10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown (April 18)

2. The Best Of What's Left

Jinder Mahal
WWE

With the Bollywood Boyz stealing victory for the 'New American Dream', it appeared to foreshadow greater emphasis on both Mahal and the Sihra brothers in the coming weeks, as WWE makes yet another attempt to crack an Indian market they first attempted to build on over a decade ago with The Great Khali.

But what of the remaining bodies from the six-pack challenge on Smackdown Live!'s 'Land of Opportunity'?

Sami Zayn was considered the biggest star in the match, but after losing twice in two weeks, he could now do with an instant boost from his first major angle on Tuesday Nights.

Mojo Rawley suffered his first major setback since reinventing himself in the wake of Hype Bro partner Zack Ryder's injury. His progression on the show looks steady, but it's surely time to give him a meaningful storyline in place of the endless series of rudderless matches he's endured since then.

Dolph Ziggler will hopefully be Shinsuke Nakamura's energetic human punch (and kick) bag at Backlash next month, which at the moment feels the only thing left for him to do in the entire company.

And finally, Harper and Rowan unfortunately look lost souls yet again as they desperately try to shake their former personas off. Rowan's comeback has been a shambles, but Luke Harper looks a delicate work-in-progress. Less defeats in upcoming weeks will hopefully vitally service their most pressing concerns.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett