Original Artwork Jason Jimenez-Garrido
With the “Survivor Series” pay-per-view now only a week away, the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is firing off on all cylinders in the build up to the event. However, following the events of last Friday’s episode of “SmackDown,” many fans were left with more questions than answers. Let’s look at some of the biggest questions heading into Survivor Series.
Is this the end of the Latino World Order? (LWO)
Since its revival, the LWO has succeeded in giving Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Toro Del Cruz, and Zelina Vega, once collectively known as Legado Del Fantasma, exposure under the wing of their mentor Rey Mysterio.
Mysterio has found success as well, becoming United States champion after dethroning Austin Theory on the Aug. 11 SmackDown.
Though originally it was Escobar who was set to face Theory after winning a tournament to determine his next challenger, a sneak attack before the match left Escobar with a knee injury. This led to Mysterio stepping in on his behalf and leaving with the title around his waist.
The group has grown bigger over the past few months with the addition of a few honorary members including WWE legend Savio Vega, Bad Bunny, and Carlito.
Although originally these new additions were simply one-time appearances, Carlito’s appearance at “Backlash”, which gathered over a million views in just 24 hours after the event, left fans wanting more.
Carlito made his official return as a full-time WWE Superstar on Oct. 7 at the “Fastlane” pay-per-view, serving as the mystery partner to Mysterio and Escobar in a victory over Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, and Bobby Lashley.
With the LWO gaining another member, it seemed like they were stronger than ever. That was until last Friday, when Escobar betrayed the group by attacking Carlito and Mysterio.
This came after Carlito shifted the blame to Escobar for helping Logan Paul defeat Mysterio and take his United States Championship title by using illegal tactics at “Crown Jewel.”
Carlito told Mysterio,
“You’re blaming the wrong person Rey… Don’t blame Logan, blame the person who left the brass-knuckles on the apron for him… Santos Escobar.”
Escobar did not take these accusations well and walked out on the group.
Though he later came back in an attempt to even the odds when Dawkins and Ford tried to distract Carlito during his match against Lashley, he was unsuccessful as he was outnumbered. Lashley took the victory and led a three-on-one attack on Carlito.
As they continued, Escobar looked on from the ring apron but hesitated to help, leading to Mysterio coming out for the save. Escobar was then confronted by his mentor for his selfishness.
Mysterio pleaded with Escobar, saying,
“Listen to me! Somos familia! We’re all family!”
As Mysterio went to pick up Carlito, Escobar attacked him from behind and pushed Carlito out of the ring.
Escobar told Mysterio, “I love you man… you were my hero! You made me do this! It was supposed to be me and you! You did this!”
The rest of the LWO was left stunned by Escobar’s actions, also leaving the whole WWE fanbase wondering, will this be the end of the LWO? What happens next?
Who can stop the new and improved Damage CTRL?
For a while, it looked like the team of “Damage CTRL” was on its last legs. Tensions between Bayley and Iyo Sky were growing in recent months, which led fans to believe it was only a matter of time before they butted heads for Sky’s Women’s Championship title.
After last Friday, this no longer seems to be the case, as the team looks stronger than ever.
At “Crown Jewel,” the WWE universe saw the unexpected return of the ‘Pirate Princess’ Kairi Sane. Sane came to the aid of her longtime best friend Sky, assaulting her opponent Bianca Belair ringside.
This came as a surprise due to the fact that the last time we saw Sane in WWE in July 2020, she was assaulted by Bayley on an episode of “RAW”, leading to her hiatus and return to the Japanese women’s wrestling promotion, STARDOM.
This was obviously a concern of Bayley’s as well, as she did not appreciate not being consulted on Sky and Dakota Kai’s plan to bring in Sane, which she confronted Sky about during SmackDown. Sane responded by telling Bayley, “I respect you as the leader of Damage CTRL. AND… I forgive you”
In the main event of the show, the brand new Damage CTRL faced Belair, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka after being challenged earlier on.
In another shocking turn of events, Asuka betrayed her tag-team partners by refusing to help when Belair went to tag her into the match. Instead she responded by spitting her signature blue mist into Belair’s face, temporarily blinding her.
She then called for a hug with Sky, Bayley, and her former tag-team partner Sane, which signaled her joining the group as well.
The match ended in a disqualification when Asuka and Damage CTRL began teaming up on Flair and Belair. Though Shotzi tried to come out to make the save, she was quickly outnumbered by this new version of Damage CTRL.
With “War Games” matches once again being part of Survivor Series this year, it is clear that this team is being set up to compete in the women’s “War Games” match. The question is, who will step up to take them down?