
WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 4
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on April 4.
The roster is back from the European tour and getting ready for WrestleMania 41 in just over two weeks. Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's show:
—Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and CM Punk appear
—Rey Fenix makes his debut
—B-Fab vs. Naomi
—Motor City Machine Guns vs. DIY
—Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
Chicago Loves Cm Punk
1 of 7
SmackDown was in Punk's hometown of Chicago this week, so fans were chanting his name before his music even hit for his entrance.
The Second City Saint enjoyed the response and spent a long time soaking up the adulation of the crowd. He spoke about the Chicago crowd being so energetic even after a series of hot crowds in Europe.
Punk thanked his wife and got a chant going for his dog, Larry. He thanked everyone who got him where he needed to be to main event WrestleMania, including the fans in Chicago.
Paul Heyman came out and talked up Punk for a little while before asking Punk to reveal what the favor is that he wants before Reigns arrives. Punk said he would rather tell Heyman when he tells Reigns to his face and left the ring.
This was a strong opening segment, but most of the credit for that belongs to the crowd. Punk and Heyman did their part, but the fans in Chicago always make sure to show up when it comes to Punk.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—WWE is really playing up that Heyman owes Punk a favor. It better be something good or this will have zero payoff.
—The announcers should have stayed quiet during the crowd reaction during Punk's entrance.
—Heyman telling the crowd not to laugh when he mentioned getting fired was the funniest part of this segment.
Rey Fenix vs. Nathan Frazer
2 of 7
NXT's Nathan Frazer made an appearance on SmackDown this week to be the first opponent for the debuting Fenix. The announcers didn't shy away from mentioning that he is Penta's brother during his entrance.
Frazer and Fenix began with a standard exchange of wristlocks that ended in a stalemate, but Fenix quickly gained the upper hand and began showing off for the crowd.
If you are familiar with Frazer's work in NXT, then you know he is one of the quickest people in all of WWE. He and Fenix put on a fast-paced match that not only allowed the debuting Superstar to look good, but it also allowed his opponent to impress the crowd with his ability.
Matches like this have a higher chance of botches, so there was a couple of moments that didn't hit as planned, but they didn't slow down the momentum of the match whatsoever.
This was far more competitive than it needed to be, but that worked to its benefit. Fenix hit a Mexican Muscle Buster to get the pin and the win.
Result: Fenix defeated Frazer
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Fenix looked hyped during his entrance. You could tell he was excited.
—Whoever chose Frazer as a first opponent for Fenix made a good pick.
—Frazer got hung up during a suicide dive and almost had a horrible landing.
LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga
3 of 7
Tama Tonga finally had a chance to work a singles match again, but he had to take on the reigning U.S. champion, LA Knight.
The Megastar had the upper hand at first, but one quick move to send his head into the middle turnbuckle allowed Tonga to take control.
Sikoa helped provide a distraction that allowed Tonga to send Knight off the apron into the announce table as the show cut to a break.
The second half of the match was pretty competitive, but it ended with Knight scoring the win and making a quick exit to avoid an attack from Sikoa.
Result: Knight defeated Tonga
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Knight and Strowman had a backstage confrontation with Sikoa and Tonga before Knight went to the ring.
—The way so many people telegraph back body drops has gotten annoying. Too many people who should know better make it so obvious.
DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns
4 of 7
Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton had an interview in the ring with Wade Barrett. The crowd was giving The Queen so much heat that she had to yell into the mic to be heard. This segment started off fine but eventually went off the rails.
After a break, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin took on Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa for a shot at the tag titles held by The Street Profits, who were at ringside to watch.
Sabin and Ciampa started the match, but it didn't take long for their partners to get involved for some double-team spots.
We've seen these two teams fight several times in recent months, so they had no problem using their established chemistry to put on an exciting contest.
One of the top turnbuckles was exposed during the mayhem and Ciampa ended up crashing into it. This allowed Sabin to roll him up for the pin and the win.
Result: MCMG defeated DIY
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—We got a cryptic teaser for someone before the segment with Tiffy and Charlotte.
—It almost looked like Tiffany and Charlotte coordinated their outfits.
—Charlotte tried to get some last-minute heat by mentioning Tiffy's real relationship with Ludwig Kaiser, but it didn't work.
—Gargano's slingshot Spear looked great.
B-fab vs. Naomi
5 of 7
Michin came out with B-Fab but did not stay at ringside to watch her match against Naomi. Jade Cargill attacked Naomi during her entrance but didn't do enough damage to cause the match to be called off.
As soon as Naomi got into the ring, the ref called for the bell and B-Fab started taking it to her with clotheslines.
Naomi was able to rebound and win the match, but she was taken down almost immediately by Cargill again.
The match we got was short and didn't accomplish much, but Nick Aldis booking Naomi vs. Cargill for WrestleMania after the match helped.
Result: Naomi defeated B-Fab
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Pretty Deadly's joke about Leonardo DiCaprio was funny.
—Naomi and Cargill getting a non-title match at WrestleMania is huge.
Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman
6 of 7
Kevin Owens came to the ring and said he has been dealing with a neck injury for a few months and now he needs to get neck surgery. He said not getting to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania sucks but he is thankful for WWE to allow him to address the crowd since he doesn't know how long he will be gone.
Randy Orton came to the ring and KO left without saying anything to him. Aldis informed Orton he no longer had a match at 'Mania, so Orton hit him with an RKO.
Fatu and Strowman met for another encounter this week, but this one was definitely going to have a definitive ending since it was a Last Man Standing match.
The fight got started as Strowman was making his entrance, so the ref called for the bell and didn't even wait for them to get into the ring. The Monster Among Men had control until they got back into the ring.
They started teasing Strowman not being to answer the count after just a couple of minutes, but he was setting up a table in the corner shortly after we returned.
They battled through a second break and just as we returned again, we saw Strowman hit a suplex in the crowd that put Fatu through two tables.
This was just two big dudes hitting each other as hard as possible for a long time, so it goes without saying that this was a lot of fun.
Fatu barely won by putting Strowman through the table in the ring and getting back to his feet by the count of nine. The Monster Among Men was just about to get back up when the ref counted to 10. This made Fatu look like a monster as he heads to 'Mania to challenge for the United States Championship.
Result: Fatu defeated Strowman
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Owens appeared to get into an argument with someone in the crowd as he was leaving.
—Fatu's music is fine but he needs something more unique to him.
—The way Fatu was sent into the ring steps looked really painful.
The Favor and the Final Word
7 of 7The Tribal Chief came to the ring to close the show with the big reveal of what Punk's favor from Heyman will be. Rollins showed up first to make Reigns mad before Punk showed up.
Punk revealed his favor is that he wants Heyman to be in his corner instead of Reigns' corner at WrestleMania. Heyman told Reigns he couldn't turn Punk down and it led to Punk taking Reigns out with a GTS to end the show.
Friday's SmackDown was a strong episode. It advanced several stories, featured a few great matches, and Chicago had a hot crowd to keep the energy high.
MCMG vs. DIY was entertaining, as was the Last Man Standing match, but Fenix and Frazer stole the show with their high-flying bout.
Having both Lucha Bros in WWE without them being showcased solely as a tag team is an interesting way to use them right out of the gate, and so far it has proved to be a good decision.
The build for WrestleMania 41 is finally heating up. Let's hope the last few shows before the two-day event have this same energy.
Grade: B


.jpg)





.png)

.jpg)

