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

7. Frankie And The Heartstrings

Samoa Joe
WWE

Carmella didn't want the love and affection surprisingly showered upon her by the SmackDown Live! crowd during the early portion of her Championship 'Mellabration. It was the work of a heel refreshingly unafraid of the heat, with keen knowledge of what propelled her to the point at which she currently presides.

'The Princess Of Staten Island' is not the workhorse of the brand, and frankly wouldn't even crack the top five on Tuesday nights, but that isn't her role and never will be. By virtue of relatively tight storytelling (for WWE) she is permitted to carry the arrogance of defeating not just former titleholder Charlotte but also Asuka by virtue of 'The Queen' toppling 'The Empress Of Tomorrow' at WrestleMania.

She did just that by elevating a typically mundane segment with her own unique touches. Having the idiotic audacity to name both her briefcase and newly-won belt (Frankie and Cleopatra, respectively) she showed flagrant disrespect for a title held in the highest regard only weeks earlier. Her self-made tribute video stoked believable fires in the wronged ex-Champion that triggered a brawl Carmella herself wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

Far from being desperation cash-in as so many previous fluke title winners have been, she's the type of straw stirring the drink rather than the one breaking the camel's back.

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