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With Clash of Champions in the rear view mirror, the Dec. 19 edition of WWE SmackDown saw the fallout of the pay-per-view and what the blue brand can expect moving forward.
Last night’s WWE SmackDown was a show of significance in a few different facets and it also saw a a possible major, and unexpected, development from one of its champions. We also saw the emergence of more championship threats.
The blue brand has several storylines to build around leading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in late January, but last night was a positive start. With that being said, let’s take a look at five takeaways from the Dec. 19 edition of SmackDown.
5. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable Emerge as Top SmackDown Tag Team Championship Challengers
The development of Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable as a tag team on SmackDown has added quality depth to the blue brand’s tag team division. And as time goes on, this team continues to get better.
Benjamin and Gable have had a select number of shots at The Usos’ SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but last night might have shown they are closer than you think to dethroning the standard bearer among SmackDown’s tag team division. And considering how stellar SmackDown’s tag team division is at the moment, Benjamin and Gable are holding their own and standing out.
Following an impressive performance in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match at Clash of Champions, Benjamin and Gable squared off with The Usos last night and announced their presence in the tag team title race. The duo knocked off Jimmy and Jey in impressive fashion to all but lock up another SmackDown Tag Team Championship opportunity in the near future.
Whether the match comes at the Royal Rumble or another edition of SmackDown leading up to the Royal Rumble, Benjamin and Gable will undoubtedly get another shot at tag team gold. Maybe another team or two will join the fold again, but last night proved that Benjamin and Gable are the top candidates to dethrone The Usos.
SmackDown’s tag team division has been on lock by the Uso Penitentiary, but Benjamin and Gable might have found the key to unlock The Usos’ grip on the division.
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4. Rusev and Aiden English Have Arguably the Most Over Gimmick in the WWE
Seeing the metamorphosis of Rusev and Aiden English as a duo on Tuesday nights has been totally unexpected, but so welcomed. The duo of once afterthoughts and underutilized talents has gradually been building momentum over the past couple months, but now that momentum is reaching a very high level.
Who would have thought that The Bulgarian Brute and The Shakespeare of Song would ever have the chemistry they do? And that chemistry has no signs of slowing down. Rusev and English have proven to be a valuable commodity among the tag team division on SmackDown, but they have been proving more than that as of late.
The Rusev Day gimmick has grown more every week to the point where one could make the argument that Rusev and English have the most over gimmick in the WWE. At Clash of Champions, the crowd went crazy for the duo and in every crowd SmackDown performs in front of, there are countless Rusev Day signs and loud pops for the duo.
The same could be said last night when Rusev and English battled The New Day in a Christmas-themed match that was very entertaining. The applauses and response seemingly build every week for Rusev and English and to call their buildup unexpected would be an understatement.
What does the future hold for this entertaining duo? Only time will tell, but it should be very bright and could be filled with tag team gold down the line.
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3. Did Dolph Ziggler Just Leave the WWE?
Not many believed Dolph Ziggler was in position to become the United States Champion at Clash of Champions this past Sunday night. But if there’s one thing the WWE has told us over the years, it’s that you should never say never.
In a Triple Threat Match alongside then-U.S. Champion Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode, Ziggler pulled off the shocker and won his second U.S. Championship in what was undoubtedly the match of the night at the final pay-per-view of 2017 in the WWE. It was great to see Ziggler win a title at this stage of his career, but what does the company have planned for him?
As it turns out, maybe nothing. Last night’s SmackDown was set to see a U.S. Championship celebration by Ziggler, which basically just resulted in him bragging about his past accomplishments and gloating that he told everybody he would win the U.S. Championship. But soon enough, the segment would take an unexpected turn.
Ziggler continued to call out the WWE universe and said they don’t deserve him in the WWE. The Showoff then abruptly laid his championship in the middle of the ring and walked out. The immediate thought that came to fans’ minds is he could have just walked out of the WWE. Did we see the last of Ziggler in the company or is this just a storyline development?
Regardless of what it is, it will be interesting to see what happens with Ziggler and the U.S. Championship moving forward.
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2. Tension Rapidly Building Between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan
The biggest takeaway from the Clash of Champions pay-per-view was also the biggest storyline leading into the event. Everyone knew something wild was coming with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and GM Daniel Bryan guest refereeing the key tag team match that put Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s jobs on the line.
And fans got that something wild after Shane O’Mac and Bryan both used shady tactics in the match, ultimately leading to Bryan fast-counting for Zayn to help keep his and Owens’ jobs. The fallout was bound to be tense, and last night’s post-Clash of Champions SmackDown proved that theory to be true.
Bryan opened up last night’s SmackDown before Shane came out and the two talked it out. This led to the tensest promo between these two to date with Bryan explaining his actions and Shane not understanding why Bryan would want KO and Zayn to keep their jobs. At one point, Bryan even said if Shane was going to fire anybody, he should fire him.
It ended peacefully enough with Shane O’Mac begrudgingly saying he trusts Bryan and he walked away. But undoubtedly, there will be way more fallout between these two moving forward. Could the WWE be teasing a Shane O’Mac vs. Bryan match in the future? Bryan has been rumored to being able to return to in-ring competition, and it could come against Shane at maybe WrestleMania 34.
The authority figures on Tuesday nights aren’t seeing eye to eye, but there’s a chance that they could see eye to eye in the ring before it’s all said and done.
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1. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Duo Loses Momentum Following Clash of Champions Win
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s jobs were on the line at Clash of Champions, but they prevailed over Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura after confusion between SmackDown’s top two authority figures. But where would the duo go from there?
That remains to be seen, but Owens and Zayn did return to in-ring competition on last night’s SmackDown. In a star-studded six-man tag team match pitting Owens, Zayn, and Jinder Mahal against Orton, Nakamura, and the WWE Champion AJ Styles, the six main evented last night’s SmackDown.
It was a pretty stellar match, but Owens and Zayn, fresh off a big win at Clash of Champions, ultimately did not come out victorious alongside Mahal and lost to the Orton, Nakamura, and Styles. Outside of just having the babyface team go over to appease the live audience, Owens and Zayn’s momentum took a hit last night.
Following a big pay-per-view win, having SmackDown’s top heel duo lose doesn’t do much to help their momentum out. It’s not as if they lost everything, but it does dampen the result from Clash of Champions and the WWE will need to find another way to get their momentum back up to the level it has been at.
KO and Zayn want to make SmackDown their show, but that will only come if the duo’s momentum continues to build rather than fall.