WWE Smackdown Live – April 23rd 2019: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a full set of spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, right now! I’m just yanking your chain. I can’t even afford to look at the trailer for that picture, let alone see it. Any-way, here comes three minutes of wrestling and ten hours of talking.
Match #1: Finn Bálor def. Andrade
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Looking for redemption after Andrade defeated him on night one of the Superstar Shake-up, Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor came correct for the rematch this week on SmackDown LIVE. The Extraordinary Man brought the heat from jump street, not faltering too heavily, despite Andrade’s explosive attack and his determination to start taking down the WWE Universe’s heroes. In the clutch, Andrade seemed to be closing in on another victory when he drilled Finn with the Running Double Knees in the corner, but the Intercontinental Champion refused to stay down. Zelina Vega attempted to take out Finn with a crossbody late in the match, but Andrade was forced to catch his business manager out of the air when Finn sidestepped her. The Intercontinental Champion took advantage of the opening, dropkicking his opponent into the corner and following up with the Coup De Grace to seal an impressive victory and even the score with Andrade.
My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – Who would’ve thought that the former Prince Devitt and La Sombra would have a fine match together? Every-body, that’s who. This was great stuff. They did things here that Vince McMahon probably doesn’t even know exists. What more do you want? This was wrestling as it should be.
Match #2: Kairi Sane def. Peyton Royce
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With Paige introducing the blockbuster tag team of Asuka & Kairi Sane on SmackDown LIVE last week, the tandem looked to take its first step toward a WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles Match against The IIconics, as Sane took on Peyton Royce in her first singles match since arriving on Team Blue. As usual, The IIconics used their pre-match stroll to the ring to slander their upcoming opponents, but Royce seemingly underestimated the blue brand newcomer. The inaugural Mae Young Classic winner hit the ground running and never took her foot off the gas, finishing Peyton off with the awe-inspiring Insane Elbow. Sane, Asuka and Paige soon saw their celebration cut short, though, as Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville appeared at the top of the entrance ramp to stare down the trio. The tense confrontation came shortly after Fire & Desire approached Paige in the backstage are and told her that her “experiment” with Kairi and Asuka would fail and that she would come crawling back to Absolution … but not tonight she wouldn’t.
My Opinion: 1 out of 5 – A couple of nice moves from Sane and it was over. Bada Bing, Bada Boom.
Match #3: Chad Gable vs. Jinder Mahal
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
A contest between two of SmackDown LIVE’s newest Superstars, Chad Gable and Jinder Mahal, never got underway due to Lars Sullivan showing up and destroying anyone that crossed his path. That included Gable, who was laid out by The Freak on the entrance ramp. Sullivan then hit the ring with the intent of taking out Mahal and The Singh Brothers, but The Modern Day Maharaja pushed The Singh Brothers to the forefront, allowing him to leave the ring and Lars to absolutely wreck Sunil and Samir. R-Truth, who was clearly looking for retaliation after Lars attacked him last week, attempted to step to The Freak, and he landed a few stiff punches. However, much like everyone else tonight (and any other night), R-Truth was downed by Sullivan, who dropped him with a Freak Accident and a ring-rattling running sit-out powerbomb, leaving another massive path of destruction in his wake.
My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – This was more of that bait and switch $#!@ that never gets over. The match never starts, so it was just a waste of time.
Match #4: Charlotte Flair def. Bayley to earn a SmackDown Women’s Championship opportunity
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With adrenaline pumping on both sides of the ring after their heated exchange from moments prior, Bayley and Charlotte Flair squared off with a future SmackDown Women’s Championship opportunity on the line. The two longtime rivals engaged in a fierce bout, and a fearless Bayley brought the fight to The Queen. Charlotte meticulously targeted Bayley’s knees, grounding her foe and applying constant pressure. Bayley fought back by absolutely unloading on Charlotte while fighting through immense pain in her knees. The Huggable One seemed to have victory within her grasp when she hit an incredible sunset flip that had Charlotte reeling. However, The Queen survived that and everything else, and she recovered to finish Bayley off with a massive Spear. After the match, Lynch boldly declared backstage that she will defend both her titles at WWE Money in the Bank, putting her Raw Women’s Title on the line against Lacey Evans and taking on Flair in another high-stakes bout for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This was an excellent little bout between these two that demonstrates how good they both are. There wasn’t a false move any step of the way. You could sense how comfortable they both were with each other. I’m really going for poetry here, ain’t I? Overall, this match was strong stuff that led to a predictable, yet enjoyable match.
Match #5: (Main Event) Kofi Kingston def. Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
It seemed like everything was great in New Day land, with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and honorary member Kevin Owens (or “Big O,” if you prefer) seemingly getting along great … but, clearly, The Power of Positivity can be misleadingly blinding. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston squared off against Shinsuke Nakamura for the first time ever, as honorary New Day member Owens and Woods provided unique commentary from The New Day’s specialized announce booth, and Rusev and Lana backed up Nakamura. Nakamura attempted to wear down the WWE Champion with his signature hard-hitting attack, but Kofi fought back with a string of several high-impact moves that appeared to have him on the verge of victory. Before Kingston could secure a pinfall, however, Rusev jumped on the WWE Champion to cause the disqualification, leading to a wild post-match brawl.
Owens and Woods teamed up to take out Rusev, but Nakamura dropped Woods with the Kinshasa. And after Kofi cleared The King of Strong Style from the ring, Owens shockingly leveled Kofi with a wicked superkick before beginning a vicious assault. “Big O” chucked Kofi into the barricade and ring post, grabbed the WWE Title and began screaming at Kingston that he hoped the WWE Champion and his kids enjoyed WrestleMania because the title would soon be his. Kingston attempted to fight back with a few desperation punches, but the damage had already been done. Owens attempted to set Kingston up for the Apron Powerbomb on the edge of the ring, but Woods interjected and briefly took KO down. Owens soon got the best of already weakened Woods, finally taking him out with a vicious Apron Powerbomb. Woods was down, Kingston was furious while tending to his brother and Owens had made his statement: It’s a new day for KO … and the plans for that day only include winning the WWE Championship.
My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This was a really good taste of a dream match that ought to get more time later this year. These two worked together very well and could have a great time on Pay Per View if given the chance to fight for the big strap. Everything here felt effortless, which is not to say that they didn’t put their backs into it either. Overall, this was great, until they did the heel turn for Kevin Owens, which ruined the finish.
News Of The Night:
- Kevin Owens turned heel, again.
- Charlotte Flair will challenge Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Title at Money In The Bank.
- Becky Lynch is defending both Women’s belts at MITB.
- Roman Reigns is feuding with Shane McMahon and Elias.
- The Bray Wyatt children’s show vignette was shown, again.
Final Verdict: 3/5
This was a good show that had some nice matches and felt like a fresh start to boot.