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Welcome to this week's edition of the best and worst of SmackDown. It wasn't the strongest episode this week, but an improvement from last week's show.
Overall, things need to pick up on the blue brand, but the seeds have been planted for what should be an entertaining month of programming. Here were the ups and downs of SmackDown this week:
#3. Best: Madcap Moss on SmackDown
Madcap Moss was the first to declare his intention of participating in the 2022 Money in the Bank ladder match. However, before he reaches the Allegiant Stadium, there needed to be something for him to stay relevant, and WWE decided to continue his feud with Happy Corbin.
Corbin is great at making himself as hateable as possible, and that's exactly what happened when he assaulted Moss to the point that the latter had to be stretchered out of SmackDown.
While fans might groan at the idea of repeating this feud, it wasn't a bad decision. It could help get Moss even more over before he inevitably becomes the first participant in the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match this year.
#2. Worst: Nothing in store for Roman Reigns
Is Roman Reigns now playing a cheerleader? Following the reports that The Tribal Chief would take ten weeks off between June and August, the focus has shifted away from him and more towards unifying the tag team titles.
The tag team titles will likely be unified next week as the match between RK-Bro and The Usos was made official. But it's clear that WWE has no plans for Reigns at Hell in a Cell, and he is likely to miss the show altogether.
#2. Best: The right decision was made in the WWE Women's Tag Team Title match
Sasha Banks and Naomi retained the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles against Natalya and Shayna Baszler. It wasn't a classic or even that memorable of a match, but it was the right outcome after Banks lost to Baszler last week.
It proved that WWE is serious about keeping the titles on Banks and Naomi, and it will be interesting to see who is next for them. At this stage, they need to go to NXT as well to defend the titles. Perhaps Boss & Glow vs. Toxic Attraction?
#1. Worst: A sluggish pace to the show
While we will admit that this wasn't the weakest episode of SmackDown, overall, the show isn't doing as well as RAW despite having a world champion present. The red brand has consistently delivered since WrestleMania, pushing the right superstars as well.
We're not sure if it's just fresh faces that are needed, but WWE seems to not be able to avoid a sluggish-paced episode of SmackDown lately. This week was no exception.
#1. Best: The SmackDown Women's Title match
Ronda Rousey is on a path of redemption. Given the nature of fans and how quickly opinions can change, all it's going to take is a few consistently good matches for the perception of her to change.
While fans have understandably been underwhelmed looking at her run between February and April, her "I Quit" match against Charlotte Flair was the best way to end the feud, as they had what was arguably the match of the night at WrestleMania Backlash.
This week on SmackDown, she had a fresh new challenger in Raquel Rodriguez, who she had another great match with, stealing the show yet again. If this is how Rousey's title reign will be, there is a lot to be excited about.
