10 Things You Might Have Missed On The WWE SmackDown Live! Superstar Shake-Up (April 17)

8. Evolution

Samoa Joe
WWE.com

Maybe SmackDown Live! really is the 'Land Of Opportunity'. WWE (perhaps unintentionally) presented their best ever exhibition of the Women's Evolution on Tuesday, without having to repeatedly bludgeon viewers with Harper/Rowan-sized hammers.

In reminding viewers that Paige had the wheel at the top of the show before presenting one of the strongest drafts for the brand ever, WWE gave the former Divas Champion rare kudos as the first female authority figure to - gasp - just be good at her job.

Unlike AJ Lee, Vickie Guerrero and Stephanie McMahon before her, she wasn't manipulative, psychopathic or power-crazed. Nor was she gooey-eyed for her own boss Shane McMahon as women of the past were instructed to be towards his father. Comparing her not just to previous women but current Raw counterpart Kurt Angle doesn't give the former a Olympian a fighting chance. He was made to look like the idiot Triple H labelled him as in all his segments - even more so now the dust has settled on the entire shake-up.

A Teddy Long impression didn't exactly remove her meme-ability after the infamous "Paige here!" 'Fighting With My Family' trailer that relentlessly trolled the WrestleMania weekend output, but her understated and underplayed appearance on the show was perfect use of her in the role.

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