SmackDown closed out WrestleMania week Tuesday by turning everything on its head. Paige spent exactly one night searching for something new after retirement before starting as the new SmackDown general manager, Shinsuke Nakamura slipped fully into his role as SmackDown's newest villain, two new players joined the fray and we got a blockbuster, first time in WWE main event for the ages.
What are we forgetting?
Oh right, a new SmackDown women's champion, as the princess usurped the queen. After 287 days with her Money in the Bank briefcase by her side, Carmella officially, and successfully, cashed in Tuesday night against an already beaten-down Charlotte Flair to become the sixth woman to hold the SmackDown title.
For months, we've wondered aloud when Carmella was going to leverage her free shot at the women's crown. She's held the briefcase since June 27 of last year. Was she going to cash in at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, perhaps some random episode of SmackDown Live to spice things up? Or maybe, she could've injected herself into the situation at WrestleMania and perhaps fouled up the Flair vs. Asuka classic to garner a tremendously negative reaction.
Yet none of those realities came to be. In retrospect, what better time than the first show after WrestleMania, when our attention was on so many other things like NXT call-ups, the fallout from Nakamura and AJ Styles, Flair celebrating ending Asuka's undefeated streak and the future of Daniel Bryan, just to name a few things.
On Tuesday, Flair strolled to the ring triumphantly, two nights after what could arguably be the most significant win of her already Hall of Fame-trending career. Her exultation was cut off by the main-roster debut of NXT's long-running Iconic Duo, now called The IIconics -- Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. They first verbally flattened the champ, then physically laid her out in and outside of the ring.
Flair was completely prone, and despite allies like Becky Lynch and Naomi on the roster, this was going to be a lonely moment -- and the perfect chance for Carmella to strike.
MELLA IS MONEY!@CarmellaWWE has cashed in her #MITB contract to become #SDLive#WomensChampion! pic.twitter.com/FDMcIj0olY
- WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
After multiple teases during which she nearly cashed in her briefcase in recent weeks, Carmella grabbed a stunned referee, dragged him to the ring and pleaded for him to ring the bell. Following a few moments of mass confusion, he did, and with a kick to Flair's face for good measure, the deed was done.
Somewhere James Ellsworth, who has sadly been entirely retconned out of Carmella's journey to gold, is sitting back, tugging on his dog collar and reveling in his former gal pal's nefarious handiwork. It was quite the moment to digest, especially with so many other post-Mania water-cooler topics to discuss. But those seem secondary to the shocking sea change to the SmackDown women's landscape. Now we have to ask the obvious question: What does this all mean?
To start, we have a new champ in Carmella. But is she just a temporary placeholder, or is this the beginning of an extended run and the birth of a legit star, whom we've been waiting on to see if she could leap out of her mid-card purgatory for what seemed to last an eternity.
Is this the way to end Flair's current run on SmackDown and send her back to Raw, with next week's Superstar Shakeup? She's already a four-time champ on Raw, and with Asuka in limbo, newly minted title-holder Nia Jax on top and, of course, Ronda Rousey in the mix, the addition of Charlotte Flair could give that show unparalleled star power. It could also throw off the balance of the women's divisions entirely, and crowd one show with too many stars. Whatever is in the offing, this much is for sure -- Carmella finally had her moment.
She's still a little green, but perhaps some time in the spotlight will hone her shtick. There's no question, she has the potential, but only time will tell how this title reign will go.
Nakamura ruins a WrestleMania-worthy match
Doesn't Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles sound like a WrestleMania 35 headliner? But hey, why wait to feature this eye-popping showdown when they're both ready and willing to make it happen right now?
In her first blockbuster announcement since taking the SmackDown general manager reins, Paige declared Styles and Bryan would clash in the main event later that night. In a single moment, you got the kind of high-stakes match that Raw was sorely lacking on Monday night. For the first time ever in WWE, and first time anywhere in more than 12 years, Styles and Bryan had the makings of a match that would instantly go down in WWE lore. It was also Bryan's first match on SmackDown since 2015.
Bryan, who resigned as SmackDown GM earlier in the day to pursue a full-time gig as an in-ring performer, showed little rust. Neither he nor Styles held anything back, and there was a serious buzz building in the arena. Back and forth they went, blow for blow, submission for submission, until Nakamura came out and spoiled everything in the closing seconds of the show. Just as he had following a losing effort at WrestleMania two nights earlier, Nakamura struck a vicious low blow on Styles, struck both men with a Kinshasa knee strike and then a second Styles low blow for good measure.
After playing dumb and pretending not to speak English with Renee Young backstage (with a wink, no less), Nakamura gloated about his shameful tactics and smiled all the way back to the locker room as Bryan and Styles laid in agony.
We're certain this won't be the last time Styles and Bryan have an opportunity to go at it in the ring, though they too could get split up by the Superstar Shakeup, but Styles now clearly has his greatest villain and adversary lined up for the foreseeable future.
Hits and misses
How cool was it to see Paige follow in the footsteps of Daniel Bryan and maintain a significant role in the WWE, when career-threatening injuries disallowed each of them from performing in the ring? In an emotional promo after Shane McMahon announced the decision, Paige thanked the commissioner for giving her the opportunity. As one of the leading personalities in the women's wrestling revolution, Paige will certainly have a major impact on the show.
Here's hoping Naomi gets a major push again. Between her slingshot leg drop, scorpion kick and split-leg moonsault in a winning effort against Natalya, Naomi has a skillset that very few men or women have. She's been a relative non-factor since dropping her title at last year's SummerSlam. That must change.
Another solid showing between The Usos and The New Day for the No. 1 contender tag-team spot. In the end, Jimmy and Jey prevailed and will face the newly crowned The Bludgeon Brothers at the Greatest Royal Rumble in a little more than two weeks for a shot to reclaim their titles. What does this mean for New Day? Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps a move back to Mondays. As with every other star, we shall find out soon enough.
What would another edition of SmackDown be without another plea to the creative team to give Rusev the push everyone in the universe wants? He came up short (again!), this time in a triple-threat match involving Randy Orton and Bobby Roode to decide who will face the United States champ, Jinder Mahal, at Backlash. In the end, Orton came out on top and, in a rematch of last year's showdown at Backlash where The Viper dropped his WWE championship, he'll get a shot at redemption. This was not a rematch and renewal of tensions that went over well with fans.
So then, what's the plan for Rusev? He has another big match at Greatest Royal Rumble, when he enters a casket match against The Undertaker, but he's certainly not walking out of that one as the winner. Perhaps the summer will finally be the time for Rusev Day to warrant a proper celebration.
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