“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"


<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>WWE SmackDown Results and Highlights</strong></h2>



<p>The show opened with a tribute to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://api.wrestlingworld.co/news/wwe-hall-of-famer-howard-finkel-passes-away-wwe-stars-pay-tribute/" target="_blank">WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel, who passed away on Thursday</a> at the age of 69.</p>



<p>Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross hosted the latest edition of <em>A Moment of Bliss</em> with the Universal Champion, <strong>Braun Strowman</strong>, who talked about his history with Bray Wyatt and said he owes nothing to his former mentor. Strowman opened a gift box which he found near the edge of the ring, and had his mask from his time in Wyatt Family. Wyatt&#8217;s laugh echoed all around the arena to end the segment.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Tamina def. Sasha Banks:</strong> Tamina took down Banks to become the No.1 contender for Bayley&#8217;s SmackDown Women&#8217;s Title, while Lacey Evans attacked Bayley, who was at the announce table.</li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Sheamus def. Denzel Dejournette:</strong> The Celtic Warrior took down the NXT superstar with his devastating Brogue Kick. Post-match, Sheamus got in the face of Michael Cole once again who tried to speak about Jeff Hardy.</li></ul>



<p>Chapter Two of <strong>Jeff Hardy&#8217;s life story</strong> aired with Hardy talking about his addiction issues and the time he spent in prison due to his various run-ins with the police.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Dana Brooke def. Naomi:</strong> Dana Brooke took down Naomi in one of the biggest upsets to qualify for the MITB ladder match.</li></ul>



<p><strong>Sonya Deville</strong> cut a fantastic promo, calling out <strong>Mandy Rose</strong> and accusing her of stealing the spotlight in their tag-team. Deville called Rose a lab-made product and said she has no fighting skills, unlike Deville. Ziggler interrupted and confessed his feelings for Rose. A brawl ensued as Otis joined the fray, and Rose and Otis stood tall to end the segment.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Daniel Bryan def. Cesaro:</strong> Bryan qualified for the MITB ladder match by taking out the Swiss Superman with the Yes Lock, as Gulak helped to fend off Nakamura at ringside. During the match, &#8216;The Truth&#8217; appeared, with the mystery hacker teasing an upcoming split between either of The Usos, New Day, Bliss &amp; Cross, Miz &amp; Morrison, or Bayley &amp; Banks.</li></ul>



<p><strong>Elias </strong>was ambushed by <strong>King Corbin</strong> who laid down a brutal beatdown after Elias&#8217; constant mockery of the King in his songs.</p>



<ul><li><strong>WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships | Big E def. The Miz(c) and Jey Uso:</strong> In a (sort of) rematch from the WrestleMania matchup, Big E took back the titles for the eighth time, after hitting the Miz with the Big Ending.</li></ul>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>WWE SmackDown Takeaways</strong></h2>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>1. Unique Twist</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: WWE Superstars will climb the corporate ladder at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MITB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MITB</a>!<br><br>The match begins on the ground floor of WWE Headquarters but the briefcases will be hanging all the way up on the roof of the corporate tower! <a href="https://t.co/iGoIUggwzo">https://t.co/iGoIUggwzo</a> <a href="https://t.co/TqawawkBXs">pic.twitter.com/TqawawkBXs</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1251312417163874307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>WWE has apparently taken note of the significant praise for their Boneyard and Funhouse Matches, and are continuing with the string of cinematic matches, as the MITB match this year will be held inside their headquarters, with the briefcase suspended on the rooftop.</p>



<p>WWE is trying out creative things in the current situation, with out-of-the-box solutions to entice the fans sitting at home. Matches in an empty arena will certainly get stale after a point, and hence, kudos to WWE for organizing such matches!</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>2. Mic-Drop Worthy Promo</strong></h3>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="0zSxf1Dx-4U"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Sonya Deville attempts to mend her relationship with Mandy Rose: SmackDown, April 17, 2020" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0zSxf1Dx-4U?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<p>Sonya Deville has always been labeled as a potential main-eventer, with her strong personality being a major talking point for the fans. This week, Deville cut a promo of lifetime, absolutely ripping into her Fire &amp; Desire partner Mandy Rose, and proved her mettle on the mic.</p>



<p>Deville should surely get a push into the main-event scene in the near future, when the title is in the hands of a babyface champion, as she has all the tools to succeed in the top role.</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>3. The Black Sheep</strong></h3>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="Az-6NrV35HI"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Bray Wyatt surprises “Black Sheep” Braun Strowman: SmackDown, April 17, 2020" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Az-6NrV35HI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
</div></figure>



<p>From Wikipedia, <em>black sheep</em> is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. Strowman was the &#8216;black sheep&#8217; of his Wyatt Family, and Wyatt brought up his loyalty or the lack thereof towards him, and WWE is playing forward with this story, which is an excellent narrative.</p>



<p>With Drew and Strowman holding the titles, the main-event scene feels fresh for the first time in years, as either Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns have been chasing or holding either of the titles for the last several years, and now it seems like WWE is finally looking at alternate options.</p>


WWE SmackDown Results and Takeaways, Apr 17: New Champions, MITB Qualifiers

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