5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 14)
Shinsuke Nakamura returns; WWE sets up GUNTHER's next opponent; Roman Reigns warns The Usos.
Something is simmering in both major WWE tag-team camps.
Creative put across the clear difference in approach Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have on this week's SmackDown, but the same writers also teased a possible split on The Bloodline's side. It was easy to miss, but Paul Heyman definitely gave The Usos a warning courtesy of absent 'Tribal Chief' Roman Reigns on Friday night - they better win their rematch vs. Sami and KO in two weeks or else.
Think of the two-hour show as a placeholder for things to come. WWE has the 2023 Draft coming up, so they're 100% killing some time until the rosters settle down. That leaves Backlash on 6 May feeling like a pay-per-view Bad Bunny is gonna do a lot of heavy lifting for, but there's time for things to turn around yet.
Shinsuke Nakamura returned, WWE revealed GUNTHER's next Intercontinental Title opponent, the Judgment Day vs. LWO stuff experienced an upturn in fortunes from last week, and the Women's Tag-Team Title scene sucked wind yet again.
Yep, it was one of those mixed bag episodes. Here's all the good and bad from it...