By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dot Net reader Phil G. attended the January 10, 2025 edition of WWE Smackdown in Portland, Oregon and sent the following report.
Ring announcer Lilian Garcia warmed up the crowd.
There was a WWE Speed match between Chad Gable and Charlie Dempsey. The crowd chanted “you suck” at Gable a la Kurt Angle.
The new era promo video played to intro Smackdown. There was a lot of low end (bass) along with lasers.
The broadcast team of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett were introduced.
Paul Heyman had some audio trouble. There were OTC chants and the crowd was hot for Cody Rhodes, whose pyro was LOUD. Likewise, the “Cody” chants were loud. Kevin Owens was confusing to the audience in that they seemed unsure whether he’s a babyface or a heel.
The audience was cold for Michin. Her feud with Chelsea Green just hasn’t been built well. Chelsea is, of course, obnoxious and when Piper Niven turns it should be great. Piper is very much having fun playing Chelsea’s charge d’affaires.
Gimmick aside (and I do LOVE goofy wrestling), Pretty Deadly are pretty great. I was confused though, as Pretty Deadly was in the heel corner and Legado Del Fantasma were in the babyface corner.
LA Knight cut a good promo. The match with Shinsuke Nakamura was decent, but the DQ/no-contest finish was lame. Again, there needs to be more story. Could a Jacob Fatu vs. Knight feud pay off? Time will tell. The crowd was kinda hot for Knight’s promo but not so much the match.
The crowd was into the Motor City Machine Guns vs. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory match. A-Town Down Under are really annoying and that works. They are just a-holes, which is hilarious, given that Theory is (apparently) a real solid dude IRL. I can’t tell if WWE is gonna break them up. There seems to be revived interest in tag teams, those two have good chemistry, and the crowd hates them.
Tiffy Time. Big pop. She is over, but I’m still not sure if she’s a babyface or a heel. She needs more work on the mic, but the crowd was into her. They really booed Nia Jax, which is great. Jax’s “ungrateful little shit” line was a huge hit. Nia is an over the top a-hole, which is fitting; it really works. The fans popped HUGE when Bailey’s music hit. Her takedown of Stratton and Jax was fabulous.
Bianca Belair had a great Portland Hippie thing going with the flowers in her hair. Naomi is a great wrestler and the crowd just hasn’t bought into (at least here). The four-way with Bayley vs. Jax vs. Belair vs. Naomi was great., LaRae is a fabulous pest heel and it’s only a matter of time before she stabs Nia in the back (she and Johnny should do more heel work together.
I was really happy to see Bayley win. She’s still great on the mic. She needs a push, but she’s a good worker. That said, I’m sure the match between her and Stratton has great potential and it feels like there is sure to be a distraction/DQ, which would be a shame. I wish they’d let this one cook for a bit and let Bayley help push Tiffy. Bianca’s athleticism is cool to experience in person. She really is amazing to watch and she is so strong.
The backstage bit with Carmelo Hayes and Jimmy Uso was really fun. Jimmy really slipped a nice burn on Hayes. I hope they continue this feud and let it simmer.
Cody is over big and he gave a weight belt to some kid on the way in for the main event. Nice touch. Good work, but why did Cody abandon Jimmy to go after KO? I get their feud is hot (and the pop for the table spot was huge), but why does the company’s top babyface abandon his partner. Confusing. Heel turn coming?
They sent us home right after the show went off the air. I’m a production guy, so I was explaining to my seat mates how the teardown happens. They couldn’t believe that it’s set up and torn down the same day. I was pointing out the trussing and the chain motors and how it would go and we watched the roadies for a while until we were asked to go.
Random Thoughts: I love wrestling. I do. Three hours is a bad idea. It wears out the crowd and the stories don’t benefit. Maybe it works for a PPV/PLE, but not for regular TV. “Leave them wanting more” is a better formula than “wear out the crowd.”
I understand the money thing. I don’t understand why they advertise Riyadh like it’s a destination for this demographic. No one in attendance is paying for a) a flight ($1,300 average) b) lodging (no idea on the price) c) an event ticket (surely $$$) in Saudi Arabia.
Cody is mega over. Everybody loves (both really and loves to hate) Paul Heyman. He knows how to work the crowd. Heyman putting over Cody was a neat twist.
I popped for Chelsea Green. I didn’t like the build for Chelsea/Michin. I think Michin is a great wrestler that the crowd doesn’t care about. I never thought that Piper Niven would be such a great goofy wrestler (I’ve seen her wrestle a bunch and she can really do it; I’d love to see Piper and Nia have a feud). Chelsea was worth the wait for them to build her.
The Motor City Machine Guns are really, really good. Their chemistry is great; I was skeptical at first, but watching them live was terrific. Theory/Waller *could* be great, again, but that’s up to creative. I wish they’d build the eventual breakup better.
My only regret is that I would have really liked to have seen the “Boo Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods appear. I was hoping they would show up and get booed out of the building. Portland is where the boos first REALLY rained down on Dominik Mysterio. That was EPIC. After 40 some years in production, I never heard a crowd go off like that. I know Boo Day is on Raw right now, but I had my hopes up due to the transfer window.
Be the first to comment