WWE SmackDown: 3 things WWE did right on this week’s episode (April 23, 2019)

As the Superstar Shakeup came to an end, we were treated to a fair number of surprises and new feuds along with a couple of old ones.

While WWE made a few mistakes on SmackDown this week, they also managed to do a few things right which will help them go forward on the right foot.

This week’s episode opened up with Shane McMahon come out to avenge the attack on his father and ended with a betrayal a number of us saw coming.

However, there were a few things during the night middle of the night that made more sense and kept the ball rolling on the blue brand.

In this article, we will look at the 3 things that WWE got right on SmackDown Live this week.

---

#3 Gave Andrade another chance to prove himself

Andrade got the chance he deserved just a week after proving himself

Andrade moved to Raw last week and immediately fought Finn Balor in a non-title match where he managed to beat the Intercontinental Champion after some assistance from his Manager Zelina Vega.

In a surprising move, WWE drafted Andrade back to SmackDown Live this week where Finn Balor was drafted a night after his loss to Andrade.

While we expected Balor’s loss to not have an impact on his future booking, we were proved wrong this week as Andrade managed to cash in another opportunity to prove himself as championship material.

Andrade’s case was strong, as he had defeated the Intercontinental Champion last week on Raw, but couldn’t quite come out on top when it mattered the most.

Even though Andrade failed in this opportunity to earn a match for the Intercontinental Championship, it was good to see WWE continue the storyline and not completely drop it a week after Andrade defeated Balor.

Will we get to see Andrade step up his game and challenge Balor for the championship at Money in the Bank, or will another challenger rise up?

#2 Established Bayley as a threat

Bayley made the WWE Universe listen

Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch met face-to-face in the ring Charlotte demanded her title match against Lynch, with The Man making it clear The Queen would have to earn her next shot rather than getting handed that opportunity.

To everyone’s surprise, Bayley arrived and made it clear why she deserved a title shot. This resulted in a match between Charlotte and Bayley, which was very interesting.

Bayley usually fights as the underdog, but this week she was almost on par with Charlotte and gave her quite the fight.

While Charlotte managed to deliver a spear to end the match and emerge victorious, it was good to see Bayley rising to the top and clearly stating what she deserves.

Charlotte got her match for Money in the Bank, where Becky will now fight in two separate matches for each of her championships, but Bayley managed to have a good top singles match on the main roster after quite some time.

#1 Fed Lars Sullivan regular superstars

Lars made sure no one remained safe on SmackDown Live

Lars Sullivan had been on a path of destruction since the past few weeks. After the big man took out Kurt Angle right after WrestleMania 35, there was no stopping him.

He managed to take out some of the greatest superstars WWE has ever seen in his quest to wipe out many big names. Rey Mysterio, Jeff & Matt Hardy, and R-Truth all fell prey to him.

While his choice of men to attack were pointing towards only one direction, WWE successfully broke the trend on SmackDown this week.

Many fans were thinking that Lars was on the hunt for veteran and legendary superstars, but all that changed this week as he went after a few ‘regular’ superstars this week.

As Chad Gable was making his way to the ring to take on Jinder Mahal, Lars ended their match even before it could begin as he viciously attacked Gable first. He then went on to attack The Singh Brothers as Mahal retreated quickly and saved himself from the attack.

The move now makes every superstar in the SmackDown roster at threat and makes Lars Sullivan more feared.