After the disappointment the red brand brought on Monday, SmackDown Live had its work cut out for it last night. Not only was it the last stop in a long weekend of wrestling, but excitement was beginning to ebb after one of the worst and least watched post-Mania Raws of all time.
The tactic to turn things around appeared as simple as it was baffling. Just put on as many tag team matches as the ring can possibly hold. To this end, SmackDown had it all: two-on-two, three-on-three, men’s tags, women’s tags, established teams and franken-teams. The blue brand even recruited a few bodies from Raw to make up the numbers.
Added to these surprise defections (just a week out from the formal Superstar Shake-Up), we saw the return of a past authority figure, in a possible non-authority role, new tag team champions, and a toy bird in a smoky cardboard box.
My point is that there was a lot to get through in the fallout from WrestleMania 35 (man, doesn’t that feel ages ago?). So without more, let’s get into the good of last night’s show.
The Best of SmackDown Live
Ali, Aleister Black and Ricochet Return to Winning Ways
After several weeks of ineptitude, including a run of six days in which Black & Ricochet came up short in matches for the Raw, NXT and SmackDown tag belts, their victory over the franken-team of Nakamura, Rusev and Andrade was a much-needed change of direction. As impressive as all three men are in the ring, it really felt like they desperately needed a win to re-establish themselves as a team to be taken seriously. (I’d still rather see them as singles stars though.)
The six-man tag bout itself was also a nice TV encounter, complete with a moonsault off the barricade by Ricochet and an awesome Black Mass on Nakamura just as he was climbing into the ring.
#BlxckMass just CONNECTED on @ShinsukeN!#SDLive #SDLiveAfterMania @WWEAleister pic.twitter.com/ZqsdsNdYxy
— WWE (@WWE) April 10, 2019
The IIconics Are Life
I’m going to reveal my personal biases here, but I firmly believe that there’s nothing in life that can’t be made significantly better by a small dose of the The IIconics.
SmackDown saw them take on the undefeated Brooklyn Belles, boasting an impressive record of 45-0 (according to Billie Kay at least). From the outset, I struggled to remember these two women’s names – a task in which I was done no favours by Corey, who seemed to be having the same difficulty – but this squash match was all about the new Tag Team Champions.
The IIconics need to establish themselves as a legitimate tag team threat, following a bumpy first year on the main roster, and a couple of matchups against jobber teams is a good way to go about it. It allows the Australian duo to pick up a few dominant wins, without running the risk of exposing their shortcomings between the ropes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDjCwxhRAa/
Paige is Back!
The former SmackDown Live General Manager was shown backstage observing The IIconics defeat the Brooklyn Belles. Kayla Braxton quickly scurried over to ask her a few questions, during which Paige revealed that she would be returning to the blue brand next week. And that she would be bringing a team to challenge the Tag Team Champions.
Not only was I happy to see Paige back on TV, but I’m genuinely intrigued to find out what (and whom) she’s got in store for The IIconics next week.
New Tag Team Champions
The Usos defended their belts against the Hardys, in a match that really got going towards the end. Jeff kicked out of a Jey Uso splash, before dodging the dual splash from the brothers. From there, Matt delivered the Twist of Fate on Jimmy and Jeff landed the Swanton Bomb to finish.
And just like that, we have new tag team champions, presumably freeing up The Usos to jump across to Raw next week. The former champs have run the SmackDown tag division for a good few years now, and it’ll be refreshing to see them take on teams other than The Bar or New Day.
Oh, and Lars Sullivan then laid out both Hardys in typical monster fashion. It’s still unclear where this is going for ‘The Freak’, but WWE seem content to push Sullivan as a monster heel for now.
He has struck again.
The #HardyBoyz' #SDLive #TagTeamTitles win has been DESTROYED by the FREAKISH @LarsSWWE! #SDLiveAfterMania pic.twitter.com/i26mwu0Lyt
— WWE (@WWE) April 10, 2019
The Worst of SmackDown Live
Kofi’s Coronation
Don’t misunderstand me, my default position is that more New Day is a good thing. And I did find Kofi’s title celebration – complete with festive ring decorations – to be a touching moment. Both Big E and Xavier Woods paid sincere tribute to their good friend and new WWE Champion, talking about the tears shed on Sunday and explaining how Kofi inspired them. Throughout this entire ordeal, they maintained that Kingston had what it took to be the blue brand’s champion, and they were proven correct.
But just as with Raw on Monday, the payoff to this entire segment was a bit of a disappointment. Ironically enough in fact, it was exactly the same disappointment we felt just a few nights ago, which makes me think that WWE is trolling us somewhat. Because who should interrupt this feel-good moment but The Bar, to set up a six man tag later in the night? I have no personal animosity towards Sheamus and Cesaro, but at this stage they’re just not exciting enough to merit the main event of the post-WrestleMania SmackDown.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDe0KHhWHH/
And in case you were wondering who would team with The Bar to make up their quota in this six-man tag…
Drew Can’t Escape the Mid-Card Vortex
Drew McIntyre ostensibly made the jump from Raw (where he spent months bound to perpetual mid-carders, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley) to SmackDown (where he got to hang out with perpetual mid-carders Sheamus and Cesaro).
