It happened. We all knew former WWE Divas Champion and longtime fan favorite AJ Lee was on her way home at home in Chicago, Illinois after a decade-long retirement. Regardless, it still delivered in spades on this installment of “SmackDown.”
Alright, where do we even begin with Lee’s return?
My professional wrestling fandom went on a hiatus throughout the entirety of Lee’s WWE career. I missed every bit of it and never saw any of her matches or mic work live. Nothing.
From my perspective, there’s no real way to assess her impact or talent as an overall professional wrestler. But even without any attachment to her, aside from being CM Punk’s wife, the emotions of a return after 10 years away were inescapable, and the moment was a hit.
It really felt like the return of a female version of Punk. They both seemed unlikely to return to the company after ultra-lengthy absences. But here we are. It was hard to imagine how WWE would book this big moment, considering the news leaked throughout the media world earlier in the week. And while I’m simply a sucker for big returns of any kind like this one, it was done probably as well as it could have under the circumstances. Everyone knew it was coming, yet it still felt like a big deal despite a spoiled, epic surprise.
Seth Rollins appeared first to kick off the closing segment, standing atop the crowd before he invited out his wife, the Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. I do have to say, it was hilarious to hear Lynch say every Chicago team that wasn’t the Bears sucked. And that’s because Rollins, of course, is a fan of the NFL franchise.
Punk inevitably came out to halt Lynch and rehash their encounter on Monday’s “Raw.” It was interesting to watch the talent themselves navigate the crowd’s knowledge of the looming return, which came with “AJ Lee” chants galore. Punk was first to say her name, before trying to smokescreen it with teases of other friends and Chicagoans he could have had emerge to beat down Lynch.
Ultimately, Lynch teed off with her slaps once more, enticing Punk to make the signal before Lee’s music hit and the crowd erupted, as she pranced out fully in her old “crazy” gimmick. Thankfully, commentary did a decent enough job to highlight that factor in Lee; otherwise, Lynch’s fear would have made her look ridiculous. Lee isn’t the biggest or most intimidating wrestler whatsoever, but it’s more so the knowledge of the lengths she’s willing to go to, all with a smile on her face.
The mixed tag team match at WrestlePalooza is surely the next step. After that, it would be nice to see Lee go on a proper run as a “wrestler” rather than a “diva,” as she put her career on pause as that era ended. I mean, she literally has unlimited fresh faces to work with. Here’s to hoping she makes a lasting impression on all of us who missed her career entirely.
John Cena opening the night was an extremely appropriate move. It’s still weird to say this was his last “SmackDown.” At least as a performer, obviously.
The legend essentially took a nice trip down memory lane, highlighting his Chicago memories and getting the crowd roaring. He claimed to have nothing to say other than thank you, which led to him saying goodbye right before the new U.S. Champion Sami Zayn interrupted.
Chicago was none too pleased with Zayn, booing the face as if he were the evildoer Karrion Kross long claimed him to be. This all lined up nicely with each calling back to the U.S. Championship open challenge that gave Cena a resurgence after his many world title reigns. Zayn offered to return the favor all these years later, and Cena accepted his title shot on the spot.
You love to see it. These are the types of moments that make professional wrestling so fun, and it was a great way to further strengthen (arguably repair) Zayn’s status. The man kicked out of two Attitude Adjustments and numerous other finishers in a stellar match. It was a fun callback-fest, similar to Cena’s Logan Paul match, with Cena digging into his past rivals’ bag of tricks. Specifically, it was Kurt Angle, CM Punk and Edge, from whom Cena took the Angle Slam, Ankle Lock, GTS and Spear.
As unpredictable as the match may have been, the outcome was impossibly easy to predict: A DQ interference ending via a Brock Lesnar F-5 attack. Can you add at least a little bit of substance to this, Triple H? Lesnar left and said, “Hey, John. I’ll see you at WrestlePalooza, b****.” That was it. That’s all. Alright.
It helped that Lesnar was already rumored to appear tonight, but WWE’s streak of no DQ finishes on weekly TV was bound to end eventually, and a match between two names like this, of course, couldn’t end cleanly. Another great match ruined by a stupid, lazily booked ending.
Aleister Black defeated Damian Priest in a good match before an incredibly bizarre finish. Firstly, the match started after Black attacked Priest on the ramp, teasing that it wouldn’t even happen. After a Razor’s Edge to Black on the announce table, they got back in the ring and Black grabbed and pushed the referee around and into Priest, hitting the Black Mass. Then the referee just counted to three to give Black the win.
This was a very clunky, weird situation where a match that didn’t end in a DQ logically should have. Black effectively attacked and used the referee as a weapon or a distraction tool. However you cut it, it was bad, and leads one to believe this feud will (painfully) continue.
1. Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton shared a Twisted Tea-promoted video promo. It was fine at best, but ended very awkwardly and ultimately just wasn’t interesting. We’ve seen these two together enough over the years.
2. Jade Cargill was met backstage by Nia Jax before her Women’s WWE Championship title rematch with Tiffany Stratton on the next “SmackDown.” Cargill told Jax she could have a title shot against her after she wins the belt. No, man. No one wants this, so why is it even being teased?
3. Giulia successfully defended her U.S. title against Michin off a Kiana James distraction to hit the Arrivaderci knee. Giulia does not need help to win matches. This should not have happened. These two do not mesh well, and it showed in several spots. Giulia’s great talents continue to waste away in this dreadful excuse of a U.S. title picture.
This show was about two things, and those two things were Lesnar’s appearance and Lee’s return. Nothing else mattered in the grand scheme. The grade was almost solely carried by Cena and Zayn’s match pre-Lesnar appearance, and Lee’s return. I give this show a Crown score of: 6.5/10.