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WWE presented SmackDown LIVE from Schottenstein Center, Columbus on April 30, 2019. The show has a knack for hitting the right notes, yet it wasn't the case on the blue brand's latest episode.
SmackDown has lately been WWE's must-see show. The blue brand has consistently outdone the red brand in terms of quality content.
The WWE Champion Kofi Kingston reacted to Kevin Owens' betrayal from last week. Owens had the upper hand through the night, but it was Kofi who had the last word. Roman Reigns furthered his story against Elias and the McMahons. Becky Lynch and Bayley squared off. Charlotte Flair made a statement weeks before her title match with Lynch at Money In The Bank.
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In this article, we present the 3 biggest misses and 2 hits from SmackDown LIVE.
Miss #3: Roman Reigns buries the B-Team
Somebody backstage possibly thought that SmackDown couldn't be the A-show without 'burying' a "B" team. Otherwise, Roman Reigns wouldn't have beaten Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas in a handicap match. B-Team couldn't beat the Big Dog even though Elias was the 'special guest enforcer' for the match.
The segment featuring Reigns was a definite miss. Firstly, Reigns explained that he had punched McMahon to create the 'first impression.' WWE couldn't have been lazier in coming up with a reason. Secondly, Shane McMahon needs to up his game as a heel. He hasn't been compelling as a heel; his "Best in the World" shtick hasn't caught fire. Here also, his presence failed to add too much heat.
The match, in spite of Elias' involvement, felt like filler. It'd have been much better to have the Drifter perform or to have Elias and Reigns come face to face. It achieved nothing, but only further diminished the credibility of a tag team who barely had any left. They'll be nonfactors going forward.
Hit #2: Kofi Kingston reacts to Owens' betrayal
Kofi Kingston challenged Kevin Owens to a match at Money In The Bank, which the latter has accepted. As a result, the WWE Championship match has become official. Kofi Kingston will defend his title against Kevin Owens at the PPV.
SmackDown began with Michael Cole interviewing Kofi Kingston. WWE did a wonderful job of recapping Kofi's Road to WrestleMania 35, reminding fans of 'Kofimania.' The segment struck a chord with the audience, setting up Owens' potshots that were to follow. The opening segment ended with Owens laying woods out with a super-kick.
Later in the night, Kingston interrupted Owens during his KO show, attacking the number-one contender. The two brawled until Owens, the heel, retreated to end the segment.
This story received ample time throughout the show including Woods selling his beatdown in a backstage segment. Everything added to the story, building this rivalry up in one night. Hence, the WWE Championship programme was a hit on SmackDown LIVE.
Miss #2: Bayley vs. Lynch; Charlotte's attack
WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch wrestled Bayley one-on-one on SmackDown. Fans had high expectations from this match, but it failed to live up to the hype. While the match was alright, it should have had more TV time.
Last week, Bayley had a decent contest against Charlotte, gaining some momentum for herself. But, this match did nothing to increase Bayley's stock. The Hugger will participate in the women's MITB ladder match. A stronger showing here would have gone a long way in Bayley's resurgence
Lynch doesn't need these wins anyway, and Charlotte Flair's post-match attack felt nothing more than a lazy reminder of Charlotte's match against Becky Lynch at Money In The Bank. Unlike Lynch and Evans' heated battles on RAW, this rivalry hasn't done anything to excite us about another The Man vs. The Queen PPV match. Truly, SmackDown was more about the misses than hits.
Hit #1: Lars Sullivan's path of destruction
First of all, The Hardy Boyz had to relinquish the SmackDown Tag Team Championship due to an injury to Jeff Hardy. He'd have to undergo leg surgery, that'd keep him out for an indefinite length of time.
On SmackDown, the brothers hit the ring to make the announcements. WWE wisely used Jeff's injury to put heat on the Freak, Lars Sullivan. He emphasized the fact that Sullivan's attack a couple of weeks ago had led to the injury.
Lars Sullivan interrupted them, taking out Matt Hardy, who looked to protect his brother. Before, As things looked bad for Jeff, R Truth made the save with a steel chair. But, chair shots don't work on the Freak. He legitimately punched the steel chair out from the hands of Truth before laying him out again.
Some call Lars Sullivan the modern day Brock Lesnar. His decimation-path continued here.
Miss #1: The Money In the Bank ladder match announcements
If you too shared the opinion that the MITB ladder match participant announcements on RAW felt lazy, the blue brand outdid the red brand in mediocrity. RAW at least had 'The Goddess' Alexa Bliss make these announcements before setting up random matches among the participants. SmackDown randomly announced the names in different segments.
It's bizarre that nobody had to earn their chance. Instead, the announcers revealed the names of the 4 men (Orton, Andrade, Balor, and Ali), while the announcements of the women participants (Rose, Carmella, Bayley, and Moon) in different segments. For a bit of storytelling, Soniya Deville let Mandy Rose take the sole-spot for their team in the match, solidifying that Fire and Desire has no differences between them.
The men, unsurprisingly, participated in a tag match, with Balor and Ali defeating Orton and Andrade. Also, Bayley lost to Lynch. Clearly, it was a slow creative day.
