pisses me off though. Not sure what to make of it.

So supposedly Valkyrie is undefeated? That’s good. Let’s keep that going.

Valkyrie has nice counters and is super athletic. I say this every time I watch one of her matches but she deserves more praise.

I hate that women on UK get so little time. Send Valkyrie and KLR to nxt and send Dakota and Rhea to the MR, thanks.

I’d pay to see Valkyrie vs KLR too!

Still not a fan of Valkyrie’s finisher. Love her gear though, it looks different.

Highlight: Always a pleasure watching Valkyrie

---

Smackdown:

Lmfao Bayley “fails” to break the count before rolling back outside, so she rolls back in and fucking stomps her feet while yelling at the ref. She’s good. She’s good at the basics, good at paying attention to her surroundings, and good at improvising.

Bayley and Nattie are smooth together. They’ve never had a match, right? Other than this?

Love how Bianca has all of Bayley’s attention.

Bayley just used Nattie’s discus clothesline against her lmao. What a troll.

I remember when Bayley tapped, her entire fanbase was crying claiming she was buried. Watching it myself, she is so obviously entering into a program with Bianca. Christ 90% of her attention was on Bianca throughout the match.

*Bonus* online exclusive: Bianca just told Bayley her hair ain’t even and she looks dusty, good fucking bye.

mmmm not sure if Sasha has the admiration of the wwe universe. Look she’s a remarkable talent in the ring, but she is insanely annoying outside of it. She’s changed nothing from the time she was heel, other than no longer cheating to win. She obnoxiously cackles, she’s egotistical, she gets along with legit nobody. I’m not convinced the crowd would even cheer her, even if she’s one of the best bell to bell. Her fans can call her the number 1 babyface, but that’s a stretch if I’ve ever heard one.

“I won the first 2 women’s mitb” aaggghhhhh I hate that Carmella still claims that. Debatable. De-ba-ta-ble.

Lol “I can’t help if men are obsessed with me,” alright sure. That’s good tbh. Carmella is a notorious cheat but regardless, that’s good.

Well the reason y’all never faced one on one is because Carmella’s a Smackdown veteran and you just got here, but I digress.

So where’s the army that still runs around crying that Becky buried her when she called her the greatest woman to never be great (facts)? Where’s the outrage for Sasha demeaning Carmella and claiming she’s not in her league? Sasha fans are wild.

“With half the work I’m better than you. I held onto that Smackdown woman’s title longer than all of your title reigns combined.” omg she’s dead. Shots fired, target hit. Someone call Sasha a hearse. 

Instead of sitting there making ugly faces, Sasha really should’ve gotten up and left. Lick her wounds or something kekek.

Highlight: I’m into this Bayley/Bianca thing they’re building

---

Takeover WarGames:

I just think it’s so cool that wwe shelled out the money for a Black Sabbath song. Of course they can afford it, but for a Takeover? Points.

Nobody wants to come take out Candice rq? No? Nobody at all???

Oh hell yeah Dakota gets to start? Good for her, since she skipped out on it last year.

I don’t fucking get Ember Moon’s persona, but I like her lit gear tonight.

“Aiming it square at Team LeRae” sometimes I wonder if Vic is simply blind.

The concept of this match is fun, but it always feels a little hollow until the match actually starts.

So cool that they got Wade Barrett on commentary in nxt.

Sloppy headscissors by Ember, but Dakota sold well per usual. Not sure why they’d have Ember run the marathon.

I’d pay so much money to see the 4hw in a WarGames match.

Oh that’s cool, Raquel put her hand up to protect Ember’s face from Dakota’s kick. We appreciate a performer that protects her coworkers.

That sunset flip powerbomb by Shotzi onto Raquel off the ropes was neat.

Toni up in here just removing all the turnbuckles. I wonder if running into exposed turnbuckles actually hurts that much.

Toni barely taps Ember with a kendo stick and she acting like she’s dying.

Man that 6 woman thing was so choreographed. Even did a countdown.

