Reviewing the SmackDown Women's Division's 1st Post-Release Showcase

I'm not going to lie, it was a bit difficult to watch this week's SmackDown after the batch of releases just one day prior. Yet I couldn't help but be curious about what that show, Raw, and NXT will look like after the latest "fire sale" from WWE, which saw 10 women released. In spite of this, quite a bit happened regarding the women of SmackDown this week, so let's get to it.

The latest chapter in the ongoing feud between Sonya Deville and Naomi took place this week. It had been going on for a few months, and had started with Sonya continuing to dismiss Naomi as a popular and talented superstar (as well as a former two-time SmackDown Women's Champion). After being subjected to a handicap match against Sonya and Shayna Baszler, as well as match against Shayna that was unfairly officiated by Sonya, Naomi received a straight-up rematch against Shayna, which was hard fought, contentious, and saw Naomi victorious. Or so she thought.

Sonya later emerged and continue to abuse her power, claiming that Naomi grabbing the rope prior to the pin should have resulted in a break, leading to Sonya restarting the match, with her distraction allowing Shayna to defeat her. For the third straight week, Sonya stuck it to Naomi.

Thoughts: Usually when it comes to suggestions for angles, I'm about as wrong as often as the Detroit Lions have won a game this season, but I was dead wrong when I thought that the best thing for Naomi was for her to join the Bloodline. It wasn't the best, it was the easiest. This angle with Sonya clearly tops what would have happened with Naomi had she joined the Bloodline. And let's face it, while Shayna has done well acting as Sonya's evil henchwoman, she's basically white noise. The real stars here are Sonya and Naomi, and we are still waiting for that grudge match, as well as Sonya's true motive for tormenting Naomi. But for now, this angle has been amazing.

So last week saw Shotzi Blackheart make her post-Draft debut on the blue brand, rolling in her tank and challenging SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to a one-on-one contest. She had a good supporting system in the form of Sasha Banks, but despite this, Shotzi wasn't successful in defeating Charlotte, and we would see Shotzi brutally take it out on Sasha--a vicious attack towards the former multi-time champion, who Shotzi blamed for the loss.

So with that, and the fact that Sasha is back to being a face, Shotzi turned heel for the first time in WWE. We were treated to a look back at the brutal attack, and in a backstage interview, the evil Shotzi doubled down on her newfound villainous persona, venting over losing title opportunities and losing her tag team partner (the Draft sent Tegan Nox to Raw), as well as her loss to Charlotte. She said she was done smiling, she was done being happy-go-lucky, and she vowed to destroy Sasha Banks--while adding that she didn't need a tank to run though Sasha.

Thoughts: I honestly wasn't really thrilled with Shotzi turning heel because I had seen heel Shotzi once before when she appeared on Impact and wasn't really down with it. This, however, looks like it'll be much more impressive--though I will miss the tank. I hope we get an evil laugh from Shotzi on one occasion; her continuous cackling while hosting Halloween Havoc in 2020 was chilling. Alas, this may not lead to much. Remember: she's on a women's roster that has Charlotte and Sasha on it, and there's not much depth otherwise. In spite of this, though, Evil Shotzi should be fun to watch.

In other mentions, we were treated to another vignette promoting Xia Li's eventual debut on SmackDown. After competing in both Mae Young Classics, Xia Li became part of the NXT roster in 2019, and even appeared in the 2019 and 2020 Women's Royal Rumble matches. In the fall of 2020, Xia Li turned heel and became part of the sinister Tian Sha faction, and even though she is separated from her allies, it's clear that we'll see Xia Li in that same villainous role on the blue brand. Elsewhere, Aliyah made her first appearance since being drafted/called up to SmackDown, doing so in a backstage segment with Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn, but sadly, we also saw something that was very displeasing to us fans: Hit Row without B-Fab.

Thoughts: I cannot wait to see Xia Li on SmackDown, and I say this knowing full well that NXT call-ups have been horrendously botched in the last few years. Same goes for Aliyah, who appears to be face, which I am happy with. What I'm not happy with is seeing Hit Row one day after B-Fab's release. Nothing against Swerve and company, it's just, well, it's too soon.

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