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The SmackDown after WrestleMania was a significantly better show than RAW but that's not saying much if you consider that RAW wasn't a very good show at all. That said, I think it was not nearly as good as the usual episodes of SmackDown that follow the biggest show of the year, but I suppose that we can cut the company some slack considering the current circumstances prevailing around the world.
Do let me know if you thought that this week's show was better than usual. Do you think the Blue brand is more entertaining than its Red counterpart right now?
A lot of things were indicated in this week's episode that should play a much bigger role in the episodes that follow hereon in.
#1 Best: The return of Corey Graves to commentary
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With all due respect to Michael Cole, who is the voice of WWE, it just felt like he was struggling to call all of the action in the ring over the past few weeks all on his own. We thought that JBL would provide a welcome addition but it turned out that his microphone was turned down so low at WrestleMania that we could all barely hear him.
The return to the booth for Corey Graves is a great thing because now both Cole and Graves could play off each other and both men could add their unique flavor to the mix. I would even go so far as to say that Michael Cole seemed better because of Graves' return, now able to focus on just doing the play-by-play instead of color as well. The two men have natural chemistry and obviously have deep-seated respect and admiration for each other as well, which was evident during this week's broadcast.
#1 Worst: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt and the main issue surrounding it
Firstly, I thought that this week's episode of the Firefly Fun House was a lot less creative than it usually is but that would have still been okay. I just don't think that rushing into a feud with Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt is the best idea at this point in time and I will tell you why in this article.
Braun Strowman cannot afford to suffer a loss so soon after picking up an iconic win and defeating Goldberg of all people, on such a grand stage as WrestleMania. And neither can Bray Wyatt, who recently suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Goldberg, because to lose again would significantly diminish the mystique of The Fiend.
This is a clash that should have ideally happened at a stage like SummerSlam, in my personal opinion, As many experts have said, time and time again, The Fiend should be above material objects like Championships and should only go for titles on special occasions as The Undertaker and Kane did.
#2 Best: Bayley throws Sasha Banks to the wolves
I am not the biggest fan of Tamina Snuka as Bayley's potential challenger right now. And this is not a knock at Tamina but how she has been presented thus far. I don't think that anyone in the world realistically thinks that Tamina is going to become the next SmackDown Women's Champion, defeating Bayley for her prestigious title.
But at the same time, I love the idea of Bayley and Sasha Banks believing they are on the same page, but the former constantly pulling stunts that make one wonder if they are truly allied. And this is going to lead to a massive rift down the line, I'm guessing. I genuinely think that Sasha Banks vs. Bayley is the money feud and we have all seen how well they can work with one another, judging from their previous performances on NXT.
Yes, the slow build all the way to the eventual feud is the way to go instead of rushing head-on into it as WWE has been doing with Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, something I think is not the right call from the company.
#2 Worst: Elias sings and nothing more?
What is the purpose of a milestone unless your journey continues beyond that point? Elias would pick up the biggest victory of his career with a win against King Corbin at WrestleMania but now he's back to singing songs with nobody interrupting his performances to set up a feud anymore. This is not the best-case scenario for him because he should have moved on to bigger and better things, in my opinion.
Couldn't Elias have had a showdown with someone like Sheamus? Sheamus has also been languishing in the mid-card and picking up wins against enhancement talent. I genuinely think that having the two of them square off would do wonders for both men at this point.
Yes, one of the two parties would have to suffer a loss, but that is significantly more interesting to me as a viewer than to have Elias singing songs and Sheamus destroying people who do not have a chance against him in matches that really don't mean all that much at all.
#3 Best: An NXT faction debuts
The Forgotten Sons may just be one of those units that could not really do all that much back when they were in NXT but could do a whole lot more on SmackDown. Because they are a faction they could attack babyfaces in a pack and get over as heels in the process of doing so.
In fact, The New Day and The Usos could definitely feud with them in the months to come and in fact, even Heavy Machinery could benefit from working with them once the whole feud with Dolph Ziggler is over and done with. As is the case with everyone in NXT right now, they have a lot to offer if they are given a chance to shine and I do think that WWE should not give up on them as they did with SAnitY, which was a similar faction with potential that the company buried.
In any case, let's be positive and hope for the best in the case of The Forgotten Sons.
#3 Best/worst: A makeshift team
I thought that the match between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross against The Kabuki Warriors was good for what it was. Yes, I am glad that Bliss and Cross retained because it would have been far too soon for The Kabuki Warriors to win the titles back once again.
I just find the pairing of Carmella and Dana Brooke weird because they are babyfaces and so are Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. So, I don't understand the dynamics that are going to be at play and who we're supposed to root for and who we are supposed to dislike.
But at the same time, the most promising thing about the whole situation is that for the first time in a while, there actually seem to exist plans for the women's tag team division and this is something that we did not see back when Asuka was challenging Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship. So, let's approach the whole situation with a positive note and see what the future potentially holds.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