Io ma’am we don’t-- we don’t need ladders... okay. Okay.

Io scaling the cage and Raquel knocking her off like in Super Mario Brothers.

I feel like WarGames is convoluted enough, but sure, let’s get into the winter of overbooked women’s matches. New season, same bullshit.

AHAHAHAHAH IO’S FUCKING SMILE. She is standing on top of the cage putting a garbage can over her head, and has the audacity to wear a shit eating grin. I cannot, this girl is crazy and I love her.

Stupid spot? Maybe. Is Io batshit insane for jumping like 10 feet down completely blind? Absolutely. Points.

CLEAN ddt by Io onto Raquel. Spiked.

Candice is dumb. Got a trash can lid standing opposite Shotzi who’s wielding a chair. Candice throws the lid, says ‘hold on’, then climbs through the ropes to grab a kendo stick while crying ‘help’. Grabs her kendo stick, goes to bat against Shotzi, gets her hand smashed lmao. Idiot.

Oh that was perfectly timed. Dakota busts Shotzi with a chair strike and barely even begins to turn around before Io missile dropkicks the chair into her from out of nowhere.

Dakota stuck a trash can over Io and then did a double stomp that impacted the trash can so badly she couldn’t slide it off lol. eesh.

Is Ember gonna attempt to Eclipse someone onto a set of upright chairs... Omg no. You’re gonna take the brunt of this, jfc don’t.

Oh good god what a fucking beautifully bad idea. I hope you’re okay bro. Man Dakota FLIPPED over. Nasty, nasty move.

That Storm Zero through a trash can was ace. Honestly I see a lot more potential for Toni here in nxt than over on UK.

This is a really good match. 

It’s not that I hate the coffin drop off the ladder onto Candice, but Candice really ruined it by preemptively grabbing a chair and holding it on top of herself. Kind of spelled out exactly how that was gonna go.

Io and Rhea make an amazing team.

Rhea and being thrown into the cage on the outside of the ropes, name a more iconic duo. I’ve heard that’s the worst part about cage matches cuz your skin legit gets dragged against the links as you slide down.

Holy shit Io just got powerbombed through a ladder. OOF.

That’s the ending?? Raquel pinned Io for the ending??? Holllllyyyy shit.

Interestingly enough, I’d have to say the 2 team captains did the least amount of notable work.

What took out Shotzi: On screen the last bump she took was her coffin drop onto Candice, which kept her from saving Io. Mess.

Some great spots for sure. Recency bias might be a thing, but I feel like I enjoyed this one more than last year’s.

Highlight: That Eclipse onto the chairs to Dakota was WICKED

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

Main event giving people promo time? Is this typical??

Okay look. You acknowledged Alexa is brainwashed. You acknowledged that she chose him (even though she’s brainwashed so you really shouldn’t be upset). Now you’re claiming SHE came out and slapped you, as if you haven’t been relentlessly bothering her about her boyfriend that she chose because she’s brainwashed, and as if you weren’t the one who came out and confronted her. Is this not super problematic to anyone else??? Nikki this doesn’t make you a victim or even a decent person/friend lmao.

It’s a good promo though. Good delivery, very buyable.

WHY DO I GOTTA HEAR THE CAW MUSIC???

I know Lacey’s being a bitch, but it’s an awful hair style, Sarah. I’m sorry.

Lmao Lacey is so god damn funny when she has someone to play off of. I can see the appeal in her and Peyton, I can see it. I can see it. The pairing should absolutely not last long because Lord they’re abysmal in the ring together, but outside? Swell, just swell.

Lacey will always have a job solely for her character work if nothing else.

Haha Lacey running from Nikki. She’s a treat.

Really thought that spinning heel kick was gonna be the end of it.

This match is definitely Main Event(tm) worthy, but I’m glad it has some semblance of a story going into it.

Peyton’s jump kick looks dumb.

Probably for the best that Nikki loses this, even if Peyton is awful.

