Best and Worst of SmackDown after WrestleMania 38: Top star gets title shot against Roman Reigns after 15 months, six-month Championship reign to end soon?
Welcome to the post-WrestleMania edition of Best and Worst of SmackDown. It was another solid show, perhaps having more direction than RAW did.
Although RAW was great in its own right this week, SmackDown did well in storyline progression. It started with a top superstar making a challenge for WrestleMania Backlash.
While the episode was not perfect, there was very little to complain about. Here were the ups and downs of the blue brand this week:
#3. Best: Shinsuke Nakamura to get a 15-month overdue title shot on SmackDown?
Wow! @ShinsukeN is out here!
#SmackDown https://t.co/rTuDmXLLaM
Roman Reigns was on the last segment of SmackDown this week, and thankfully, it proved to be far more fruitful than his promo on RAW. While the earlier promo on the red brand did little to establish anything, the one on the blue brand was eventful.
Shinsuke Nakamura came out and interrupted Roman Reigns. He looks to be the next challenger in line for a title shot. Interestingly, he had to wait 15 months before he could potentially get a world title shot.
Around January 2021, Nakamura ran through multiple stars in an epic performance to seemingly earn a Universal Title shot against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. However, he was just a pawn as Adam Pearce got a shock win upon Reigns' wish.
Kevin Owens replaced Adam Pearce at the 2021 Royal Rumble, and Nakamura never got his title shot. It looks like he's finally getting a long-overdue run for the gold.
#2. Worst: The Ronda Rousey-Charlotte Flair feud continues
"I want a rematch!" - @RondaRousey 馃槫
#SmackDown https://t.co/9Dq6zYxTRC
Ronda Rousey opened the SmackDown after WrestleMania 38, declaring that she wanted a rematch against Charlotte Flair. WWE tried to do some damage control to make Rousey seem likable, and it worked with the crowd, so we can't fault that.
Although it's not official yet, the two will seemingly clash in a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash. This time, however, there could be an "I Quit" stipulation, meaning that Rousey is in a prime position to dethrone Flair and end her six-month-long title reign - eight months if you count her RAW Women's title run between August and October before the title swap with Becky Lynch.
However, it was slightly disappointing to see as many expected Bayley to return and make a claim for the title.
#2. Best: Lacey Evans' big character change on SmackDown
Motivated and ready for anything.
#SmackDown @LaceyEvansWWE https://t.co/FBdnxSNxBc
Lacey Evans is set to return soon. While it's going to be at least a few more weeks or a month more before we see her, we got to see a tease. After over a year, Evans seems to be dropping the "Sassy Southern Belle" character and has officially turned babyface.
She highlighted the struggles of her early childhood and her tenure as a US Marine as WWE tried to make her as big a babyface as possible. It's a good change in character, and it seems as though her previous gimmick was a bit outdated.
It will be interesting to see how WWE handles the change and where she fits into the women's division.
#1: Worst: Some of the name changes
https://t.co/KZCixlxFxs
We had a few debuts on SmackDown this week. Butch fka Pete Dunne made his in-ring debut in a loss to Xavier Woods, while Marcel Barthel of Imperium made his debut as "Ludwig Kaiser" - to introduce the debuting GUNTHER fka WALTER.
Raquel Gonzalez also made her debut on SmackDown in a backstage promo and now goes by the name of Raquel Rodriguez. While that certainly isn't the worst name change, Ludwig Kaiser is an unnecessary one, as is GUNTHER and Butch.
The name changes seem unreasonable, and even though WWE wants to trademark them, they continue to sound more ridiculous by the day.
#1. Best: The end of The Happy Folks on SmackDown
.@MadcapMoss has had enough!
#SmackDown @BaronCorbinWWE https://t.co/3592TXNpwL
The Happy Folks are no longer together. In the latest episode, Happy Corbin blamed Madcap Moss for his loss to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 38, and things soon broke down.
After a few failed attempts at making Corbin laugh, Moss decided that he had enough of the former US Champion and finally got the crowd to chant his name. The fans cheered as Moss turned on Corbin, turning face for the first time since his NXT debut in 2015.
It was one of the show's highlights, and we're glad to see that WWE views Madcap Moss as more than just a comedic character.