Thursday 19 April 2018 06:44, UK
Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and Asuka made the switch from Raw to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shake-up.
The blue brand drafted 12 superstars from Raw and added a further five from NXT to bolster their ranks in the annual reshuffle.
Hardy - the current United States champion - makes the move after dethroning Jinder Mahal for his title on Monday night, while Samoa Joe is likely to resume a long-term rivalry with current WWE champion AJ Styles.
Asuka's destiny on the blue brand, however, seems less clear - her SmackDown debut came with her rescuing Becky Lynch and her WrestleMania conqueror Charlotte Flair from a three-on-two attack at the hands of women's champion Carmella and the Iconic Duo of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.
Hugely established tag teams The Bar and Gallows & Anderson also make the switch, while the NXT picks include former champion Andrade "Cien" Almas - and his superb manager Zelina Vega - and the SAnitY trio of Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain.
Big Cass attacks Daniel Bryan
In something of a dream combination, Daniel Bryan teamed up with AJ Styles to take on Rusev and Aiden English in a tag team bout which ended in chaos.
First Shinsuke Nakamura hit Styles with what is fast becoming his trademark low blow and then Big Cass - who has been sidelined since August 2017 with a knee injury - took out Bryan with a big boot.
It had been predicted that The Miz would emerge as the main threat to Bryan following the Shake-up, but Cass could now fill that role.
Hardy makes first US title defence
With his tag team partner Chad Gable having moved to Raw, Shelton Benjamin was looking to make a name for himself in the singles division, and Randy Orton was initially happy to accept his open challenge.
But instead, it was recently-crowned United States champion Jeff Hardy, who made his way to the ring and squared off against Benjamin.
An excellent back-and-forth match came to an end when Hardy hit a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb for the three-count.