---

*WarGames was definitely the highlight in an otherwise really lame week of wrestling. I don’t even have a runner-up, I’m just thankful for WarGames.

Recap Week 8

I've never done a show recap before so go with it......Last night we had Abbie's cheer banquet so we were out till 9:20ish EST. @rae1105 Is the MVP for live texting me. However, that meant I power watched just the packages and dances last night with the exception of the judges comments towards Bonner since both The Bestie and my mom mentioned it. As an added benefit....I asked Abs (who turned 13 last weekend in case the hateful anons want to judge her opinions....again)her opinions. The show started when she was just under 1 so she has literally watched every episode with me. As opinionated as I am online, I don't tell many people my obsession so Abs is pretty "general audience" in her opinions. She's a competitive cheerleader though, so she knows some things. - Opening number - straight fire 🔥🔥 why oh why aren't they coming here?!?! -Emma and Rashad - Great package. Emma cried about how great he is and I'm verklempt....again. The dance was AMAZING!!! .....-Judges opinion-Always harping on his feet. Stahp it, Rahn!!!! ....-Abs opinion-That was so fun! I shook my tail feathers! -Commercial break comes and shows Alex and Jenna. Abs said "Is that Ed Sheeran?" I told her it was Alex, Vals bestie and pointed out Jenna. We then had to rewind 47 times for her to oogle Jenna's beauty. 😂😂 -Val and Normani - Hated the package because I hate bullies and racism. I hate that she's dealt with the bullshit in that. The dance was, in my opinion, just ok.....*braces for impact* It was a good dance but in no way was I "shook" ....Judges-I'm a little in awe that they saw literal perfection from that because I didn't. ....Abs- Val is sooooo cute 😍😍😍 He had his curls out 😍😍😍😍 (I got nothing else out of her) Sharna and Bonner - Her outfit in the peach shirt and khaki hat 🔥🔥🔥.....wow she's a stunner. Anyways....that package was BAD. I get that he doesn't want to relive his pain, but if he doesn't want to be reminded of his pain.....maybe he shouldn't remind us every 5 min. There was "the fight". After 24 seasons, I'm ok with "the fight". It's week 8. Week 8 is hell. As for the dance, it was pretty decent. Going towards maybe one of his best. ....Judges-They were harsh. Yes. They were honest. Yes. Len was not totally uncalled for. *braces for impact again* ....Abs- I only watched Sharna and she was so good!!! Bumper with Simone holding Sasha in her arms then the Swiffer commercial....both 😍😍😍 -Sasha and Simone - Simone is flirting with the camera man. I'm dead. He said "Do you want to win.....you better dance" Their dance was super fun. She is a solid dancer but lacks the performance aspect. I get it. She's a gym rat. However, as the parent of a competitive cheerleader.....my kid goes out there and sells the shit of a very technical performance. I need Simone to also. ....Judges-I forgot about them....whoops. 🍷🍷🍷 ....Abs- "I hate 1D". Fun fact....she was once their biggest fan. She had now moved on to more Russian pastures. She *says* she liked it (and hates 1D) but she danced along so don't trust her. Also she questioned why I kept asking her opinion. She now knows I have a blog. Send help....... -David and Lindsay-Oh lord.....where do I start. I love love love this song. This was the perfect song for him. David said his parents taught this to him and he's trying to raise his own children this way. He then starts to cry because he loves his kids and Lindsay notices he's doing a great job raising fine children. This is close to home. As a single parent, the single most meaningful compliment is that my kid is great or that I'm doing a good job. 