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WWE WrestleMania hosted some big matches from the SmackDown brand. The show returned this week after WrestleMania to continue building storylines.
Roman Reigns pinned both Edge and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. He wanted to prove that no one could stand up to him on SmackDown. Bianca Belair celebrated her first title win in WWE on Friday Night’s show.
The Street Profits got an opportunity to challenge Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Rey Mysterio, on the other hand, surprised many fans by pinning Otis on SmackDown.
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Natalya made a statement by pinning Shayna Baszler on the show, while Tamina caught Nia Jax with a Superkick after their contest. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn competed in a rematch on SmackDown after KO defeated Zayn at WrestleMania.
Pat McAfee assumed his role as the new analyst on SmackDown. Let’s take a look at five things WWE got right on SmackDown after WrestleMania.
#5 Roman Reigns refused to acknowledge Cesaro as a threat on WWE SmackDown
Universal Champion Roman Reigns kicked off WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania. The Tribal Chief arrived with his counsel to boast about his victory against Edge and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.
Paul Heyman put over Bryan and Edge’s WWE Hall of Fame credentials before passing the mic to Reigns. The Tribal Chief spoke about how even Hall of Famers do not want to fight him because of what he does to them.
Reigns told the WWE Universe that no one in the SmackDown locker room wanted to face him before preparing to leave the ring. Cesaro’s music hit and he came out to confront Reigns, Heyman, and Jey Uso. However, all three men left the ring before The Swiss Superman could even grab a mic.
Cesaro asked Adam Pearce to allow him a match against Reigns later in the night. Heyman laughed off Cesaro’s request and revealed that Uso would face The Swiss Superman in the main event of SmackDown.
This was an overall good segment that showed just how powerful Reigns has become over the past year. Cesaro seems more than ready to take on The Tribal Chief and possibly get his hands on the Universal Championship.
This rivalry could do him a world of good. Even if Cesaro ends up losing the rivalry, it would help establish himself as a main eventer on SmackDown.
#4 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn competed in a WrestleMania rematch on WWE SmackDown
Sami Zayn made his way out on WWE SmackDown. He complained about his loss to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania and spouted conspiracy theories and excuses to cover up his failure to put down KO.
Zayn laid the blame on Logan Paul and demanded a rematch against The Prizefighter. Zayn was confident that he would pick up a victory since there was no one to provide a distraction. Owens made his way down to the ring and took the fight to Zayn right away.
Zayn tried to fight back and drove Owens throat-first into the ropes. The Conspiracy Theorist fought KO to the top rope and delivered a great Sunset Flip Powerbomb for a near-fall.
Owens got back into the contest and took Zayn out with a Swanton Bomb. While KO had the upper hand, Zayn evaded a Stunner and raked Owens’ eyes. He headed up the ramp and lost the match via countout.
KO rushed up the ramp and brought Zayn back into the ring to deliver a Stunner and end the segment on his own terms. There is no way Zayn and Owens can deliver a mediocre match. Both SmackDown superstars were good once again and did well to continue their rivalry.
SmackDown fans will likely watch these two men compete in a few more matches that could help Zayn make his gimmick even more interesting.
#3 Bianca Belair celebrated her WrestleMania victory on WWE SmackDown
Bianca Belair competed in an emotional match at WWE WrestleMania for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Belair put on a great match with Sasha Banks and became the new SmackDown Women’s Champion in the main event of the first night.
The Street Profits came out on SmackDown to kick off the celebrations and introduce Belair. The EST praised Banks for helping her make history and claimed she was just getting started.
Belair then instructed her husband Montez Ford to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships alongside Angelo Dawkins. Backstage, Banks walked out of an interview to display her frustration.
Bayley was interviewed later on and claimed she was coming back for the SmackDown Women’s Championship after holding it through the bulk of 2020.
All three segments did well in building up the SmackDown Women’s Championship scene. With WWE Backlash coming up, the company needs to ensure that Belair has a strong booking for the show.
It won’t be surprising if WWE books a Triple Threat Match between Belair, Banks and Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s title.
#2 Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode continued their golden run on WWE SmackDown
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode retained their SmackDown Tag Team Championships last week on WWE WrestleMania SmackDown. The two heels once again defended their tag team titles this week, this time against The Street Profits.
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins tried to make early inroads as they took the fight to the champions and stayed on top. They kept the upper hand for some time before the heels isolated Dawkins.
Dawkins managed to break free and send Ziggler into the ring post before tagging Ford into the contest. Ford went on a roll from there on, and it seemed like he would pick up the victory for his team and take the titles home.
Dawkins took out Roode and Ford delivered the frog splash, but The Show-Off broke up the pin just in time. A blind tag allowed Ziggler to connect with a Zig Zag on Ford to pick up the victory.
The match was as good as one would expect from these two teams. WWE did well by not going for the obvious booking and allowing Roode and Ziggler to retain the titles once again.
#1 Seth Rollins ruined a good contest between Cesaro and Jey Uso on WWE SmackDown
Cesaro and Jey Uso competed in the main event of WWE SmackDown. Cesaro wanted to prove that he was a viable contender for Roman Reigns. The two men traded shots early on, and Uso took control for some time.
The Swiss Superman fought his way back into the contest and delivered a beautiful Deadlift Suplex to show his incredible strength. A springboard corkscrew uppercut nearly allowed him to pick up the victory.
Uso fought out of the Cesaro Swing but ate an uppercut for his troubles. A neck breaker allowed Uso to get back in the match and he continued to talk trash to The Swiss Superstar.
Cesaro made a comeback and came close to victory before Seth Rollins came out of nowhere to attack him. The match ended in disqualification as Rollins exclaimed that things weren’t over between the two superstars.
Uso and Cesaro had a good match that showed that both the SmackDown Superstars have a lot of potential. WWE did well to tease the angle between Cesaro and Reigns during the show.
Cesaro and Rollins will likely compete in another match at Backlash before The Swiss Superman can finally take on the top man of SmackDown.
