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From Braun Strowman receiving Bray Wyatt's "gift" to Sheamus teasing a feud with Jeff Hardy, this week's edition of SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
After a series of average and underwhelming episodes from WWE's main roster shows, the Blue brand kicked it up a notch and delivered a great show during a time where WWE is trending for all the wrong reasons.
The fans witnessed major plot points to several storylines this week, and as a whole, last night's show was entertaining from start-to-finish.
Which show did you like better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Here are the 5 biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (April 17, 2020).
#5: Braun Strowman relived his dark past after receiving a "gift" from Bray Wyatt
Now that Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are no longer a part of the WWE brand, The Wyatt Family's past came back to haunt the two remaining members of the cult - Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.
The Monster Among Men appeared on "A Moment of Bliss" and Team "Little Big" (Alexa Bliss, Braun Strowman) reunited for a while. As the conversation went on, Strowman noticed a gift lying near the corner of the ring.
Having assumed that the gift was a sweet surprise from Bliss, Strowman unpacked it only to realize that it was Bray Wyatt who sent him a reminder from a haunted past.
The Black Sheep mask reminded Strowman of his allegiance with Wyatt, and the prop itself is nothing but a small part of a complex history between the two men.
This great segment went on to show how Bray Wyatt's battles are more concerned with the psychological realm on a platform where physical battles matter the most.
#4: The mysterious hacker returned and teased the split of a WWE tag-team
The mystery behind SmackDown's resident hacker was partly revealed when the cryptic teases resulted in the hacker revealing the truth behind Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler's conspiracy against Mandy Rose and Otis.
Fans assumed that was the sole purpose of the "hacker" subplot on the Blue brand.
But the mysterious man returned this week to tease the breakup of another WWE tag team.
The Usos, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross, The Miz & John Morrison, Bayley & Sasha Banks, as well as The New Day were the tag teams featured in last night's vignette.
The most obvious choice here would be Bayley & Sasha Banks since the duo is always on the verge of breaking up. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross are tight buddies as of this moment, even though WWE didn't move forward with the plans of breaking them up a few months ago.
The remaining three teams are least likely to break up since there is no tension involved, to begin with. However, WWE might pull off a surprising twist here. Aside from Bayley & Sasha, it is too early to tell which teams are most likely to dissolve as a result of SmackDown's "mysterious hacker" plot.
#3: Sheamus teased a feud with Jeff Hardy
After drifting aimlessly on WWE TV since the beginning of 2020, it looks like the company has decent plans for Sheamus right now.
The Celtic Warrior would return on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 36 to defeat a relatively unknown Cal Bloom. This week, Sheamus made quick work of one of NXT's developing stars, Denzel DeJournette.
But just like the previous episode, Michael Cole shifted gears to Jeff Hardy's video packages.
It seems like WWE has invested a lot in re-establishing Hardy as one of SmackDown's biggest singles stars. There were rumors circulating around that hinted towards The Charismatic Enigma's ascension as the eventual Universal Champion.
Sheamus didn't like the fact that Cole talked about Jeff Hardy instead of The Celtic Warrior's dominance for two consecutive weeks.
Last night, we saw Hardy's downfall, and eventually, fans will get to see a video on his redemption. But at the end of the gate, Sheamus can't wait to deliver a Brogue Kick and stop Hardy's ascension before it can even begin.
#2: Big E won the SmackDown Tag Team Titles for The New Day in a Triple Threat main event
For some reason, The New Day are the SmackDown Tag Team Champions for the 8th time in WWE history.
Big E, Jey Uso, and The Miz fought in a Triple Threat main event last night. This match was made official after WrestleMania 36 featured the former half of all three teams wrestling for the titles in a Triple Threat Ladder Match.
The Miz & John Morrison were having a great reign as the champs. The Dirt Sheet segments, as well as the duo's cheap shots towards The New Day and The Usos, made up for some entertaining television.
So the only reasonable conclusion for the title change seems to be that WWE has limited options for tag team feuds right now, and if The Miz had retained instead, The Usos and The New Day would have been pushed out of the title picture immediately.
Still, Big E's victory was an unexpected result at the end of the day. If WWE has a more exciting plan in mind, then New Day's 8th title reign may be one to look out for.
#1: Sonya Deville finally got her moment in Otis & Mandy's love saga
It is no secret that Mandy Rose has always been the driving factor of Fire & Desire's success.
Although Otis may have achieved his own moment at the Showcase of Immortals, nobody expected that Sonya would get a fair opportunity to do that as well.
Sonya Deville owned the mic on last night's show. She spoke truths as to why Mandy Rose was manipulated in the first place. Sure, at the end of the day, Mandy & Otis will always be the ultimate protagonists, and Ziggler's one-dimensional arc revolves around his desire for Rose. But Sonya is the one who was underlooked in this love triangle saga on SmackDown.
Deville attacked her former teammate after justifying the manipulation on last night's show. Ziggler was opposed to this attack because as mentioned before, his love for Mandy is the only driving factor for The ShowOff.
Otis & Mandy gained the upper-hand in the end, but this rivalry is far from over, and fans can't wait to see what happens next.
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