4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 22)
New title challengers established; Xia Li turns heel; WWE forgets about Roman Reigns.
Sami Zayn is quite the sprinter.
This week, Sami did everything in his power to avoid another clash with one Drew McIntyre. Following their 'Lumberjack' bout, Adam Pearce announced that Zayn and McIntyre will be locked inside a steel cage on next week's show; that's one WWE pre-taped this past Friday, which explains all the stalling in front of the live crowd here.
The episode wasn't one for the history books. Roman Reigns is still waiting to find out what he'll be doing at WrestleMania Backlash on 8 May, and WWE has started installing unwanted challengers for secondary belts further down the card. Their booking for the blue brand is all over the place right now.
On the plus side, some lower-tier characters finally look like they have some sense of direction, and the show did feature two watchable matches. Sure, they were sort of let down by crummy finishes, but the action was good.
Huge problems still exist in the ongoing Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair story though. That one feels like it has been going on forever, and the writing for both women leaves a lot to be desired.
Here's all the good and bad from SmackDown.