The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling every Tuesday in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
It was just two months ago we felt with some certainty that Cody Rhodes would be and should be the person to end Roman Reigns’ historic run as WWE Undisputed Universal champion.
While Rhodes remains the leader in the clubhouse to do so, over the last few weeks The Bloodline story developments that played out at Night of Champions and Reigns’ 1,000-day championship celebration on SmackDown reignited some other possibilities that seem very appealing.
Maybe it’s just to keep Reigns busy for the next year or make the story more compelling, but Rhodes being the one to beat Reigns feels less inevitable than ever. And maybe that’s the point.
Here is a look at the top contenders.
The youngest Uso brother, for now, remained loyal to Reigns with a swerve Samoan spike on Jimmy. But Jimmy gave him the warning that this cousin will chew him up and spit him out when he is done being used by him. Eventually, he will turn on Reigns and the spike has been protected as a devastating finisher. What better way for this family story to end than creating the next great star in its lineage with help from his brothers as all of Reigns’ manipulation comes crashing down?
As fitting as it would be for the person The Bloodline story began with to be the one to end it, this felt like it had lost a little steam. But recent events and Reigns’ words at the end of SmackDown should put Jey back in play. He has yet to truly betray Reigns, still trying to play peacemaker. When Paul Heyman asked Reigns about Jey, his response was: “Jey’s gonna do what he always does. He’ll fall in line. He’ll come home.” Reigns’ confidence feels ill-fated the way this story is going. Will it cost him everything in the end as Jey finally does what he should have done a long time ago?
Even before becoming World Heavyweight champion, Rollins had begun the anti-Reigns rhetoric about how he doesn’t respect him, how he handpicks opponents, and has taken opportunities away from others in the locker room. While Reigns hasn’t beaten Rollins in a singles match since 2017 and their 2021 match at the Royal Rumble ended with the Visionary winning by DQ, there is a clear story to go back to. That only happens if Rollins is taken out of the World Heavyweight championship picture prior to WrestleMania, which certainly could happen.
There is still plenty of time for this to play out, but Rhodes being the one to end Reigns’ run and send The Bloodline into a tailspin feels a lot more interesting than him capitalizing on a broken Bloodline to finally “finish the story” and become the first member of this family to become a world champion in WWE. If he does, it might be with the help of Jimmy, Jey, and Solo or thanks to their total inaction. That’s fine, but that feels like that wouldn’t create the same momentum for the new champ even if WWE finishes the one-year arc.
It is intriguing to see WWE taking a wrestler’s “free agent” status seriously with Mustafa Ali – helping out North American champion Wes Lee — and Baron Corbin — attacking NXT champion Carmelo Hayes — showing up at the Capital Wrestling Center on Tuesday night. It makes the draft feel a little less meaningless, but I do think that can take it a step further.
Instead of “free agents” just showing up randomly and now potentially getting title matches, they should be lobbying to be signed by different brands, getting a tryout, and playing sides against the other like real free agents do. There are plenty of ways to play it that could be far more interesting. So would 2-4 talents getting drafted to NXT — even if it’s for a short period of time.
The level of boos reigning down on Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita during their promo on Dynamite after their betrayal of The Elite at Double or Nothing was a complete validation of turning the rising Japanese star into a heel. It was something some fans questioned after the pay-per-view, but it feels like AEW got it right. Callis’ promo saying Takeshita is better than a long list of his country’s legends — including Kazuchika Okada — really sealed it on both fronts. It is all a reminder of how underrated a heat magnet Callis is and it will be interesting to see who else joins his new family against The Elite.
Leaning early to Iyo Sky winning the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. The briefcase can only heighten Bayley’s jealously. Sky either then cashes in on Asuka or Bianca Belair, or even a Charlotte Flair at some point to ignite a fresh feud. Or Bayley costs her because she can’t stand to actually see her win and you have a good personal feud.
Damian Priest getting to wrestle Seth Rollins on TV for a world championship is exactly the type of opportunity Roman Reigns’ part-time status does keep from guys in the locker room. It’s hard to see talent as top guys until they are in there with one. The match and the fun promo was a good next step for Priest.
CM Punk is officially back in AEW, and if he isn’t going to align himself with Don Callis against The Elite or go after MJF, rekindling his rivalry with Samoa Joe feels like a fun and safe way to jump back into things.
Dominik Mysterio slapping Cody Rhodes feels very random. That is unless their match happens and Brock Lesnar answer’s the American Nightmare’s challenge right after or at least confronts him.
The sky really is the limit for new NXT women’s champion Tiffany Stratton, who just gets better each time we see her. She left the impression last Tuesday of having the potential to be a great and obnoxious heel champion. (Tiffy Time is a great line.) NXT just needs to be careful – like with her blown-up photos – of giving off a Mandy Rose 2.0 vibe.
Who isn’t a fan of Jungle Hook? But if you are going to team up “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry and Hook again, it at some point needs to become a vehicle for one to betray the other and turn heel. My money is on that being Perry.
“Dark Side of the Ring” returned with an episode on Chris Candido and Sunny. To me the biggest takeaway is just how sad it was to see the wrestling business and the drugs suck the innocence out of two pleasant kids. I didn’t know Sunny was originally planning to go to medical school to be a plastic surgeon.
Visually, Roman Reigns walking around with two titles is better than him walking around with the new WWE Undisputed Universal championship they created. I’d walk around with all three if I was Roman. The new belt should have been all gold or bigger, but WWE wasted that on Snoop Dogg.
GCW may have something after listening to the crowd reaction to Blake Christian winning their world championship by cashing in his Grab The Brass Ring title shot on Masha Slamovich, after she defeated Rina Yamashita in the main event of GCW Cage of Survival 2 over the weekend.
Was anyone else’s weekend made when Will Ospreay earned his IWGP U.S. championship rematch with Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson cut a heck of a promo at Dominion to challenge Okada? Forbidden Door may not need any more matches.
LA Knight, WWE
It was one important win, qualifying Knight for the Money in the Bank ladder match. But there was a lot to unpack around it. Knight, still technically a heel, got louder cheers than Montez Ford. The Pennsylvania crowd did his “Yeah” catchphrase with his strikes and other moves. If you want to make a compelling case to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Knight is starting to make it.
Orange Cassidy vs. Swerve Strickland, AEW International championship on Dynamite (8 p.m., Wednesday. TBS)
Cassidy has been on an incredible run of title defenses, but the wear and tear is building up in storyline. Strickland is 5-2 in singles matches this year in AEW — with one loss by DQ — and it feels like he is in need of something to take him to that next level. This feels like a moment where we would have a surprising title change or maybe the start of a feud between the two more directly.