Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that once again was definitely happening while WWE was doing a mass talent release! We're not going to give our opinions on that here you can pretty much assume we hate all of it but interestingly, we're also not going to give our opinions on approximately the first half of this week's "SmackDown." For whatever reason, none of our strongest takes came from the first 90 minutes (possibly because it wasn't terribly memorable) but we have thoughts on pretty much everything after that, from Kevin Owens' latest video to Alexa Bliss punching her ticket to Elimination Chamber to Solo Sikoa returning and spiking Cody Rhodes.
If you want to know more about what happened during that first half of the episode or just want a more objective set of facts you should definitely check out our "SmackDown" results page. Right here and right now, however, it's time to unpack which matches and segments gave the WINC staff the most feelings, and why. Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 2/7/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown."
Typically, there is a threshold for the amount of times one would tolerate near-career-ending attacks from one's best friend, and after a certain point there would naturally be questions over whether this is a friendship or a cycle of abuse. That's where, up until recently, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had been breaking the mold.
The pair of French-Canadians rose through the indie circuit, ROH, and PWG together as Kevin Steen and El Generico they also fought very violently before getting to "WWE NXT" where their friendship as Owens and Zayn shone through; Owens would then proceed to attack Zayn very violently when he had won the NXT Championship, and then take the title for himself. But they later got back on track as friends on the main roster due to a growing disdain for Shane McMahon, until things got a little wiry again between them as Zayn descended into the madness of conspiracy theories, Owens beating him violently (for good reasons this time) at WrestleMania 37. They went along their own paths before crossing once more as enemies on opposing lines of The Bloodline and the... rest of the people fighting The Bloodline. That led into their beautiful reunion at Royal Rumble 2023, thus culminating in their Unified Tag title win in the main event of WrestleMania 39, and the pair had been best buds once again since then. So how after all these years of beating one another up and making up again, just to beat each other up again in a few years, how were they going to rationalize the latest descent into violence? Enter none other than KO himself to explain.
In his signature car seat promo he rationalized this past Monday's Package Piledriver as the breaking point of being put on the back burner for other friends, as he recalled his WWE Championship ladder match with Cody Rhodes at the Royal Rumble; Zayn watched on as Rhodes delivered Cross Rhodes to Owens through a ladder, allowing for the champion to retain the title. Zayn did nothing then to stop that from happening, but Owens said he watched on as Zayn came to the rescue of Roman Reigns in the Rumble match later on. This was the ultimatum that Zayn hadn't even realized his best friend had given him, a choice he had made subconsciously to consider others than their own friendship. And KO didn't take that choice lightly. It's a testament to the storytelling ability between them, and specifically KO this week, that yet again at WrestleMania season we appear to be heading to a KO vs. Zayn rivalry, and it makes perfect sense considering the arcs of the characters. You may not want them to be at odds again, but the growing dynamics between them respectively with others on the roster has forced them into this latest conflict, and that was conveyed excellently by KO in his promo. The fact that he isn't given a live mic every week is criminal.
Written by Max Everett
If there was any bully-able offense I might have committed, it was watching this match. It's a Friday night, and I watched a back-and-forth match between Carmelo Hayes and Akira freaking Tozawa. You are more than welcome to make fun of me.
Alright, so I mainly had to keep watching because it's my job, but I should have feigned illness so I didn't have to watch this really weird match-up. Peace, love, and unity to Akira Tozawa, but he is not booked to be a threat, like, at all. I can't even be generous with this one Tozawa in WWE is probably as pre-show, dark match, bottom-of-the-barrel as it gets in terms of presentation and booking. So, when Hayes was put in a match with him courtesy of Nick Aldis, I was a bit skeptical given Hayes losing streak, there's no way he was possibly going to put even *Tozawa* over.
Luckily, Hayes was spared the embarrassment of a loss to Tozawa, but he was not spared the dignity of just squashing the guy. I know I've been especially critical of squash matches, but if there was ever time for one, it would have been now. Why is the former NXT champion, the number one draft pick, the guy who fought Cody Rhodes on his first night on the main roster going on for more than one ad break with Akira Tozawa, who hasn't gotten a singles victory since the June 24 episode of "WWE Main Event?" Why are we having Hayes go for two whole segments with Tozawa, like they're even on the same level?
