Three Things We Hate and Three Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s weekly review of “WWE Smackdown.” This is a show in which Tiffany Stratton defended the women’s title against Nia Jax, the winner in the first place. The match was really good, but I’m not going to talk about it here. I’m also not going to talk about Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes or the money of women in the bank. To be clear, all of these matches were good, but there’s not much else to say about them. What do you think this is, is it the “SmackDown” result page? That’s because of comprehensive coverage. This column is for those who create our strongest passions!

In this case, I have said a lot about the announcement of the big match against the promotion segment, behind the scenes segment, the “main event on Saturday night,” but at least I’ve seen a few matches. From Solo Sikoa’s MITB qualifying victory to JC Mateo’s official WWE debut, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 5/16/25 episode of “WWE Smackdown.”

On Friday’s “WWE Smackdown,” Solosikoa and Jacob Fatu were trying to deal with the fallout of backlash last weekend. Things get a bit tougher between Sicoa and Fatu before La Knight breaks the trio vigorously, and Sicoa openly chuckles at his enforcer-turned-US champion, speaking in almost parallel to the way the Roman rulers had done with Jay Uso before.

They had horse-mounted a focus spot that they both felt deserved, but after Sicoro had fronded for weeks that he was supporting Fatu’s rise, the mask slipped slightly, and he wanted to straighten the record. He told Fatu Let me He loved him, so he won the US title and he took matters into Mateo’s hands last weekend for the same reasons. But he wanted something from Fatu in return. The catchphrase, noting that he hadn’t heard it for a while and demanded that he say it.

This returns to the dominant era of the OG lineage, with each member in the group recognizing the “tribal chief” and once again acknowledging the dynamics between the ruler and the USO. In particular, the way Fatu responded, thickened the atmosphere between them as he messed up the words. Cicor was visibly annoyed by the man he brought into the fold, and demanded that he say it in gumption. We looked for solid moments when things were beginning to reach a breakpoint between them, but then the Knight’s appearance snapped them from them and tied them together again in the face of a common enemy. Sikor later secured a spot for money in the bank’s ladder match and is beginning to become interesting again due to his pedigree.

Written by Max Everett

I’ve been confused with what WWE has been coming with Julia since taking the NXT Women’s Championship from her and making Stephanie Verker a double champion…just to defend her second midcard title before Buckever lets it go. I was giving WWE the bounty of doubt in case Giulia was smashed or something went wrong, but I was a bit lost ever since she quickly returned after losing that title. I love Julia (and I love Vaker too, so let me know), but I don’t know what we’re doing here. Tonight, after Julia appeared on “WWE Raw” on Monday, I was even more confused when I took a walk from Nick Aldis’s office to the stage. Not only will he appear in Red Brand, he will also be the main event of the show with Roxanne Perez.

I’m not even pissed off that “The Beautiful Madness” has been officially called to the main roster. She absolutely deserves it, and it was also a good call for her last match on “WWE NXT” to be an absolute banger against Jording Race. But I was starting to really like her teaming up with Perez. While Julia doesn’t need help in the wrestling department, being around Perez may have helped her adjust to other important things outside the ring. They looked really funny together and their style worked well. That’s why it was so amazing to see Julia leave, staring at Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss and leaving.

Late at night, she learned to make money in bank qualifiers next week against Flair and women’s champion Zelina Vega. This is already a bit nervous as I have the strange feeling that Flair might win that briefcase. If the mysterious opponent side of that match was hyped throughout the week, I think Julia had a better chance, and it’s revealed that Aldis had pulled some strings to take her to the Blue Brand. Pop would have been great as many fans know her.

Thankfully, we’ve seen a lot about Julia’s official call-up to “Smackdown” on social media. She absolutely deserves a flower. However, we hope that more will appear in WWE’s television products, not social media. “Smackdown” is still a three-hour show, and maybe she could have done something with her tonight, and she could have been easily revealed as a mystery opponent next week. Tonight looks a bit random and it really flattened to me, so I hope there’s something better on the Julia horizon.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Despite WWE treating tag team wrestling like a checkmark on the list, the men’s division of “SmackDown” cares at least for fans of tag team wrestling. Since the debut of Motor City Machine Gun, Blue Brand’s Tag Team Division has had a good story with great matches. The story got a little complicated, but Nick Aldis was there to help with his white board. The division revolves primarily around MCMG, #DIY and street profits. These three teams had a great week for Wrestlemania, not Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley. Los Garza and Pretty Deadly are also taking part in the mix.

A few weeks ago, the division officially added former NXT tag team champion Fraxiom to get new blood. Axiom and Nathan Frazer have been the best tag teams in NXT for a while and were scheduled for a call-up. Perhaps the “raw” department is practically on life support, so they could have been used more. Style-wise, it’s suitable for Friday nights.

Last week they defeated Street profits in games other than titles. They have a similar path to the gun that shockedly won the title in their third WWE match. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley show support for Fraxiom. Tonight they had former champion bangers, #diy. After going back and forth at the end of the match, Axiom rolled Gargano and kept momentum by stealing victory. MCMG came to rescue after the #Diy Beatdown Fraxiom after the match.

