A few weeks ago, I called out SmackDown Live for having a roster that seemed a little too thin. While the issue still lingers in the background, and they'd certainly benefit from some roster turnover, the penultimate episode of 2016 showed SmackDown can still kick it into high gear at the drop of a hat.
The card for what's being called the "Wild-Card Finals" is stacked, but first things first. Let's dig into what was one of the best episodes of SmackDown this year, in a strong year for the brand.
The show opened with the long-awaited showdown between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth, and within the blink of an eye, Styles' winless streak against Ellsworth was over. Having finally cast the unlikeliest of weights off his shoulders, Styles, who'd barely broken a sweat, was all smiles as he gleefully gloated.
"I sent that chinless reject back to the Island of Misfit toys," Styles said. "I don't need to ask Santa for anything this Christmas, because I've got it all."
Dolph Ziggler quickly came out and gave the champ a reality check, reminding Styles not to forget about their match next Tuesday as he looks ahead to 2017. As the champion and No. 1 contender got into it, we got a seemingly unlikely appearance from Baron Corbin, who proceeded to claim he deserved the spot Ziggler's in.
"You don't steal the show -- you steal opportunities and waste them," Corbin said to Ziggler, hitting a little too close to home just before he punched Ziggler in the mouth. In the aftermath, Ziggler went to GM Daniel Bryan and demanded his retribution, which Bryan would only grant if he put his WWE world title shot on the line in the match against Corbin. Ziggler accepted immediately.
The biggest problem with this kind of writing is how much it strains suspension of disbelief. It's easy to get behind Ziggler as the fly-by-the-seat-of-his pants, does whatever it takes to get the job done-type guy, but to willingly risk his title shot for instant gratification (rather than taking his shot a couple weeks down the line) is foolhardy. It's hard not to want to root against someone who so recklessly puts his own career at risk for a shot at petty revenge.
As for the match itself, Corbin continued to show an increased aptitude in the ring -- and it's no accident that it happened when he was in the ring with Ziggler, who is among best wrestlers on the roster at making his opponent better. Kudos to Styles as well who, despite constant getting peppered with the same lines over and over again by Otunga to little effect, really sold how intently he was scouting the match. His intensity and commentary clearly reflected his desire to stay as far as humanly possibly from Corbin, further intensifying his value in a banner week for the "Lone Wolf."
The double disqualification finish, though recently used in Raw's tag-team division, was an adequate enough way for the main event to change. While there's no real reason to expect landscape-changing results from next week's WWE world title match, the inclusion of Corbin is another big step for a guy the company clearly believes in a great deal -- and over the last few weeks, he's truly earned it.
Hits and misses
• Yet another big week for The Miz, who continues to be the best in the WWE at blurring the lines of fantasy and reality. After retaining his Intercontinental championship against a suddenly resurgent Apollo Crews, Renee Young took to the ring and prepared for what seemed like a normal interview. Young asked The Miz about his "obsession" with Dean Ambrose, and Miz turned it right back around and asked about her obsession with Ambrose.
"You are sleeping with him," Miz said with a smirk, and he quickly earned himself a smack upside the head from the normally cool Young. Not much else was made on "Talking Smack," outside of a terse apology from Young, but Miz-Ambrose has become immediately more interesting.
The match itself against Crews was another strong in-ring showing for the oft-struggling WWE rookie, and if it takes the involvement of a comedian to give Crews a sign of personality that SmackDown writers have seemingly refused to grant him, then so be it.
• We finally got the official confirmation of the worst-kept secret in the world, when Carmella caught Natalya in a web of lies and back-stabbing that she couldn't escape. Natalya was in rare form, calling Carmella a "Staten Island snitch" and threw her into the Christmas display on the stage. But she finally admitted that she'd taken out Nikki Bella so that she could be a part of the Survivor Series team. She dropped a couple of expletives in Bella's direction, and claimed that she regretted her role in training the Bella twins -- that it cost her a lot of opportunities in the last decade.
Allowing Natalya to actively acknowledge her Hart lineage made this promo worth it, and if she can hold onto that, all the better.
• Ambrose and Luke Harper once again put their tremendous in-ring chemistry on display, and that may be something interesting for the future (and a callback to their brief conflict over the Intercontinental title a couple of years ago and, of course, the classic Shield-Wyatt Family rivalry). Harper hit a particularly interesting Snake-eyes on the middle rope toss directly into a superkick -- another example of why he's right where he belongs as champions with The Wyatt Family, rather than losing to Kane.
But for now, Ambrose only squeezed by with a roll-up victory, which earned him a beating from Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. After an awkwardly long period of darkness in the arena, Miz's music hit -- further cementing what's next for both of these men as Miz picked the bones and hit a Skull-crushing Finale.
• Bryan forced SmackDown women's champion Alexa Bliss into action and guaranteed Becky Lynch a rematch next week. What could've been a quick squash was instead turned into a chance for Lynch to embarrass the champ. A masked wrestler identified simply as "La Luchadora", with the most jobber-ific get-up of all-time, was already in the ring when Bliss came out.
It quickly became clear that all was not as it seemed, as Lynch played up every bit of the masked (wo)man gimmick that's as old as wrestling itself. While the secret was out pretty early, there was no doubt when she slapped on the "Dis-arm-her" for the win. Both women played it perfectly, and it's the icing on the cake to a great build.
• Ellsworth couldn't even speak after walking out of the trainer's room near the end of the show, wrapped up tighter than The Mummy. The wrinkle of Carmella stepping in and shooing away the interviewer is ... interesting -- and certainly enough for a next step for Ellsworth, a character that quickly seemed to be losing his steam.
• Ryan Phillippe made a brief appearance, looking for "Shooter" co-star Randy Orton, but ran into Mojo Rawley, who warned him off. Rawley is going to be hurt just as much, if not more, by Zack Ryder's injury and absence than the Broski himself. A tag-team title shot was just the shot in the arm Rawley needed, but on this night Rawley instead got Ryder's former teammate Curt Hawkins, who popped up on screen and made an incorrect jab at "Shooter" star Phillippe, mistaking him for Mark Wahlberg with a "Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch" reference, but corrected it with a "Cruel Intentions" quip upon his exit.
• For the future, the way SmackDown used Gabriel Iglesias and Ryan Phillippe over the last couple of weeks -- sparingly -- is the right way to go about most guest stars. Rawley got the victory, but lost out on a tag-team title shot because of Ryder's serious knee injury. The replacement match -- a four corners elimination showdown for the SmackDown tag-team titles -- is, however, a fitting final piece of the "Wild Card Finals" year-end finale.
• To borrow a phrase from my colleague Peter Rosenberg, "Talking Smack" was rendered "repug" by a listless Rhyno dressed up as Santa Claus. It went nowhere, he got creepy, and severely detracted from the show to no seemingly constructive end.
A look ahead at the Wild Card Finals
AJ Styles versus Dolph Ziggler versus Baron Corbin for the WWE world championship
Alexa Bliss versus Becky Lynch for the SmackDown women's championship
The Wyatt Family versus Heath Slater and Rhyno versus American Alpha versus The Usos for the WWE SmackDown tag-team championships in a Fatal 4-Way elimination match
The return of John Cena