PLOT TWIST!
The segment which closed SmackDown this past Tuesday has already been mocked for a variety of reasons. Ridiculously produced, badly acted, and the latest example of WWE promising something - Roman Reigns announcing his SummerSlam opponent - and not delivering. But at least the scene of a production rig falling on the Big Dog gave us a mystery! Right!?!?!?
Well, WWE launched an “investigation” into the incident, and if we take it at face value, the case is closed.
“In the final moments of this week’s SmackDown LIVE, Roman Reigns was intending to make a SummerSlam challenge from the backstage area, but The Big Dog just barely evaded sheer catastrophe when tons of steel beams came plummeting toward him.
A preliminary investigation has found the incident Tuesday night involving Roman Reigns was caused by a forklift backstage carrying lighting grids that were not properly secured.
Update to story - 10:40 a.m. ET
It has now been determined that the incident in question was specifically caused by a forklift driver error.”
Setting aside the glorious hyperbole of describing this...
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) July 31, 2019
... as “tons of steel beams... plummeting” towards Reigns in a near miss “catastrophe”, what are we to make of this storyline development?
Some fans on Twitter believe they spotted Buddy Murphy walking away from the scene, and while I want to see that match as much as the next smark, I don’t think WWE books it for SummerSlam - and I don’t see how this advances that story.
The more credible rumor is that Roman will face Daniel Bryan in Toronto on Sun., Aug. 11, but I’m not sure how this gets us there, either. Unless Bryan’s revelation about “what I have to do” to bring about change in WWE involved allying himself with the McMahons, tying in Reigns’ issues with Vince & Shane from earlier this year, funding Tuesday’s accident, and getting this “investigation” as a cover-up? While I’m fantasy booking - maybe the online detectives who think Murphy was involved are right, and he’s joined DB’s corporate-backed revolution?
Or, perhaps this was one of those things Vince was allegedly re-writing while the show was going on, he’s changed his mind, and we’ll never hear of it again?
Let us know what your investigations have turned up below, Cagesiders.
UPDATE! WWE says “the identity of the forklift driver has not been determined.” And if that’s not enough to convince you they won’t just be dropping this story, they have a poll up asking if you believe the results of their own investigation:
Was this an accident?
— WWE (@WWE) August 2, 2019