WWE SmackDown went down live at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This week’s show featured LA Knight, AJ Styles, and Bayley, among others. COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque made a surprise appearance on the blue brand as well.
Fans at the arena and those watching at home witnessed the continuation of the latest chapter in The Bloodline saga. For those who missed out on the show, here are some of the biggest hits and misses from the April 19th episode of WWE SmackDown.
Hit – A phenomenal win to kickoff WWE SmackDown
AJ Styles and LA Knight kicked off SmackDown this week. The duo collided in a number one contender’s match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Both men packed a lot of action in their nearly 12-minute outing.
Styles picked up the win with a Phenomenal Forearm. The former multi-time World Champion advances to Backlash to take on Cody Rhodes for his title. Speaking of the champion, Rhodes hyped up his upcoming first-ever meeting with Styles in a video promo.
Both men will sign the contract for their title match next Friday on SmackDown.
Miss – Solo Sikoa’s MFT
Solo Sikoa arrived in style on WWE SmackDown this week. The supposed new Tribal Chief introduced Paul Heyman to the newest member of The Bloodline, Tama Tonga. Solo dubbed Tonga as his “MFT.”
MFT refers to a lot of things on the internet. It may stand for Marriage and Family Therapist, Master of Foreign Trade. In Tama’s case, however, it could mean “My Favorite Tongan,” given his Tongan lineage.
Hit – New WWE Tag Team Titles
In my WWE SmackDown preview, I correctly predicted the introduction of new tag team titles. Triple H and Nick Aldis unveiled the new titles on the blue brand this week. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller are officially the WWE Tag Team Champions.
The new design seems to be an homage to the classic WWE tag team titles. I must say the WWE Tag Team Championship looks a lot better than the World Tag Team Championship. Triple H and Adam Pearce had previously introduced the world tag team titles on RAW.
Miss – Santos Escobar vs. Carlito
WWE SmackDown gave us Santos Escobar versus Carlito for the umpteenth time this week. I was really hoping LDF vs. LWO would be over after WrestleMania. Escobar picked up the win after a short match against Carlito.
I hope Escobar and his crew get a solid push in the tag team division after the 2024 WWE Draft. The Emperor of Lucha Libre needs to go after a mid-card title on the main roster. A move to RAW could improve things for LDF.
Hit – Fatal four-way clinic
The tag team division has really picked up steam under Triple H. The Game has brought much-needed attention to the division with quality matches and solid segments. SmackDown delivered a high-octane tag team match, which I thought was much better than the RAW match this past Monday.
Authors of Pain, Legado Del Fantasma, New Catch Republic, and The Street Profits put on, without a doubt, the match of the night. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins earned the opportunity to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Miss – Women’s title match ends in No Contest
Bayley put her WWE Women’s Championship on the line against Naomi in the main event of WWE SmackDown this week. This match was good until Tiffany Stratton’s interference turned it into a no-contest.
The former NXT Women’s Champion destroyed both the champion and the challenger. Bayley’s first title defense didn’t need to have a controversial ending. I know Triple H booked the ending to protect the babyfaces.
That being said, Bayley should’ve defeated Naomi clean to establish herself as a dominant champion. If I had booked the match, I would’ve booked Tiffany to attack the babyfaces after the match while they were still recovering from exhaustion.
Hit – Kevin Owens bleeds on WWE SmackDown
I’m not a fan of incessant blade jobs. However, I’m all for color when it makes sense, and Kevin Owen’s blade job on WWE SmackDown made sense this week. The Prizefighter was busted wide open at the hands of Tama Tonga. Tama dragged Owens’ lifeless body to Solo inside the ring.
Owens tried to fight back but was taken out with a Samoan Spike. The new Bloodline tried to take out KO, similar to Jimmy, but Nick Aldis intervened. We then saw Owens’ rental car destroyed in the parking lot.
Aldis warned Paul Heyman of some serious repercussions if such savagery continued on the 2024 WWE Draft edition of SmackDown next Friday.
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