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From a huge rematch between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens to a tag team elimination match between WWE's major female stars, this week's edition of SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
The last episode of SmackDown in 2020 delivered in the form of four good matches that occurred this week. Keep in mind that this show was pre-filmed by WWE during the holiday season in December, and it was an enjoyable episode despite the fact that it did not feature any Christmas-themed gimmick bouts on the card.
Which show was better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (December 25, 2020).
#5: Daniel Bryan and Jey Uso's feud resulted in a heated match between the two stars on WWE SmackDown
Daniel Bryan is one of the best in-ring competitors in WWE today. Despite being a part of the relatively less important match on the card, his bout against Jey Uso delivered in several aspects.
Jey Uso has ambushed Daniel Bryan in the past, and their conflict has only increased ever since Uso bowed down to The Tribal Chief of WWE, Roman Reigns.
Jey Uso attacked Daniel Bryan from behind when the latter was making his entrance before their bout could even begin.
Reportedly, WWE had to re-shoot a portion of this match as Bryan was instructed to sell Uso's attack to a greater degree. The same direction became apparent in the final product, as Jey Uso's intense attitude made him look like a dangerous athlete, for the most part.
Towards the end, Bryan managed to outmaneuver his opponent with a Running Knee, which guaranteed him the victory against Uso.
This match and the resulting victory could have been a way for Daniel Bryan to step up against Roman Reigns in January, next year.
#4: WWE RAW's Charlotte Flair and Asuka crossed-over to SmackDown in a match that featured some of the most popular female Superstars on the main roster
Charlotte Flair and Asuka won the WWE Women's tag team titles at TLC. Since then, The Queen has not only returned to RAW, but she also crossed-over to the Blue brand this week.
Bianca Belair's feud with Bayley was also addressed here, along with Sasha Banks and Carmella's aftermath from the TLC event. The heels - Carmella and Bayley - teamed up together against the babyfaces - Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair - and Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a Three-Way Tag Elimination Match with the WWE Women's tag team titles on the line.
Asuka and Sasha Banks are currently the two top female champions on RAW and SmackDown, respectively. So it was a Christmas treat for the fans to see them being a part of the same match, along with other major female stars in the current landscape of WWE.
Moreover, it was a good booking decision to take the women's tag team scenario to a different brand other than just Monday Night RAW.
Although Bayley and Carmella were first eliminated by Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, could the heels team up more frequently to add more weight to the Women's Tag Team Division? Bayley and Carmella's mutual hatred for Sasha Banks could be an important catalyst behind their potential alliance. The final result of the aforementioned match from this week's SmackDown irked some WWE fans, which shall be covered in the next slide.
#3: Charlotte Flair pinned Bianca Belair on WWE SmackDown to a mixed response by the fans; Riott Squad weren't involved in the tag team elimination match for some reason
The final result of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match saw Charlotte Flair picking up a victory for herself and Asuka by successfully putting down Bianca Belair with the Natural Selection maneuver.
Apart from Survivor Series and a few Battle Royal matches, Belair had been on a major winning spree until last week's WWE SmackDown, where Bayley managed to defeat her in singles competition.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka were most likely to retain this week, but WWE fans were confused as to why Belair had to take the loss via pinfall here.
On the other hand, The EST of WWE was pinned by Charlotte Flair, whose reputation is that of an extremely dominant athlete in WWE. So the loss doesn't derail Belair's momentum to a huge extent.
Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan watched the aforementioned match from the backstage area, perhaps teasing a future contest against Flair and Asuka in WWE. The Riott Squad had picked up two consecutive tag team victories in December, so it was a bummer that the only actual female tag team on WWE SmackDown weren't included as a part of the Women's Tag Team Championship match on the Blue brand this week.
#2: Roman Reigns retained his Universal title against Kevin Owens in a high-stakes Steel Cage match on WWE SmackDown
Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens' clash at WWE TLC was one of the best matches of 2020. Reigns and Owens put on a pay-per-view worthy rematch on this week's WWE SmackDown, this time, with a steel cage surrounding both of these rivals.
The fact that WWE chose to feature a match of this magnitude on weekly television was another festive gift for the fans.
Towards the end, Jey Uso took advantage of the No Disqualification rules and handcuffed Owens to the chain-link structure. The Prizefighter had some energy left to expend, but he was trapped in his place as a result of Jey Uso's shenanigans. This allowed Roman Reigns to bask in the glory and slowly walk out of the steel cage to rub the salt into his rival's wounds.
Even though Kevin Owens has now lost against The Tribal Chief on two consecutive instances in recent memory, this particular feud made Owens look like a top babyface in WWE.
The Prizefighter wasn't afraid of Roman Reigns throughout their rivalry, but the numbers game pushed the scenario in Reigns' favor at the end of their saga.
#1: Big E became the new Intercontinental Champion in a feel-good ending to the last WWE SmackDown of 2020
Big E's singles push took a huge leap on this week's WWE SmackDown, as he was booked in a Lumberjack main event match against Sami Zayn, with the Intercontinental title at stake.
Zayn tried to include some shenanigans and even tried to walk away, but the babyface lumberjacks carried him all the way to the ring. Towards the end, a Big Ending from Big E spelled defeat for Sami Zayn, who lost his coveted Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown.
Big E won his first singles championship in seven years as a confetti celebration with all the babyfaces ended the last SmackDown episode of 2020.
Fan-service tends to be a recurring part of WWE's booking during the Holiday season in December. But Big E's victory was a well-deserved outcome to end the year on a good note, at least for the Blue brand.
Sami Zayn played his role well as a cheapskate rival for Big E, and Zayn did an excellent job with his miserable facial expressions after losing the match. Let's hope that Big E's Intercontinental Championship run will be a historic one for the books.
Do catch Denise Salcedo on Smack Talk in the video linked above, as she shares her thoughts on all that went down during last night's Christmas edition of WWE SmackDown.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
