5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (April 28)
SmackDown's ending hyped Payback perfectly!
It was always going to be important for WWE to ensure that Roman's first post-WrestleMania pay-per-view bout wasn't a letdown, and it doesn't seem like there's any threat of that come Sunday. AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns is a tasty affair at Payback, and SmackDown only heightened the need to see the match.
On Raw, AJ played the role of confusion brilliantly. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have crashed the scene, seemingly desperate to prove their worth to Styles. As a clear character babyface, AJ is split on their involvement, he wants to win the WWE Title fair and square.
He was once again dragged into the situation on SmackDown, and it's making for awesome television.
Elsewhere on the show, there was some key hype for matches such as Charlotte vs. Natalya and Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains. WWE really provided a sense of logical build with both these segments, but others weren't so fortunate.
Apollo Crews is somebody the writing team must be careful with, he needs direction more than random wins over borderline enhancement talent. He's also not alone, there are other stories in need of some more care.
Let's look at the most notable 'ups' and 'downs' from this week's SmackDown episode...