With the most surreal WrestleMania event fans had ever witnessed in the history books, this week's edition of SmackDown served as to bring us the final bit of fallout from the signature event of the year while we begin to look ahead to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view scheduled for Sunday, April 10. Due to the restrictions brought upon by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, SmackDown again emanated from the WWE Performance Center, which will continue to serve as the home for weekly television for the foreseeable future as well as presumably Money in the Bank.
The notable highlight from what can best be described as a mostly forgettable SmackDown episode on Friday of course surrounded new universal champion Braun Strowman. While the new champ was in action against a familiar foe in the main event of the show, it was a familiar presence from early on in his WWE career that will prove to be his biggest threat. The remaining positive from this show was WWE continuing the spectacular build toward an eventual showdown between best friends SmackDown women's champion Bayley and Sasha Banks.
Let's have a look now at everything that went down on Friday night's edition of SmackDown as we move further away from WrestleMania 36 and closer toward the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV.
WWE SmackDown recap, grades
The brand-new universal champion Braun Strowman was out to kick off the post-WrestleMania edition of SmackDown. He began by saying that when opportunity knocks, you answer, and that's just what he did at WrestleMania by refusing to stay down while putting Goldberg down for good. Before the new universal champ could go any further, he was interrupted by the man he recently defeated for the intercontinental championship, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura said that he was here to knock on Strowman's door before taunting him with a Japanese proverb as well as the fact that the last time he saw him, it was when Sami Zayn defeated him at Elimination Chamber for the IC title with the help of he and Cesaro. Strowman told Nakamura that he will "get these hands" later tonight, and at this point, Cesaro tried to sneak attack from behind but the champ stopped him. He couldn't stop a kick from Nakamura, however, who then fled up the ramp with a match now set between the two for later on in the evening.
Women's Tag Team Championship -- Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss (c) def. The Kabuki Warriors via pinfall to retain the titles after Cross hit the twisting neckbreaker on Kairi Sane. Fantastic, action-packed match that may have even been better than the WrestleMania clash from last weekend featuring the four women. And, of course, we got our much-needed dose of Asuka shouting on commentary. Later in the night, Bliss & Cross were challenged by Carmella and Dana Brooke for a future title shot, a challenge they accepted. Grade: B+
Elias appeared on the Performance Center camera platform where he recalled dispatching of King Corbin at WrestleMania. He then provided us with a song entitled, "Walk with the King," in which the lyrics covered everything from his fall from the same platform a few weeks ago to his intentions of winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. The latter point certainly drives home the fact that WWE plans on going through with the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV, currently scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
Dolph Ziggler def. Tucker via pinfall after a superkick. Ziggler and Sonya Deville were out and went right to the commentary table to explain they only want the best for Mandy Rose. The match came about after Tucker emerged and taunted Ziggler with photos of Rose and Otis enjoying each other's company while working out together (which really involved Otis holding bananas while watching Rose put in the hard work). What I will say about this match is that Tucker is a vastly underrated worker, and that showed here. Grade: C
The Miz & John Morrison were set in the ring for an episode of "The Dirt Sheet." Morrison instantly pointed out that he's the first person in history to retain the tag titles by himself while Miz added that he's the first person in history to retain from his couch. The SmackDown tag team champions were giving us a live performance of "Miz & Morrison, hey hey, ho ho" before The Usos interrupted, as did The New Day shortly thereafter. Big E said that since one member of each team competed at WrestleMania for the titles, then it was only fair that the other members get a chance as well. From there, Kofi Kingston revealed that, next week on SmackDown, it'll be him vs. Jey Uso vs. The Miz for the SmackDown tag team titles. Grade: C+
The Forgotten Sons def. Lucha House Party via pinfall after Gran Metalik was put away with a combination inverted DDT-stomp finisher as the trio of Jaxson Ryker, Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler made their debut from NXT. As was the case in NXT, Blake and Cutler did the in-ring work while Ryker guided from the outside. An unexpected debut, for sure, but an overall effective one to start. Grade: C
Bayley and Sasha Banks were out for an in-ring promo. The SmackDown women's champion said that no one can touch her because she's beaten everyone. She's defied all the odds because she's the best and she and Banks are the ultimate role models. Just as Banks was about to fire off on the "sheep" who don't understand them, Tamina interrupted. Tamina said that it took all the other women in the WrestleMania match to get rid of here, and she proceeded to challenge Bayley to a one-on-one match for the title. Bayley told Tamina that she can have her match ... if she can defeat Banks next week. Tamina pointed out the obvious to Banks before she left, that her "bestie" is screwing her. So far, WWE is nailing the slow build toward the inevitable Bayley-Banks feud. Grade: A-
Sheamus def. Cal Bloom via pinfall after the Brogue Kick in a squash match. Guess it's time to get back on track with rebuilding the "Celtic Warrior." Grade: C
Jeff Hardy seems to be in line for a significant singles push on SmackDown as Friday night as they began a career retrospective on the "Charismatic Enigma" that play out over the next several weeks.
Braun Strowman (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall in a non-title match after the running powerslam. An episode of the "Firefly FunHouse" aired immediately following the Strowman win. After Bray Wyatt acknowledged how he re-wrote the history between he and John Cena at WrestleMania, he turned his attention to the new universal champion.
As images of Strowman in the Wyatt Family flashed on the screen, Wyatt wondered whether he could forgive Strowman after he took him out of the swamp and provided him with a home only to have Strowman turn his back on him. After the puppets all expressed their disapproval, Strowman said that he's not playing these games. Wyatt said that while Strowman may not have learned his manners, he will learn about sharing because he now has something Wyatt wants in the universal title. "Since I brought you into this world, I'm gonna have to take you out," Wyatt said as he quickly transformed from his Mr. Rogers parody character to channeling The Fiend persona. Just as the "Firefly FunHouse" segment was about to end with the normal conclusion of Wyatt returning to smiling and waving, Strowman interrupted and finished with letting Wyatt know, "Anytime you want, I'm ready to let ... you ... in. Bye, see you later."
So it seems as if Wyatt is being tossed straight back into the title picture post-WrestleMania, which may not be the smart choice on the surface. But when you take into account the current circumstances, Strowman being a logical opponent given the history between the two and the fact that Roman Reigns is away from the Performance Center for the foreseeable future, it may actually be the most viable on the table right now. Grade: B
