Braun Strowman is the new WWE Universal champion (WWE)
WWE SmackDown results and grades: The new Universal Champion was targetted by several stars as he began his new reign.
Braun Strowman became the Universal Champion by defeating Goldberg at WrestleMania, but there was a big match on show as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defended their newly won tag titles against The Kabuki Warriors.
There was a lot of action on this week’s SmackDown and here are the results and grades.
The new champion walked out and spoke about taking on all challengers. He was then interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura who reminded him that the champion was beaten the last time they met.
Strowman, being a fighting champion, accepted the challenge. However, he avoided a sneak attack by Cesaro before Nakamura kicked him and ran off.
Grade B
Strowman getting into action after winning the title is better than learning that Drew McIntyre defended his title after WrestleMania on Raw.
However, the sneak attack didn’t look all that great as Nakamura could have at least stood tall after beating the champion down.
Asuka and Kairi Sane looked in the mood to reclaim the titles. The dominated the clash and kept Bliss isolated from her partner.
However, Bliss was able to turn things around tagged in Cross. She was also demolished by the Kabuki Warriors but somehow, the champions were able to ride their luck and keep hold of the titles.
Cross and Bliss beat The Kabuki Warriors
Grade B
This wasn’t the greatest match but it was decent enough as all four women showed off their abilities. It also showed that Bliss and Cross can take a pounding before picking up the win.
A video showed the great moment between Otis and Many Rose from WrestleMania 36 but Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville came out to highlight that they weren’t happy with this situation.
Tucker arrived next and showed some pictures of his friend Otis, and Rose, celebrating, and a match was set.
It was Tucker taking on Ziggler and he made the Showoff pay by assaulting him left, right and centre.
However, the Showoff took advantage of slipping away from the corner and smacking Tucker with a superkick to win.
Ziggler beats Tucker
Grade C
This was bound to happen as Ziggler and Deville will continue their feud with the pair. However, it was upsetting that Rose and Otis weren’t seen by ringside to rub things into the faces of the heels.
Tucker absolutely dominated the match but it was Ziggler that needed one moment of magic to win.
The Miz and John Morrison came out for the Dirt Sheet and were pleased to have retained the titles.
It was Morrison that kept the crown and added that he was the first person to win the titles all on his own.
However, the Usos and the New Day came out to stop a live rendition of “Miz & Morrison, hey ho, hey ho.”
They pointed out that since only one member of their teams got a shot at the titles, the others should too.
To the shock of the champions, a triple threat match was set for next week with the Miz defending the titles against Big E and Jey Uso.
Grade B
At least that solved one problem with the tag title match at WrestleMania. It was promised to be a six-man ladder match but ended up being with just three.
It will be interesting to see what the Miz does and if he can keep the title or will someone else get the result.
Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake were in action against the Lucha House Party. Jaxson Ryker was outside shouting orders at the Forgotten Sons, and they made light work of Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado.
Forgotten Sons beat Lucha House Party
Grade B
Bayley kept hold of her SmackDown Women’s title at WrestleMania with a lot of help from Sasha Banks.
The champion claimed she did it all by herself but only added a few mentions of how great Banks was in the clash.
Tamina came out and challenged Bayley for the title again, Bayley, being the fighting champion, said she was ready to face the challenger in a one-on-one clash.
However, Tamina would first have to beat Banks. The challenger highlighted how Bayley was using Banks, and The Boss was far from happy with this clash.
Grade A
The seeds have been sown for Bayley and Banks to end their friendship.
Tamina coming out and challenging Bayley was great as she has been excellent in recent weeks. Bayley and Banks don’t seem to be on the right page and their friendship could be coming to an end soon.
WWE seem to have forgotten about Sheamus during the coronavirus outbreak but the Celtic Warrior was in action.
He beat Cal Bloom easily and celebrated after the clash.
Sheamus beats Bloom
Grade C
This was another match to show that Sheamus is a tough competitor and he can destroy anyone on the roster.
It will be interesting to see who he faces next as squash matches can only go so far. We all know what Sheamus is all about, so he should get some decent competition soon.
Strowman faced Nakamura and it was the champion that came out on top, despite Cesaro trying to make a mess of things in the ring.
The interesting bit happened after the match as Bray Wyatt came out on the Firefly Fun House and did a similar number on Strowman like he did against John Cena.
Wyatt highlighted how Strowman came through the ranks of the Wyatt Family and promised to destroy the thing he created.
Strowman claimed he was ready to fight Wyatt anytime and anywhere and Wyatt stared menacingly at the screen.
Strowman beats Nakamura
Grade B
This was the most logical choice given that Roman Reigns seems to be out of action for a while. Wyatt and Strowman have a huge history together, and it will be interesting to see how things go between them in the coming weeks.
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