😭😭. Anyways.....this dance. Lawd this dance. She danced on his feet and I didn't see much of the rest either night because I was crying. .....Judges.....I forgot about again ....Abs-She "awe'd" at the package and the dancing on Davids feet. Then, being that she's now aware of an audience, wants you all to know LEN CRIED. "Tell them Len cried, Mom". Also....."Tell them I love 'my hot bae Val' and show them my 'heart eye' face".....seriously.....send help. Now onto the trios!!!! (This is where my notes get sketchy because 🍷🍷) Emma and Rashad-I would be remise if I didn't mention the "They think their at gymnastics class......and I'm the pole" comment 😂😂 Also, I should mention Witney doesn't know Fleetwood Mack and the team name Ménage A Shad. Best. Team. Name. Ever. This dance was everything that I remembered from last night and more. Holy hell!! 😍 ....Abs- Apparently David made some comment about takin Normani out of the top spot and Abs kept hollering about it. (where is that help y'all are sending) As for the actual dance she has "no words to describe that" She loved it. Wit is her fave. She said this reminded her of Calvin (see she does know). Next up, the commercial for Dirty Dancing Live. Abs is now dead because "Maks and Val did this on Fuller House". All those 80's music lessons so that my kid can recognize good music music trivia have failed. She now equates "I've had the time of my life" with her "Hot Bae Val" 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ -Val and Normani- Holy hell for a second night. Their package was GOLD! Normani "Bonner is perfection" Val...."hmmmmm". Val to Alan "There's no southern gentleman bullshit here. Do a goon job or I'll kill you". That's some Russian Dance Mafia shit right there......This dance was EVERYTHING. It was so freakin good! And I am NOT a Normani fan. Side note....did you notice when Val tore his shirt off he broke his microphone 😂😂 ....Abs- She nervous giggled the entire package about Val and Alan's curls (where the hell is that help y'all are sending)...She legit raised her hand so I would call on her during the package instead of asking after. She said "What is wrong with her....Bonner isnt cute". She was hella pissed that Val Jr took his shirt off and proclaimed that it ruined the dance. She is gushing and she is not the drunk one. 😂😂 -Sharna and Bonner- The package both B and B "this is my first trio" and Sharna "it is not my first". Did anyone else thing James and his threesome comment 😂😂 onto the dance, hell......where do I start. Sigh. He really fulfilled the role of "creepy boss". Y'all know how I feel about the ass grab thing. And the dance was shit. It was just as bad as yesterday. Britt was half count behind the whole time and I still didn't notice B was even there. Even Sharna couldn't keep a straight face during judging. When CarrieAnn said the girls did the booty pop and Bonner failed, both girls nodded in sequence. Lawd. ....-Abs-(Remember......she is GA and my anti Bonner opinions have not been heard by her).......She was horrified. She literally side eyed the entire thing. She said the dance was "plain and weird". During judging she realized Bruno was wearing pink. Lol Lawd this is getting long Simone and Sasha- I was living for Britt razzing Sasha about his shirt. But I was also so excited for her to help Simone. The dance was just meh and I agree with her "smiles don't get gold medals" comment. The entire season they (and us) have wanted an emotion besides her beautiful smile. We get it and the effin judges want to know why she isn't smiling?!?! .....Abs- She didn't like the skirts and somehow agreed with the judges that Simone wasn't Simone 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ -David and Lindsay- I loved this package from grey chest hairs to wanting his daughters to be like Hayley and Lindsay. However.....the dance was every bit as shitty as it was last night. ....Abs.....was mesmerized. She somehow thought that was better that her Hot Bae Val. WTF.....I'm guessing this is why a certain potato got as far as he did.....damn GA. Y'all know how I feel about the elimination and the so called souther gentlemans behavior. So with this.....I'm out....

