48 hours on from Wrestlemania and the landscape of Smackdown is changing. How will the fans react to the beloved Shinsuke Nakamura’s heel turn after failing to capture the WWE Championship? How will they react to the sight of Jinder Mahal as a champion once more? What lies in wait for Charlotte after her incredible victory over the now defeated Asuka? Will the Bludgeon Brothers continue to dominate the tag division? With Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn gone, what next for Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon?
And what new faces will arrive? Which old faces will return? Who is in line to move on in next week’s Superstar Shake Up? So many questions!
Shane McMahon Introduces the New GM
Raw kicked off with a McMahon in the ring and Smackdown does the same, only in this case Shane gets a much more positive reception that Stephanie did. He thanks the superstars and fans in attendance and at home for making Wrestlemania Week a success (even thanking those fans who were so vocal during Sunday night’s main event by default!)
He announces that he has accepted Daniel Bryan’s resignation as Smackdown General Manager and introduces his replacement…. Paige!
Just 24 hours removed from her emotional retirement speech, Paige comes out to a sizeable pop. She immediately books a TV return for Daniel Bryan to face AJ Styles, trumping the crowd’s suggestion for Rusev.
Paige is an interesting choice as GM. It is probably a better fit for her than managing Absolution – time will tell if it is a better fit for Smackdown. Booking Bryan v. Styles suggests one of them will be on their way to RAW next week, but it should be a fantastic main event.
The Usos v. The New Day
After getting obliterated by the Bludgeon Brothers at Wrestlemania, these old foes face off in a number one contender’s match. Big E and Woods dominate the early going while Kofi Kingston tosses pancakes to the crowd.
The middle portion of the match takes place in the corner of the screen during commercials and returns to Jey Uso making a hot tag to Jimmy. He wipes out Big E and Kofi with a suicide dive and then gets a near fall off a Samoan Drop to Woods.
Woods then gets a near fall off an elbow drop after Big E spears Jimmy off the apron. The crowd chant for both teams as the match reaches boiling point. A blind tag to Big gets the New Day another near fall off a double team backbreaker. They go for the midnight hour but are blocked by a series of superkicks. An Uso Splash to Woods finishes things off. The Bludgeon Brothers come out to stare down their opponents as the segment ends.
Winners: The Usos
That was shorter than their previous encounters, but it was just as much fun to watch (again, pairing these two together tonight makes me think New Day could be on their way back to RAW next week).
Naomi v. Natalya
This match was set up in a backstage segment in which Natalya spoke for the WWE Universe by calling Naomi out for her undeserved win in the Battle Royal (she just lay on the outside for 10 minutes and stole it at the end!) Much of the match is unremarkable as both superstars trot out their trademark moves. Natalya gets a near fall off a spinning powerbomb but ultimately Naomi carries her stolen momentum over from Wrestlemania with her split-legged moonsault.
Winner: Naomi
There was a suggestion that Naomi may move to RAW next week. Here’s hoping!
Shinsuke Nakamura Interview
Renee Young asks Nakamura why he attacked AJ Styles on Sunday. He replies with a wink that he got ‘too emotional’. When asked again, he replies ‘sorry, no speak English’ much to the delight of the crowd.
Charlotte Flair Meets A Debuting Duo
Supplier of the surprise of the night at Mania, Charlotte comes out to congratulate Asuka on the match they had. Just as she asks who her next opponent will be, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay appear as the first NXT call-ups of the night. They get a big reaction from the crowd including ‘banshee’ and ‘iconic’ chants as they tell the champ to stop ‘yakking’.
A beatdown soon follows as the Iconic Duo literally bounce Charlotte from pillar to ringpost, finishing her off with a double powerbomb to the floor.
A debut with a statement! The call up of the Peyton Royce and Billie Kay is long overdue, although it does make the women’s division on the blue brand even more heel heavy. More indication of switches coming next week perhaps?
Cash it in! Charlotte (c) v. Carmella
As Royce and Kay struggle to drag Charlotte back into the ring, it is obvious what is coming. Carmella runs in and actually cashes in this time (after an age in which the ref hesitated for some unknown reason). One superkick later we have a new champion!
Winner: Carmella
That was set up perfectly, with the ref’s hesitation letting us think for just a second that this would be another failed cash-in attempt. The crowd went wild as they always do in these moments, quickly forgetting Charlotte’s valiant defence of the title just two days before.
Randy Orton v. Bobby Roode v. Rusev
Now we understand why so many multi-man/team matches were on the Wrestlemania card – so the losers can have number one contender matches tonight! The winner here will face Jinder Mahal at Backlash (not the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia unlike The Usos, no idea why!) The new champ is at ringside propped up by golden cushions on an ornate carpet.
The match starts during the break, and we join as (surprise, surprise) Orton goes for an early RKO. The NOLA crowd are going wild for Rusev, with huge cheers for any offence he gets in and ‘Rusev Day!’ chants throughout.
It looks like Rusev will win at one point as well when he dumps Randy Orton onto the announce table and then unloads on Roode. As he has Bobby trapped in the Accolade, Orton recovers to break it up, much to the derision of the crowd. One RKO to Roode later and we are set for Mahal v. Orton XXVII – yay.
Winner: Randy Orton
It was bad enough being reminded of last year’s worst feud through the recent multi-man programme but now we have to live through another one-on-one match between the two…
AJ Styles v. Daniel Bryan
AJ has been in so many dream matches recently, I am beginning to wonder when I will wake up. This starts off as an exhibition of technical wrestling with both guys engaging in holds, counters, and strikes. We soon move onto to their faster-paced repertoire as the phenomenal forearms, corner dropkicks, and backflips come out.
Submissions come next as Bryan traps Styles in an armbar only to get countered into a Calf Crusher, which in turn almost becomes a Yes Lock. Late in the match as both guys are laid out on the mat, who should appear but Shinsuke Nakamura. He takes out Bryan and Styles with Kinshasa, putting an exclamation mark on his attack on the champ with another low blow. The crowd informs him that he sucks as the show comes to an end.
No contest
That was a great showing from Styles and Bryan and with a full build, they could have a great PPV match… but we already knew that. Bryan looked like he had never been away, though I did wince every time he took a blow to the head. Nakamura preventing the match from reaching a conclusion was predictable, and it will be interesting to see if the focus will remain on him and Styles or if Bryan will be inserted into the picture.
Final Thoughts
Both Raw and Smackdown delivered this week. RAW may have enjoyed more NXT arrivals and familiar faces returning to pop the crowd, but Smackdown gave us two enjoyable matches to start and end the show as well as a truly memorable Money in the Bank Cash-in. The women’s title scene is now blown wide open, and we look set to have epic feuds centred on the tag titles and WWE Championship (the less said about the US Title, the better).