Again, this is no hate to Tozawa he is a great cruiserweight and I appreciate what he's done in his career pre-WWE. If you look at Tozawa's career solely in WWE, though especially in the last few years there is no way to see him as anything more than a comedic character, despite all of his great talent. As unfortunate and unjust as it is, he is just a punching bag, so why is Hayes fighting him like they're on the same playing field?
Hayes got a clean win with Nothing But Net, and while it's nice to see Hayes' finisher finally do something, it is so weird and so disrespectful to only have it be done in a match against Tozawa, of all people. Hayes has had great programs with people like Bron Breakker, Trick Williams, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and Solo Sikoa. He is a great performer, awesome seller, and a captivating-to-watch high flier. Why do we have to throw Tozawa at him to get just one clean win? This has to be Hayes' first clean singles victory since his main roster debut, at the very least. That is such a depressing sentence to type out. How can a clean victory feel so bitter how can you possibly walk out of his feeling good?
I watched Carmelo Hayes have a back-and-forth with Akira Tozawa, and I think I'm worse off for it.
Written by Angeline Phu
When this segment first started, all I could think about was how I'm already over Charlotte Flair's character after she returned and won the Royal Rumble, but as soon as Tiffany Stratton came down to the ring and got on the microphone, I almost forgot all about it. I knew I would like these two women interacting and trading barbs, and I'm fairly certain that Stratton will be the woman Flair picks to challenge at WrestleMania, but finally seeing it was a highlight of this week's show.
I loved how Stratton started this out, welcoming Flair back and congratulating her for winning the Rumble. She admitted there was nobody that was a bigger fan of Flair than her. She was initially sucking up hard to Flair, which made sense for her, and then, BAM, there were the insults, with the younger star telling "The Queen" that she was the one selling out buildings and selling tickets while Flair was on the shelf. Stratton's half of things flowed well, and I'll always like the "new star versus old star" storyline.
Stratton brought up the excellent point that she's been compared to Flair since she started in "WWE NXT." She asked Flair to please choose her, so Stratton can prove to everyone she's not the next Flair, but the only Stratton. I also loved Flair's response, telling Stratton she was a child begging her to make her a star at WrestleMania. While I wasn't a huge fan of her telling Stratton to get on her knees and beg, thankfully, even though I also wasn't a huge fan of the next bit, we didn't have to see that.
While I'm not entirely thrilled about Stratton facing Nia Jax again next week, and Jax and Candice LeRae's interruption, Flair did mention she'd be sticking around to watch next week. I think it would be interesting if she would interfere on Stratton's behalf to help her defeat Jax, then challenge Stratton to prove she's better than the new, hot, up-and-comer. There was something about Flair's interaction with Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley on "WWE Raw" that I didn't like, but Flair worked well with Stratton this week, and it's absolutely still the match I want to see at WrestleMania.
Written byDaisyRuth
I am very happy Alexa Bliss is back. I'd have booked her return slightly differently at RoyalRumble, but in a vaccuum I enjoyed it, just like in a vaccuumI enjoyed watching her wrestle Friday night.However, Alexa Bliss does not exist in a vaccuum, and while the brief/inconsequential nature of her Rumble appearance was fine, I have to admit I was expecting more from her on "SmackDown." Not in a "she could have given a better performance" way, but in a "why are we waiting to get her involved with The Wyatt Sicks" way.
Prior to her Rumble return, Bliss was last seen two years ago at RoyalRumble 2022; the final image before her departure is of Bliss continuing to be stalked by the mysterious Uncle Howdy, part of her reversion to the dark supernatural version of her character that had been associated with BrayWyatt. Even before Wyatt's death,WWE was clearly planning to bring Bliss back under his influence, and some of us have been anticipating her involvement in the Wyatt Sicks since the QR code days of the angle. Now she's back. She's on "SmackDown." The Wyatt Sicks are on "SmackDown." And Bliss is ... wrestling in the women's Elimination Chamber?
