5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 12 - Results & Review)
The Bloodline story took another twist and turn on this week's WWE SmackDown.
The winner of LA Knight vs. AJ Styles II will wrestle Cody Rhodes for his newly-won WWE Title at Backlash in France on 4 May. That was just one of the big moments creative booked on this week's post-WrestleMania episode of SmackDown. Elsewhere, Tama Tonga debuted, future Women's Tag-Team Champs were established and more.
Some aspects of the show could've been better. For example, Cody arguably needed something a little more dramatic than opening the show with a babyface promo. That's something the new champ is really, really good at, but...was it fine follow up from finishing his story in Philly at 'Mania? That's up for debate, but it scores a 'Down' here.
Paul Heyman's masterful performances are a given, and the Hall Of Famer was on top form come Friday. Eventually, he might be repeating a certain (ahem) line from his HOF speech to Solo Sikoa and new Bloodline recruit Tama Tonga. Or, perhaps Heyman will quiz Roman Reigns on why things are so out of control.
Overall, SmackDown was another fun entry from a company that's most certainly on a roll right now. There's always gonna be a lull after 'Mania. It's unavoidable, but Triple H won't want Backlash to be more house show than supershow.
Here's all the good and bad!