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The superstar shakeup continued last night as SmackDown rolled out its own acquisitions. The show began by hyping the "biggest acquisition in the history of SmackDown." Elsewhere, SmackDown got a new face with gold around his waist, massive improvements to its women's division, and a 205 Live standout.
Who got the most and least out of last night's show?
Winners: Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston
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Kofi Kingston look like he's getting his first rivalry for the WWE Championship. Kevin Owens became an "honorary member of the New Day" for now, but it seems probable that he'll turn on Kingston sooner rather than later. Money in the Bank comes in four weeks, after all.
I haven't ever been much a fan of Kevin Owens in the main event picture, but this was off to a good start with a nice segment and a decent match later. Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston will be a fresh matchup, at least. We'll see where the story develops from here.
Winner: Finn Balor
This was a long overdue change. Finn Balor should have been sent to SmackDown last year. Now he finally has the new start that he's needed, and he's bringing the Intercontinental Championship with him.
Annoying name change aside, "Ali" again showed why he should be a fast-rising commodity this year. This match had the potential to be great, and was easily the night's best showing, though the commercials hurt it somewhat. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing this on pay per view at all.
Aside from "Ali", Balor has a lot of new opponents to choose from on the blue brand. Losing Samoa Joe was indeed a blow for SmackDown, but the damage should be mitigated if the blue brand gives us some of those promising matchups.
Winner: The SmackDown women's division
Horrid and unnecessary match between Charlotte Flair and Carmella aside, and clunky as this segment was, it introduced a new, vastly improved SmackDown women's division. Kairi Sane's arrival on the main roster obviously got the biggest headlines, but Ember Moon also came over from Raw, which will permit her to get a new start with hopefully more opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bayley also arrived, to notable boos. Nevertheless, this was a sorely needed change from her wasting away on Raw.
This means that the SmackDown women's division now boasts Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Ember Moon, Bayley, and the underappreciated Sonya Deville. That's a stacked card with mouthwatering potential match combinations. The division could well enter another golden age if it's booked properly - that is to say, the focus is mostly on those six top talents, with Charlotte Flair hopefully not acting (too much) as a ceiling.
It's a stark contrast to the last shakeup, where Asuka, Becky, and Charlotte were the only credible top contenders.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
Congratulations, Buddy Murphy!
A little over a year ago, there was a real danger Buddy Murphy would be released. Since then, he reinvented himself on the overlooked 205 Live brand to become one of the greatest assets in the company, and now he gets to take his talents to the major leagues.
Buddy Murphy will be a great acquisition for SmackDown and already stands poised as the ideal candidate to succeed Finn Balor as Intercontinental Champion. That would be a banger of a match, too.
Loser: The SmackDown tag team division
With Big E's injury and the loss of The Usos, everyone was wondering what would happen to the blue brand's doubles division. Unfortunately, it didn't acquire a notable new team. The Revival would have been ideal, but they're still stuck on Raw.
Elsewhere, Gallows and Anderson remain invisible, while SAnitY is broken up and Alexander Wolfe has requested his release.
It is going to be curious to see where SmackDown goes from here as far as tag team wrestling goes.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Vince McMahon pulled a good bait and switch with Elias, ensuring that Roman Reigns would get over for attacking the troubadour and the chairman. Introducing Reigns as "the biggest acquisition" might otherwise have been met with more hostility.
Nevertheless, this is the right move for Reigns and SmackDown, particularly with the loss of AJ Styles. Now Reigns has room to carve his own path separate from the security blanket of the Shield, and can at long last leave the ghosts of the horrible four-year cycle with Brock Lesnar behind him.
A win for all parties.
