Triple H revitalizes another WWE career, AEW’s to-do list and more Friday Takes

0 out of 5

Credit: WWE

Friday night’s wrestling block featured some fun action on both WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage, so fans continued to be treated to great content.

The blue brand opened with a match between Ricochet and Baron Corbin, which was praised by fans on social media for allowing the high achiever to do what he does best for once.

Liv Morgan delivered a promo and got a shocking amount of heat from the crowd as she acknowledged how her match with Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam ended.

The biggest news of the night, however, was the return of Karrion Kross and Scarlett at the end of the show. Kross defeated Drew McIntyre, so it looks like we might already know what his first feud in WWE will be.

Over on Rampage, Jade Cargill threw down a challenge for Madison Rayne, and Konosuke Takeshita beat Ryan Nemeth to add some momentum to his ROH World Championship match against Claudio Castagnoli on Saturday.

1 out of 5

This week’s SmackDown opened with a match between Corbin and Ricochet that sent the crowd in the arena into an uproar.

Not only did the high flyer look his best in a long time, but it was clear from the way he was presented that he was going to be a bigger thing in the future.

With Triple H now helming the show, it’s no surprise that some of his NXT projects are being put to better use. We saw it with Ciampa on Monday and now we saw it with Ricochet on Friday.

This is another notable change under the new regime. Ricochet may have had some success under Vince McMahon, but he was always positioned as an outsider. In this fight he felt like a brave fighter.

However, we must be patient. Just because Triple H likes Ricochet doesn’t mean he’ll be immediately thrust into the Worlds scene. It will take time to rebuild, but The One and Only could be one of WWE’s most valuable assets by this time next year.

2 out of 5

Liv Morgan came out to give a promo about what happened at the end of her match against Rousey at SummerSlam, but it didn’t go as she planned.

As the champion talked about her surviving armbar after armbar, the crowd began to chant at her, such as “You tapped out.”

Of all the booking decisions WWE made at SummerSlam, the Morgan vs. Rousey ending is arguably the worst, and we saw the aftermath of that this week.

Having the double finish where Rousey was pinned when Morgan tapped sounds good on paper, but it would have been more effective if Rowdy Ronda had disqualified out of anger at Morgan constantly finding a way out of her submissions.

Triple H deserves a lot of credit for the immediate changes we’ve made to the product since his acquisition, but no booking will ever please everyone.

The good news is that Morgan is recovering easily from this. She has the support of the WWE Universe and is very personable, so it’s doubtful she’ll be booed from all arenas. Next week she is expected to receive positive reactions again.

3 out of 5

When McIntyre confronted The Bloodline on SmackDown, he was caught unawares by a returning Kross and his wife, Scarlett.

This comes just days after Dakota Kai returned to WWE at SummerSlam, and it bodes well that more names could be on the way back to the company.

In recent years, WWE has fired well over 100 Superstars and allowed a few others to leave after their contracts expired. Now that Triple H is running things, we’ve been able to see some of these people finding their way back into WWE.

Two names that are often thrown in for potential returns are Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. The former NXT mainstays left WWE on amicable terms and were considered Triple H favorites, adding to speculation of a comeback.

When he was called up to the main roster, Kross was given an odd helmet and didn’t book nearly as heavily as he did on NXT. It was confusing for a lot of people because he fits so well into the mold of a WWE Superstar. He has the looks, the physical ability and the skills to be everything the company wants in a top star.

With Kros and Scarlett returning and immediately targeting one of SmackDown’s top stars, it looks like WWE is finally going to give him a big nudge to see if he connects with the entire audience. If this works out, maybe more people who left WWE will see promotion as a viable option again.

4 out of 5

This week’s Rampage featured Madison Rayne’s AEW-TV debut in a match against Leila Grey, but what came after it was over really mattered.

After Rayne secured the win, Jade Cargill came over and invited her to Dynamite to challenge her for the TBS Championship. While this made her look like a fighting champion, it also highlighted a current issue.

In recent months, it’s felt like AEW has sidelined Cargill after spending well over a year building it into one of the most unstoppable forces at the company.

She still performs for promos, but her play frequency has greatly decreased. If AEW wants us to see the TBS title as something coveted, it needs to get him and the champ back on TV more often.

With Stokely Hathaway as manager, Cargill is even more marketable than before. AEW has a lot of people it needs to leverage better, but the people holding the titles should always come first.

5 out of 5

In recent months, AEW has been bringing in talent from Japanese promotions, particularly during preparation for the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

One of those stars is Takeshita from DDT Pro Wrestling. Ever since he came on the scene, AEW audiences have embraced him in every way.

Takeshita doesn’t give many promos in AEW, but the crowd loves him. He has this intangible quality that audiences connect with him in a way some wrestlers can never replicate.

Something about this guy makes him special and if AEW has the opportunity to sign him for any regular deal, they should jump at the opportunity.

Of course, this would depend on Takeshita’s willingness to continue to travel to the US while also fulfilling his other commitments, but if there’s a way to make this work, Tony Khan should do so soon.