4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 21)

1. Another GUNTHER Scorcher

...this was.

Credit where it's due: Xavier Woods brought some thunder on Friday night, and these boys snared the live crowd during some near fall spots that teased a new Intercontinental Champion. That's particularly impressive, 'cause nobody realistically believed GUNTHER was losing the strap beforehand.

This is the kind of singles bout Woods should've been having after winning King Of The Ring a few years back. WWE failed to capitalise on that, and mired him in the goofy royal stuff before randomly shutting it down. SmackDown was proof positive of what Xavier is capable of when working a more serious character.

Score another one for GUNTHER's impressive haul of stunning title defences too. The Austrian can really do no wrong at the moment, and deserves to break all sorts of records with the IC belt. This was a top, top match, and one that easily could've main-evented the program.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 WWE Money In The Bank 2023 Winners NOBODY Would See Coming and WWE 2K24: 10 Changes From 2K23 That Must Happen!