Honesty.

Let’s be honest with ourselves WWE Universe. The WWE has let us down.

With a chance to lead the way through the pandemic with fun, entertaining and new advances for their shows, talent and superstars, it seems like the WWE creative team has just chosen to take the Summer off. It’s too bad, because they are wasting a valuable opportunity. And now, with MLB, NBA and NHL all back playing as we head into August and the NFL ready to head back to training camps, the eyeballs are even more split on what to watch.

For the past five months, we’ve all been looking to watch the next WOW on TV and digital screens. The WWE could’ve used the opportunity to be fresh, innovative and edgy, things they’ve been known for in the past. Yet, it’s been show after show of the same ol’ predictable and formulaic shows.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the in-ring product has always been phenomenal. Let’s not take anything away from the women and men in the squared circle. It’s what they do to tell the story that’s been lacking. Let’s be honest again, the person with the best told story of the Summer has been Randy Orton. And after that, it’s been the Summer of Sasha and Bayla leading their own women’s revolution as the game’s best! It’s amazing that we’ve been met with 50-50 booking that have seen stars like Angel Garza, Andrade, Apollo Crews get stuck in mid-card status. There were a few signs of positivity which you’ll see in the show recaps, but there needs to be more!

Why the WWE has never come clean with its audience on the COVID-19 pandemic is beyond me! Why not tell people why Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens (at times), Crews, Renee Young and others haven’t been on TV. It’s ok to let us see behind the curtain folks! It would humanize and freshen the content. Plus, hearing Reigns talk about sacrificing his own career for the health of his family is compelling content, something the WWE needs more, not less of these days.

If you don’t believe things have gotten stale, here’s a reminder – coming up next week, we’ve got three title rematches coming your way.

Finally, the look of the shows is the same each and every week. Dark, small and in the Performance Center makes it look like you’re hiding the product. Having the same NXT up-and-comers be stand-ins for crowd each and every show is better than nothing, but could be improved. I do LOVE the “you suck” chants though!

I want the WWE to go back to having fun and not caring so much about every little thing affecting sponsors. Be bold, have common sense and take care of the details. With those changes, we could all be back loving the WWE again.

Honestly.

Horror Show at Extreme Rules – Recap I’m not going to waste too much time with this one. I’ll say this. The in-ring stuff was fine, especially with Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler and Asuka/Sasha Banks before the end. The booking was terrible. Why ruin Asuka vs. Sasha with a ref bump (or mist!)? Why have an Eye for an Eye Match end with no eye being taken out? Why have Apollo Crews (rumored to have tested positive for COVID-19) out with an “injury” instead of telling the truth? Why have a Swamp Match include Alexa Bliss when she wasn’t there in the beginning with Braun Strowman (the Mixed Match Challenge was later)? Common sense was thrown out the window folks! And we’ll leave it at that.

STAR OF THE WEEK – Kairi Sane – We may not know how long she’s going to stay here in the United States as rumors of her returning to Japan are out there, but her win over Bayley is a highlight to be proud of! She’s been a bundle of excitement and a wonderful side kick to Asuka in the Kabuki Warriors. Thank you Kairi Sane!

Honorable Mention: Montez Ford and his unforgettable frogsplash to beat Angel Garza & Andrade was breathtaking! That dude is a future World Champion!

RAW

RESULTS

Seth Rollins defeated Aleister Black

Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth to win 24/7 Championship

Mustafa Ali, Ricochet & Cedric Alexander defeated Bobby Lashley, MVP & Shelton Benjamin

Ruby Riott defeated Peyton Royce

Non-Title RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits defeated Andrade & Angel Garza

Unsanctioned Match: Randy Orton defeated The Big Show

Loved It:

Rollins vs. Black – A great back and forth and a match I really thought Black was going to pull out.

Hated It:

When IS enough enough, @WWERollins?! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/vGIuFEU9AS

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

Rollins vs. Black – What? No friends for Aleister Black?

Rollins’ lies – No Seth, we didn’t have any blood Sunday night and no we didn’t have an eye popped out of the socket of Rey Mysterio. Stop lying to us!

Welcome back:

This GIF will live forever.#WWERaw @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/eFQUC64pvy

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

Mustafa Ali – We haven’t seen Ali for months and it was awesome to see his athleticism return to Monday night! A win over MVP was a welcome sight too instead of the predictable job out of late for the team of Ricochet & Cedric Alexander.

SHE HAS SPOKEN.@StephMcMahon rules that @WWEAsuka and @SashaBanksWWE will compete for the #WWERaw #WomensTitle NEXT WEEK … and Sasha can lose by pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification, or even if anyone 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴. pic.twitter.com/qHn0P83ilI

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Stephanie McMahon – Even if it was through video on the big screen, it was good to see Steph return to put the RAW’s Women’s Championship back on Asuka and set a championship match for this upcoming Monday night. Monday nights are always bigger and better when the Princess is around.

