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The final WWE SmackDown of 2017 saw the emergence of several championship threats as the blue brand heads into the new year.
The Dec. 26 edition of WWE SmackDown saw pictures becoming clearer for a few of the championships on Tuesday nights with new threats arising that could change the complexion of the blue brand.
Last night also saw new developments leading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 28. SmackDown is building momentum in several ways and as the new year begins, that will be key for the blue brand. Let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the Dec. 26 edition of WWE SmackDown.
5. Breezango’s Momentum is Beginning to Fade
For the longest time, many wondered if Fandango and Tyler Breeze would ever find a good place in the WWE. They were both floundering, but in 2017, the duo has had a breakthrough with the Fashion Files segments.
These segments have been some of the funniest and most entertaining moments in the WWE in some time and the two were reaping the benefits from them. However, as of late, Breezango has not had the same level of success it had in the months prior.
The Fashion Files segments have lessened and even been moved to WWE.com as of late, which really hurts the roots of what made them great to begin with. But outside of just that, Breezango has been turned into a squash team for The Bludgeon Brothers lately too with a couple recent defeats to Harper and Rowan, including last night’s disqualification loss.
While it’s not realistic to think Breezango could defeat The Bludgeon Brothers, all of these recent developments have helped lessen the duo’s momentum. Maybe The Ascension can help spruce things up as we’ve seen recently, but something has to start giving to get Breezango back on track.
Fandango and Breeze have a lot of charisma and entertainment value, but the WWE needs to remember that to help save the momentum the duo built up in 2017.
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4. Shinsuke Nakamura Plants Seed For Potential Royal Rumble Win
It’s almost that time of the year again as the WWE prepares for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 28. The Royal Rumble match is always one of the most anticipated matches of the year and a match that could help launch the career of a superstar fortunate enough to win it.
And SmackDown might have the perfect superstar to fill that role. Shinsuke Nakamura has had an up and down 2017 and has seen the highs of defeating John Cena and Randy Orton, but has seen the lows of not having a true direction either. The King of Strong Style seems due for a breakthrough, but when will it come?;.
Many fans have been clamoring for an AJ Styles vs. Nakamura match at WrestleMania 34 for the WWE Championship. So, one sure-fire way to make that happen would be having Nakamura win the Royal Rumble match. The seed for that potential win was planted last night on SmackDown.
While Orton was cutting a promo about how his attention will be shifted towards winning the Royal Rumble match for the third time, The King of Strong Style joined the picture and in his own quirky way, announced he would be joining the Royal Rumble match as well. Orton winning is highly unlikely given how he just won it in 2017, but Nakamura could be the odds-on favorite.
Everything is lined up for the potential for a WrestleMania 34 main event that could have fans talking for years to come between The Phenomenal One and The King of Strong Style.
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3. SmackDown’s Tag Team Division is the Best it’s Been in a Long Time
It wasn’t long ago that the debate about which brand had the better tag team division was squarely in the favor of the brand on Monday nights. However, as of late, the blue brand has turned the tide and squarely owns the distinction of having the best tag team division in the WWE.
Ever since The Usos and The New Day tore the house down on several occasions for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the brand’s tag team division has been on the upswing. Those two teams are still as good as ever, but the emergence of Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable, as well as Rusev and Aiden English, has helped the division even more.
These four teams had a very stellar match at Clash of Champions, but last night’s match was arguably even better. The show started off with each team approaching SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan about which team will face The Usos for the tag team titles. Bryan then made a triple threat tag team match to determine the number one contenders.
And what a match it was with Rusev and English, Benjamin and Gable, and The New Day all shining. In the end, Benjamin and Gable got the win and will challenge The Usos for the gold sometime down the line. The crowd wanted Rusev and English to win as did most people, but there’ s just no wrong choice between these teams right now.
The blue brand’s tag team division is on fire and shows no signs of slowing down heading into the new year.
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2. Jinder Mahal in the United States Championship Picture is the Perfect Place For Him
In recent memory, no superstar has had more of a metamorphosis in such a short amount of time as Jinder Mahal has. He went from a member of 3MB to getting squashed by Rob Gronkowski at WrestleMania 33 to holding the WWE Championship for nearly six months.
Mahal’s rise came out of nowhere and while many justifiably have criticized it, there’s no denying the Modern Day Maharaja came out it a better superstar than he was before he entered it. But now that Mahal is out of the WWE Championship picture, the WWE has put him in a more adequate position on the card.
With the recent development of Dolph Ziggler apparently relinquishing the United States Championship, a tournament to crown a new champion was announced last night and in one first-round match, Bobby Roode defeated Baron Corbin. And in the other, Mahal knocked off Tye Dillinger. It’s still unclear if any other first-round matches will take place, but that’s beside the point at the moment.
Having the Modern Day Maharaja in the U.S. Championship picture is where he needed to be from the start of his push. His character is the perfect one to be challenging for the U.S. Championship and if he would have been put in this position back in April or May rather than immediately winning the WWE Championship, he would be considered a much-better main event talent now than what he is viewed as being.
The Modern Day Maharaja finally has the chance to be properly built and his character should be able to reap the benefits from it.
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1. WWE Championship Match Between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens Likely Set For the Royal Rumble Amid Confusion
One of the best feuds of 2017 might still have some juice left in the turnip after all, but now with much bigger stakes and another major storyline involved. The Phenomenal AJ Styles has moved past the Jinder Mahal roadblock and many wondered what his next challenge would be.
And last night’s SmackDown might have given the WWE universe some insight on who will challenge Styles. The main event of last night’s show was Styles against Kevin Owens, but the match would take a wild turn towards its conclusion thanks in large part because of Sami Zayn on the outside and the interfering Shane McMahon.
As Zayn tried to interfere on Owens’ behalf, Shane O’Mac came out to try and get Zayn thrown out of ringside. However, this confusion ultimately led to KO sneaking a victory in over Styles after another stellar match between the two. This should all but confirm that Owens will get a WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble against The Phenomenal One.
Styles and Owens had a great feud earlier in the year for the United States Championship. And now with the WWE Championship at stake and the added addition of Shane O’Mac in the picture, this version of the feud could be even better. Having Zayn in the fold this time around changes things up as well assuming the WWE does make the match official at the Royal Rumble.
Next: WWE Raw 5 Takeaways From Dec. 25 Show
The Phenomenal One and KO have arguably carried SmackDown on their backs in 2017, so it’s only fitting they vie for the WWE Championship to kick off 2018.