WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER (#2) 4/10: How will Styles respond to Nakamura’s heel-turn, who will be the next challenger for Charlotte, Bryan’s future after in-ring return, Pre-shakeup jitters

WWE SMACKDOWN LIVE PRIMER
APRIL 10, 2018
NEW ORLEANS, LA AT SMOOTHIE KING CENTER
REPORT BY DUSTIN MAYLE (@DUSTINLANE_M)

“THE LOW BLOW HEARD ‘ROUND MANIA”

After a dandy wrestling match for the WWE Championship, and a devious heel-turn to follow it, Shinsuke Nakamura has some explaining to do. Millions had to have leaped out of their seats as they watched Nakamura deliver a Wrestlemania worthy low-blow to A.J. Styles after his loss to Styles. I, for one, wasn’t even expecting Shinsuke to lose, let alone turn heel. It certainly stirred the emotions of fans. Some might not know how to feel about it just yet, but they may not have seen his heel work over in New Japan Pro Wrestling. If WWE plays it right, Shinsuke may become one of their top heels. This is something Shinsuke has been in need of. He needs this edge about him, and at Wrestlemania, I think he gave a great teaser to how visceral of a heel he can portray.

Tonight on Smackdown Live, A.J. is expected to give a response to Nakamura’s betrayal. Surely, this has the potential to set up a fantastic feud involving rematches between the two rivals, but the Superstar Shakeup may have other plans. We’ll see where they take this angle tonight.

“THE QUEEN WHO ENDED THE STREAK”

The Queen and defending SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte proved at Wrestlemania that she was ready for Asuka. During what some may think could’ve been the main event of the show, Charlotte finally, after not really having a great match in over a year, showed everyone what a fantastic performer she is in that ring, and conquered the Asuka streak. This match gave Charlotte the credibility that some may have been forgetting she possessed, and it’s about time. She really is The Queen, and, yes, I’m pretty high on Charlotte currently, as you should be too.

Tonight, WWE.com hints at a new challenger for Charlotte’s title. (No rematch clause for Asuka? Is that only a Roman thing?) Perhaps Carmella will look to cash in her Money in The Bank tonight. The night to do it would probably be tonight, the SmackDown after Mania. Think of the buzz if she won. Perhaps Naomi will ride her Wrestlemania Women’s Battle Royal momentum and step up as the next challenger. We shall see.

OTHER NOTES…

-Daniel Bryan, after two years out of action, has finally returned to competition at WrestleMania and cemented a big win, with Shane McMahon, over Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Now that Daniel is back for in-ring action, will they still keep him on as Smackdown Live GM? I thought his taking off his cardigan two weeks ago meant that he quit as GM. Apparently, he was just a little excited. I get it. WWE teases that this uncertainty may cause some tension in the Superstar Shake-up as well. Maybe we will get a new GM soon for the blue brand. I know Daniel would rather be a full-time wrestler than a GM. Expect all this to be addressed tonight.

-There are new Tag Champs in town as well. The Bludgeon Brothers, Harper & Rowan, defeated both The New Day and The Usos at WrestleMania for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. I was expecting a rematch clause to be invoked by The Usos, but WWE.com mentions there could be other challengers to step up to the new champs. They could be current roster teams, or they may be NXT call-ups.

-Speaking of NXT, be expecting to see more talent from the developmental territory make their main roster debuts tonight on the SmackDown brand. Last night on Raw, we saw AOP and Ember Moon make their Raw debuts. Tonight, we will probably see the same for a few NXT stars. It would be delightful to see Drew McIntyre debut and challenge the newly crowned U.S. Champion Jinder Mahal.

-I don’t expect Randy Orton to challenge Jinder to a rematch. Orton doesn’t need it and the newer talent need to have their time to shine now. Randy did his necessary part by dropping the title at WrestleMania. Who will be the next challenger to Jinder’s U.S. title? Rusev? Hopefully so. Give these Rusev fans what they want already.

-Riott Squad is expected as well as Becky Lynch. Hopefully something more becomes of the Lass Kicker. She’s just been buried for too long.

Be sure to stay logged into pwtorch.com for realtime reports and opinions from PWTorch Editor Wade Keller during tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live!