The first WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania XL marked the first Friday night fight night of the Triple H era of WWE and it was a sight to behold. New champions addressed the WWE Universe, as well as new challengers coming out and putting their names in the mix to challenge for the gold.
It’s going to be an exciting iteration of the Blue brand’s weekly programming two weeks ahead of the WWE Draft and less than a month away from WWE Backlash in France. Without further ado, here is a full preview of this week’s SmackDown.
Let’s run it down.
Full WWE SmackDown Match Card:
- WWE Women’s Championship Match: Bayley (c) vs. Naomi
- “Winner Faces Cody Rhodes for WWE Championship at Backlash: France”: LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
- Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender’s Match for SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Street Profits vs. New Catch Republic vs. Legado Del Fantasma vs. Authors of Pain
Grudge Match Rematch for a Shot at the Gold
LA Knight and the “Phenomenal’ AJ Styles put on a display for the ages at WrestleMania XL and they get to run it back on this latest installment of WWE SmackDown. Knight got one over on Styles at the ‘Showcase of the Immortals,’ marking his first win in his first ‘Mania match.
Of course, Styles wasn’t at all too happy about the outcome but he was willing to set it all aside to once again become WWE Champion.
It just so happens that both of them won their respective Triple Threat Matches, setting up this monumental rematch with a lot more at stake; a shot at Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship at WWE Backlash in France.
Can AJ Styles remain focused and book his flight to France to battle Rhodes? Or can LA Knight become the number one contender and have two wins over his fierce rival?
Feeling the Glow
On last week’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown, the new WWE Women’s Champion Bayley made her feelings known about being the head of the division after years of being away from the title.
Apart from expressing her gratitude and elation for her title win at WrestleMania XL, the former leader of Damage CTRL wanted to name her first challenger, which is former SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi.
Unfortunately for the two friends, Tiffany Stratton had a lot to say.
Stratton was not pleased she didn’t make it on the WrestleMania card despite having one of the best main roster debuts of recent memory. Plus, she took exception to the fact that a competitor she had beaten before the first crack at the champ.
Naomi did not take too kindly to what Tiffany was saying and demanded a match for her to earn her number-one contender status. The match got immediately underway with the two having a banger of a match from bell to bell.
Tiffany Stratton got a little too cocky and Naomi capitalized on this inexperience by rolling her up to secure her match with Bayley for next week’s WWE SmackDown.
Two of the best WWE Superstars the company has today will collide in a WWE Women’s Championship Match. Will Bayley notch her first successful championship defense? Or will Naomi end her reign before it even gets off the ground?
Tune into this week’s WWE SmackDown to find out and more only on Fox!
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – WWE – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
