Braun Strowman Is Getting Better, Too Slow of a Burn on Kross, More WWE and AEW Takes

If you like physical action and blood in your pro wrestling, Friday night's block of wrestling gave you a lot to enjoy.

The Street Fight with Anna Jay and Tay Melo taking on Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale on All Elite Wrestling Rampage was a bloody mess in the best possible way.

Over on SmackDown, Braun Strowman got a shot at Gunther's Intercontinental Championship, the women's division was highlighted with two matches and some backstage segments, and Karrion Kross advanced his feud with Rey Mysterio.

Both major promotions have a lot going on right now. With WWE prepping for the Royal Rumble in just over two weeks and AEW laying the groundwork for Revolution on March 5, there is a lot to keep up with in pro wrestling these days.

Braun Strowman Has Improved a Lot

While some people will throw most of the credit at Gunther because he has more grappling experience, you can't discount Strowman's contributions to their match on SmackDown.

For the first couple of years of his career, The Monster Among Monsters seemed like a one-trick pony, but his last few matches have shown that he has continued to improve and pick up new skills along the way.

Having a guy the size of Strowman can be a draw by itself, but when a man of that size can actually work a long match and make it look good, he becomes infinitely more valuable.

The Intercontinental Championship bout on SmackDown is definitely worth going out of your way to watch if you did not see the show live. Both men brought their A-game and gave the crowd something fun to open the show.

WWE Is Moving Too Slowly with Karrion Kross

Kross had a confrontation with Mysterio this week, but it wasn't a match, which seems to be the pattern forming with his character.

His last match happened on January 6, and before that, it was November 18. If WWE management sees him as a priority, he simply has to start wrestling more.

Not only is Kross not appearing as often as he should, but he is someone many WWE fans don't know too well, so the slow-burn approach might be the wrong way to go.

A lot of people who watch Raw and SmackDown do not watch NXT, and even fewer watch Impact, so Kross came to the main roster with little to no name recognition. He should have had twice as many matches since he returned on August 5.

The only way the WWE Universe is going to start caring about him is if we see him work. He's not as well-known as Bray Wyatt, so he can't get by on just cryptic promos yet.

The SmackDown Women's Division Is Making Strides

This week's SmackDown only featured four matches, and half of them were devoted to trying to build up the blue brand's women's division.

Xia Li battled Tegan Nox in a quick match before Liv Morgan took on Raquel Rodriguez in a much more physical confrontation later in the evening.

In addition to that, we saw Sonya Deville demand a rematch against Charlotte Flair in a backstage segment that led to a fight between them.

One of the biggest complaints fans have had about SmackDown in recent months has been how the division was too focused on Ronda Rousey, but that appears to be changing quickly.

If WWE can figure out how to push a handful of women at the same time, SmackDown may rival Raw's women's division sooner than expected. Time will tell if this becomes a trend or if this week was an exception.

The talent is there. All WWE has to do is put them on camera and let them work.

Ruby Soho Rules

AEW

Jay, Melo, Soho and Nightingale.

This week's Rampage featured Soho and Nightingale taking on Jay and Melo in a Street Fight that was somehow bloodier than the last one of these bouts with the women of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

The match started on the stage before anyone could even get to the ring, and within the first two minutes, Soho was bleeding buckets.

She continued the match with a crimson mask and still ended up doing a table spot and using a pile of tacks to hit her finisher.

After her initial push fizzled out, Soho felt very underused for several months. Thankfully, AEW has decided to give her another chance.

The former Riott Squad leader is one of the most unique and talented wrestlers on the AEW roster. If she is given a chance to build a following, she could become one of the most popular women in the company.