5 things WWE got right on SmackDown Live this week (24 April 2018)

When the 2018 Superstar Shakeup had concluded, many fans exclaimed that SmackDown Live had won this year's edition of the concept, hands down. By comparing the poorly put together episode of Raw last night to this week's episode of SmackDown Live, there is no doubt that the blue brand’s creative team knows how to handle their key players better.

Even though this week's episode did not see Superstars such as Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan, Sanity and Andrade "Cien" Almas in action, it still managed to use the stars that were on the show correctly and focused more on their storylines heading into the Greatest Royal Rumble event.

Here are five things WWE got right on SmackDown Live this week.

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#1 Big Cass is more than just '7 feet tall'

There's nothing wrong with WWE's push of Big Cass

There is an old adage in WWE that if a wrestler is 7 feet tall, Vince McMahon immediately pushes them to the summit of the company. However, while that can be said about Big Cass, there is no denying that just like Braun Strowman improved during his rise to becoming the hottest babyface in the company, Big Cass is evidently making those adjustments to his character as well.

This all started with an excellent promo on SmackDown this week where Cass spoke about his disappointing personal experiences and career failures to produce a realistic reason for targeting Daniel Bryan.

WWE did a good job by presenting Big Cass as a man with more in-depth layers to his character, rather than someone who is just '7 feet tall'.

#2 Carmella is the perfect heel SmackDown Live needs

Carmella is doing her job right

Carmella is not the best in-ring worker in the women’s division, neither is she the best promo artist on the mic. However, what makes Carmella such a top heel on the blue brand is that she understands her weaknesses and strengths exceptionally well and uses it to her advantage.

WWE might have been wary about putting a World Title on the 'Princess of Staten Island', but it looks like they made the right decision, as they now have the best heel in the entire women’s division.

This week on SmackDown Live, Carmella proved how good a heel she could be by playing to her strengths and assaulting Charlotte and the WWE Universe verbally. WWE can use her reign to build some good feuds in the women's division going forward.

#3 Nostalgia done right

A programme that will elevate the US Title

Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin in a programme together in 2018 is a surprising decision by WWE. However, why wouldn't the company pit three of the most celebrated wrestlers from their Ruthless Aggression era, in a feud that is going to put the United States Title over as a credible title?

This decision is a prime example of WWE using nostalgia right. Building a narrative around these three men can result in a substantial mid-card programme on the blue brand.

While Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin's match on SmackDown Live may not have been the best match these two men have crafted, it certainly did well to further the program - it got Benjamin over a threat, presented Jeff Hardy as the sympathetic babyface that got jumped by Sunil Singh, and it set Orton up as a raging viper who had his spotlight stolen from him, two weeks in a row.

This was a job well done, and hopefully, WWE continues to do the same in the weeks to come.

#4 Reforming a more focused version of The Club

AJ Styles is the MVP of The Club

While Finn Balor is the original leader and creator of worldwide phenomenon know as The Bullet Club, under his leadership in WWE, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were little more than mid-card jobbers on Raw.

However, there is something about AJ Styles that allows him to elevate everyone around him, and this week's episode of SmackDown Live proved the same, as the Good Brothers seemed more rejuvenated and focused than they have in recent memory.

WWE went as far as establishing a narrative for Gallows and Anderson in the 6-man tag team match in the main event, as Anderson sacrificed himself to protect Styles. If WWE continues to present angles such as Anderson and Gallows biting the bullet for their best friend, The Club can organically rise once again as an elite force in the company.

#5 Allowing Shinsuke Nakamura to become a unique heel

Nakamura is a special breed

Fans loved the babyface version of Shinsuke Nakamura as he oozed boatloads of charisma, his theme song had an organic charm to it, and his personality was eccentric enough to be interesting. When WWE turned Nakamura heel, they took all the things fans adored about him, and amplified it to perfection.

As Nakamura feels more charismatic than ever as a heel, his new theme song is a perfect way to stop fans from singing along, and his constant use of low blows paints an overall picture of how less he cares for respect and recognition from the fans.

Nakamura feels like a unique personality in a sea of generic faces and heels, and WWE is doing him a favour by presenting him as the top heel in the brand.