It could be my imagination, but I feel like creative has been a little more cohesive, and booking has been overall improved across Raw and Smackdown. It could just be because we’re nearing the Road to Wrestlemania, but I notice some serious improvements.
I’m maybe the only one (please don’t come for me), but I’m really appreciating the way Giulia in particular has been being booked for the last few weeks. While I know her winning the title back from Chelsea Green (who I’m aware has defined the US title since its inception) wasn’t a popular decision, I think she deserves another chance at a first impression on Smackdown.
While getting the gold back on her was maybe not necessary for this to happen, I’m just glad it doesn’t seem like creative is actively sabotaging her anymore. Giving her actual matches is a great first step. I was jumping up and down in my living room when they booked her to face Alexa Bliss, but audience reaction to her is still lackluster.
Here’s where it gets weird, though…I was all about her having a feud with CharLexa, since having her face Chelsea Green made little sense with them both being heels, but I did not see them also entering the tag division. I don’t hate whatever is going on with the women’s tag division, I’m just surprised, and the number one contender’s triple threat had me totally gagged.
I’m not a betting woman, or I’d be broke, but I never thought in a million years that Giulia and Kiana would win against Lash and Nia, and CharLexa. If that wasn’t weird enough, Kiana being the total standout of the match, to the point that she got the pin was just insane. I was not expecting to come out of that match thinking more of her than of Giulia. Like? I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.
I was treated to the first real sense that the two had some team chemistry when Giulia tackle-hugged Kiana after the match.
If I hadn’t seen so many of Giulia’s old Stardom matches, I’d be convinced I imagined all of the star power she seemed like she had in NXT. I feel like she’s just going through the motions during her matches sometimes, and for my sanity I really need her to snap the hell out of it.
They also let her cut a promo in Japanese, which made me happy (I know this started as a discussion about booking across both main WWE brands and devolved into a shameless Giulia rant, and I’m not sorry). I just don’t understand why haven’t let her cut her own promos until now. I’ve heard her speak English plenty of times, and she’s no worse at it than any of the other Japanese women on the main roster. How’s she supposed to connect with the audience if we don’t hear her speak?
Ok rant done (for now). As for Raw, I’ve been really interested in some of the Men’s storylines for, like, the first time ever. Usually I find them pretty skippable, not because I don’t appreciate the guys, but because I felt like creative relied on the same old ideas week in and week out. I got tired of those aimless, meandering storylines that never freaking went anywhere.
Lately, I’ve been interested in AJ Style’s and his retirement storyline against Gunther. His impending retirement makes it feel like betting the remainder of his career is a real possibility. Even though I don’t think he’ll lose, it feels like there are real stakes to this matchup, without the need for a title to be involved.
I’ve even been enjoying the direction The Vision is headed in. I didn’t see it at first, especially with how repetitive their segments got at times, but I can really see this faction being a great way to build the next generation of male talent for the company (hopefully minus Logan Paul).
Things are even looking up for Finn Balor, who I’m hoping finally gets the push he deserves. I loved his match against Punk in Belfast, and am really hoping he has an arc that culminates in him leaving the Judgment Day. None of the plotting and scheming he’s done since he ousted Rhea and Priest has resulted in anything happening at all, and with Liv back, the stable would be fine without him. It’s time he went his own way, maybe even as a face. Seeing a glimpse of that side of his personality has already convinced me he would be super over. Or maybe we’ll get the Demon, who even knows?
Well, it’s late and I’m tired, maybe I’ll have more on this later. That’s all for now!
1.27.2026
There were some great matches at Vengeance Day this Saturday. If you want coverage on all of them, check out my newsletter! But, what I’m here to talk about is the segment announcing the next challenger for the NXT Women’s Championship.
Robert Stone must love him some messy match stipulations, because he came at us with another one today. The new number one contender for Jacey’s title isn’t Sol, or Zaria…it’s both! I foresaw these three stepping into the ring with one another at some point soon, and I’m looking forward to it, but I was too distracted by how unhinged this segment was to get excited about the upcoming Triple Threat in Houston.
When Zaria is mentioned, she enters to her music wearing a bedazzled shirt reading, ‘Sol’s Ex’, which was a wild decision that I’m surprised she got away with. This is why we love NXT. What I’m really here to talk about, though, was what happened after Sol came out to confront Jacey and Zaria moments after.
It starts off standard enough, with her talking about how Zaria cost her the title match, and going into how she got revenge.
