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This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown saw the fall-out from WrestleMania. After the biggest annual WWE event, the company worked towards the next storylines as they built towards the next big event on their calendar – WrestleMania BackLash.
With a few storylines set up, the company did a good job, but as always, the real stars from the night were the WWE Superstars.
The WWE roster is one that is a gold mine of talent, whether they are recognized as such or not. They have some of the best stars in the world on their roster. Each week during shows, the superstars take the opportunities provided to wrestle and prove what they are capable of.
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This week was no different as there were some superstars from SmackDown who stood out by virtue of their performances. Take a look at five of the stand-out superstars from SmackDown this week.
It should be noted that Roman Reigns is an honorary mention for his promo to open the show. However, he didn't perform this week and thus has not been included in the rankings.
#5 Rey Mysterio defeated Otis on SmackDown
Rey Mysterio is a WWE legend and a future Hall of Famer with good reason. Possibly the most famous luchador of all time, Mysterio has created a legacy in WWE where he has gone down in history.
Always the biggest underdog in whatever match he takes part in, over the years, Mysterio has shown that he is able to overcome any and all odds stacked against him. Be it defeating superstars who are larger than him in the ring, or winning titles against all odds, Mysterio has done it all.
This week at SmackDown, Rey Mysterio managed to create yet another such moment in WWE. He faced Otis in the ring as they continued their feud between The Mysterio Family and Alpha Academy.
Mysterio showcased his speed and ability in the ring to overcome the greater size and strength displayed by Otis. Although at times it seemed that he was in trouble, he was able to come out as the stronger of the two superstars, getting the win with the Crucifix pinfall.
#4 Natalya beats a champion on SmackDown
An unlikely addition to the weekly SmackDown power rankings, Natalya has shown herself to be more than capable of doing what's needed to get the win. A WWE veteran, Natalya is one of the most experienced female stars currently still part of the roster.
Natalya has been anything but consistent in WWE. However, after winning the Tag Team Turmoil match on Night One of WrestleMania with Tamina, she seems to have found a new lease in her WWE career.
Tamina and Natalya battled unsuccessfully against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler on Night Two. They did not win the WWE Women's tag team titles, but on this week's SmackDown, Natalya made a statement.
She faced one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions — Shayna Baszler. In her match, she dominated large parts and showcased that she was ready for any challenge.
In the end, Baszler was rolled up for the pin by Natalya. The Hart Family member has a win over one of the champions. Tamina also took out Nia Jax after the match, protecting her tag team partner. As a result, the two may end up challenging for the titles sooner rather than later.
#3 The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) retained their SmackDown Tag Team Championships
The SmackDown tag team titles were in danger this week as The Dirty Dawgs defended them against The Street Profits.
For the most part, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were the dominating figures in the match. They dominated the early proceedings of the match, taking out Dolph Ziggler and isolating him.
Later, when the match continued, Ziggler and Robert Roode were finally able to get some advantage. The champions distracted their opponents at every turn, and that helped them to hit their moves on Ford and Dawkins.
Despite that, Ford was able to hit the amazing splash from the top rope and it looked like the match was going to end. Instead, they found themselves in trouble. A momentary distraction saw Montez Ford not realize that Dolph Ziggler had tagged himself in.
The moment Ziggler came in, he hit the ZigZag on the unaware wrestler, before pinning him to retain the titles. While The Dirty Dawgs are by no means the most powerful SmackDown tag team in the division, they have shown themselves to be resourceful, which was enough for them to keep the titles.
#2 Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn once again on SmackDown
This week's SmackDown saw Kevin Owens stand out once again.
Owens has been one of the best superstars to perform in WWE over the years. Be it as the dominant performer on WWE NXT, the debuting superstar defeating John Cena on the main roster, or while finding his footing to become the second-ever Universal Champion — Kevin Owens has done it all.
If there has been one wrestler that he feuded with, in WWE, it’s been Sami Zayn. After defeating his friend turned rival at WrestleMania, Owens faced Zayn yet again during this week’s SmackDown episode. The two had a WrestleMania rematch and put on a great show yet again.
The two never wrestle in a bad match when they face each other and this week was no exception. Sami Zayn connected with a huge sunset flip powerbomb and dominated different parts of the bout.
In the end, though, it was the spectacular strength of Kevin Owens on the night. He shut Zayn up, hitting him with all he had, leading to Zayn running for it. He was counted out, but even then, Owens was not done. He brought Zayn back to the ring and hit him with a huge stunner.
Owens' next step is unclear, but the match against Zayn could very well act as an exclamation point to their current SmackDown feud.
#1 Cesaro enters the main event scene of SmackDown
WWE SmackDown finally saw Cesaro pushed into a feud for the Universal Championship. After getting an enormous win against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, Cesaro tried his luck against another former member of The Shield – Roman Reigns.
Cesaro came out to challenge Reigns on SmackDown and put his name down as the next challenger for the Universal title. Reigns was having none of it and left him in the ring. He also denied Cesaro’s challenge for a one-on-one match on SmackDown. Instead, Paul Heyman announced that Jey Uso would face him.
The two faced each other in the main event of the night. Cesaro put on a good show and despite attacks by Uso on his shoulder, The Swiss Cyborg got the better of him. He hit him with the Giant Swing but was interrupted by his WrestleMania opponent Seth Rollins.
Rollins is clearly not done with Cesaro at the moment. However, the latter showed once again why he is a fan-favorite with an excellent main event. Be that as it may, the next step for Cesaro is unclear at the moment.
He could continue challenging Roman Reigns. He could also face Rollins yet again. It's also possible that WWE could book a three-way feud between Roman Reigns, Cesaro, and Seth Rollins as well.
More will be revealed in the coming weeks on SmackDown.
