WWE SmackDown 12/19/17: Rockin’ Around the Rusev Tree
About Last Night is a quick reflection on the matches and segments, or random observations, from a wrestling show that sticks out to us the morning after we watch them. If you would like to get your comments featured, chime in below in our comments section or tweet us. You can also help support us on Patreon.
About Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon…
Sunday at Clash of Champions we didn’t quite get the turn I was hoping for. Instead we got more gray area in the relationship between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, which I guess makes sense if this has to carry into WrestleMania. It’s just not expected for the WWE to actually be patient with their stories instead of hotshotting it for television.
SmackDown opened with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon addressing the match, and how Bryan hitting him was clearly an accident but Shane not counting three was not. Bryan had to do what was best for the people and help keep the Land of Opportunity open for everyone, not just who Shane likes. Shane warned Bryan that in the end the end they need to do what’s best for business, and with Bryan having a history of fighting those terms, this added a bit of tension to the situation. Bryan warned Shane to be careful not to become his father.
This is compelling storytelling and still has me guessing how it will all end. I think Shane may be ending up as the heel, but will there be a match between these two at WrestleMania. Crazier things have happened.
About The Tag Champions Losing Again…
After a phenomenal Fatal 4-Way at Clash of Champions, the star of the show was Chad Gable (Aiden English also took hold of the spotlight, but we’ll talk about him later). So on SmackDown we get Gable & Benjamin going up against the tag champions The Usos, and as a surprise to no one it was excellent. However, the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.
Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin just straight-up beat the champions clean. There were no heel tactics, they just used good tag team wrestling to isolate them. This not only makes the champions seem week, it puts us right back at square one in the build to the four-way we just had two days ago. They need to set up these matches in better ways than by beating the champions in a non-title match.
About Dolph Ziggler…
If you said you predicted Dolph Ziggler was winning the US Title on Sunday, you’re either a liar or a WWE writer. He held a “Championship Celebration” on SmackDown, but it wasn’t about the one he just won. Instead he showed highlights of his other US Title win, his five Intercontinental Title wins, and his successful Money in the Bank cash-in. He then said we didn’t appreciate him (which is accurate) and didn’t deserve him (which is debatable). The promo ended with him leaving the championship in the ring and walking out.
I don’t feel anything major is going to happen like Ziggler leaving the company or getting a new gimmick. However, I could see this as an opportunity to unveil a new updated version of the belt. I’ve always found the United States Championship in WWE to look lame, and with all the other ones having sleeker looks now, it’s about time to give it a facelift. Or maybe nothing will happen, because it’s Dolph Ziggler.
About The Main Event…
The main event was the biggest giveaway that this episode wasn’t meant to matter all that much. It was an exact repeat of the match from Tribute to the Troops last week, with zero build outside “these guys all fought on Sunday” and having the exact same finish as the match at Tribute to the Troops. Buckle up, because this is going to be the way things are until after the holidays.
About The Battle for Christmas…
The most important thing in wrestling this week was everything involving Rusev, Aiden English, and The New Day. Since this is the last SmackDown before Christmas, they got in their holiday fun with The New Day dressed up in costumes giving out pancakes backstage. But then Rusev and English showed up in costumes! Then they had a match because Rusev stomped on a pancake! And the whole match was built around Kofi Kingston being a fast gingerbread man and a tray of pancakes covered in whipped cream and a single cherry is the most dangerous weapon of all.
Wrestling is allowed to be fun, and this was impossible not to love. When you contrast this to that Trick-Or-Street Fight on Raw in October between The Good Brothers and Slater & Rhyno, they are examples of how to do comedy completely right and completely wrong. You should watch all of this, which I’ve included below.
What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments!
