The Post's Joseph Staszewski explores the world of professional wrestling in his weekly column, “Post Match Angle.''
Many of the world's best TV shows and movies have had successful spin-offs, whether they're completely separate entertainment offerings or shows that feed back into the main series.
After more than four years, it looks like we're starting to see that in WWE's Bloodline saga.
For a while, characters like Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, and Jey Uso inhabited the expanded world of Bloodlines. There were several links in their story going back to their interactions with Roman Reigns and his family and how they wronged them.
What we saw on Monday's Raw could be the start of something entirely new, like the Marvel and DC TV shows that will eventually play out in the upcoming movies on Disney+ and Max. For now, this is just a seed that could sprout in many different directions.
It started with a promo from Zayn who, with a pep talk from Rollins, was confident that he could win the Royal Rumble and ultimately become world champion at WrestleMania 41.
His words highlighted Owens' feelings. Owens basically tried to incriminate Zayn by helping Zayn defeat Rose at the Royal Rumble so that the two old friends could meet in Las Vegas for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Owens told Zayn that he did not hate Zayn for his history with The Bloodlines and for coming back to the group to help Reigns defeat the Solo Chicor stable at Survivor Series. He basically told Zayn that as long as you have my back and I have yours, everything is forgiven.
And McIntyre had been in Rollins' ear for weeks about how unhonest and therefore selfish Rollins was. Rollins, who had promised to prevent Punk from winning the Royal Rumble, was able to sneak a victory over McIntyre in the main event of Raw. McIntyre then attacked Rollins in disgust. While doing so, he said, “We should be on the same team.”
Zayn came to Rollins' aid, but the Visionary didn't seem happy with that, as McIntyre moved out of the way and Helluva kicked him.
Some fans believe Rollins is headed for a heel turn – especially after Karrion Kross was spotted behind Rollins on Raw two weeks ago. Kross has been at the forefront of a recent heel turn.
That means Zayn, Rollins, McIntyre, and Punk, all of whom have various ties to The Bloodline, will be involved in their own side stories. This could have major implications and could lead to Rollins turning heel and actually teaming up with McIntyre or Owens, and maybe even becoming world champion through a number of former champions along the way. This may be the beginning of Zane's journey to the end.
All of this will continue to play out in the men's Royal Rumble match, with Reigns potentially appearing for one night only.
Spinoffs don't always work. Think “Joey” or “Baywatch Nights.” Meanwhile, songs like “Frasier” and “Better Call Saul” were big hits.
WWE's past track record should lead fans to believe this falls into the latter category.
rush hour?
It's easy to see why AEW is moving the AEW Women's World Championship back to Toni Storm vs. Mariah May with a Grand Slam in Storm's home country of Australia. But is it too early?
Will AEW be able to blow past Storm's amnesiac rookie days and bring her “timeless” character back in time for a win in Brisbane?
Will AEW waste the moment of having Storm win the title in front of a home crowd to advance the story with a loss that could trigger a Timeless return?
AEW clearly has a plan, and this week's showdown between Storm and May on Dynamite should further spice up what that is.
Let's see if everything meets the moment.
An eventful start
Tessa Blanchard's in-ring return to TNA was not well received by the fanbase.
“She's a racist!” chants once erupted during Blanchard's win over Jordynne Grace, but it's all a risk TNA took to bring back the controversial star. It was part of.
Blanchard faced allegations of racism and bullying by female cast members, including La Rosa Negra, in 2020 before her ugly exit.
yells at Tessa, “She's a racist” pic.twitter.com/vfQD216uKn
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 20, 2025
As I've said in past columns, I have no problem with Blanchard being given a second chance, but it's the viewers who have to buy into that. This wasn't heel fever.
Sunday night may be the first sign that the audience will reject her, and if Blanchard decides to apologize publicly for the first time now, it will be in response to chants and not a sincere one. You may think so. There's still time to convince them, but it wasn't a good start.
ten count
The Hart Syndicate is likely on a fast track to AEW gold. If Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin win the Tag Team Championship from Private Party and Almighty or Ricochet joins the group, will they defeat Danell Garcia to win the TNT Championship?
MJF said nothing was off limits after Jeff Jarrett, including his wife Karen's previous marriage to Kurt Angle and his feelings about his best friend Owen Hart's death in The Last Outlaw. , I thought they delivered one of the best pieces of promo in recent times. Jarrett's jab about MJF's one-hit wonder horrors hit right between the eyes, but his insults about “call girls” hit the mark.
If the Texas Death Match with Hangman Adam Page was indeed the end of Christopher Daniels' great career, it was in great fashion. Daniels didn't seem to be missing a beat. I don't know if I'd start the show off with the blood and sad ending we saw, but it was a match Daniels could be proud of.
With The Acclaimed officially disbanding, it will be interesting to see how this Max Caster story plays out. Caster should be determined to prove that he is the “best wrestler in existence.'' So it feels like a middle ground or 50/50 booking for him is not possible. If he fails, Anthony Bowens should grow without him and try to make Caster jealous and slow down his former partner before they finally face off.
I don't think it's a coincidence that Charlotte Flair's teasing popped up before Tiffany Stratton's match. She's a big enough star that I can understand that her return was expected rather than a sudden surprise.
It feels like Bayley's move to Raw opens the door for Flair to go to SmackDown and start a program with Stratton once he returns. I didn't like how Nia Jax just destroyed Bayley like that.
It certainly felt like the spotlight shifted from Solo Sicoah to Jacob Fatu on SmackDown on Friday. While the former tribal leader literally had nothing to say, Fatu has a lot to say and his presence can dominate the television screen.
WWE finally showed how serious they are about their partnership with TNA by having several of their NXT heavy hitters, Cora Jade and tag team champion Fraxiom, appear at the Genisys pay-per-view.
When PCO becomes like Madusa Sledgehammer to the TNA Digital Media Championship At The People vs. GCW show. Tommy Dreamer revealed that the case was not approved by TNA because PCO no longer works for the company. Stunts like this aren't worth much professional buzz.
Speaking of Perez, the boos she and Cora Jade received show that they probably have the best heel heat in NXT history, and that's a credit to the job they've done. It was also great to see Corey Graves return to commentary after the chaos he caused last week.
Wrestler of the week
Joe Hendry, TNA
For Hendry, it was quite a climb over a decade. His charisma, catchy songs and ring work have led to his rocket-like rise for over a year. As a result, he became the new TNA World Champion with a comfortable victory over Nick Nemeth on Sunday at Genesis. He's being handed the ball at a critical time for the company as it forges a partnership with WWE.
This week's social media posts
match to watch
Gunther vs. Jey Uso, World Heavyweight Championship in Saturday Night's Main Event (Saturday, 8 p.m., NBC)
This outcome feels inevitable since Gunther won't be losing the World Heavyweight Championship before WrestleMania 41. But ever since Reigns brought back Ulla Fala, the new bloodline isn't leaving Jey and Jimmy Uso alone, and it feels like it needs a reason to raise its head. The two brothers have not teamed up since Money in the Bank 2023, when they faced Reigns and Cicor. What happens Saturday could make that happen.