AIN'T NO STOPPIN' HIM NOW.@Sheltyb803 just pinned @RonKillings to become the NEW #247Champion! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/ChBAXgXqsE

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Shelton Benjamin – Sure, he’s been around of late, but we welcome back to the Title picture with a 24/7 Championship victory over R-Truth. The Hurt Business is definitely in Shelton’s best interest as he joins ranks with MVP and Bobby Lashley.

Are they or aren’t they?

Andrade & Angel – Zelina Vega’s boys lost a non-title match to The Street Profits but say they are on the same page. I guess that meant they were on the same page to help Randy Orton take out The Big Show in the Unsanctioned Match and not in their own best interests. Their up and down weeks continue.

Meh:

Orton vs. Big Show – The buildup was better than the expected payoff, especially with no Ric Flair there.

Drew vs. Dolph II – Why exactly do we need it? As McIntyre said, he just beat Ziggler 24 hours ago.

NXT

RESULTS

Dexter Lumis defeated Killian Dain

Breezango defeated Ever-Rise

Shotzi Blackheart defeated Aliyah

NXT North American Qualifying Triple Threat Match: Bronson Reed defeated Johnny Gargano & Roderick Strong

Timothy Thatcher defeated Oney Lorcan

Karrion Kross defeated Dominik Dijakovic

Opportunity reigns:

NXT North American Title – With Keith Lee giving up his North American Championship, NXT is the land of opportunity (sorry SmackDown) as we’re getting a bevy of triple threat matches over the next few weeks to decide who will get into the Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: XXX in August to decide the next champion.

Bronson Reed – Very happy to see Reed get his shot in the spotlight after his tasty triple threat victory over Johnny Gargano & Roderick Strong. Match of the night as Reed takes out two of NXT’s best in a very entertaining match. Anytime a big man like that comes flying off the top rope – WATCH OUT!. Well done Thicc Boi!

#Bronson2020 #WWENXT #NXTTakeOver @bronsonreedwwe pic.twitter.com/9gjoMDzsPo

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

.@WWEKarrionKross just made it PERSONAL. #WWENXT @RealKeithLee pic.twitter.com/V2ml418PZK

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

Kross vs. Lee – Diggin’ the slow build to Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee for the NXT Championship. Having Lee watch Kross take out his BFF Dominik Dijakovic makes this personal right from the get go. Making the physicality wait makes it more and more worth the wait!

Nod to the Mountie:

Breezango – Nice touch by Breezango with the tribute to The Mountie before a win over Ever-Rise. Tyler Breeze and Fandango never fail to entertain in and out of the ring! A perfect fit in NXT is there for them.

Don’t get:

Timothy Thatcher – Count me as one who just doesn’t get the gimmick. Is there something I’m missing? Shouldn’t he have a bunch of minions by now to teach and be followed by?

Solid:

Shotzi vs. Aliyah – Shotzi is a sure bet week in and week out and Aliyah is getting better as well. Down the road, we need a hair match of Shotzi vs. Sasha too! And yes, give me more tank shots!

The brand gets bigger:

WOW. @RealMMartinez has officially joined The #RobertStoneBrand!#WWENXT @RobertStoneWWE @WWE_Aliyah pic.twitter.com/ogGnPvfCw0

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

Mercedes Martinez – Sure, The Robert Stone Brand snagged a big fish in Martinez, but we all know it’s only a matter of time before she’s kicking his ass for a big misstep!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Nikki Cross defeated Alexa Bliss – Cross wins shot at Bayley’s SmackDown Championship next week

Matt Riddle defeated Tony Nese

Fatal Four-Way Match: Gran Metalik defeated Shorty G, Drew Gulak and Lince Dorado to win shot at AJ Styles Intercontinental Championship next week

