Jacob Fatu on WWE Smackdown: ‘I’m Just Getting Started’

Mysterio, in fact, has been back in the company since 2018 after leaving in 2015, and yet, he has not won a world title since 2011 and last held a singles title in 2018—U.S. title. He has been underused since helping get his son Dom Mysterio all the heat and launching his career—a career that saw him named ESPN’s ‘Top Wrestlers Under 30’ list this past November. However, he recently turned 50 and likely rejoiced in a less strenuous schedule, not to mention getting Dom over was likely a major goal for his return in the first place.

After the successful debut of Penta on RAW last Monday, the blueprint is clear, and you cannot blame WWE for exploiting it. And it is important to remember that it was Vince McMahon who had a reputation for burying wrestlers shorter in stature, while Triple H helped develop Andrade and Dragon Lee as legitimate stars in NXT. The fear of just ‘grouping Luchadores together’ with no real storylines or push in WWE is starting to weaken just days after Penta’s launching as rumors and reports of other (AEW-specific) wrestlers taking notice and consideration.

Rey Mysterio Is Ready For Rumble

Mysterio did not waste time reminiscing with the crowd for long before announcing his intentions to enter an already STACKED Royal Rumble. The past few weeks of WWE programming has focused on declarations and narratives that make the stakes in this Rumble higher than ever—after all, the winner is always supposed to receive a main event title match at Mania, but this year’s winner can claim victory amongst a cast of legends that include, now, Rey Mysterio Jr., CM Punk, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and former world champion Drew McIntyre delivering the best consistent work of anyone announced.

Rey reminded the crowd of his 2006 Rumble win and subsequent title victory at that year’s Mania before Kevin Owens interrupted another declaration. Owens has secured his title match at the Rumble with Cody Rhodes in a “heartbreaking” way—stealing the winged-eagle belt from Cody, making the ladder gimmick necessary. He spoke about his own Mania moments with Stone Cold Steve Austin only after assuring Rey that he has Owens’s respect.

He said that the wing-eagled belt was the one he saw all the legends fighting over when he was a kid, and then he said he wanted a one-on-one match with Rey. He asks Rey to “promise” that Rey chooses him as the ‘titlist’ he faces to give him his dream match before Rey reminds K.O. that he is not the champ, “Cody is,” Mysterio quipped. Owens, wearing a shirt that said “Canadian Dream Son of a Security System Technician,” in a hilariously brilliant jab at Cody’s father Dusty. K.O. tried to take a cheap shot after Rey compared Owens’ delusional perception of reality to ‘his son Dominik.’

Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens

After setting up a potentially awesome storyline—and one that would give a little more believability to Rey’s chance at winning the Rumble—WWE booked Owens and Rey anyway. The match was solid, but it was all to get to another all-out brawl between the two former friends after Owens attacked Rey following a handshake. They were eventually split up, but only after Cody dove at Owens, who was leaning on the commentary desk.

Jacob Fatu And Tonga-Carmelo ‘Melo’ Hayes vs. Jimmy Uso

Melo came out cutting a promo on his way to the ring—a real superficial heel move—and claimed that Jimmy was in the shadow of Jey, who was living in the shadow of Roman Reigns.

Both men put on a strong performance, but Jimmy felt like he was working with a point to prove and fans responded. The match was progressing well, even if WWE felt the need to ‘pipe it in,’ then, Jacob Fatu popped up on the apron as Tama Tonga pushed Jimmy off the top turnbuckle. The match ended in DQ, but the beat down on Jimmy proceeded and would get directed at ‘Melo’ after claiming to be ‘down’ with Solo-led Bloodline.

Jacob Fatu And Tonga Finally Solo

Solo’s music hit after ‘his’ goons cleared the ring, but when we returned from break, he had a mic in his hand as fans booed loudly. He stood center-ring for a moment, but then he walked out of the ring, took off his jacket, and walked out of the arena through the crowd.

That is when Fatu finally grabbed the mic. He cut a fiery promo, letting fans know he cares nothing about what they think of him and Tama, and he managed to keep that sense of fear in the face of the ‘what’ chant from fans. It was not that they were bored. Instead, they were angry and simply reacting to the anger Fatu was generating. The scariest thing about his promo is he claimed he was ‘just getting started,’ but then LA Knight came out to launch a sneak attack. Knight was able to handle the two Samoans longer than the expected Vegas’ over, but he was eventually overcome by the number.

That is when Braun Strowman’s music hit and he came out to help the former U.S. champion, and he was able to get through Tama Tonga by catching him in midair. Then, Strowman and Fatu faced off in front of a bloodthirsty crowd reacting hard. It felt as big as it did inevitable, but Tama pulled him out before things got physical.

If you’re looking to showcase the true force that is Jacob Fatu, complete with his ruthless taste for violence, sacrificing Strowman is about as good a booking as you can make. It was announced later that Fatu and Strowman will face off at Saturday Night’s Main Event while Tama Tonga will match up against LA Knight.

Main Event: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Bayley

After earning her shot in a Fatal Four-Way #1 contender’s match, Bayley received her title shot against the ‘cash-in queen’ Tiffany Stratton. Bayley, the Bay Area hero, got the cosign from SF 49’ers tight end Geroge Kittle for her gear, but with Nia Jax, Candice LaRea, and Roxanne Perez (seated ringside for the main event) all in the building and beefing with Bayley, the odds were stacked.

Tiffany received flowers backstage in the form of an interview and a video package that also played on RAW, celebrating her title win. The match received solid hype throughout the night, including a “Tale of the Tape” graphic, and the match, of course, received the dramatic in-ring intros before the bell sounded.

Barrett called Tiffany the ‘best athlete’ in WWE in a ranking that he included the men in, and including her momentum as champ, she had to be favored to retain in her first title defense. Tiffy looked leagues better than Bayley to start the match, hitting a huge moonsault midway through the match. But Bayley showed her veteran experience and battled her way back into the match by landing her ‘Macho’ elbow drop. Even with all of the potential interference, Tiffy was able to retain over Bayley cleanly after landing the “Prettiest Moonsault” for the win.

Tag Team Title Eliminator: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Los Garzas

The amount of airtime and consideration the tag team division has received over the past few months has been fantastic, and with Rey Fenix headed to WWE eventually, the tag titles feel as valuable as ever. MCM defeated Los Garzas even after Pretty Deadly attempted to stack the odds against them. With the victory, MCM will face current champs DIY in an attempt to become 2-time WWE tag team champs (blue brand edition).

In-Ring Action/Other Tidbits

Bianca Belair & Naomi (c) vs. Nia Jax & Candice

The champs were able to secure the victory with Naomi pinning Candice, but the champs had to get back on the same page. Bianca assured Naomi she was not responsible for the backstage attacks, and she seemed to believe her… for now.

• The real news was after the match when it was announced that Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson will receive a tag team title shot against the champs on the January 28^th edition of NXT. Lash and Jakara have been working with all the momentum, and it could be argued that this is a 50/50 match that fans will anxiously await.
• Piper Niven defeated B-Fab in singles action and with the help of U.S. champ Chelsea Green.
• WWE aired a tribute to Bob Uecker (RIP).