Friday Night SmackDown Review - April 30, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair and The Street Profits def. Bayley and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

Honestly, the pre-match promos from all six stars were pretty pointless. They felt like filler because you could have cut them out and the subsequent six-person tag team match wouldn't have been any better or worse. That said, the match itself was solid and had a nice pace to it. Montez Ford pinning Roode for the win likely means they'll be in line for yet another opportunity for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but I'm ready for the Mysterios to get the next shot. Those teams should face off in a number one contender's match one of these weeks with the winners getting Ziggler and Roode at WrestleMania Backlash.

Natalya and Tamina def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

I would love to know who is actually been clamoring for more matches from these two teams. I can see some fans digging Natalya and Tamina (even though they do nothing for me personally), but Jax and Baszler have been beyond boring as champions. They haven't had any standout matches, they don't have the best chemistry, they lose far more often than they win it seems, and above all else, it's a complete waste of Baszler. This was another throwaway match from them. Unfortunately, Natalya and Tamina winning means another championship clash between them sometime soon, possibly at the pay-per-view. Ugh.

Big E def. Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews by Disqualification

Why do I feel like most of the matches these guys have had have ended in disqualification? They work very well together, but we have yet to have that one match where they're given an ample amount of time, are allowed to go all out, and there's a clean finish. So far, they've been short on time or had someone interfere, or both. Here, it was Commander Azeez. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn entered the fray afterward, so it looks like we're headed for a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania Backlash that has potential.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan

I absolutely loved how this was given a big fight feel with the Superstars being asked throughout the night who they thought would win. I also love Reigns' epic new entrance music. It won't be for everyone, but it gives me "final boss" vibes and I think it fits his persona perfectly. Meanwhile, the match itself was excellent. They were given plenty of time and it felt like a pay-per-view main event. The outcome was never in doubt, but they still managed to create some suspenseful nearfalls down the stretch, nonetheless. Per the stipulation, Bryan is now banished from the blue brand. I'm curious where he goes from here, but the commentators made it clear this was it for him on SmackDown. Thus, my guess is that we see him show up on Raw very soon. A run in NXT would be ideal, but I'm not getting my hopes up. As for Reigns, Cesaro is obviously being groomed for the next title shot based off what happened afterward.

Overall Show

I'm a big fan of whenever WWE takes the "less is more" approach with their shows, so with only four matches, you could probably tell that I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Okay, so the women's tag team match was whatever and I don't care about the feud, but I appreciated that they gave them more time this week. Obviously, I wouldn't have held this show in such high regard had it not been for the main event, which is definitely must-see. It's amazing to me that SmackDown could be such a strong show at the moment when Raw is in rough shape, but regardless of what the reason is, I'm happy the blue brand continues to kill it. Now let's see what they have in store for next week's "throwback" edition.