I know, I know, she returned literally six days ago and I'm just being impatient. Fine, guilty. But it's just weird. Bliss is out here carrying the Lilly doll, wearing a Field-inspired jacket, and generally her look and presentation pretty closely match the Wyatt-associated character. Like it's not subtle, it's very much right there. And yet, not only is she just out here wrestling Candice LeRae for the chance at a title shot like any other wrestler, nobody seems to be calling attention to the Wyatt stuff. It seems like we really are just expected to be happy she's back and not worry about which character she's actually portraying because we're not ready for that story yet, we have to get past the Chamber first. AndI get that one of the Sicks is apparently injured, but do they all need to be fully healthy to do Wyatt Sicks stuff? Is this person too injured to stand menacingly in a bunch of blue mist? Are they too injured to briefly participate in a video package? It's nice that Bliss is wrestling again, but without meaning any offense, that's honestly not what I'm most interested in seeing her do. What I want from her are weird vignettes with BoDallas that make me cry, not anything so mundane as a wrestling match.
Bottom line: The Wyatt Sicks have been without their sixth member for far too long. You need for the Chamber, fine, I guess. But after that, I don't want to see her near a wrestling ring until she's already said "there you are" to another version of herself at least three times.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Last Saturday at the Royal Rumble, the Street Profits cost the Motor City Machine Guns the tag titles while ensuring #DIY retained. After they won, they beat down the champs. On "SmackDown," they explained their motives.
In a promo that aired, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins explained they wouldn't even be in this position if The Guns "didn't give our opportunity away." MCMG won a match to advance to face the champions for the titles. "Every time Street Profits get close to the tag team titles, someone just wants to show up. Someone wants to appear out of nowhere. Someone just wants to screw us over." Ford gave a warning when he said, "God have mercy on your souls because We. Want. The. Smoke."
I'm not thrilled that this wasn't live, as I think Street Profits should've cut this promo in the ring. However, the video was effective with the clips that were included. The Profits have been heel before and it didn't work out well. This time, they have more passion and focus on why they were wronged. Not only are they coming for the champs and MCMG, but they've put the rest of the division on notice. Having Heel Street Profits against Babyface MCMG will make for both great promos and matches. A team focused on revenge against champions who will retain their titles by any means necessary will make for compelling TV. Street Profits haven't held tag team gold in far too long and by the time 'Mania comes around, it might be time for them to get their due.
Written by Samantha Schipman
I didn't hate too much on this week's show; it even felt like WWE filled the three-hour runtime a lot better with Elimination Chamber qualifier matches, but the last angle of the night left a lot to be desired for me. Solo Sikoa returned to "SmackDown" following Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes pinning Tama Tonga in the main event tag team match, and it was just so stereotypical Bloodline that it didn't feel new, exciting or special at all. Sikoa showed up in regular ol' black hoodie and hit Rhodes, someone he's faced before for the title, with a Samoan Spike, and stood over him in the ring to end the broadcast. It's definitely something I've seen before, and while I'm sure next week's "SmackDown" is going to be exciting when Jacob Fatu confronts Sikoa, this week it wasn't my favorite thing.
While I'm a big Rhodes fan, it was also a little silly to me that he mentioned how injured he was post-Kevin Owens ladder match on Saturday, but still got in the ring, and with Fatu, of all people. Thankfully, it wasn't Fatu who took the pin, but Rhodes pinning Tonga after explaining at the top of the show that he had lower back issues, elbow fluid issues, and whatever else, then getting the victory, was silly. Of course, both Jey Uso and Rhodes should be protected and not take the pin, WWE had an easy way out for Sikoa to return and cause the disqualification, so no one has to lose clean.
I'm hoping this leads to a super interesting storyline next week, but I don't need to see Sikoa and Rhodes again in any capacity before WrestleMania. I'm hopeful this leads to something interesting between Fatu and Sikoa, but for now, this felt like an ending of "SmackDown" I've been seeing for almost a year now, after Reigns lost the title.
Written by DaisyRuth
