The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle. The Post Match Angle will return on Sept. 24
WWE has already washed away at least one potential worry about the Wyatt Sicks by going back to how it all began.
Though the group pulls from both the Wyatt Family and The Fiend/Firefly Funhouse, WWE has correctly chosen to lean more toward what got the late Bray Wyatt’s original persona over in the first place — despite the bloody backstage massacre to introduce the group that ended up getting glossed over.
Since that introduction, the Wyatt Sicks has been more psycho-thriller than horror movie, and their street fight with American Made on this week’s “Monday Night Raw” shows the group’s stories should have little problem translating into the ring, which was a recurring issue with The Fiend.
After a well-shot and presented entrance that felt just long enough, we saw the benefits of surrounding Uncle Howdy with hungry performers in Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis who can really go in the ring with high energy. They have a WWE veteran in Nikki Cross, who looks revitalized being able to wrestle with the aggression and flair she did during her Sanity days in NXT, and a powerhouse in Erick Rowan, who has years of experience as an original Wyatt Family member.
It’s a really nice combination of talent.
It felt like all of them along with opponents Chad Gable, Ivy Nile and the Creed Brothers were flying all over the place in and out of the ring in controlled chaos. There were tables, kendo sticks, chairs and fire extinguishers.
Everything felt like it fit what the Wyatt Sicks should be about in a perfect way to present the group together in a match for the first time. They had a supernatural edge without being invincible.
It all led to a super entertaining, commercial-free opener that should have left fans excited to see the group in the ring again. The positives should be able to translate even in a more traditional match.
All of it made me think about what helped make the Wyatt Family work so much better than The Fiend. It was the family itself. After all the mind games were done, Rowan, the late Luke Harper and Wyatt had classics with the New Day, The Usos and The Shield as they complimented one another.
The Fiend was the opposite. He was alone — until pairing briefly with Alexa Bliss — and nearly invulnerable. That took the selling and a lot of Wyatt’s athleticism out of the equation. That made for outings that didn’t always fit what fans today were looking for in matches.
The Wyatt Sicks on the other hand is a group of talented performers not weighed down by any of that like the Wyatt Family once was.
As far as Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas), he still has something to prove. His first match against Gable was fine, but it felt more like a tribute to his brother — which is fine, for one night. Howdy so far comes off as an embodiment of Bray and less of his own character.
WWE also still needs to make sense of why Howdy keeps his mask on while the rest of the group does not and Dallas seems to be pushing the hair away from his face and head too often.
Those all feel like things that will work themselves out in time.
The most important thing is the Wyatt Sicks early on is not just a tribute to Bray Wyatt’s storytelling style, but to the entertaining wrestling we got from him the Wyatt Family.
“Mr. McMahon”
The much-anticipated Vince McMahon documentary from Netflix — “Mr. McMahon” — really will be a fascinating watch. It will be the first to really delve into the bombshell sexual harassment and sex trafficking lawsuit brought against Vince McMahon by former WWE employee Janel Grant, according Post Wrestling. However, it’s been reported that many interviews were done before the news broke.
But to me, the most interesting things will come from the interviews done with McMahon himself as the former WWE chairman rarely made time for those sorts of things. Hopefully these give us more insight into the person behind the character we’ve seen on TV and the legend created around him.
Some of the works done on McMahon can feel like a rehash for those who have taken the time to learn about the previous scandals surrounding him and his upbringing — which Abraham Riesman’s “Ringmaster” book does a good job of. Let’s see how much more Netflix, where “Monday Night Raw” is moving to in January, gives us.
Fox Hunting
If the reports are true and AEW is working on a deal with Fox to bring a show to their family of networks or the Tubi streaming platform, it will be quite the feather in the cap for the company. AEW president Tony Khan at All Out sounded close to being able to announce a new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
A separate Fox pact should allow AEW to further maximize the return on the television rights by moving into the void left by WWE taking SmackDown to USA and the company’s alleged meddling in MLW’s attempt to land on Tubi, which led to an anti-trust lawsuit that was settled for $20 million to MLW.
The 10 Count
It was great to see Bret Hart back on WWE TV and used in a meaningful way. Gunther pulled no punches, saying his all-time favorite was Bill Goldberg, whose head kick led to the end of The Hitman’s career. Still, it’s going to take more than seeing this writer’s favorite wrestler to get me invested in the Gunther-Sami Zayn storyline for a second time.
Cody Rhodes calling for Jacob Fatu to challenge for the Undisputed WWE championship before Solo Sikoa and Fatu having to turn it down out of loyalty felt like an important and smart babyface moment. It’s the first seed of Fatu eventual turning on Sikoa.
Apollo Crews beating Giovanni Vinci in a second was refreshing. It feels like it’s been a bit since WWE has told that story of an unexpected win that makes both more interesting to the audience.
The joy from fans after The Outrunners tag team got their first victory in AEW — and Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir attacking them after — is proof of just how important jobbers can be in the fabric of a wrestling program.
Good call by Shawn Michaels and NXT to make Giulia’s first television opponent a veteran in Chelsea Green, who will have no problem taking her more physical offense and selling for Giulia.
The slow breakup of the alliance between WWE women’s champion Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton — that should allow the latter to turn babyface when she cashes in her Money in the Bank contract — is even more proof the long‐term story is better than the same‐night cash-ins.
NXT has seemed to pick the TNA stars that would best fit in WWE to take part in this partnership, with Alex Hammerstone being the latest during a match with Oba Femi, joining Jordynne Grace, Joe Hendry and Rosemary. Hammerstone always felt like a no-brainer for WWE.
At least WWE is tying to put Jey Uso front and center on Raw, weaving him into The Judgment Day story with his affinity for Rhea Ripley and having him earn a shot at Bron Breakker’s Intercontinental championship with a win in Monday’s main event. It just feels like that chance will end in another loss with Breakker just becoming champ and the new Judgment Day likely spoiling it.
Xia Li appears headed to TNA. It’s done wonders for the career of Ash By Elegance (formerly Dana Brooke) as she’s found a character that brings out the best in her. Hopfully it’s the same for Li after some starts and stops in WWE and NXT.
It’s been a while since I left a pay-per-view as conflicted as I did after watching All Out because there was some absolute brilliance — see Will Ospreay-PAC and Willow Nightingale-Kris Statlander. But Moxley trying to suffocate Bryan Danielson with a plastic bag and “Hangman” Adam Page using a needle and chair shot to Swerve Strickland’s head (even with a well-gimmicked chair) became the talking point instead of the excellent stories being told.
Wrestler of the Week
“Hangman” Adam Page, AEW
Put the needle finish aside. All Out was the completion of a nearly year-long character arc that saw Page take himself from a previously passive and fan-favorite cowboy to a twisted and obsessed anti-hero willing to commit arson against his enemy.
The emotions poured out of Page’s eyes from start to finish in this story until one final cathartic scream after proving he was willing to go further than even the maniacal Swerve Strickland to win their unsanctioned cage match.
Social Media Post Of The Week
Match to Watch
Cody Rhodes (c.) vs. Solo Sikoa, Undisputed WWE Championship steel cage match on SmackDown (Friday, 8 p.m., USA)
This will be the main event of the three-hour season premiere of SmackDown on USA. Rikishi hinted at a return for son Jimmy Uso, saying he’s “ready to go” after an undisclosed injury. When Sikoa and Rhodes last faced off it was Roman Reigns who returned to cost the challenger. It could again be him as WWE will want this show to feel as big as possible. Whatever the case, this match will give us the next big jumping-off point in the Bloodline story.
