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WWE SmackDown has been top notch over the past several months. However, this week’s show did not make as strong a start as previous episodes.
Sonya Deville took to the ring to announce the return of a live audience to WWE programming. The announcement was followed by some average mic-work by Bayley leading to a six-woman tag team match.
Bayley, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Bianca Belair, Natalya and Tamina in the first match of the night. Dominik Mysterio was also scheduled to compete against Robert Roode this week.
An NXT Superstar made his SmackDown debut, while Shinsuke Nakamura faced King Corbin a week after stealing his crown.
Roman Reigns, Cesaro and Seth Rollins had the first good segment of the night to give SmackDown a push in the right direction. The Intercontinental Championship was defended in the main event on Friday night.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5 Dominik Mysterio defeated Robert Roode on WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown saw Dominik Mysterio and Robert Roode compete in a one-on-one match. Rey and Dominik Mysterio made history at WrestleMania Backlash by defeating Roode and Dolph Ziggler for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Ziggler and Roode cut a promo before the latter’s match with Dominik. Roode came out looking strong and hit Dominik with some hard strikes.
He kept the pressure on the young superstar and made him pay for pinning him on Sunday. Outside the ring, Ziggler tried to lay out Rey with a Superkick but was taken down by the veteran high-flyer instead.
After a decent contest, Dominik mounted a comeback and got the better of his opponent. He hit him with a 619 before climbing to the top rope. A frog splash helped him pick up the win just days after the biggest victory of his career.
Many will argue that Dominik should not be picking up clean victories over a veteran like Roode. However, SmackDown did well to build the young superstar who still has a long way to go in the company.
The Usos have a match against The Street Profits next week and will likely progress to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships picture sooner rather than later.
Rey and Dominik will likely enjoy a decent run with the titles before losing them.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura picked up a victory over King Corbin on WWE SmackDown
King Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura are two of the best wrestlers on WWE SmackDown. However, both men were going without rivalries until a couple of weeks ago. Last week, Corbin and Nakamura competed in a match after which The Artist stole The King’s crown.
This week, Corbin made his way to the ring without his crown. He talked about the disrespect and disgrace he experienced after the match last week.
This opened the doors for NXT's Eric Bugenhagen, now renamed Rik Bugez, to debut on SmackDown. The superstar played Nakamura’s theme on the electric guitar as The Artist made his way out to the ring.
Corbin punished Nakamura early on and made him pay for stealing The King’s crown. He worked over Nakamura for some time before the Japanese Superstar made a comeback.
While Corbin gained the upper hand late in the match, Bugez distracted him by playing Nakamura’s theme. The distraction allowed Nakamura to counter the End of Days and roll him up for the win.
The match wasn’t the best but it allowed the rivalry between Corbin and Nakamura to get going. The Artist is way too talented to win matches via roll-ups. The creative team needs to give him a few convincing victories.
The guitar-wielding Bugez seems to be an entertaining character so far. He displayed some of his signature enthusiasm and confidence from his YouTube channel here. His introduction to SmackDown’s mid-card could help creative create some new rivalries.
#3 Seth Rollins took down Cesaro once again on WWE SmackDown
Universal Champion Roman Reigns made his way to the SmackDown ring with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso. Reigns was over the moon after his victory over Cesaro at WrestleMania Backlash.
A video package recapped what happened on Sunday night before Reigns talked about humility. He claimed to have taught his sons the same thing before Paul Heyman took over. Heyman bragged on behalf of The Tribal Chief just seconds after he claimed to be humble.
They called out Jimmy Uso to the ring, but instead, Cesaro answered the call. The Swiss Superman demanded a rematch for the Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell.
Before Reigns could respond, Seth Rollins appeared to attack Cesaro on SmackDown. He targeted Cesaro’s arm once again and taught him a lesson.
He delivered two Stomps to Cesaro, the second of which was done whi Cesaro was against the steel ramp. The Swiss Superman had to be stretchered away by the paramedics as The Messiah kept shouting that it was all Cesaro’s own fault.
The promo from Reigns and Heyman was excellent once again and helped Reigns continue as the top heel in WWE. Rollins jumping Cesaro again shows that SmackDown creatives want the two to continue their rivalry before one man gets their hands on Reigns.
It looks like Cesaro and Rollins will compete inside Hell in a Cell, and the winner will go on to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship.
#2 Apollo Crews retained his Intercontinental Championship after a tough fight on WWE SmackDown
Apollo Crews defended his Intercontinental Championship in a Fatal 4-Way Match against Kevin Owens, Big E and Sami Zayn on WWE SmackDown. Big E gained the upper hand in the match early on and delivered a big apron splash to Zayn and Crews.
All four SmackDown Superstars delivered some big moves to try and take advantage in the match. Crews sent Owens into the steel steps and then took out Big E with a moonsault to the floor.
KO and Zayn had a good exchange before The Prizefighter nearly picked up the victory with a brainbuster. Owens and Big E continued to deliver some top moves during the middle phase to keep the action ticking.
Commander Azeez watched on as his leader pounded away at his opponents and gained the advantage late in the match. Big E recovered to come close to victory before a returning SmackDown Superstar took him down for good.
Crews covered Big E to make the pin and scored the victory. It was a good match that allowed all four contenders to shine. Crews and Big E were the favorites to win the contest, and it was good to watch Crews retain.
SmackDown creative appears to have confidence in Crews. He will likely have a long reign where fans can watch him take down some top superstars.
#1 Aleister Black finally made his presence felt on WWE SmackDown
Big E was on his way to another championship victory on WWE SmackDown this Friday night. He nearly took down Apollo Crews to pick up the win before a returning SmackDown Superstar attacked him in the final moments of the match.
The returning superstar was none other than Aleister Black. The Striking Man from Amsterdam returned to television after a long time away. While vignettes for his return started airing a few weeks back, fans were unsure who he’d target upon his return.
Black returned as a heel rather than a babyface and delivered a Black Mass to end the night for Big E. The two superstars have no history, and it will be interesting to find out why The Dutch Destroyer targeted the former Intercontinental Champion.
Another interesting thing to note is that Black came out wearing the same old gear but seems to have a new character now.
Big E is currently one of the biggest babyfaces on SmackDown and a feud with the fan favorite could help build heel heat for Black. Hopefully, SmackDown will allow Black to remain on fans’ screens for longer. If the feud with Big E goes well, perhaps Black could get in the hunt for a title sooner rather than later.
This was a good way to end a rather ordinary episode of SmackDown. WWE needs to make headlines once again, and Black’s return will likely help the company stay on top.
