Last Thursday, the undercard match at the Schmoedown Throwdown premiered. Although not it was not billed as the main event, the stakes were so high that it may as well have been one. Whoever won that match would go on to play Who’s the Boss in a #1 contender match at the April live event in Chicago!
The match was between the Scream Queens, Haleigh Foutch and Kalyn Corrigan, and the Odd Couple, Marc Andreyko and Jeff Sneider, with the latter currently being managed by Roxy Striar.
Although they were without their manager on the day, the Odd Couple won the match via TKO, and are now going to face the team of Mark Reilly, Ben Bateman, and Tom Dagnino.
In addition to those four competitors being some of the strongest in the game, there is so much happening behind-the-scenes of this match – rivalries, betrayals, and beyond – that it may turn out to be one of the most intense games in the history of the league.
So buckle up, and let’s break it down…
Marc Andreyko vs. Ben Bateman
These two have had a rivalry going since near the beginning of Season 5. Bateman was calling out pretty much everyone in the league, and one of the people that he called out was Marc Andreyko. The two eventually played a singles match, which was won by Andreyko.
In addition, last season Bateman played a lot against Andreyko’s former Fyffe Club members, the Shirewolves, last season, and lost nearly every time. Even though the faction has now disbanded, Bateman’s going to be hungry to finally get a win against a Fyffe Club competitor.
Jeff Sneider vs. Mark Reilly
This rivalry exists inside and outside of the Schmoedown. Starting with the outside, these two used to be the co-hosts of Meet the Movie Press on the Popcorn Talk Network, so they’ve already got a history.
But their big rivalry comes from 2017, when Reilly was teamed up with Clarke Wolfe. The Wolves of Steel were hungry for the team belts, and were looking to take down The Patriots, the dominant champion team of JTE and Jeff Sneider. Reilly and Wolfe worked their way to a title shot, but lost 26-25 to The Patriots.
The upcoming match between the two has stakes that are almost as high, and we know that they both want the title. Reilly wants to finally get the team title, and Sneider wants to reclaim it, since it’s been nearly a year since The Patriots lost their belts to Above the Line, and disbanded.
Marc Andreyko vs. Mark Reilly
Their rivalry may not be as big as the others, but as a member of the Fyffe Club, Andreyko would have taken Clarke’s side with her beef against Reilly. She felt betrayed by Reilly when he came back to join the league, and the Fyffe Club stood by her at every turn.
The Fyffe Club has disbanded. The beef? Not so much.
Roxy Striar vs. Finstock
The battle of the managers goes beyond just their teams wanting to win. Anyone who listens to Collider Live knows that Roxy has had a few beefs with Bobby Gucci, whether it be not loving the “win a goldfish here” meme, or being pissed at him when he doesn’t follow through on doing things he promised he would do.
I also think that the two of them (along with Ken Napzok & Grace Hancock) are going to be in serious contention for Manager of the Year this season, and this match will be a big point for one and against the other.
Roxy Striar vs. Ben Bateman
This one I’m not really going to go into. Let’s just say it could get awkward behind the scenes. Listen to Collider Live and to , and trust me, you’ll understand.
Jeff Sneider & Marc Andreyko vs. Finstock
In this seemingly never-ending web of rivalries, this is without a doubt the greatest of them all. Both Andreyko and Sneider were parts of the former faction The Lion’s Den, and throughout all of Season 4, they reigned supreme. Under the management of Finstock, Sneider held the team belt for a full year.
However, during the second Schmoedown Spectacular, Marc Andreyko revealed that he had betrayed The Lion’s Den and turned face, becoming the first member of the Fyffe Club. Sneider stuck with the den through the first half of Season 5, but after the Patriots lost their Iron Man match against Above the Line, Sneider abandoned The Lion’s Den after Napzok (who also left the faction) revealed that Finstock was trying to trade Sneider to the Viper Squad.
The Odd Couple does have one thing in common: they hate Finstock, and it’s likely that despite his supposed face-turn, Finstock still thinks these guys are “losers.” It’s going to the first time Sneider has gone up against Finstock since leaving The Lion’s Den, and it should prove to be an interesting match.
We’re still a month away from this match, so somehow, even more rivalries could blossom between the two teams. Whatever happens, this will no doubt be one of the biggest matches of the year, in terms of both gameplay and storylines!