It's one thing to run a title vs. title match between Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER. Is it a dumb idea? Yes, objectively. But it at least has a veneer of respect surrounding it — both men are enjoying strong title reigns that have only increased their already existing legitimacy, and they've never faced one another before in singles action. On paper you could at least make an argument for it, even if the context is stupid.

Nia Jax and Liv Morgan, on the other hand, have wrestled four singles matches previously, including two in 2024. It's far from a fresh matchup, and it doesn't really have the feeling of prestige carried by Rhodes/GUNTHER. Morgan has zero credibility as champion considering her low frequency of title defenses and high frequency of winning due to outside interference, and both wrestlers are heels embroiled in other storylines that necessitate the inclusion of Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez, and Tiffany Stratton in basically anything they do. So we get matches like this week's main event, which basically just felt like an excuse to get everyone in the same ring so Nia can beat them all up at the same time.

Rhodes and GUNTHER gave us a fairly straightforward promo about two people who have never fought before wanting to prove they're the best in a match fans have been fantasizing about since the 2023 Royal Rumble. There's something there, a leg to stand on, regardless of any surround factors. Morgan and Jax gave us a barely-logical tag match with a no contest interference finish. They feel like they're here for no more creative reason than "they both won big matches last time we were in Saudi Arabia," and Morgan in particular feels overshadowed with this many players around her. She was done no favors by having Dominik Mysterio and The Judgment Day save her from a Stratton cash-in, or by the fact that Stratton pretty clearly wants Jax's belt rather than hers.

We're all set up for both a Ripley vs. Rodriguez match and a Jax vs. Stratton match, but instead we're getting a heatless match with Morgan for the sole reason that she keeps cheating to keep her title. It's ridiculous, and so is the story being built around it.

Written by Miles Schneiderman