News

Title Matches Added To WWE SmackDown, Plus Appearances From New Champions

By John Canton • Published Apr 24, 2026 16:07 EDT
WWE Smackdown Logo Arena WWE.com
WWE Smackdown Logo Arena - Source: WWE.com

There will be gold on the line on the WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania, along with new champions showing off their titles.

One year ago, on the first SmackDown after WrestleMania, The Street Profits won an incredible Tables, Ladders & Chairs match that was considered by fans to be the WWE Match of the Year in 2025. There won’t be anything like that this year, though.

On this year’s SmackDown after WrestleMania, there will be appearances by the new United States Champion Trick Williams and the new Women’s Tag Team Champions Brie Bella & Paige (with Nikki Bella).

For Paige, WWE is promoting it as her first time appearing on SmackDown in nearly a decade. In addition to wrestling, Paige is also a former SmackDown GM.

Rhea Ripley is the new WWE Women’s Champion after beating Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42, and Ripley will be on SmackDown as well. WWE is promoting Ripley’s appearance by saying that Ripley is moving to the blue brand.

On the Raw after WrestleMania, Rhea Ripley said goodbye to her best friend, Iyo Sky, while also having a staredown with former rival Liv Morgan, who is the Women’s World Champion. It was WWE’s way of writing Ripley off the red brand.

There are also two championship matches advertised for SmackDown on April 24th.

  • WWE Women’s United States Championship: Giulia (c) vs. Tiffany Stratton
  • WWE Tag Team Championships: R-Truth and Damian Priest (c) vs. JC Mateo and Tama Tonga

The Women’s US Titles and WWE Tag Team Titles were not defended at WrestleMania.

Since this post went up, WWE also posted this about the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on SmackDown.

Rhea Ripley Wants Another WWE Evolution PLE

As the WWE Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley will be one of the faces of the SmackDown brand after being a part of Raw for several years.

At the WWE Evolution PLE, which featured only women’s matches, Rhea Ripley faced her good friend Iyo Sky in the main event of the show. Naomi ended up stealing the title by cashing in Money in the Bank on Sky and left with the Women’s World Title, but for Ripley, it solidified her spot as a major star in WWE.

In a recent interview, Rhea Ripley made it clear that she hopes there won’t be a long wait for the next Evolution PLE.

“We had to wait eight, what was it, eight years for the Evolution 2, which was a wild thing, but I feel like after Evolution 2, which is an all-women’s pay-per-view, I feel like we went out there and we showed everyone exactly what we can do, and I’m hoping that it takes less time now for Evolution 3.

I really hope that everyone watched that and went, ‘ Wow, this needs to be a yearly thing.’ Because we’re really busting our ass every time we go out there, and we’re making sure that we’re making as much history that we can along the way.

But we’re trying to set up the future for better things as well. I really want to leave this company where the women’s division is better off.”

There’s no word on whether WWE will be doing the Evolution PLE again this year.

Also Read: Paige Breaks Silence On Big Title Win After Shocking WWE Return