SmackDown recap and reactions: Imposter syndrome

WWE sends us off to King & Queen of the Ring with a solid effort from the blue brand.

So much of the focus of WWE over the past few years has been Cody Rhodes’ rise as the top babyface in the entire industry, culminating in his finishing his story at WrestleMania 40, becoming WWE champion by ending Roman Reigns’ unbelievable run on top. He’s embarking on a new story now, one that is, admittedly, much less compelling without such an emotional punch dangling there at all times.

But what is starting to interest me a bit more is the journey of the man he came face-to-face with on Friday Night SmackDown this week, Logan Paul.

The two are scheduled for a WWE championship match at King & Queen of the Ring, the second time Paul will have challenged for said title (he tried to end Roman’s reign himself but came up short). He is the current United States champion and a star on the rise. Just how far can he go with this thing, outside ventures be damned?

That was the focus of Cody’s attention here, actually. The idea that Paul, as good as he has been despite how little time he has into this business, is handicapping himself by spreading himself so thin. He’s got his hands in so many other businesses, his time and attention firmly elsewhere, that he cannot possibly be dedicated enough to achieve the dream of becoming WWE champion.

It takes much more than what he’s currently willing to give.

I find that to be a compelling angle here, that Paul will eventually have to come to a decision about how much he wants to get out of his time in WWE.

The other angle they ran was Paul claiming he was giving up his trusty brass knuckles so that he could defeat Rhodes clean to win the title. Cody, naturally, called him on this and it turned out he didn’t actually give them up. Because of course not, he’s no fool and he needs the protection.

It also played into the larger story, that Paul has imposter syndrome, that he hates people thinking of him as the YouTuber who isn’t serious about this, and he’ll do anything to get the edge he needs.

Paul promised not to use brass knuckles in the actual match. We’ll see.

Rhodes was really good here, promising to beat the brakes off Paul, bad enough to make him regret ever stepping foot in the ring with him. Dare I say it, this was about the coolest Cody has looked since he became champion, and maybe even dating back to his working an entire match with a torn pec.

I’m ready for the match now!

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Much of this show was about taking care of the semifinals in the King & Queen of the Ring tournaments, giving us two matchups for the finals at the event of the same name taking place the very next day.

The Queen of the Ring semifinals saw Bianca Belair fight valiantly in an attempt to overcome a knee issue — one that she was selling even last week — but come up short to the sheer power of her much larger foe. This was really the only way to go about this, considering they had plans in place for Belair as tag team champion alongside Jade Cargill and she needed to lose in such a way that it didn’t hurt her too much but also firmly put Jax over on her way to the Finals.

They did that well enough here.

There was even a moment when Belair was limping to sell the knee while carrying Jax on her shoulders for a powerbomb coming off the ropes in the corner. An insane display that stood out, despite the loss.

Jax cut a promo after the win, claiming she’s been “buzzing through” everyone and Valkyria is next. It was a strange way to put it but hey, she’s a heel, and you’re supposed to hate her.

Meanwhile, the King of the Ring semifinals headlined this week’s episode and saw Randy Orton take down Tama Tonga to book his ticket to the Finals so he can attempt to win a tournament he never has. He’s been around for over two decades and this is one of the few achievements he doesn’t have.

The match was fine for what it was but the RKO is still massively over and seeing Orton staring down GUNTHER gave us a genuinely compelling tease for what should be a super intriguing singles match.

As a side note, The Bloodline story continued here with Paul Heyman telling Solo Sikoa that Tonga Loa couldn’t get into the country and it’s because of his past. There was a reason Roman Reigns didn’t recruit individuals as dangerous as Loa and Tama Tonga, and we’re seeing that now.

Sikoa simply told him to handle any issues related to that. Tonga scared the hell out of him in the process and I’ll give them this — they’re doing a damn good job of creating an aura around these guys that is entirely distinct from what The Bloodline was like when The Usos were in it.

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All the rest

• While nursing her knee injury, Bianca Belair was approached by Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae, who hilariously noted that she only has one knee to their four. I’m telling you, these two need more TV time, especially now that Indi is fully bought in to the dark side. Meanwhile, Jade Cargill showed up to back up her tag partner and promised to go speak to General Manager Nick Aldis. Ultimately, a tag team title match was made for the Countdown show at King & Queen of the Ring.
• Carmelo Hayes tried to get cozy with Grayson Waller & Austin Theory, claiming they need to stick together against the veterans on the roster who continue to try to take up their TV time. They’re selfish, jealous, and egomaniacs who will do anything to keep them down and all that. That’s how they got to running down LA Knight, who hit the scene to work the gimmick much to the delight of the fans in Saudi. He needed some backup, though, and The Street Profits were happy to help out. A six-man tag ensued and the babyfaces went over to a big ovation, with Montez Ford scoring the pinfall. It’s clear Hayes vs. Knight is the program for now.
• DIY poured out Ford’s drink backstage. They poured out the man’s water from the red solo cup. They wanted to be clear the tag team division belongs to them and they should be the ones to win the tag titles from A Town Down Under, sure. But they poured the man’s water out. This aggression cannot stand, man.
• Bayley defeated Chelsea Green in a non-title match, only to be thoroughly beaten down by Piper Niven immediately after. Hey, Clash at the Castle in Glasgow is just around the corner, isn’t it? Surely this couldn’t be a coincidence?!?
• AJ Styles asked Nick Aldis for another shot at the WWE championship, asking if he could take on the winner of Rhodes vs. Paul. “I just need one more chance,” he said while campaigning for the shot. Aldis admitted he respects him a great deal personally but professionally he couldn’t just hand him another title shot. AJ has to earn it. Styles outright said “you know I don’t have time.” Whatever could that mean? I guess we’ll have to find out later.
• Legado del Fantasma watched Andrade’s latest vignette and argued amongst themselves about the merits of bringing him into the group. Angel and Berto were none too keen on the idea but Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez think they need to be open to it. They left us on the group going back-and-forth, and we’ll just have to wait and see. It seems more likely this will simply be his first major program.

Another solid effort from the blue brand.

Grade: B-

Your turn.