9 Ups & 11 Downs For WWE In 2025
Ups…
9. The MFTs
Late bloomers as a stable and an unexpected highlight of a slightly rejuvenated SmackDown in the latter half of the year, The MFTs have become a welcome and unintentionally hilarious addition on the blue brand. Mirroring the laughable villainy of leader Solo Sikoa, the rebadged and resprayed outfit seem to know just how to measure their particular brand of threat, and the outcome is a pleasing compromise in intimidation and...slapstick.
The group are goofs, fundamentally. Middling wrestlers with a retrograde gimmick spinning off a storyline that itself is several years out of date, but they've given direction to a midcard that had spiralled beforehand and Sikoa's defiance around multiple defeats has given them a winning mentality as a default setting. Sami Zayn is a scourge, the Motor City Machine Guns and Shinsuke Nakamura became rivals, the US and Tag Team Titles became prizes worth securing, and Tonga Loa and JC Mateo became a guy wearing the same face-paint as their more charismatic stablemates.
Whole better than the sum of its parts? Absolutely. The perfect role for Solo after an uneven few years on the main roster? Definitely. An act that, by early 2026, might be equipped to carry a couple of undercard WrestleMania feuds? Remarkably, yes. The ceiling had never been lower on the Bloodline cast-offs headed into 2025, but with a new year approaching, they've unexpectedly provided avenues and options for wrestlers and bookers alike.