The 04/10/18 episode of WWE SmackDown Live just wrapped up. We’ve got the match results and our overall thoughts on the show for you to check out below. Let us know what you thought about this episode of WWE SmackDown by tweeting us, @TheRumbleRamble.
We All Got Swerved
This is her house.
Meet your new #SDLive GM… @RealPaigeWWE! pic.twitter.com/tBZp3Z9saW
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
The entire WWE Universe mourned for the end of Paige’s wrestling career after her heartfelt retirement speech last night. We weren’t sure when we would ever see her again, what she would be doing, we just hoped she would be okay. She said that she had to find something to do somewhere else and left the crowd wondering what this meant.
She didn’t keep us in the dark for long, however, as she made her entrance tonight as the new SmackDown Live General Manager. Daniel Bryan had to resign from the position as he is now a full-time wrestler and Paige is a perfect fit for this role. As her first official act as GM, she made a match between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles for the main event of the evening at the request of the fans. She’s already off to a hot start and we can’t wait to see where this new career path takes her.
The Usos vs. The New Day
The @WWEUsos will do ANYTHING to punch their ticket to #WWEGRR! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/tTXpj5dQt2
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 11, 2018
Now that WrestleMania is over, they’re really starting to push The Greatest Royal Rumble. This match was to determine who would take on the new tag champs, The Bludgeon Brothers, in Saudi Arabia. We don’t really see where this feud goes from here, as even at WrestleMania, neither The Usos nor The New Day even stood a chance against The Bludgeons.
The Usos and The New Day, however, are perfectly matched, and had yet another high-energy bout. After some solid action, The Usos walked away number one contenders.
Post-match, The Bludgeon Brothers came out to do their usual intimidating hammer point.
Winner: The Usos
Naomi vs. Natalya
Well that’s ONE way to get lit up… #FeelTheGlow @NaomiWWE pic.twitter.com/g6eO7UEM0m
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 11, 2018
The first-ever women’s battle royal winner, Naomi, was confronted by Natalya backstage, who claimed that although she won the battle royal, she still wasn’t better than Nattie. Naomi took this as a challenge and said she would be happy to prove her wrong with a match.
Although Natalya is certainly a formidable opponent, she couldn’t stop the glow. After a few minutes of hard work, Naomi took her down and posed with her newly acquired trophy.
Winner: Naomi
Charlotte Cuts a Promo
#StreakBreaker. #HistoryMaker. @MsCharlotteWWE #SDLive pic.twitter.com/0koVlUN9rL
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
Charlotte came out to the ring (in her boss Mania gear) to talk about her victory on Sunday. Like a true queen, she was diplomatic and complimentary towards Asuka, rather than gloating about breaking the streak. She said that The Empress was a great competitor and she was proud of both of them for the excellent match they had.
An Iconic Debut
Things just got I C O N I C !@BillieKayWWE @WWEPeytonRoyce #SDLive pic.twitter.com/z2Mj2dPLqX
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
Just as Charlotte was hitting her stride with her speech, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce appeared, making their main roster debut in front of thousands of cheering fans. They came to the ring and mocked Charlotte for being a goodie two shoes.
When they had enough fun, they attacked. Two against one was too much for The Queen to handle, and they left her lying in the middle of the ring as several officials came out to check on her. We already knew these two were going places, but making their debut by attacking the champ? They might just be headed straight to the top.
The Princess Cashes In
This is no time for moonwalking… @CarmellaWWE is CASHING IN her #MITB contract! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/27YQnol6lv
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
As The IIconics (not sure how we feel about the new name yet) made their way back up the ramp, Carmella’s music hit and The Princess came charging toward the ring, grabbing a referee on her way. She demanded that the briefcase be cashed in and, after what felt like several minutes of screaming her decision at the officials, she finally did it.
Charlotte attempted to stand up and fight, but a kick to the face put her back down and Carmella got the pin and became your new SmackDown Women’s champion. Carmella cried, we cried, Big E cried. What a tremendous and well-deserved moment for The Princess of Staten Island.
Winner: Carmella
Rusev vs. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode
United States Championship #1 Contender Match
NOT the ideal way to celebrate #RusevDay… @RandyOrton #SDLive pic.twitter.com/l6n97TQBtL
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 11, 2018
After a disappointing loss at WrestleMania, Rusev was back again to take on Randy Orton and Bobby Roode for the spot as number one contender to the US Championship. The winner of this match would go on to face Jinder Mahal at Backlash.
Although Rusev did get a few good spots in, we were disappointed once again as he lost to Orton. We groaned right along with the rest of the WWE Universe at the realization that the Orton/Mahal feud was happening again.
Winner: Randy Orton
AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
The champ is on ?! @AJStylesOrg #SDLive #BryanvsStyles pic.twitter.com/rFO43E18oe
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
Wow. Until very recently, we thought Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles was a dream we would never see come true. After the Rusev thing, we needed a win and this was it.
This wasn’t an all-out five-star match, but it was a great teaser for what’s to come. Daniel Bryan looked just like his old self and you could tell that both men were amped to be in the ring with each other.
Before we could find out which superstar would emerge victorious, Shinsuke Nakamura came out to attack them both. We were hesitant about the Nakamura heel turn at first, but so far, he’s doing a great job at being the bad guy. And the story has nothing to do with him being Japanese, which is a relief.
The first two competitors we thought of when Daniel Bryan was cleared to wrestle were AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, and now we have the set up for both. Absolutely cannot wait.
What letter grade would you give tonight’s show? #SDLive
— Rumble Ramble (@TheRumbleRamble) April 11, 2018
