Shinsuke Nakamura And Tye Dillinger Debut On WWE SmackDown Live
And another superstar returns...
Borrowing Raw's tradition of loading up the post-WrestleMania shows with new talent - mostly from NXT - this week's SmackDown Live unveiled a few surprise additions of their own.
Early in the evening Curt Hawkins cut an in-ring promo complaining about the upcoming superstar shakeup and his position on the card, issuing an open challenge to anyone in the back willing to step into the ring with the man currently saddled with a bad version of Matt Hardy's "Version 1" gimmick.
This prompted NXT star Tye Dillinger to accept the challenge, debuting - officially this time after a brief tease at The Royal Rumble - to a thunderous ovation from the live crowd. He inevitably went on to win the bout cleanly in what was little more than a squash while the fans showered him with enthusiastic chants of "Ten! Ten! Ten!"
While the longtime developmental mainstay's call-up was an overdue high note, it was hardly the most notable debut of the episode. Following another home run segment featuring The Miz and Maryse doing their best insulting Cena and Nikki impressions, a lone violinist began a spotlit serenade with a version of Shinsuke Nakamura's theme song.
When the full tune kicked in and the Japanese icon appeared on the ramp, the Florida audience came unglued. Nakamura made his way to the ring, struck his signature poses and basked in the adulation of the crowd as the announcers touted the importance of his arrival to SmackDown.
The charismatic former NXT champion exited the ring without speaking a word, but the message was clear: Shinsuke Nakamura is finally here.
In addition to the two debuts, we also saw the return from injury of Erick Rowan, as he immediately realigned himself with Bray Wyatt, giving the now former WW World champion at least one person still loyal to his "family".
The show itself wasn't nearly the must-see affair that Raw was, but WWE at least deserve recognition for the effort as well as the correct decision on where to place Nakamura. Hopefully, they'll continue to focus on making the post-WrestleMania SmackDown as equally important as its sister show.