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Winner: The SmackDown women's division
Horrid and unnecessary match between Charlotte Flair and Carmella aside, and clunky as this segment was, it introduced a new, vastly improved SmackDown women's division. Kairi Sane's arrival on the main roster obviously got the biggest headlines, but Ember Moon also came over from Raw, which will permit her to get a new start with hopefully more opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bayley also arrived, to notable boos. Nevertheless, this was a sorely needed change from her wasting away on Raw.
This means that the SmackDown women's division now boasts Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Ember Moon, Bayley, and the underappreciated Sonya Deville. That's a stacked card with mouthwatering potential match combinations. The division could well enter another golden age if it's booked properly - that is to say, the focus is mostly on those six top talents, with Charlotte Flair hopefully not acting (too much) as a ceiling.
It's a stark contrast to the last shakeup, where Asuka, Becky, and Charlotte were the only credible top contenders.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
Congratulations, Buddy Murphy!
A little over a year ago, there was a real danger Buddy Murphy would be released. Since then, he reinvented himself on the overlooked 205 Live brand to become one of the greatest assets in the company, and now he gets to take his talents to the major leagues.
Buddy Murphy will be a great acquisition for SmackDown and already stands poised as the ideal candidate to succeed Finn Balor as Intercontinental Champion. That would be a banger of a match, too.