Then, she says something totally insane. She says to Jacey; “You forget just how well I know Zaria. I know all her moves, all her insecurities. And I know how to break her heart.” Um, excuse me? This completely changes everything about Sol’s character, and we’re going to go into why that is, in excruciating detail.
I’d like to start by saying that I had considered this as a possibility for Sol’s character development, but never thought in a million years that NXT creative would go in that direction. Sol is such a natural baby face, totally beloved by everyone, but her saying this one sentence wasn’t even a heel turn for her so much as it was an unmasking.
The way I see it, creative had two choices if they care at all for the logical continuity of this storyline, which it’s become clear that they do.
The first, and I thought, most likely option was to keep Sol stupid. She genuinely never felt that she was using Zaria, and all the animosity that’s been building up in her friend had gone completely unnoticed until the moment Zaria hit that spear on her before her match against Jacey two weeks ago.
While the less interesting way to go, this would preserve Sol’s lovability, and would even lend her a naiveite that, while frustrating, can also be endearing. It still wouldn’t make her blameless in this conflict, but it would make her easily redeemable. And since Zaria was the first to turn things physical, it really would leave Sol looking like the face in this situation whether or not Zaria’s actions were justified.
They would have a feud, Sol would lose to elevate Zaria, then get called up to the main roster and become a dominant baby face on Smackdown. Boom, everyone lives happily ever after.
But what about that second option, you ask? Barely worth mentioning, since it would never happen, right? Right?
But since we’re talking about it, the other route to go in was to make Sol basically evil.
In this twisted universe, Sol knew exactly what she was doing during all or most of the time she was teaming with Zaria. She pretended to be Zaria’s friend while manipulating her into becoming a guard dog for Sol’s titles, Sol’s success, and with Zaria taking all the hardest hits for her, she would rise through the ranks on NXT, gaining the attention of main roster management, stars, and fans.
In this demented hellscape, Sol saw Zaria’s affection for her as a weak spot from the beginning, maybe even used it to remove Zaria from competition against her.
If you’ll remember, when Zaria debuted, it was with the understanding that she was a big, terrifying, vicious warrior, bound for titles and glory, sooner rather than later. But she was only in NXT as a singles competitor for a few weeks before Sol offered to team with her against the Meta Girls.
Could it be that during this time, training together on the beach, at rage rooms, eating ice cream, and making cute Tik Toks together, that Sol noticed that big scary Zaria had a Texas-sized soft spot for her? Could it be that she noticed that Zaria, who had recently moved from halfway around the world, and who had experienced betrayals from people she was close to in the past, was in desperate need of a friend? Could it be that Sol took that information and used it to her advantage?
No! Because that would be crazy! Right? That would make Sol basically evil, and we all know she’s not. Right?
We know Sol isn’t evil, because she has never hurt Zaria on purpose. Except for that time at the top of the ladder at Stand and Deliver when she clocked her in the jaw with a hard right elbow. But they both agreed going into that match that they would try their hardest. That it didn’t matter who won as long as it was one of them.
Never mind that across from her on that ladder, Zaria hadn’t been able to find it in her raise a hand to Sol.
But didn’t Sol hit Zaria one more time during that match? After losing the exchange of blows at the top, Sol lined up a vicious kick that knocked Zaria unconscious, causing her to freefall from the top of the ladder and land hard on her back fifteen feet below.
I’ve watched this match far more times than is healthy and I can tell you right now that Sol didn’t look at Zaria not one more time for the rest of that match. She hit one Sol Snatcher, then a double, climbed the ladder, grabbed the belt, and sat at the top dancing to her music like she was at a party.
But Zaria would’ve done the same if she had won, right? RIGHT? I’m calm. We’re going to put a pin in what Zaria might’ve done if she won for later, because I have plenty to say about that, too.
So, Sol hit Zaria when they were literally in a match against one another. Big deal. At least we know that Sol, sweet and innocent as she is, never hurt Zaria on purpose when they were on the same side. Except for that one time!
Halloween Havoc rolls around and Sol is hurt, so, due to an unusual but delightfully messy decision from management, Zaria would be defending the Women’s North American Championship on Sol’s behalf. I’ve literally never heard of this happening before in any wrestling promotion ever. But whatever, we love it.
Zaria is to face Blake Monroe, the Woman from Hell, and NXT’s most evil, vindictive b*tch. I love Blake, and I know that both her and Zaria can tear it up in the ring, so I was super excited. That’s not related to anything, I just wanted to mention it.
