Who looked good on last night's SmackDown (December 26)?

The final SmackDown instalment of 2017 wasn't without its surprises. On the expected side, we saw an academic squash of Breezango by the Bludgeon Brothers. A US title tournament was also set up to deal with the Ziggler angle from last week.

Most competitors on the show looked good, as the show has continued its slow build to the Royal Rumble.

---

Looked good: Rusev and Aiden English

Rusev was by far the most over talent last night. The Rusev Day act has caught fire and he and Aiden English were the favoured competitors in last night's triple threat tag team match. They didn't win, but WWE would be very stupid to ignore them when they're this hot. They've been stupid before though, so let's hope for the best.

Looked bad: Naomi and the Riott Squad

Before her bout with Naomi, Ruby Riott declared her entry into the women's Royal Rumble match. Nothing much was made of that, though, as last night's contest was a lazily-booked affair from top to bottom. 50/50 booking was in force as Ruby Riott made up for her loss last week.

Afterward, the Riott Squad beat down both Naomi and Charlotte, but were driven off by the rest of the SmackDown women's division, even though they were heels.

The result was that no one in the women's division picked up momentum last night. If the idea is to hype up the women's Royal Rumble, the blue brand thoroughly failed to deliver.

Looked good: Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable

Triumphing in a thrilling match, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable became the #1 contenders to the Usos' tag team titles last night. Their match will be held next week.

It's unlikely that they'll win, but they gained ground in the ultra-competitive tag team standings.

Looked bad: Baron Corbin

After losing his championship to someone who seemingly abandoned it, Baron Corbin lost in the first round of the tournament that Daniel Bryan set up. Getting pinned by an embarrassing rollup, shades of his failed Money in the Bank cash-in weren't far from mind.

The Lone Wolf is without direction. He'll certainly enter the Royal Rumble, but has no chance of winning.

Looked good: Bobby Roode

Not exactly glorious, but effective.

Baron Corbin's loss was Bobby Roode's gain. Though his win was a close order and disappointingly indecisive (roll-ups are just so anticlimactic), he nevertheless advances in the US title tournament. His opponent is still a mystery, but the Glorious One ends 2017 on something of a high note by his main roster standards.

Looked bad: Jinder Mahal

Sure, he won his match and advanced to the semi-finals of the US title tournament, but there's a more important hidden subtext - Jinder Mahal's main event push is definitely over.

He's had a soft landing in the midcard, but he won't be competing for the WWE title for the foreseeable future.

Looked good: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

Kevin Owens scored a pin over the WWE Champion last night. Sure, it came with the help of a distraction provided by Shane McMahon's attempt to get rid of Sami Zayn, but it was a win nonetheless.

And just like that, Kevin Owens now finds himself in the best position to challenge AJ Styles for the title at the Royal Rumble, particularly since Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura declared their entry into the eponymous match.

Finally, the most important story on SmackDown (Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's trollish rebellion) looks set to collide with its top title holder.