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The April 10, edition of SmackDown was the penultimate episode of the blue-branded show before WrestleMania 42<\/a>. Several major things happened on the show, and it was a mostly positive episode.<\/p>\n With only one week left for the biggest premium live event of the year, the match card for WrestleMania is largely set. On that note, here are five things Triple H got right on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/template><\/p>\n Royce Keys was missing from television for 10 weeks <\/a>since making his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event. Despite having a strong showing in the Men’s Rumble Match, he was not featured on any shows all this while.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n He finally made his debut on SmackDown in his hometown, defeating Berto in dominant fashion. This is right in time for the Andre the Giant Battle Royale next week, and Keys now seems like one of the favorites to go on and win it.<\/p>\n Danhausen has been featured regularly on television since making his WWE debut at Elimination Chamber 2026. However, he didn’t have a match in the Stamford-based promotion till this week on SmackDown.<\/p>\n The former AEW star has been involved in a feud with Kit Wilson and The Miz<\/a>, and has cursed both of them backstage. The effects of his curse have been well documented, with both of them suffering misfortunes over the past couple of weeks.<\/p>\n The finish of the match was quite comical, as is to be expected from a character such as that of Danhausen’s. Wilson was cursed while on the top turnbuckle once again, and was burned by a pyro cylinder attached to the ring post. The face-painted star then executed his finisher to pick up the win on SmackDown, which most certainly needs to be swapped for something at least a bit more convincing.<\/p>\n Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu<\/a> had an interesting backstage segment this past week on the blue-branded show. The two former teammates ran into one another, and Sikoa all but revealed that it was Tama Tonga who attacked Fatu back in October 2025, which caused him to be written off television for months.<\/p>\n Tonga eventually faced Fatu in a singles match later on, but came up short against The Samoan Werewolf. Sikoa also had an interaction with Royce Keys, proposing an alliance, but essentially teasing a potential feud. If Tonga leaves the MFTs, he could ally with Keys to battle Sikoa and the remainder of the Tongans. However, it will be interesting to see how things are handled when it comes to Tama Tonga in the coming months, and whether he will embark on a singles run after WrestleMania 42.<\/p>\n Perhaps he could be kicked out of the faction as soon as next week, when the MFTs and the Wyatt Sicks battle each other in an eight-man tag team match.<\/p>\n Unlike the Undisputed WWE Championship picture, where Pat McAfee’s inclusion<\/a> still seems forced, the United States Championship is a very different case. Lil Yachty has been Trick Williams’ guest for weeks, and has blended in with the storyline much better than McAfee.<\/p>\n Instead of overtaking Williams, Yachty is using his presence to hype up the former TNA World Champion completely. Moreover, their chemistry has made the partnership work much better than expected. Yachty is only doing the mic work necessary, and is elevating the feud instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.<\/p>\n Giving Williams the win over Matt Cardona was also the right decision from the creative team on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. With the biggest match of his career just over a week away, the win will boost his momentum sufficiently. On the other hand, Cardona’s wasted return is a whole other topic, and the name change really hasn’t done much.<\/p>\n After breaking down Rhea Ripley for weeks with B-Fab and Michin, Ripley finally took the fight to the faction and took out Cargill’s teammates backstage. This allowed IYO SKY<\/a> to face Cargill one-on-one in the main event of SmackDown, but she came up short against the reigning Women’s Champion.<\/p>\n It was probably the right decision, since SKY getting the pinfall would have complicated things and forced WWE to include her in the title match next week. Instead, letting Cargill win but forcing her to retreat after the match was the right decision, giving Ripley a momentum boost as well.<\/p>\n Although the history books will showcase it as a win for Cargill, it feels like Ripley finally has the upper hand in the feud for the Women’s Championship for WrestleMania 42.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
#5. Making Royce Keys debut on SmackDown<\/h2>\n
#4. Giving Danhausen his in-ring debut in WWE against Kit Wilson<\/h2>\n
#3. Subtly teasing Tama Tonga’s singles run<\/h2>\n
#2. Giving Trick Williams another big win and solidifying his partnership with Lil Yachty<\/h2>\n
#1. Letting Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY stand tall over Jade Cargill<\/h2>\n