WWE Wrap-Up

This week in WWE: Owens and Zayn “welcome” Bryan back to the ring

This week in WWE:  Owens and Zayn “welcome” Bryan back to the ring
The two thorns in the lives of McMahon and Bryan did not take getting fired very well. Photo by WWE.com

This is a weekly look at the action in the WWE:

 

Raw

Kurt Angle gave fans an update on the Universal Championship Match. Roman Reigns, then appeared from the crowd, despite being suspended, demanding to face off against Brock Lesnar. Reigns was then handcuffed by “US Marshals” in attempts to be removed from the arena. Of Course, Lesnar finally made his arrival on Raw and attacked a defenseless Reigns. The first match of the night, Asuka vs Alexa Bliss, ended in a count-out when Bliss “hurt her ankle.” She seemed fine, though, when she ran away from Nia Jax after she rushed to the ring to surprise the champion. Backstage, Angle ran into Bliss and informed her that she will, in fact, be defending her championship against Jax at ‘Mania.  

Braun Strowman explained how management informed him that he needs a partner in order to challenge The Bar in New Orleans. The Bar antagonized Strowman and his mystery partner. Strowman, then, defeated Cesaro with a Power Slam as his ‘Mania partner continues to be a mystery.  The Revival defeated Titus Worldwide. After the match, they announced they will be the first Tag Team to win the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Mark Henry was announced as the final inductee into the WWE HOF class of 2018. Sasha and Bayley aired out their dirty laundry before their match against Absolution. The misunderstandings between the two friends ended up costing them the match after Deville pinned Bayley, who was busy arguing with Sasha.

John Cena explained how insulted he felt to not get a response from Undertaker. “You are not a God, you’re a Coward,” vented Cena. This prompted Kane, Undertaker’s Brother, to come to the ring and hit Cena with a Chokeslam. The Miz went on a long rant about being left off of the cover of the official WrestleMania Magazine. Balor Club defeated Miz and the Mizterouge in a Six Man Tag match. They did not take kindly to their loss and began a three on one attack on Balor causing Seth Rollins to save one of his ‘Mania opponents. Raw closed with its theatrical “The Ultimate Deletion” match between Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. Hardy won the match thanks to some assistance from his brother and his father-in-law.

SmackDown Live

Daniel Bryan opened the show discussing the story that broke earlier that day, he has been cleared to wrestle again. “Fight for your dreams, and your dreams will fight for you,” explained Bryan. Nakamura defeated Rusev in the first match of the night. Aiden English ambushed Nakamura and the two began to attack him. Styles, who was ring-side to watch the match, got up to help Nakamura, but the Artist was able to handle his attackers himself. Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger with an End of Days. Natalya instigated a fight with Charlotte, and she got it. Their match was a rough one, which motivated Carmella to try to cash in her briefcase. Charlotte took care of her, but Natalya used the distraction to roll her up and win the match.

Jimmy Uso took on Luke Harper after explaining that no matter how many times they try to bring down The Usos they will not stop. Luke Harper defeated Jimmy despite Jai’s best efforts to help his brother. A Triple Threat match for the United States Championship was announced for WrestleMania, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal will clash in New Orleans. Becky Lynch and Naomi defeated Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. Daniel Bryan finally got a chance to grill Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn after their attack on Shane McMahon. Bryan, eventually, fired the pair, and opened the door to a vicious attack from them. As much as Bryan tried to fight back, it was simply not enough to contain Owens and Zayn from destroying him.

We took a big step towards WrestleMania this week

As far as Raw is concerned, we finally got to see the maineventers clash. Lesnar’s assault on Reigns was a brutal one, and it should hopefully do some favors for Reigns. In a huge announcement, it was revealed that Jax will be the one to challenge Bliss for her championship. Without a doubt, this will be the biggest match of Jax’s career.

SmackDown was where it was at this week, though.  As something that everyone thought would never happen, happened. Daniel Bryan took some brutal bumps after announcing his return to the WWE ring. I am not going to lie, seeing him dish out those kicks to Owens was so gratifying. Bryan will definitely be stuck in a tag match with McMahon against Owens and Zayn, but just having him back is what we need right now. After all, the WrestleMania card looks that much more impressive with him on the card as a competitor.  

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Houston has a revamped offense and o-line. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Expectations

The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.

New faces

OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.

Key losses

LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.

Strengths

Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.

Weaknesses

It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.

Camp development

Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.

Fantasy player to watch

Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.

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Win Super Bowl: 35-1.

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