5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 26 - Results & Review)

1. Hanging With The Main Man

The actual match itself proved to be a winner as well.

Cody vs. Carmelo was hardly PLE headlining fare, but it did a neat job of properly introducing Hayes to a wider audience and making Rhodes look every bit the workhorse babyface into the bargain. The way Cody gritted his teeth and fought through a possible injury only added to that killer presentation.

Oh yes, this is one Hayes will gaze back on with a smile. He's gone from putting Trick Williams over at NXT Stand & Deliver to rubbing shoulders with the biggest star in the company right now. Shawn Michaels knew he had something special on his hands with Carmelo, and it seems Hunter will treat him well on the main roster too.

Cody isn't the kind of babyface champ who's going to swallow opponents up and spit them out. He's rather giving, and he let Hayes take the lead several times throughout the main. That made the match better. What an excellent start to life on SmackDown this was for Melo.

Fingers crossed WWE follows up.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out WWE Draft 2024: 5 Things That Will Happen (And 5 That WON’T!) and 30 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Attitude Era PPV!