WWE WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Royal Rumble Goes Up Another Gear, Plus Penta’s WWE Debut
Theo Dimou is a 22-year-old aspiring journalist, passionate for professional wrestling and WWE specifically. He has been a dedicated fan of the product for 14 years, idolising the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk. Theo also has some level of experience in the wrestling media, previously working for The Inner Sanctum and even being granted media accreditation for Elimination Chamber in Perth. He interviewed Rhea Ripley, Kevin Owens and Tiffanny Stratton, while he has also spoken with Bronson Reed, Shawn Michaels and Steph De Lander.
Welcome to the WWE Weekly Round-Up, where Pro Wrestling Downunder brings you the biggest talking points to emanate out of this week’s episodes of Raw and Smackdown.
Penta’s debut packs a punch
As Michael Cole labelled it, “the worst kept secret in the business’, Penta made his long-awaited WWE debut on Raw by defeating Chad Gable.
The former AEW World Tag Team Champion impressed fans in attendance and on social media, with a captivating entrance and an inspiring performance by competing on a bad leg. He was also emphatic in his post-match promo, declaring this as the new Penta Era and celebrating with his family at ringside.
There is much anticipation of what his next move will be in WWE, potentially aligning himself with Rey Mysterio to feud against Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
The Luchador even made waves before his match, with his replica mask selling well on WWE Shop hours before Raw commenced.
Royal Rumble goes up another gear
If the men’s Royal Rumble match couldn’t get any more star-studded with Roman Reigns and John Cena declaring themselves for the battle royal, how about adding Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins and CM Punk?
Those three names declared entry on Raw, with Punk opening the show to say Rollins is behind him and how his focus is now eyed on the main event of WrestleMania. However, the Visionary interrupted and informed Punk of his desire to eliminate him from the match and win the battle royal.
McIntyre then entered the fray, frustrated with Roman Reigns recapturing the Ula Fala last week and telling Rollins he should have interfered to prevent it. The Scottish Warrior then declared himself in what is going to be one very unpredictable men’s Royal Rumble, packed with so many storylines and possibilities.
Jacob Fatu steps up for The Bloodline
This week’s Smackdown featured Solo Sikoa’s first appearance on television since his defeat to Roman Reigns on the Netflix Premiere of Raw, losing the Ula Fala and ‘Tribal Chief’ title.
Sikoa was supposed to cut a promo, but the live attendance in San Diego persisted on booing him to the point where he walked out of the arena and left Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga in the ring.
This frustrated Fatu, as he delivered his best promo since making his debut by saying he does not care about the audience’s reaction towards The Bloodline and his time in WWE is eerily just getting started.
LA Knight then stormed out to the ring to brawl with Fatu and Tonga, but was quickly taken down until Braun Strowman came for the save and confronted Fatu to set up a clash between the two titans at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 26.
Stratton’s first title defence a success
The main event of Smackdown was contested between Bayley and Tifanny Stratton for the latter’s newly won Women’s Championship. It was the champion’s first defence against one of her bitter rivals, as Stratton and Bayley’s history dates back to last year’s SummerSlam where the former aided Nia Jax in capturing the Women’s Title from the Role Model.
The match felt rather slow and difficult to invest in, with the crowd showing minimal reaction until the end when Stratton hit her beautiful moonsault for the win.
Meanwhile, it seems like Bayley and Roxanne Perez from NXT are destined for a rivalry in the near future.
Theo Dimou is a 22-year-old aspiring journalist, passionate for professional wrestling and WWE specifically. He has been a dedicated fan of the product for 14 years, idolising the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk. Previously working for The Inner Sanctum being granted media accreditation for Elimination Chamber in Perth. He interviewed Rhea Ripley, Kevin Owens and Tiffanny Stratton, while he has also spoken with Bronson Reed, Shawn Michaels and Steph De Lander.
