4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 21)
Water wins a WWE match (yes, really); Solo Sikoa and Matt Riddle beat the sh*t out of one another.
Matt Riddle and Solo Sikoa just beat the sh*t out of one another for your viewing pleasure.
So, mind you, did GUNTHER and Xavier Woods. Both of those bouts ranked as top highlights from this week's episode of SmackDown, but it's definitely true that WWE's creative team can't wait for the 2023 Draft to get underway. They're hoping some moving pieces will liven things up on TV again.
SmackDown wasn't bad (far from it). However, it wasn't the most must-see edition of blue brand fare, and not only because head boy Roman Reigns was absent. His Bloodline troops have successfully held down the fort before, but there's a sameness creeping into The Usos' act that doesn't sit well.
Hopefully, that's a temp thing. Back on the positive side, Judgment Day got to look like a threat again, and there's promise for a non-title undercard feud involving recent returnee Shinsuke Nakamura. Pesky negatives included the dire Women's Tag-Team Title scene, a male duo who are right back at square one, and a title shot that doesn't exactly sell such things as hard to come by.
Here's all the good and bad from the final SmackDown before WWE's rosters change next week.