4 future rivalries that WWE teased on SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 35

WWE’s WrestleMania week ended with Big E, Xavier Woods and new WWE champion Kofi Kingston standing tall after defeating Sheamus, Cesaro and Drew McIntyre in the main event of SmackDown Live.

Elsewhere on the show, The Hardy Boyz defeated The Usos to become the new SmackDown Tag Team champions, Ali teamed with Ricochet & Aleister Black to defeat Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura & Andrade, and Samoa Joe’s attack on R-Truth resulted in a surprise brawl with Braun Strowman.

The episode also featured segments involving Shane McMahon, Paige, Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch, while Lars Sullivan attacked The Hardy Boyz and The IIconics defeated unknown duo The Brooklyn Belles.

Although the show was largely filled with WrestleMania-centric storylines, it also included several angles that could result in matches in the coming months, depending on which Superstars move to Raw and SmackDown Live in next week’s Superstar Shake-Up.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four future rivalries that WWE teased on the April 9 episode of SmackDown Live.

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#4 The IIconics vs. Paige’s secret team

Two days on from their Fatal 4-Way Women’s Tag Team Championship victory at WrestleMania 35, The IIconics defeated Karissa & Kristen, aka The Brooklyn Belles, in a short encounter on SmackDown Live.

Following the match, Paige appeared in a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton and gave props to Billie Kay & Peyton Royce on their recent wins. She then added: “Do you want to know a little secret, Kayla? Come on, you’re gonna wanna lean in for this. Next week, I’m gonna be bringing an impressive tag team of my own. Bye.”

The former SmackDown Live General Manager was very vague, so it is unclear if she is planning to bring a new tag team to the main roster from NXT (say, The Sky Pirates) or whether she will become a manager for a team that is already on Raw or SmackDown Live (say, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville).

Either way, it sounds like Paige’s secret team will be the ones to challenge The IIconics next.

#3 Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe

Following Carmella’s triumph in the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35, she returned to the stage area later in the night to take part in a seven-second dance break with R-Truth.

The dancing duo were discussing their ‘Mania experience during an in-ring promo on SmackDown Live when, out of nowhere, Samoa Joe appeared and locked in the Coquina Clutch before throwing the former United States champion through the ropes.

Braun Strowman’s music then hit and he immediately began to brawl with “The Samoan Submission Machine” – a man he previously faced, along with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, in the Universal Championship main event of SummerSlam 2017.

“The Monster Among Men” was unable to land his trademark running powerslam on Joe, who quickly escaped the move and walked away up the ramp with his US title, which suggests that there could be unfinished business between the two men after next week’s Superstar Shake-Up.

#2 Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

Ali teamed with Ricochet & Aleister Black to defeat Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura & Andrade on SmackDown Live. Following the match, Ali’s in-ring celebration was cut short when Randy Orton appeared and landed an RKO outta nowhere.

As Ricochet attempted to help Ali out of the ring, Rusev watched on by the ropes before Kevin Owens showed up and hit “The Bulgarian Brute” with a Stunner. Then, just like Orton, Owens casually made his way through the ropes and walked up the ramp.

While these surprise finishers from people who weren’t even involved in the match could go on to mean absolutely nothing, a one-on-one rivalry between Orton and Owens is long overdue. The two men have faced each other on television before, usually in tag matches, but they have never squared off in a PPV singles match.

One suspects that Owens’ Stunner was his way of sending a message to Orton following the RKO.

#1 Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

Becky Lynch soaked up the adulation of the crowd on the episode of Raw after WrestleMania 35. Then, just as she was leaving the ring, she was interrupted by Lacey Evans, who walked her way down the ramp before hitting the new Raw and SmackDown Women’s champion with her Woman’s Right punch to the face.

Following their brawl up the ramp on Raw, Evans interrupted Lynch again on SmackDown Live. The difference this time, however, was that while “The Man” fought back and stood tall the previous night, “The Lady of WWE” punched the WrestleMania 35 main-eventer again on SmackDown before walking away without any attempt of physicality from Lynch.

It remained unclear after Raw whether Evans would be the new #1 contender for one or both Women’s Championships. Dana Brooke also declared an interest in the titles, while Charlotte Flair is likely to want her SmackDown Women’s title back, but it was made obvious on Tuesday that the main-roster newcomer will definitely face Lynch in a title match soon.