WWE SmackDown Live – April 30, 2019 (Review)

Best of SmackDown Live

Kofi Stands Alone

Immediately after their run-in with Kevin Owens, Kofi and Xavier were shown in the trainer’s room backstage. Xavier was worse for the wear after being laid out by Owens, and Kofi implored his friend to stay out of harm’s way as he took on his title challenger later in the evening.

Woods briefly protested – he wanted to help his pal, naturally – but Kingston remained firm. Woods’ health was too important. And Kofi was going to do this alone.

.@XavierWoodsPhD just couldn't help but come to the aid of his friend.#SDLive @TrueKofi pic.twitter.com/wjWKglR9Sj

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 1, 2019

It was a touching moment between two friends who have demonstrated their loyalty to one another time and again. But even more so, it was nice to see Kofi standing alone and not have to rely on the rest of the New Day.

Lars Sullivan’s Path of Destruction

A couple of weeks ago, ‘The Freak’ decimated the Hardy Boys in an unprovoked attack. We learnt this week that brutal episode had resulted in an injury to Jeff Hardy and that the brothers would have to relinquish the tag team belts as a result.

Before they could say any more though, the giant Sullivan marched to the ring and, despite Matt’s brave resolve, Lars tossed him around like a gym towel. This again prompted R-Truth to attempt to make the save, even bringing a steel chair with him this time. But Sullivan simply (and impressively) punched the chair from Truth’s hands before laying the former US Champion out for the third week in a row.

Eventually, I’m hoping to see Lars move on to more serious competition. But for now, I’m quite happy watching him indiscriminately brutalise members of SmackDown’s mid-card. The fact that he can strike anyone at any time makes him feel like a unique threat.

Commentary was… iconic!

The bizarre team of Asuka and Kairi Sane (even more bizarrely put together by Paige) took on a team of jobbers next. This would’ve been an unremarkable squash match if not for the special guest commentary provided by The IIconics.

I completely understand why some people find the Aussie pair unbearable. They’re loud, obnoxious, screechy and incessant. But I can’t help but enjoy their particular brand of grating narcissism. Billie Kay’s tendency to call people “toots” and randomly exclaim “you must be joking me” in particular amuses me. They’re just funny. And on a roster distinctly lacking in personality, they’re a welcome change of pace.

Then again, maybe it’s just because I’m over an hour into a bad episode of SmackDown and starting to become a bit delirious.

#TheIIconics may not like it, but @WWEAsuka and @KairiSaneWWE are VICTORIOUS on #SDLive! pic.twitter.com/vsxGoPqeGa

— WWE (@WWE) May 1, 2019

Firefly Fun House

Naturally, this was the same package we saw on Monday’s Raw. That’s not a knock though, it’s a terrific insert. Everything I said about it for the red brand’s review holds true here.

A MITB tag match

Stop me when you’ve heard this before. The four SmackDown entrants into the MITB ladder match were paired off to face one another in a tag match.

Despite the unoriginal premise though, this match was fairly decent. Bálor and Ali teamed up to take on Andrade and Orton in a short, fast-paced encounter. Ultimately Finn and Ali were able to best Andrade for the pinfall, before Orton snuck up behind the Irishman to deliver an RKO. He tried to do the same to Ali, however the former cruiserweight was alert to the danger and tossed the ‘Viper’ out of the ring. This meant Ali stood tall and performed the customary point toward the Money in the Bank briefcase. This was fun, if somewhat meaningless in the larger scheme.

The Final Showdown

Kevin Owens ended the night by attempting to goad Xavier Woods into coming out to face him. We had learnt earlier in the night that Woods was still hurt from his encounter with Owens at the top of the show, and in all events he had promised Kofi that he wouldn’t put himself in any further danger.

So the real guest on #TheKOShow…is @XavierWoodsPhD's action figure? #SDLive pic.twitter.com/tzqqBTVXkd

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 1, 2019

So despite Owens’ best efforts, which included mocking an Xavier Woods action figure, the New Day member did not let himself fall for the obvious trap. Instead, Kofi Kingston came out to meet Owens. This predictably led to a brawl, which ended with Owens making for the hills while Kingston yelled at him from the turnbuckle.

This wasn’t an overwhelmingly great segment to build to their title match at Money in the Bank, but it was a coherent story played out throughout the show. And on an off night for SmackDown Live, you take what you can get.

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