The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (April 9)

New faces.
New faces.

Winner: Braun Strowman

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Braun Strowman needed a change of scenery to get back on track. Now, it looks like he's getting it. This was ultimately just a tease, but it was a fun tease. If there's anything that can make him explosive again, it will be a feud with Samoa Joe.

Again, we'll need to see where the shakeup next week takes him, but Braun Strowman on team blue would be a big get for Tuesday (and later) Friday nights, provided he's used well and not as a choke artist.


Loser: The women's division

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Man, things look like they're going to be rough for the women's division going forward. With the underwhelming, unexciting Lacey Evans being pegged as Becky Lynch's first rival and the IIconics of all people getting squash matches against local jobbers, you can expect quality levels to drop off dramatically, at least for the time being.

The return of Paige was interesting, and she talked about bringing a new tag team from NXT next week as part of the shakeup.

One team immediately comes to mind - the Sky Pirates. Kairi Sane has been rumored for a call up, after all. But will that be the case?

The Sky Pirates would instantly increase the quality of the main roster women's division, but losing them would make the NXT women's division a barren wasteland, especially with Shayna Baszler still champion.

Intriguingly, no moves with any of the other women were hinted at this week. Certainly, all eyes will be on the likes of Charlotte, Asuka, Sasha, Bayley, Ember Moon, and so on to see where they go.

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