We’re knee-deep in this matchup when Zaria’s shoulder, which had given her problems in the past, pops out of socket. She’s fretting over what to do about it when Sol shoves her hard into the ring post.
I thought for a very confusing second that Sol had chosen the dumbest possible time to turn, when she had instead only done it to forcibly pop Zaria’s shoulder back in. The next few months, Zaria shows up on TV with this shoulder taped up.
Was this just a call made out of desperation on Sol’s part? Or was it a last-ditch effort to keep Zaria on as her guard dog? Zaria loses this title match of course, heralding the beginning of the end for ZaRuca.
With this loss, in a universe where Sol is a manipulative scumbag rather than a simple idiot, she seems to decide that Zaria has outlived her usefulness and she starts to distance herself while putting on a friendly face.
But she learns the hard way that Zaria isn’t willing to be thrown away. Sol’s token efforts to appease Zaria are seen for what they are, and Zaria’s anger and resentment deepens, week by week until she snaps, leading us to the events that took place two weeks ago.
Because the universe where Sol Ruca was never what she seemed? The universe where she played Zaria for over a year while wearing friendship as a mask? That’s the universe we’re living in now.
Before today, I’ve seen good arguments from both sides of this conflict. People would point to how Sol still spoke highly of Zaria after she lost her the North American title. How she put Zaria up for the TNA Knockouts title against Lei Ying Lee, and tried for the Knockouts Tag Championships alongside Zaria.
And it’s true that Zaria stopped cooperating with Sol towards the end, being distrustful, even selfish during tag matches, and refusing to take what she said at face value. But wouldn’t you? She had put her career on hold, and placed herself in the line of fire for Sol time and time again, when Sol only did what was convenient for her.
I could see how it might be unreasonable for Zaria to expect Sol to put her career on hold, put herself between Zaria and her enemies the way Zaria had done for her, because Sol never really asked these things of Zaria.
But we’re living in the worst timeline and it’s conspiracy time, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to consider it as a possibility that Sol knew Zaria would do these things for her. That Sol saw what she was to Zaria and rightly assumed that Zaria would put herself willingly through the meat grinder to maintain their proximity.
Sol had plenty of evidence of the lengths her friend was willing to go to in protecting her, after all. When Sol first won the North American title, Zaria put herself between Sol and Kelani unbidden. When Sol caught Kelani on accident during Zaria’s match against her, Zaria got mad enough to spear Kelani through a barricade.
I could go on. Zaria eliminated herself from a number one contender’s battle royal to check on Sol after she got jumped by Blake Monroe. Oh, and the reason Zaria lost the North American Championship match in the first place? Not her own injured shoulder. Blake pretended to trip on Sol’s crutch, knocking her to the floor. Zaria got distracted checking on Sol and took a hit to the back before Blake hit Glamour Shot DDT on the outside then again in the ring, pinning her for the win.
I said I would come back to what Zaria might’ve done if it had been her who won the title rather than Sol at Stand and Deliver. If Sol had fallen from the ladder to the mat instead of her. For nearly all her time in NXT, no one has been able to look at Sol funny without Zaria taking a shot at them. And any time Sol’s been hurt, even from something minor, Zaria has always been by her side to check on her.
So, I don’t think she would have celebrated at the top of the ladder. And I think that even if for some reason Sol had stepped up to gatekeep her title in the weeks that followed, Zaria wouldn’t have let her do it.
Sol said that she knew Zaria’s insecurities. That she knew how to break her heart. It’s always possible that I’m reading way too deeply into two improvised sentences, and that this rant has been a colossal waste of everyone’s time. But would someone who had once been a real friend to Zaria have said those things? Would a real friend take affection, take information shared in confidence, and weaponize it, when Zaria has chosen to do nothing of the sort?
Zaria hit Sol with a cheap shot before her title match, sure, but her arena has always been the ring. Her weapon has always been her fists.
But Sol’s taking this fight to the heart, where she has the upper hand. Because if she really meant what she said today, she never had any skin in the game to begin with.
Maybe something will happen on Tuesday to invalidate everything I’ve said here, but I write for the love of the game. Either way, I’m looking forward to Sol’s match against Lainey Reid, in a couple of days, and our Triple Threat for the NXT Women’s Championship in two weeks’ time.
Anywho, if this conflict isn’t at the epicenter of the main event of Stand and Deliver, I’m going to lose all faith in humanity. Not to be dramatic of course.
Until next time!
3/7/2026