After winning four consecutive matches, including defeating two former champions and current champions, they won a title shot against the champions next week. Perhaps it’s a bit too early to receive a title match, but that’s a brand in the tag division. At least they keep things interesting and have a great match for boots.

Written by Samantha Schipman

There’s nothing inherently wrong about repackaging the wrestler after he signs WWE. Most often, it involves giving a new name known among fans. However, it’s a bit more often to do that on the same night as your unannounced in-ring debut. Input: JC Mateo (formerly Jeff Cobb).

Mateo has been torn it apart with the Indies for years and made his name for himself doing his thing, so it feels like a dissatisfaction that he doesn’t announce when he competes in his first WWE match. Moreover, his first match should be essentially a squash match to establish it further, as the company has made him an even greater threat to the roster, as the company has made his group an even greater threat to the roster. Instead, WWE chose to have him play against La Knight in a contest that felt unnecessary long and two-way. It would have been much more effective if WWE postponed another week or two and gave Mateo an opponent who could be defeated faster in the WWE fanbase (especially for those unfamiliar with his career).

Written by Olivia Quinlan

R-Truth is forever on his planet and is very deleted as the kids say, but this time he is being challenged and officially playing a match with “Children’s Hero” WWE Champion John Cena in the main event next Saturday night. I already think this is the best match for Cena in the network special he’s already promoted. It’s not a title match, and it’s not even an appearance at a premium live event, so it can be argued that it doesn’t mean anything, but after tonight’s interview for a true sit-in with Wade Barrett, I think there’s really the truth now that he pushes Cena’s ex-babyface mantra and hypes him as a good guy.

I thought the whole truth interview segment was short and simple, but also excellent. He started very philosophically and said that no matter what’s going on in the world, you can always depend on China. The truth is that no one knows Cena like him, and that the man who sent him at the table at a press conference is not the real Cena, and that the real Cena would not turn his back on those who were threatening to support him or ruin his wrestling. The truth is that he said he didn’t want to fight Cena, but if he “has to “push him back into his senses,” he would.

I saw a video where Cena appears to show emotion after his victory in the backlash, when the living crowd began chanting “Thank you, Cena.” Various reports I have read claim that Cena’s Babyface Turn appears to have already begun. He doesn’t have many dates left on this retirement tour, so I think it makes sense. Whether it returns to a good guy or not remains to be seen in SNME, but it reminds fans that there is still something good for China, with the truth hype of “h fuss, loyalty, respect” and everything else he said in the interview he sat down with. The truth can remind Cena that there are still good things to him. But I don’t think he’ll keep it in mind until he works with Travis Scott and others after money at the bank, but even so, it still plants seeds in his mind.

R-Truth vs Cena is something many fans were screaming after Cena turned his heels, even before Cena interfered with the hero in place of backlash. It will be an interesting match for the witness, and perhaps it will also set up something for Cena for bank money, perhaps there will be some interference to someone to help with the truth or the post-match angle.

Written by Daisy Ruth

After the backlash, it revealed that R-Truth was confused when he was suddenly thrown into the mix. Randy Orton sacrificed the WWE Championship against John Cena. After confirming tonight’s “Smackdown” I was even more confused, but mentions Zero about being a title match.

Now I know that some might argue that R-Truth doesn’t deserve a title match. Even if he has a built-in story with Cena and the time to pay it off is very limited, it doesn’t seem like he’s been presented credibly in the past few years. I’m hearing it, but please allow me to silent ideas from its foundation: don’t book a match. The truth is worth stepping into the ring with the current WWE champions. He repeats that he has a very limited set of dates before his disruptive retirement, but he does not. It feels strange to book a match against a champion, especially if they are world champions Their last few months Don’t make it for wrestling, and for the title.

If the truth is planned to lose anyway, you’re just giving it to a veteran who has finished an obviously postponed opportunity at a higher level than he was given. If Cena is planning to lose – why is Cena planning to lose? Just make it for the title. At the end of the day, it offers a window to at least make the match a bit exciting. Otherwise, the truth is that he has won a shot at the World Champion, which could be used for a title match against another WWE’s highly talented roster. The longstanding truth about being a childhood hero for Cena had been running that course honestly a while ago, but the truth and Cena could have easily delved into the actual shared history on the roster, giving the story something else.

However, I personally don’t think about what was presented as moving in any way. The paranoid truth that happens to take on his childhood hero younger than him feels like a joke that this is Cena is rising up during his record-breaking 17th world title reign. I wouldn’t say that making a title match would have denied the very serious argument that the truth is a strange decision for this spot, but at least it would have offered some stakes on Cena’s way of “smashing wrestling” if not, on praise. Paul Levesque once said he would look at the booking as a GPS, put the coordinates and follow the route needed to reach his destination. Someone please get him a new GPS.

Written by Max Everett