5 Ups And 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 2)
The US Title takes the spotlight as Jinder struggles, and 'The Viper' vanishes.
If the WWE United States Championship isn't SmackDown's most prestigious belt already, it's well on its way to reaching that level. The title book-ended last night's show - opening with a strong in-ring segment, and closing on the pre-booked Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens main event - and with WWE Champion Randy Orton absent, it truly felt like the most important prize in the business.
KO's emphatic victory saw Jericho leave the building on a stretcher, and with a Fozzy tour looming, it'll be a while before we see him again. AJ Styles now looms for Owens, who has become WWE's most believable champion, but while his business was peppered throughout the show, he wasn't the only one given a chance to shine.
There were new developments as Becky Lynch finally picked her side in the women's division, and Jinder Mahal scored a win over one of WWE's most popular wrestlers. Elsewhere, Breezango got silly ahead of their eventual Tag Team Title match with The Usos, Tye Dillinger's quiet push continued, and Dolph Ziggler had a chance to gain some much-needed momentum.
It wasn't an outstanding show, but there was plenty of drama throughout, despite the lack of genuinely brilliant high points. Let's take a look at the segments that worked, and those that didn't...
Downs...
2. Jinder Achieves Little In Victory
The main issue with Jinder Mahal's sudden ascent to number one contendership is his complete lack of credibility. Until last night, 'The Maharajah' hadn't won a non-Main Event/Superstars singles match since beating Jack Swagger last September, and has primarily been used as a jobber throughout his two WWE runs. Thus, it is vital that WWE try to build him up with a series of strong victories ahead of Backlash, and he defeated Sami Zayn this week.
While this should theoretically be the kind of win Jinder needs, the match didn't succeed. For one, it was a deeply mediocre back-and-forth affair that while probably the best singles match of Mahal's career, didn't entertain throughout, and produced a predictable conclusion. Jinder won through interference from the Singh Brothers, and while the finish protects Zayn, it does nothing for Mahal.
If WWE were going to put Jinder over last night, they should have done it cleanly. The challenger needs believability if his match with Randy Orton isn't going to be a total bust, and if he can't win a SmackDown opener without assistance, what hope does he have at Backlash? If Jinder's going to be pushed, he must be pushed properly - not like this.