WWE SmackDown:4/8/2022

The first SmackDown following last weekend’s historic and memorable WrestleMania shows! Monday Night Raw this week unfortunately felt more like an uneventful and filler episode but thankfully the blue brand was able to make the repercussions feel important! So, how does SmackDown capitalize with a far better episode than Raw this week? Well, first it started off with…

Match 1: Xavier Woods vs Butch. (Rating:2.75/5)

It’s the official first televised match on the main roster for the name formerly known as Pete Dunne, the man Sheamus referred to as simply “Butch.” Uneventful match for the most part but it was great seeing Dunne honing his craft on the big stage of the main roster. Unfortunately though thanks to a distraction from Kofi, Woods was able to roll-up Butch; stealing a pinfall victory from the Bruiserweight. Following the match, Butch took his frustrations out on Holland and Sheamus by repeatedly slapping both men. And I honestly thought WWE was already going to break up this new stable but that wasn’t the case as Sheamus and Ridge were able to calm Butch down. Odd name change aside, seeing Dunne morr violent makes for a real interesting element in this group.

Match 2: Local Talent vs GUNTHER! (Rating:3/5)

And speaking of odd name changes, here’s the main roster debut for the former NXT UK champion: the man formerly known as WALTER, Gunther! He made absolutely quick work against his opponent, absolutely decimating the guy with vicious chops! Nothing too crazy happened here as well and Gunther was able to get a quick pinfall victory. I’m really intrigued for what they do for this man on SmackDown!

Segment 1: Happy Talk ends with a brawl!

It was definitely inevitable that this was going to happen, however I didn’t think it’d be so soon. So, Corbin and Madcap Moss come out to host a new episode of Happy Talk following WrestleMania last weekend in which Drew McIntyre successful ended the feud between himself and Corbin. Of course Madcap made his usual jokes but then it flipped 180 degrees as Corbin blamed Moss for his loss at WrestleMania. The cliché of “I lost this big match because of you!” card was used and Corbin proceeded to attack Moss. Moss didn’t back down and retaliated back, actually sending Baron fleeing from the scene as not only did Moss turn babyface but he also got the crowd chanting for his name! Hopefully he no longer gets to tell cringeworthy jokes and is an actual serious competitor because the dude’s an absolute beast in the ring! Terribly underrated.

Final Segment: The Bloodline want it all.

Roman Reigns, once again, closes off the show this week with a promo segment; and unlike the one on Raw this promo actually had meaning and felt important! Roman reiterated the point of being the biggest name in WWE because he smashed Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, except this time he shifted his focus to his cousins. He wants Jimmy and Jey Uso to not only hold onto the SmackDown tag titles but also to win the Raw tag titles, hinting at yet another title unification match if RK-Bro accepts the challenge this Monday on Raw. Afterwards Shinsuke Nakamura came out to a really great ovation and it seems that Nakamura will be Roman’s first new challenger for either the Universal or WWE championship.

Final Rating:3.75/5