WWE Smackdown Live Match Ratings And Notes For 4/10/18 From Sean Ross Sapp

New Smackdown Live GM

• Shane McMahon thanks everyone who came and visited and traveled from around the world at WrestleMania. He says he's graciously accepted Daniel Bryan's resignation as Smackdown GM.
• Shane announces the new WWE Smackdown Live GM, Paige. She takes to the mic and says Shane McMahon was the first person to welcome her through the curtain. She says that Daniel Bryan will have his first match back on television tonight.
• Paige is really good at this. She's making the crowd guess until they get it right. It's AJ Styles
• THEY BOO PEOPLE THEY NORMALLY CHEER AND SOMETIMES THEY EVEN CHEER PEOPLE THEY NORMALLY BOO!

Tag team title contender match
The Usos defeated New Day (w/ Kofi Kingston)
8/10

• Styles vs. Bryan, Paige as GM, and Usos vs. New Day? Smackdown's trying to win me back.
• Good work early on, but there's a real highlight when Big E misses a big splash on the apron.
• Xavier goes for the Honor Roll, but gets popped up into a Samoan Drop. 
• Xavier tornado DDT, Big E YOLO dive, and a tornado leg drop from Xavier, but no pin. Uranage backstabber from New Day gets two.
• Superkicks and Uso Splash wins it!
• Usos vs. New Day felt a lot like "let's do it one more time and give it everything before we're on different shows."

Naomi defeated Natalya
4.5/10

• Natalya trashes Naomi for winning the WrestleMania battle royal. Naomi takes a match with Natalya, and she was really good in her promo. They're having Natalya do the same thing every week and it sucks. 
• Naomi connects with a slingshot Rough Ryder. That's a nice one for the arsenal. 
• Natalya has wrestled way too long for her or her character to taunt while her opponent is flat backed, shoulders on the mat.
• A whole lot of selling in this match, but the crowd is into it. 
• Naomi's leg kick and scorpion kick look good, but her Speedball kicks are still bad. Natalya hits a powerbomb, good per usual.
• Naomi with one of the laziest kickouts I've ever seen.
• Split legged moonsault wins it. I'm glad this rollercoaster of emotions is over because they had a hard time deciding if they wanted this match to be great or terrible. 

Backstage Crappenings

• Sarcaske Namakura is backstage really heeling is up and pretending like he regrets what he did at WrestleMania. He then tells Renee Young that he doesn't speak English. Phenomenal.

Iconic Debut

• Charlotte thanks Asuka for being the biggest challenge of her career, and wonders who she'll make magic with next.
• The Iconic Duo show up and say they're a couple of wizards who will make her championship disappear. They cut a fantastic promo and kick the living shit out of Charlotte. Into the table, the ring post, the stairs. Double powerbomb on the floor. I was totally dying at Charlotte dead weighting them at the end. 

WWE Smackdown Women's Championship
Carmella defeated Charlotte Flair (c) to become Smackdown Women's Champion

• Carmella is finally cashing in! For some reason, old man Chioda takes FOREVER to make this official.
• Carmella kicks Charlotte and wins! Wow! New champion.
• Carmella is great at gloating, even Charlotte has to laugh.
• Backstage, Carmella cuts a very Alexa Blissish promo about how she only has herself to thank. "When a queen overstays her welcome, there’s always a princess waiting to take her throne." Hell of a line.

Top Contender's Match
Randy Orton defeated Bobby Roode and Rusev (w/ Aiden English)
5.75/10

• Jinder Mahal is watching ringside, and Aiden English looks much younger with a shaved head.
• Orton Singh Bombs Rusev on a table. Rusev later returns the favor
• Adding Rusev to this match picks up the pace big time, and gives the crowd someone they actually give a damn about.
• The Accolade is applied, but Randy Orton breaks it up. RKO on Roode, pin.
• Mahal vs. Orton VII! Not kidding

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
6.5/10

• Boys and girls, we're watching Styles vs. Bryan RIGHT NOW. 
• Styles really takes it to Bryan with a dropkick and forearm tope. 
• Submissions traded between Bryan and Styles and then a couple of pinning combinations.
• Pele kick from Styles, then a big clothesline. Big kicks from Bryan stop Styles' Phenomenal Forearm.
• Bryan gets a Yes Lock from a Styles Clash attempts, but AJ gets to the ropes.
• Styles turns the tides and lands a body press off a back superplex.
• Nakamura comes out and attacks both men.