WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 24

This week's episode of SmackDown was all about celebrating Triple H's 25-year anniversary with WWE. His first televised match took place on April 30, 1995, on Wrestling Challenge.

We also got a Women's Tag Team Championship match with the current champions, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, defending against Carmella and Dana Brooke.

Lacey Evans squared off against Sasha Banks, and WWE took an in-depth look at the history between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman ahead of their universal title bout.

With Money in the Bank just over two weeks away, a lot of time was also devoted to building up the pay-per-view. Let's take a look at what happened on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown. 

The show opened with a short video package featuring Triple H's biggest moments. The New Day kicked things off in the Performance Center with a celebration.

Kofi Kingston put over Big E as the reason they are eight-time tag team champions. Big E ribbed Kingston a bit about Tom Brady moving to Tampa Bay. 

Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado came out and congratulated them on their win before challenging them to a title match. Before The New Day could answer, The Miz and John Morrison came out to complain about losing the tag titles in a singles match last week.

Before long, The Forgotten Sons marched down to the ring to declare their intentions to win the belts. They started a brawl, and the former tag team champions bailed while Lucha House Party and The New Day were beaten down by the newcomers. 

Grade: B-

Analysis

All four teams played their parts well in this segment. The Miz and Morrison are great heels, and The New Day are great babyfaces.

Lucha House Party were new to this feud. They are long overdue for a serious run as tag team champions and it would be great to see them win the titles at some point.

The Forgotten Sons did not have the most successful run in NXT, but they appear to be getting a decent push on the main roster so far. They brought up their military backgrounds, which was information a lot of fans may not have had before Friday's show.

It's nice to see SmackDown's tag team division getting so much attention in recent weeks. This was a good way to open the show and set up some potential matches for the next few weeks. 

Baron Corbin showed off his power right away by throwing Drew Gulak over the top rope to the outside. The former cruiserweight champion got right back in the ring and took Corbin down with a waistlock.

The King also put his striking ability on display as Michael Cole put him over as a former Golden Gloves champion before his days as a wrestler.

Gulak made a comeback and drove his opponent over the announce table with a dropkick as we went to a commercial. We returned right as Corbin put him down with a clothesline for a near fall.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro attacked Daniel Bryan at ringside, which caused Gulak to become distracted. Corbin took advantage of the situation and hit The End of Days for the win. 

Grade: B

Analysis

Corbin is an underrated big man, especially when it comes to working with smaller guys. He is great at making it look like they can convincingly take him down.

Gulak is finally getting his due after spending four years in the cruiserweight division, and he is making the most of this opportunity by continuing to deliver standout performances.

This was a competitive fight that showed off both men's strengths. Gulak advancing to the Money in the Bank match would have been a more interesting outcome, but if the plan is for Bryan to win it, it's better if he doesn't have to beat Gulak to do it. 

NXT's Daniel Vidot made his SmackDown debut this week in a match he was destined to lose against Sheamus.

The Celtic Warrior was intense from the moment the bell rang. He beat down Vidot with a series of brutal strikes while yelling about how he will not be disrespected.

He hit The Brogue Kick for a quick and easy victory.

Grade: C-

Analysis

This was a squash match, plain and simple. It was designed to make Sheamus look dominant, and it accomplished its goal. There isn't much else that can be said about it. 

After a strange confrontation between Cole and Sheamus, the tag match got started. The Miz and Dorado kicked things off with a basic lockup before going right into a fast-paced exchange.

A boot to the face put The A-Lister in control. The former champions continued to dominate, but Dorado kept kicking out whenever they went for a pin.

The King of the Ropes came in hot off the tag and took The Miz down with a flurry of high-flying moves. The A-Lister blocked a moonsault with his knees, but Metalik still got the win with a rollup. 

Grade: C+

Analysis

This was a decent match, but the high-flyers did not get enough opportunities to do the moves that make their matches so exciting.

Even Morrison stayed grounded most of the time. Dorado and Metalik are two of the best luchadors to come along in quite some time, and WWE should give them more chances to show what they are capable of.

The upset win gives Lucha House Party ammunition to request a title bout in the near future. 

Banks and Evans have been feuding on and off for months, so they did not waste time turning this into a physical fight.

The Boss controlled most of the first few minutes. The Sassy Southen Belle made a comeback with a few boots to the face and a running knee.

The damage done by Banks prevented her from hitting a pendulum dropkick and allowed The Boss to hit a meteora from the top rope for a near fall.

Evans took things up to a new level by slamming Banks' head into the ring post several times. Thanks to an accidental distraction from Bayley, Evans was able to kick out of a pin and hit The Women's Right for the win. Tamina nailed Bayley with a kick after the match was over. 

Grade: B

Analysis

Evans showed a bit more aggression than we are used to seeing from her, and it led to this being one of her stronger performances in a long time.

Banks and Bayley are beginning to show cracks in their friendship, and Evans beating The Boss is not going to help matters after she had things won before Bayley got involved.

Tamina's inclusion at the end felt like an afterthought, but it's still nice to see her finally being portrayed as the dangerous competitor she is. 

Brooke and Carmella were quick to take control of Bliss and Cross before the show cut to a commercial. The match was more competitive when we returned.

There was a lot of action in and out of the ring. It rarely felt like the partners who were supposed to be on the apron awaiting a tag were in the right spot.

This was much shorter than expected and ended with a version of The Dudley Boys' finisher.

Grade: C

Analysis

Carmella has been pushed to the background a bit in recent months, while Brooke hasn't had a major storyline in a long time. This was a big step up for them.

Unfortunately, they didn't get a ton of time to perform. Bliss and Cross won the match and retained their titles, while Mella and Brooke can focus on Money in the Bank.