WWE SmackDown Live – April 16, 2019 (Review)

I have no idea whether this edition of SmackDown Live will outperform its Raw counterpart this week. After all, the blue side of the company has been on a bit of slide in recent weeks. For the most part, storylines had been stagnating as WrestleMania approached, feuds were starting to wear a little thin in places, and too often we were dipping back into the multi-man well for inspiration when deciding on the night’s card.

The Superstar Shakeup should of course deliver excitement; it has no reason not to. But the same held true for Monday’s Raw, and look where that got us. A heel Stephanie McMahon and a lonely Eric Young.

So would night two of the annual Shakeup window provide better entertainment? Would we see pulsating surprises? Could we witness the beginning of new tantalising rivalries? And what on Earth did Vince McMahon have in mind when he promised “the biggest acquisition in SmackDown history“? Surely Big Show would be a Raw exclusive, if anything.

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Through all these questions, only one thing was clear. At least we weren’t going to be served anything as monumentally stupid as The Viking Experience.

That automatically raised SmackDown half a point in my estimation.

So with a blank slate and plenty of optimism, we launch head-first into another instalment of SmackDown Live. Here’s the good!