Saddle up, because it’s time for another edition of WWE Falls Count Anywhere! With less than three weeks to go until WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia, we’ll take a peek at the big happenings of the last week, just as we always try to do. There’s a lot to dissect, so let’s get to it.
The Man won’t be broken
Becky Lynch has put herself through the ringer the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, Lynch challenged Liv Morgan to lead Monday Night Raw’s action and pulled out a win. Then, on Monday, Lynch competed against longtime rival Nia Jax in a thrilling Last Woman Standing Match. A rarity on WWE TV, this LWS Match was sensational from end to end.
Becky won over Nia after a nonstop battle. Lynch’s highlight was an incredible dropkick down on Nia through the announce table that had Raw color commentator Pat McAfee buzzing. Lynch stood tall to end the match before Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley went to the ring to confront her WrestleMania opponent.
Whatever happens at WrestleMania, I do hope people are considering what Becky is doing. For a long time, Lynch has been regarded as one of the best ever. Over the last 15 months, she has put on big match after big match after big match. She’s competed in several MOTY-level candidate matches, and no matter what role she plays – confident, fiery babyface; a babyface in peril; a betrayed character out for revenge; or in this case, someone who’s willing to tackle every obstacle anyway, Lynch has clobbered the standard and is in the midst of a legacy-solidifying run.
Brother vs. Brother is locked in
Jey Uso will wrestle Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania XL. The brother vs. brother match that everyone expected to occur after SummerSlam is indeed going to go down in Philadelphia.
While it’s clear that the people love Jey, and are seemingly quite interested in this feud, there’s some reservation. It’s true that some Brother vs. Brother feuds in WWE (and otherwise) haven’t always gone so great. The most notable ones have been Undertaker vs. Kane and Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. The Steiners feud in WCW was… a waste of everyone’s time. The Hardys feud in 2009… didn’t really do as much as many thought it would do.
While that’s all true, I also tend to think that this feud and story can exist in its own way. People have been receptive to it, and while I do think there could be some more amplifying, that could still be on its way. After all, we have five shows remaining and a lot of angles still are ripe to heat up. So perhapDakos there’s some more on the way.
One thing I’ll say: Don’t be too caught in your priors here, as this might be really fun.
Okay, this is nice, but…
I’m all for The Rock being around right now. It’s cool to see him back after years of constant wonder and mystery. He’s one of the biggest stars ever.
But… hey, it’s going to be nice to see Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes go face to face this week. You know, because they’re the ones wrestling at WrestleMania.
If I’m going to critique anything from the past few weeks, it’s the fact that Cody and Roman haven’t gotten the precedent and the presentation I feel this sequel truly deserves. I get the window dressings and also obviously understand that Rock will have more leeway than usual. But like… there haven’t been many WrestleMania sequels. And the fact is that Roman is currently on a generational title run that is so harshly different in length to everything since the 1980s. When Reigns eventually drops the WWE Universal Championship, presumably to Rhodes, it will be one of the biggest title changes to ever happen. I don’t think that’s hyperbole either.
That has to matter. That has to be significant. So, this week will be a fun way to see that match get more hype. Coordinating the balance between the tag and the match itself was a concern I personally had going into WrestleMania. It’s not over yet obviously, but now that we’re approaching the final stretch, it’s time to showcase.
Dakota Kai gets what she earned
Bayley wrestled Dakota Kai in Friday night’s Smackdown main event. The match wasn’t an exhaustively competitive match, but that’s partially because it didn’t have to be. Especially since Kai earned herself a beatdown after what happened several weeks ago.
Bayley whooped Kai for a majority of the match, not letting her get in anything. But, naturally, her plan to win was foiled by Damage CTRL, who attacked her to interrupt the match and cause a DQ. Naomi, perhaps to some surprised fans, raced down to the ring to try and help but didn’t get one over on her.
IYO will wrestle Naomi this week, and now things will be interesting. Bayley claimed after the match in a social media promo that she planedd ot take all of Damage CTRL out. Naomi factoring into things will make it very interesting as well. Time to see what’s left in store, because everything else has been a smash hit with the audience.
The Mid-Card
A new segment here in the column! This will probably allow me to get this out more, as I’ll briefly touch on a few items from this past week.
- Trick Williams… buy stock NOW!
- Good for DIY for finally making a WrestleMania card. It seemed like for a while that they may never get an opportunity to do so in WWE, but now they’re here. That six team ladder match at Mania sounds absolutely bonkers.
- I’m really digging Roxanne Perez and her new heel persona. I’m very excited about the prospect of her and Lyra Valkyria wrestling again at Stand & Deliver, hopefully this time without interruption. These two are future WWE cornerstones in my opinion.
- I’m all in on Sami Zayn vs. Gunther, even if I did think Chad Gable was going to win. It’s worth noting, however, that that’s no reason to pile onto this match. Sami is a bona fide star who plays the underdog role extremely well. I think he’s going to remind plenty of people of who he is at WrestleMania to stop this weird “hate” train going on.