After seeming to finally find some long-overdue solo momentum in recent weeks by single-handedly taking out the Shield, getting sucked back into being the third member of a trio felt like a decided backwards step for the ‘Scottish Psychopath’. Plus his team lost, and Drew reportedly suffered an unfortunate injury. So all in all, not a good night for McIntyre.
#TheBar made a friend at #RAW…@WWECesaro @WWESheamus & @DMcIntyreWWE will join forces to take on #TheNewDay in #6ManTag action TONIGHT on #SDLive! #SDLiveAfterMania pic.twitter.com/Y3sbX51pQP
— WWE (@WWE) April 10, 2019
Directionless Angles
Following the six-man tag pitting Ali, Ricochet and Black against Andrade, Rusev and Nakamura, Orton delivered an RKO out of nowhere to Ali. Then, seconds later, Kevin Owens hit a Stunner from the same location on Rusev. Presumably we’ll continue to see these two interfere in future matches, running in to hit surprise finishers on unsuspecting opponents, until the pair cross paths down the line. This just doesn’t excite me in the least.
In the very next segment, Samoa Joe interrupted the traditional R-Truth and Carmella comedy to choke the former out. This was perfectly fine, as Joe routinely shows up to put people to sleep quicker than a game of darts. It’s what happened next that left me a little shook.
Braun marched down to the ring and got into a little tiff with the United States Champion. Apart from the arbitrary brand hopping which became a consistent theme of the show – somewhat undermining the official Superstar Shake-up next week – why does Braun have beef with Joe? This unmotivated attack not only didn’t go anywhere last night, as Joe quickly skedaddled out of the ring, but unless one of them switch brands next week, this was all for naught.
WHAT IS THIS?!
The #MonsterAmongMen @BraunStrowman has come to #SDLive for a showdown with @SamoaJoe! #SDLiveAfterMania pic.twitter.com/bkYsFbxcdV
— WWE (@WWE) April 10, 2019
The Buzzard in the Box
This was the same bald puppet bird promo package we saw Monday night on Raw. It remained just as horrendously bad. The fact that it cut immediately to The IIconics’ beaming faces was extra jarring.
Bray Wyatt’s reintroduction to the main roster is off to a goofy start.
The Most Mediocre in the World
Shane McMahon took time out of his busy schedule to brag about throwing potatoes at Mr Potato Face (Mr Miz), show off a black eye and bully Greg Hamilton. I’ve really enjoyed the heel version of Shane recently, but this did nothing to advance his character in any meaningful way.
With that said though, Greg Hamilton did allude to having received threats if he continued to refer to Shane as “The Best in the World”. Could that perhaps be a tease of Shane’s next opponent?
CM Punk return confirmed!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDmL6ihZcY/
Becky Two Promos
If Becky had little to say on Monday night, she was definitely running on empty by the time SmackDown rolled around. ‘The Man’ reminded us that she had beaten Ronda and Charlotte at WrestleMania and that she was ready to take on all comers. It was much the same as we heard on Raw in truth.
As she made her way back up the ramp, she was again decked by the right hand of Lacey Evans. At least Becky sold the punch this time, which was a welcome departure from the almost identical Raw segment.
Sami Za… Ah, He’s Not Worth It
Sami came out before the main event of the evening to waste some time before raising the microphone to his lips and telling the audience that they’re not worth it. Then he left… to louder cheers than most babyfaces get. Except he’s meant to be a heel. Shrug.
The New Day Keep Rolling
As mentioned above, the main event of the show saw the New Day take on The Bar and Drew McIntyre. It was a short match, which The New Day won. Then Kofi celebrated with his awesome kids. It was adorable, but ultimately meaningless.
Overall Rating (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)
Full disclosure, I was really battling wrestling fatigue coming into this week’s SmackDown Live. After dozens of hours of grappling taking up my time since Friday, I was ready to take a break from the WWE product for a few days.
But with that said, I’ve previously come into Tuesday nights feeling a bit worn down following a dour episode of Raw, only for the blue brand to lift my spirits. However that didn’t happen this week.
Tag team wrestling has rarely been a strength of WWE, so it’s somewhat incomprehensible why they would put it front and centre on this week’s show. Added to that were uncharacteristically poor promos from Becky Lynch and Sami Zayn, and a distinct lack of a roadmap for the way forward.
All things considered, this week’s SmackDown was (sadly) SmackDowner.
I need some sleep. See you all next week.
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