Can't Knock The Hustle: Is There A Huge Mistake On WWE's Horizon?

11/18/2024 01:59 PM

There I was, watching the latest episode of Smackdown and working on my newest column, thinking that everything was going swimmingly.

I’m watching the Bloodline vs Bloodline fight, and that’s when I see it…

Bronson Reed shows up and attacks Roman Reigns, aligning himself with the new Bloodline and looking like he would be the group’s fifth member (later confirmed by Solo Sikoa in a backstage promo on Smackdown’s post-show) for War Games.

At first glance, it came across as a brilliant move. Big Bronson is one of the most destructive men on the WWE roster, and he’s in the middle of his most prominent positioning since first joining the company nearly six years ago. As an added bonus, he also happens to be Samoan, allowing him to fit right in when it comes to the Bloodline story.

He looked amazing in his Bloodline “debut” and that’s great for him and his career.

Then, I started to think about the entire thing some more… and then even more after that.

Suddenly, all of my positive thoughts became negative ones in an instant.

They’re going to have Seth Rollins become the fifth member for the O.G. Bloodline’s War Games squad, aren’t they?

Fuck.

I completely understand that Rollins and Reed are currently feuding, so in that regard, under normal circumstances, it would make sense to add Rollins to one side of the match if you’ve added Reed to the other side.

This isn’t a normal circumstance, though.

I absolutely, positively do not want to see Seth Rollins on the same team as Roman Reigns, even if Seth is kayfabe doing it just to get his hands on Bronson Reed again.

Look, folks… I feel that the stories involving Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, and so on leading up to, and on the nights of, WrestleMania 40 were masterfully done.

The obvious one was Cody “finishing the story” and finally becoming the Undisputed WWE Champion. One that was particularly beautiful was Roman’s pain and anger towards Seth leading him to attack Seth with a steel chair instead of hitting Cody with it, directly leading to Roman losing the match and his titles.

One that wasn’t getting talked about at the time, though, was Rollins putting everything on the line to take things away from Roman. Seth’s body was already racked with crippling back and knee pain, and he had wrestled twice that weekend, including a match where he lost his World Heavyweight Title. Even with all that, Seth still went out there during the night two main event, and was literally and figuratively the “Shield” for Cody Rhodes, putting his body on the line to make sure that Roman Reigns lost everything he cared about.

The story with Roman and Seth obviously goes back to the end of 2012. There is A LOT of negative emotions between their characters. While we’re seeing a lot of “I can’t believe you’d side with him after everything he did to you” that we’ve been seeing on WWE programming over the last several weeks, but this is on an entirely different level. Cody Rhodes choosing to team with Roman Reigns is one thing. Randy Orton potentially choosing to team with Roman Reigns is one thing. Sami Zayn choosing to team with Roman Reigns is one thing. The Usos choosing to team with Roman Reigns is one thing.

Seth Rollins choosing to team with Roman Reigns is a bridge too far, though, in my opinion. It completely undoes the WrestleMania 40 weekend, and it becomes one of the laziest storytelling devices in recent memory.

For a several-year story that has led to the word “cinema” being popularized in pro wrestling circles, what is written for The Bloodline needs to have the utmost care, caution, and concern surrounding it. Has it been a perfect ride? Of course not. Jimmy Uso’s heel turn at SummerSlam 2023 still pisses me off when I think about it, and it was not only the most head-scratching moment in the Bloodline story, but arguably one of the most head-scratching moments in all of wrestling over the last decade. My point remains, though… when you have a single story that has been carrying an entire promotion for YEARS, things need to make sense more than usual.

There are a million ways for Rollins to get his hands on Bronson Reed. He can attack him on Raw. That attack could happen on Smackdown if Bronson appears with his Bloodline brethren. He can show up to Bronson’s home. Maybe he could put a bowl of ramen (one of Bronson’s favorite foods) on the ground, next to a box held up by a stick, and try to capture Bronson that way. Hell, he could wait backstage until Bronson is on his way to the ring at Survivor Series, and attack him then.

All of those options would be better, and would make more sense, than Seth even thinking about being on the same team as Roman Reigns for something.

We’re not talking about WrestleMania 40 being years ago. It happened this year. Only seven short months ago. That’s it. It just wouldn’t make any sense for WWE to place Seth in that spot.

CM Punk would make more sense.

Brock Lesnar would make more sense.

Drew McIntyre would make more sense.

Sheamus would make more sense.

Dustin Rhodes would make more sense.

Hikuleo would make more sense.

Zilla Fatu would make more sense.

I would make more sense. These are my cousins and nephews, after all.

I hate, hate, hate the idea of lazily throwing War Games together like that. Here’s to hoping that WWE has more sense than that.

Who do you want to see as the fifth member of Roman Reigns’ squad at Survivor Series? If it’s someone different, who do you think will be the fifth member? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below and let me know what’s on your mind, but now, feel free to do so on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), as well.

