Who gained heat on last night's SmackDown? (January 30)

AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura
The road to WrestleMania begins.

WWE's Road to WrestleMania kicked off on the blue brand with a refreshing absence of authority figures and the first steps toward the Styles/Nakamura mega match that so many fans have been dying to see.

While the main event scene kicked into high gear, the other divisions only slowly moved forward and it's not clear yet how the other players are going to get to New Orleans.


#1 Gained momentum: Rusev

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The red-hot Rusev won a fatal 4 way to become the #1 contender to Bobby Roode's United States Championship. The match will take place next week.

It's hard to imagine that next Tuesday will be a happy Rusev Day, as Roode is unlikely to drop the title so early. Perhaps though, this is a test to see how positively fans respond to Rusev in singles competition. If so, he passed with flying colours, receiving some of the loudest reactions in an exhausted Philadelphia crowd.

#2 Gained momentum: The Bludgeon Brothers

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After cutting a fantastic promo (lame graphics aside - let's hope that doesn't start to become a thing), the Bludgeon Brothers emerged to stare down the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, who claimed that no team could touch them. They would go on to squash another team of local jobbers.

This has been the direction we've been headed in for a while. A clash between the two teams is inevitable - but will it happen at Fastlane or WrestleMania?

#3 Gained momentum: Carmella

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After the Riott Squad laid out Charlotte, Carmella ran to the ring in an attempt to cash in her Money in the Bank contract. Things didn't work out, but as luck would have it, she still has her briefcase.

This was a much-needed segment, as Carmella has been invisible for months. We needed to be reminded of the weapon she carries heading into the biggest show of the year, and it happened.

#4 Lost momentum: Baron Corbin

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After an embarrassing Royal Rumble performance, Baron Corbin was inserted into a nothing match with a usually invisible Tye Dillinger. He won, but the victory was meaningless.

At this rate, if Corbin is lucky, he'll be the first two time Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner.

#5 Lost momentum: Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin

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After losing at the Royal Rumble, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable were inserted into a match with the lowly Breezango. They won, but does anyone care?

It sure seems like they're out of title contention on the road to WrestleMania.

#6 Gained momentum: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

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It looks like we're seeing the beginning of the breakup of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Tension flared between the besties last night after Daniel Bryan set up a match between them to determine AJ Styles' next challenger at Fastlane.

This is probably going to lead to a grudge match at WrestleMania, much like Jericho and Owens' feud did last year. Where Shane McMahon gets involved in this if at all, remains to be seen.


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