Friday, May 7, 2021

Jinder, Jimmy and Just Plain Nostalgia

            Tonight's Main Event and Smackdown exceeded my expectations. I saw the return of Jinder Mahal and Smackdown went old school.
            Back in October 2020, WWE held its 15th edition of the superstar shakeup. I watched it live as a member of the WWE ThunderDome. When I saw Seth Rollins get drafted from Monday night to Friday night, I immediately started screaming at my computer screen. In the hopes that the moderator and/or producer of the ThunderDome would hear me, I began to insist on the return of Jinder Mahal. "Seth can be the Savior of Smackdown and Jinder can be the Monday Night Maharaja! Bring back Jinder!"
            I have always been a fan of Jinder Mahal and I was sad when he became inactive due to injury. I was also disappointed when he didn't have the promoted match with Brock Lesner back in 2017. That is a post for another day.
            Tonight's Main Event saw the return of Jinder Mahal in a match against Jeff Hardy. That alone made it pay-per-view worthy. What increased my elation was seeing him come to the ring flanked by Indus Sher. 

            Back in January 2021, I watched Superstar Spectacle on the sorely missed WWE Network. I tried to re-watch it on Peacock but sadly, yet predictably, it's not on Peacock. Indus Sher, now individually known as Veer and Shanky, have moved up to the main roster from NXT. Let's hope it stays that way. (Side note, if you listen closely, you can hear a member of Indus Sher cheer encouragement to "Raj" during the match.)
            Tonight's Smackdown was equally as exciting but for different reasons. It was my childhood with the old school logo (minus the F), music and graphics. The nostalgia I felt from hearing the voice of Lord Alfred Hayes and watching old commercials for Ico Pro and ice cream bars warmed my heart. 

It was additionally nostalgic to see Michael Cole and Pat McAfee in retro blue attire. Blue is my favorite color.
            Within tonight's wonderful time travel experience, current storylines grew with a few surprises. First, the camera caught Roman losing it when Paul Heyman began his 10 bell salute to Daniel Bryan. He does get his laughter under control but it was nice to see him break character and be relatable for a moment. Second, Jimmy Uso is back! I have been waiting for this moment because Jey being Roman's lackey was getting seriously old. Time to re-open the penitentiary boys!
            And the "Playa" himself made a cameo. Yes, Teddy Long came out and invoked stipulations and made a 10 man tag team match.
            One thing that I saw tonight that frightened me a little was Bailey. Don't get me wrong, she is a great talent and her love of the business is evident. However, I think I am watching her character turn into Leilani Kai. 
            Since Bailey turned heel, she has cut her hair and changed her make-up drastically. During tonight's episode, her eyes were made up very dark and heavy with the current exaggerated black eyeliner near the tear ducts. Her hair had this frizzy, crimped look. I tried to pay attention to her salute to female wrestlers who have held the title but all my mind wanted to do was wonder if Bailey's character was somehow morphing into Leilani.  
 



Maybe it's just me.....
            Thank you so much WWE for tonight's Main Event and Smackdown's throwback episode. It was greatly appreciated as we come out the other side of quarantines, lockdowns, travel bans and mask wearing.

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