Now, let’s look at my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.

Weekly Power Rankings

FTR vs Malakai Black & Brody King: In most weeks, this match wouldn’t even be in contention for the top spot in my WPR. That’s not a knock on the match itself. It just says more about how strong most weeks are with great matches, promos, and moments. Lots of interesting face-like qualities from the House Of Black recently. That’s something to keep an eye on.

Komander vs Shelton Benjamin: The hot streak for Komander continues. It’s hard to tell if it will lead to anything, as we see it all the time from AEW, but there certainly is a stronger focus on a push for Komander these days. On the other side of the ring, I’m super happy to see Shelton getting a chance to shine again. He’s one of the most underrated in-ring performers of my lifetime, and I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity to go nuts in AEW rings.

Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer vs Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson: Seemingly out of nowhere, it really seems like WWE has big things planned for the futures of Lash and Jakara. They aren’t quite there yet, but they continue to be involved in big things with big names.

Swerve Strickland vs Lio Rush: Like Komander, Lio Rush remains on a hot streak in AEW. His performances don’t always lead to victories, but there’s more of a spotlight on him than he’s had before. I dig it. There is a lane for him to be a really good asset for AEW… if he’s used right.

Adam Cole vs Konosuke Takeshita: The finish sucked because of Tony Khan’s fetish for making his referees look as dumb and incompetent as humanly possible, but the rest of the match was really strong. As I’ve said before, I’m glad to see Cole back in the ring and getting back to doing what he does best. 2025 could be a huge year for him.

Damian Priest: I loved the promo he cut on Gunther at the start of Raw. He did a great job of getting inside Gunther’s head, adding an extra layer to their upcoming match. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that work best, you know?

Bronson Reed: On its own, Bronson Reed joining The Bloodline is fantastic and is deserving of being much higher on this list. The decision gets hurt by what I mentioned in the meat of this week’s column, though. I decided to meet in the middle here and place the moment here on the list.

Nia Jax vs Naomi: Nia continues to show that he has become vastly improved as an in-ring performer, and Naomi also stepped her game up here. Longtime readers of mine know that I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Naomi as a wrestler, but she was a lot of fun to watch in this one.

Ricochet vs Dante Martin: Lots and lots and lots of athleticism here. It was your typical Rampage match that was a no-brainer with no real stakes on the line, but at least the match itself was of a good quality.

Cedric Alexander vs Wes Lee: Like Shelton Benjamin, I’m very happy to see Cedric Alexander getting a chance to do some damage in a ring again. Even in losing roles, he has so much to offer, and it’s a great idea to have him working with a lot of the younger talent in NXT.

Bayley vs Candice LeRae vs B-Fab: I’m 99.9% sure that this is B-Fab’s first time appearing on my WPR. She looked good in this match, and all three women had their chances to shine. An unexpected gem overall.

Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez: It seems like everyone is still waiting for the inevitable split between Bianca and Jade. Well, it seems like you’ll have to wait a bit longer, as they continue to reign as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Besides, you know their split is going to take place closer to WrestleMania, as that’s where the money is for their first match against each other.

Mina Shirakawa: You saw her. You know why she’s listed here.

Mariah May vs Anna Jay: It definitely wasn’t on the same level as many of the other “hardcore” women’s matches that AEW has had in the past, but both women worked really hard here. I gotta say, though… it’s clearly a miracle that barbed wire was introduced in the match and neither woman ended up bleeding or even with a scratch on them. They must be superhuman. That has to be the only explanation. Yup.

Shinsuke Nakamura: I’m thrilled to see him return to television, but at the same time, I have zero faith that WWE will do anything worthwhile with him. That’s a crying shame.

This Week’s Playlist: “Back On The Road” by Cordae & Lil Wayne… “Nobody But You” by Mary J. Blige… “Talkin In Screw” by Maxo Kream & That Mexican OT… “Somethin Bout A Woman” by Thomas Rhett & Teddy Swims… “the center’s falling out” by Poppy… “The Void Within” by As I Lay Dying… “Downfall” by Devil May Care… “Shard Throat” by Gutrectomy… “Do You Remember?” by Phil Collins… “Something Happened On The Way To Heaven” by Phil Collins… “Another Day In Paradise” by Phil Collins… “You Can’t Hurry Love” by Phil Collins… “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” by Phil Collins… “Sussudio” by Phil Collins… “A Groovy Kind Of Love” by Phil Collins… “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins… “Two Hearts” by Phil Collins… “Invisible Touch” by Genesis… “That’s All” by Genesis… “I Can’t Dance” by Genesis… “You Can Do Magic” by America… “Take It Easy” by Eagles… “Heat Of The Moment” by Asia… “St. Elmo’s Fire” by John Parr… “She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals

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