Friday Night SmackDown Review - April 19, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AJ Styles def. LA Knight in an Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

With the WWE Women's Championship match headlining the show, it made sense for this to open the night. Much like at WrestleMania 40, they worked really well together and had an entertaining opener. Their first encounter was slightly stronger (perhaps because they got less time here and had to deal with a commercial), but I enjoyed it for as long as it lasted. Of the two, Styles makes the most sense to challenge Cody Rhodes at Backlash, and I'm looking forward to that matchup.

Paul "Triple H" Levesque Presented Austin Theory and Grayson Waller with New WWE Tag Team Championship Belts; The Street Profits def. Legado del Fantasma (Angel and Berto), New Catch Republic and Authors of Pain in a WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match

New World Tag Team Championship belts were unveiled on Raw, so it was only academic Theory and Waller to be presented with new belts as well. As expected, they'll be called the WWE Tag Team Championship (a nice nod to what they were during the original Brand Extension on SmackDown) and they look amazing. The subsequent Fatal 4-Way tag team match was standard stuff, but its chaotic nature made it fun. Street Profits just won at WrestleMania alongside Bobby Lashley, so they were the logical picks to win here.

The Bloodline Attacked Kevin Owens

Sikoa wearing a suit this week was a pleasant surprise. He's desperately needed character development for a while now, so it's cool to see him stepping up as the leader of The Bloodline in Roman Reigns' absence. Tama Tonga once again looked like a badass, Paul Heyman was brilliant in his role, and Owens getting color was a terrific touch. Everything about this segment was stellar. Will Randy Orton eventually come to Owens' aid?

Santos Escobar def. Carlito

I wasn't a fan of these two running it back here as their Street Fight last month felt like the payoff to their mini feud. This paled in comparison to that and was a pretty basic bout for the most part. I also don't thin it needed to happen since everyone assumes Carlito was the one who attacked Dragon Lee two weeks ago, anyway. The commentators acknowledging Carlito's string of losses since returning was obviously intentional. Legado del Fantasma should be drafted to Raw so they can get away from The LWO.

WWE Women's Champion Bayley vs. Naomi Ended in a No Contest

Despite the babyface vs. babyface dynamic, this was a solid main event with good action. I didn't really buy into Naomi winning, but I appreciated that she was spotlighted in the main event and that there wasn't a clean finish. Tiffany Stratton lost to Naomi last week, so I liked that she got a measure of revenge by laying both of them out here. Do we get a Triple Threat for the WWE Women's Championship at Backlash?

Overall Show

Even with the Draft kicking off next Friday night, WWE isn't phoning it in with Raw and SmackDown. This was another thumbs-up episode where the two hours flew by. They started on a high note, ended on a high note, and had that excellent Bloodline segment in the middle. Throw in the new WWE Tag Team Championship belts being unveiled and this was another successful effort from the blue brand.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews​