5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (11 Apr - Results & Review)

Ups...

5. NXT Showcase Then A Bit Of Flair

Hey, look at this - an 'Up' for the Charlotte Flair vs. Tiffany Stratton feud after they were rightly torched for going off-script to little success on the 4 April SmackDown. Admittedly, that did get everybody talking, and WWE chose to turn it into a bit of storytelling by having Joe Tessitore say that Charlotte had been sent home and Tiffany was facing disciplinary actions.

Later, Stratton matched up against NXT's Roxanne Perez in a fun little match. It shouldn’t be lost on anybody that Tiffany vs. Roxanne was a showcase for two developmental success stories. In context of WWE's tale, that’d infuriate an elitist like Flair, who attacked Tiffany post-bell. To push the idea that this was also going against the grain, Wade stepped in at the broadcast position and said he was trying to help Charlotte so she didn’t get fired.

This skit was a vast improvement over some of the talking that has come before, and it harked back to a memorable brawl from the 14 March episode of SmackDown. Charlotte and Tiffany are at their best as a pairing when the back and forth verbals are minimal and they're strictly physical.

Being honest, WWE might’ve learned to keep this feud off the mic. Hopefully.

Charlotte getting jealous that two emerging stars from the Performance Center tore it up in-ring is believable, and there was some decent fire between Flair and Stratton physically. It's too late to outright save the rivalry, but this merits an 'Up' for slick presentation and 'cause there was no chat about Ludwig Kaiser sliding into anyone's DMs.