With tomorrow night’s Raw designed to be a major show to commentate the anniversary of the debut on Netflix with CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker for the World Heavyweight championship, the blue brand made a statement of its own on the first broadcast of 2026. Obviously, exclusive rosters are mostly ignored, as they probably should be, but it’s less about the brand itself, and more about WWE’s TV brand compared to the streaming brand. I understand that some have claimed the eventual death of traditional television, which I disagree with as it’s still the most common form of media distribution. If for no other reason, while TV was downsized in recent years, cable news and professional sports leagues will remain the foundation for TV consumption in the future. Sure, the NFL and the NBA will have holiday games on certain streaming platforms because of the massive money offered, but the bulk of the schedule, including playoffs games will stay on television because that’s how to maximize the audience and thus the major ad revenue.
Because of that, it can’t be understated how important it is for the WWE to have a viable brand on traditional television as an avenue to draw in the next generation of fans. If you put everything behind a paywall, it will eventually chip away at the overall audience, with the UFC’s ESPN deal being a prime example of that. Ironically, that’s also why the pay-per-views being lowered to a $7.99 subscription has a chance to set up for another surge in popularity of the MMA league. There are a group of fans that haven’t discovered the WWE product yet, and the only way to do that is to have content on television since they won’t be willing to pay for content they aren’t familiar with. I’m not talking about the new fans now, but the fans that discover the product a decade from now. Of course, that traditional TV avenue can be used to generate a following that could eventually be willing to pay for the content behind the paywall of Netflix and the ESPN app.
But, the importance of Smackdown to be the brand that the fans can follow without any extra subscriptions allows the company to attempt to draw the widest demographic possible.
That’s why the newsworthy notes from Friday’s edition can be an indication of not only what direction management looks to take Smackdown, but also the subtle differences that could make it stand out from the flagship brand.
Matt Cardona made a surprise return to the company about a month after he made a cameo as Zack Ryder in the John Cena tournament. From what was posted online by Triple H, it appears that Cardona is back with the company full-time. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he still made an occasional TNA appearance, especially with the move to AMC in less than two weeks, but it appears that nearly six years after he was released from the company, Cardona is officially back on the roster. As I wrote about when he did the cameo as Zack Ryder, the case of Cardona is an intriguing one, as he was originally more or less intentionally thrown under the bus when he got himself over years ago, and was able to completely reinvent himself through a five-year run on the indies, most notably Game Changer Wrestling. That being said, I think it’s fair to say that Cardona has done more or less everything that he can in GCW and seemed to hit somewhat of a ceiling in terms of progress in TNA, which might be because Anthem expected him to get a WWE contract offer.
As I said before, I think Cardona has shown his ability to connect with the audience and diversify himself through his podcast and Youtube videos. You have to wonder if he was given any assurances that he wasn’t immediately going to be pigeon-holed back into the lower card Ryder spot? On one hand, the money might’ve been too good to decline, and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s capitalism. On the other hand, he has worked for years to establish himself and surpass the level of Zack Ryder, which is why it was key that this comeback was done as Cardona so it won’t make sense to hinder that progress if he ends up working four-minute squash matches by the end of the year.
It will be interesting to see how he is booked on Smackdown going forward, as he already proved both inside and outside of the WWE that he can get the fans invested in his journey. However, this might sound trivial, but it can also be one of the bigger reasons that Cardona is back under the WWE umbrella, he has been able to make big money from his own merchandise lines. The Major Wrestling Figure podcast has made a slew of action figures, including bendies and the Big Rubber Guys that Mattel also launched similar lines. The toy manufacturing giant wasn’t going to let an independent line get the whole pie, especially when it was proven to be a successful venture so Mattel released the LJNs just in time for the holidays with mainstream distribution that an independent company can’t get for their products. John Cena, Logan Paul, Hulk Hogan, and Dusty Rhodes were Target exclusive figures because Cardona’s crew proved that there was a market for the 80s-inspired figures. It won’t be too surprising if Cardona became one of the better merchandise sellers for the company.
The former TNA Knockouts champion, Jordynne Grace made an appearance on Smackdown and looks to be another addition to the full-time roster. I have to be honest, this isn’t meant to doubt her skills, but rather as a reflection of the depth of the women’s division, after a year in NXT, I’m not sure she’s anywhere near the same level as the rest of the females on the main roster. The reason I say that is simple, she was a big finish in a smaller pond in TNA, specifically at the time that she was there in terms of perception of the organization, and there really hasn’t been anything up until this point that would indicate that she could go step-for-step with someone like Charlotte, Bayley, Asuka, Iyo Sky, and others. I could be wrong, but I’m going to be skeptical of her chances of being able to stand out in the division until she proves otherwise.
Sami Zayn cut a very good promo and it might be something that the office can run with based on the impact it had before he was interrupted by Trick Williams, a former NXT and TNA champion that was called up to the main roster. Still, the impression I got was that this segment was designed to spotlight Trick, and unless there are plans for Zayn to challenge for the championship, maybe that was the right call. Williams seemed to be a guy that can do all of the moves so athletically, he checks the boxes. The question is, will he be able to learn the “glue” of the presentation on WWE television? I’m definitely not saying that he’s going to flop, but rather to point out that it will be the key question going forward. Clearly, the office seems potential for Trick, as pairing him with Zayn, as it appears that they have with this segment, will give him an opponent that can make him look as good as possible on Smackdown. There was a reason that Zayn was the guy picked to work with Johnny Knoxville at Wrestlemania.
From a more general perspective, I have to ask, were these decisions made based on a plan for Cardona, Grace, and Trick or will this amount to nothing more than an artificial boost because management wanted something noteworthy for the first episode of the year?
An example of this was that United States champion, Carmelo Hayes worked a lengthy and solid bout against Johnny Gargano, a match that was probably given the amount of time it was because of the addition of a third hour to the show. Hayes is very athletic and seems to be working his way up the ranks after he won the US title since he was spotlighted as a star. But, it’s important to keep in mind that he was brought to Smackdown last year and more or less floundered until recently.
Realistically, there’s usually a specific time frame that the office has to showcase a talent before the audience loses faith in them. Once a talent gets typecast in a certain position, it’s not impossible to change that perception, but it’s not easy either. Assuming they didn’t hire Cardona just to pay him to sit in catering, it would be rather easy to book him in an upper mid-card spot. He has a track record of success within the past few years so the office just has to follow the playbook. Grace is jumping into deep water so it will probably be relatively quickly that the crowd will see if she can sink or swim in the women’s division. Trick has a lot of potential and seems to be off to a good start if he’s going to work with Zayn. If I had to guess, I’d say that within the next few months, particularly if any of the three performers are scheduled for featured matches at Wrestlemania, it will be an indication if their tenure on Smackdown will be successful.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
