Reviewing the SmackDown Women's Division's 1st Show After WrestleMania

Last up during WWE's Post-WM week was SmackDown, and it would kick off with Ronda Rousey demanding a rematch against Charlotte Flair. Their contest at WrestleMania Saturday ended with controversy, the referee being taken down and being unable to witness Ronda making Charlotte tap out, and it was followed by Charlotte defeating Ronda. On SmackDown, Ronda loudly demanded a rematch, but of course, Charlotte refused--telling Ronda to go to the back of the line. Ronda's confrontation with Adam Pearce was met with an answer she didn't like: "wait until tomorrow."

However, as promised, the rematch will happen at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, and as Ronda demanded, it will be an I Quit Match. This will only be WWE's third-ever Women's I Quit Match; the first was contested between Beth Phoenix and Melina in 2008, and the second took place between Kay Lee Ray and Toni Storm two years prior. The rules are simple: no disqualifications, no countouts, no pinfalls. Only the words "I Quit" will decide the match, and whoever utters those two little words, loses. It's very fitting that this is the stipulation, mainly because Charlotte and Ronda are both portrayed as women who refuse to admit anything resembling defeat.

Also on SmackDown, we were treated to the main roster debut of Raquel Rodriguez. No, that's not a typo. It's not Raquel Gonzalez, it's Raquel Rodriguez. We see her interviewed by Kayla Braxton before she's interrupted by Los Lotharios, whose advances are quickly shut down. Back to the name though. I'm getting fed up with WWE's random name changes. I can understand name changes when you go from company to company; many wrestlers can be known under one name in WWE and a different one in, say, AEW or Impact. This, however, makes no sense. It all started with Walter getting his new name (I refuse to say it), and it's gone downhill ever since.

One thing I've noticed: it's very clear that Raquel's a babyface, because she is so lighthearted in this. Even as a face on NXT, Raquel was still portrayed as a brutal force. What I'm seeing here tells me that Creative watched too many rom-coms. Even so, Raquel on SmackDown should be interesting, but only if (and it seems to be a big "if" lately) she's utilized correctly.

Liv Morgan faced Sasha Banks on SmackDown, and this was done to build up the Women's Tag Team Championship contest coming up on Raw. It was a nice treat to see two awesome women in the ring together, it was even more awesome that Liv won, because we always love seeing Liv win. It's also kind of strange, because we also know what's going to happen on Raw. It was on Post-WM Raw that Liv and her recent partner, Rhea Ripley, lost to Sasha and Naomi, and the aftermath saw Rhea walk out on her partner out of frustration.

In spite of this, Rhea later informed Liv that she managed to get them a title match for the next Raw, but again, we know where this is going. It's been documented that Rhea will eventually join Edge's faction, and we should see Rhea's heel turn against Liv that night. If/when that happens, Liv's momentum better not take any hits here. In fact, I have two possible ideas for Liv; one, turn Nikki A.S.H. face again and pair her with Liv, with their bond forming due to Rhea's evil conduct, or two (the one I'm pulling for), Liv's pushed on her own and eventually wins Money In The Bank.

The absolute highlight of SmackDown was the return of Lacey Evans, but it was a much different Lacey than we were used to. The "Lady of WWE" is no more, what we see is an emotional promo from Lacey where she details her difficult upbringing and her drive to be the best in the women's division; all while dressed in a black top and camouflage pants. The story will continue on the following week, but I love it already.

I did love the "Lady" gimmick from Lacey, she did it so well for so long, but it was time for a change. I am also happy that Lacey's a babyface; don't get me wrong, I love a good villainess, and while Lacey was good at the whole "evil" thing, she can be a good babyface as well. I expect the vignettes to continue for the rest of the month, and we could see her make her in-ring return at either WrestleMania Backlash, or the first SmackDown after that.

So that wraps-up the first week after WrestleMania. The countdown to WrestleMania Backlash is officially on! Thanks for reading! Click the heart if you liked this story, and click the subscribe button for more of my stories! If you want to do so, a tip or pledge would be greatly appreciated, as they help support my writing!