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The first SmackDown Live since WrestleMania 34 was arguably one of the best episodes from the blue brand since the 2016 WWE draft.
The show featured five matches, including two #1 contender battles and an impromptu championship match, while the new SmackDown Live General Manager was revealed.
In this article, we take a look at all six major segments and analyse what was good and bad about this week’s episode.
#1 Paige replaces Daniel Bryan as General Manager
Segment: Shane McMahon began the show by thanking the WWE Universe for their support over WrestleMania weekend. He then revealed that he has graciously accepted Daniel Bryan’s resignation as SmackDown Live General Manager, with Paige replacing him. The two-time Divas champion’s first act as GM was to announce Bryan vs. AJ Styles as the show’s main event.
Verdict: This is perfect. It looked like we might not see Paige again for a long time after her retirement speech on Raw. However, just one day later, she’s back on WWE television and she’ll be involved in more storylines than ever before over the next few months. We speculated recently that she could get the GM role, so it’s great to see it actually happen!
Grade: A
#2 The Usos def. The New Day
Segment: The Usos defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) to earn a SmackDown Tag Team title opportunity against new champions The Bludgeon Brothers at the Greatest Royal Rumble event. The finish saw Jimmy connect with a superkick on Xavier before Jey got the win with a top-rope splash.
Verdict: It’s a shame that the SmackDown Tag Team title match wasn’t given much time at WrestleMania, but this was another exciting encounter between two of WWE’s best tag teams. With The New Day now out of the title picture, there’s a possibility they could be split up in next week’s Superstar Shake-Up. If that is the case, let’s hope Big E gets the big singles push he deserves!
Grade: B+
#3 Naomi def. Natalya
Segment: A backstage interview with Naomi was cut short by Natalya, who said her rival’s Battle Royal win at WrestleMania was “the disappointment of the night”. It looked like Natalya might win the resulting match after an impressive powerbomb, but Naomi kicked out and went on to defeat “The Queen of Hearts” with a split-legged moonsault.
Verdict: While Natalya’s character can be very uninteresting at times, it’s no exaggeration to say she’s been producing some of the best matches of her career lately, especially whenever she meets Charlotte Flair, and this was another really good match. Previous Battle Royal winners have notoriously been booked horribly after WrestleMania, but this was a decent enough start to life with the trophy for Naomi.
Grade: B+
#4 The Iconics debut; Carmella def. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Segment: Charlotte Flair was reflecting on her historic WrestleMania win over Asuka when she was interrupted by Billie Kay and Peyton Royce (formerly known as The Iconic Duo but now simply known as The Iconics). The NXT call-ups mocked the SmackDown Women’s champion for being too emotional and then viscously attacked her. As they made their way up the ramp, Carmella’s music hit and finally, after 287 days with the Money In The Bank briefcase, she cashed in her contract and defeated Charlotte within seconds following a superkick.
Verdict: SmackDown segments don’t get much better than this. Everything about it was brilliant. Sometimes when people are called up from NXT, it takes a while for the WWE audience to figure out exactly who they are and what their character is all about, but fans will have no such problems with The Iconics, who were hilarious on the mic and made a huge statement by targeting Charlotte. That segment alone was worthy of an A grade, but when you take into account the long-awaited Carmella cash-in, this gets top marks!
Grade: A+
#5 Randy Orton def. Bobby Roode and Rusev
Segment: Randy Orton defeated Bobby Roode and Rusev in a Triple Threat match to become the #1 contender for Jinder Mahal’s United States Championship. With the Rusev Day-loving New Orleans fans cheering on “The Bulgarian Brute”, they were left disappointed when Orton threw him out the ring and pinned Roode after an RKO.
Verdict: Orton and Jinder had one of the most underwhelming WWE title rivalries in recent memory, so do we really need to see it again for a lesser title at Backlash? The outcome of this match went down very badly with fans. Here’s hoping next week’s Superstar Shake-Up will provide a happy Rusev Day (and subsequent mega push) for the ever-popular Rusev.
Grade: D
#6 Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (no contest)
Segment: Daniel Bryan’s first SmackDown match in three years ended in a no contest after Shinsuke Nakamura interfered to attack both Bryan and AJ Styles. “The King of Strong Style” knocked D-Bry out the ring with a Kinshasa and then continued to attack Styles, striking him with two low-blows and a Kinshasa, before leaving the ring and walking up the ramp to close the show.
Verdict: As great as it is to see Bryan vs. Styles on a non-PPV show, this quickly arranged match surely means that one of them will be sent to Raw in next week’s Superstar Shake-Up. The match was very good (Bryan and Styles just don’t do bad matches!) but it felt inevitable that Nakamura would interfere at some point, so the finish was very predictable.
Grade: A
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