Bar Fight: Jeff Hardy defeated Sheamus

Loved it:

Last call for @WWESheamus.@JEFFHARDYBRAND wins the Bar Fight on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/oDyEPnZlXT

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 25, 2020

The Bar Fight – Sure, my expectations for it were low, but it had me hooked! I would’ve done without the commercial interruption too! But, all in all, it was a very good way to end a pretty good SmackDown. Jeff Hardy exercising his demons, complete with his face paint and evil eyes, flying off a ladder (of course Jeff Hardy finds a ladder in the storage closet!) to get the three count after the Swanton is fitting! Now, it should be time for Hardy to move on to a new feud, maybe for the I-C Title with Styles? I did like the little nod to Matt Hardy having to delete his WWE career too.

Looking forward:

.@AlexaBliss_WWE continues to PUNISH the injured ribs of @NikkiCrossWWE on #SmackDown! An opportunity at the SmackDown #WomensTitle is ON THE LINE! pic.twitter.com/mYQZpRapqa

— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020

Bliss vs. Cross – It was amusing to see Bayley pit Alexa Bliss against Nikki Cross for a shot at her title next week. It was fun to see the besties go at it again. Somehow, me thinks there’s a Little Miss Bliss heel turn coming that will cost her BFF another title shot next week. Well, at least I’m hoping. Because otherwise, I’m not that excited about another Bayley vs. Cross match.

A King’s Ransom – Love that King Corbin put out the King’s Ransom for anyone to put down Matt Riddle. There’s nothing like a good bounty in wrestling. Just ask the likes of Harley Race and Ric Flair!

"It's your time." – @TrueKofi to @WWEBigE #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/cTL3ZIVnRP

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 25, 2020

Big E – With Kofi Kingston’s injuries from the tables match at Extreme Rules putting him on the shelf for six weeks, it’s time for Big E to make a big-time title run! #PutYourMeatOnMyMeat

Fun in a Fatal Four-Way – Congrats to Gran Metalik for winning an I-C Title match next week against AJ Styles. He has no chance of winning but it will be a good match. Plus, the four-way got a tease of Drew Gulak vs. Shorty G too, which would entertain for us wrestling fans!

Reality:

Naomi in MizTV – Finally a little reality into the mix. Bringing Naomi’s #NaomiDeservesBetter internet squabble to TV. As we said at the top, the WWE has gotten far too predictable and formulaic during the pandemic instead of using it to try new things. Here’s hoping we continue moving forward.

Disappointing:

“It’s 𝙃𝙄𝙎 turn now. 𝙃𝙀 has been unleashed.” #SmackDown @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/hAo84L8K2w

— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020

Firefly Fun House – Showing no ill effects from the Swamp Match, Bray Wyatt is fresh as a daisy for a new episode of the Firefly Fun House. And yet, Wyatt says The Fiend is unleashed? We’ve heard that before and yet it’s like he’s been muted lately. A wonderful gimmick has been neutered when he should run roughshod over the entire WWE. Well, we can dream, right?!

Where ya been?

Mandy & Otis – Did we really need a rehash? Maybe you could just tell us where Mr. Money in the Bank has been right? Instead, I’m sure we’ll get some more non-sense next Friday night.

Daniel Bryan – Did someone lock him in the writer’s room?

Parting Shots:

Welcome back Kayla Braxton! We’re happy to see her on TV healthy again after beating COVID-19. Up next, here’s hoping we see Renee Young soon as well.

Upcoming this week:

RAW: RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Sasha BanksWWE Championship Match – McIntyre picks the stipulation: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Timothy Thatcher.@DexterLumis. You've been warned.@FinnBalor has his eyes on the #WWENXT #NorthAmericanTitle. pic.twitter.com/e1u2GlOkCF

— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2020

NXT: NXT North American Qualifying Triple Threat Match: Finn Balor vs. Dexter Lumis vs. Timothy Thatcher

SMACKDOWN: SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross Intercontinental Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Gran Metalik Naomi vs. Lacey Evans

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND