WWE SmackDown Live report card: Analysing and grading each segment (10 April, 2018)
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