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From Big E earning a major opportunity to Sasha Banks and Carmella's main event showdown, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
The Blue brand laid down some interesting plot threads for future episodes. As a whole, the mid-card or undercard storylines didn't advance in a major way. But the episode delivered when it came to the bigger aspects of the show.
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 11, 2020).
#5: Billie Kay's mystery partner angle came to an underwhelming conclusion on WWE SmackDown
On last week's Talking Smack, the Riott Squad told Billie Kay to find a tag team partner to face them inside the ring.
Last night, that mystery partner turned out to be Natalya, which doesn't seem like the most exciting pay-off to an angle that was supposed to surprise WWE fans.
Natalya has been a consistent part of the women's division in WWE, but her act has been more or less the same for years. Billie Kay has done a great job in putting herself over on the Blue brand, but her team lost to Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan during this week's WWE SmackDown.
WWE could have used this opportunity to book a sustainable storyline for Billie Kay. Instead, the aforementioned tag team match and its result failed to achieve anything new on SmackDown.
On a brighter note, Billie Kay's entertaining segments probably won't stop airing anytime soon. This means that there is still a lot of hope to use Kay's talents by putting her in an interesting storyline on the Road to WrestleMania 37.
Perhaps she could even assume the role of an assistant manager to Adam Pearce on WWE SmackDown.
#4: Big E got a huge opportunity when it came to the Intercontinental title scene on WWE SmackDown
Big E's singles push has finally provided the fans with a clear sense of creative direction on WWE SmackDown.
Big E faced the Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn, in a non-title match on this week's episode. The setup to their clash included a war of words between Zayn and Big E over merchandise.
Big E seemed one step ahead of Zayn during their match until the Intercontinental Champion faked a hand injury to shift the tides. An incensed Big E chased Sami Zayn, even when the latter star went under the ring.
This allowed Zayn to take advantage of the ten-count, only to enter the ring at the very end of the match.
Big E may have lost via count-out, but judging by the finish, Big E and Sami Zayn are probably not done with each other. When shenanigans aren't involved in a potential title match, Big E could very well become the next Intercontinental Champion of the SmackDown brand.
It will be interesting to see how WWE will build-up to their potential title match since Zayn technically won against Big E this week. Would you be interested in seeing a rematch between them at the TLC pay-per-view?
#3: Chad Gable may have trained Otis to unlock his "inner-alpha," but Gable might be the weak link of their team on WWE SmackDown
Otis and Chad Gable's pairing is something that could benefit WWE SmackDown in several ways.
Otis debuted an aggressive side of him inside the ring on this week's WWE SmackDown, where he teamed up with Gable to face Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. The former Heavy Machinery star's new game plan was attributed to his time spent with Gable in their Alpha Academy training sessions.
Otis seemingly had the match won this week, but Gable wanted to be tagged in at the last minute. This only led to Gable being pinned successfully, as Otis stood on the ring apron and didn't interfere in any way.
Otis may have thought that his master had it all figured out inside the ring, even though that didn't turn out to be the case. Later backstage, Gable said that it was all a "test," and Otis failed it by tagging Gable into the match.
Chad Gable being the weak link of their team is an interesting plot thread that should be explored further in the next few episodes of WWE SmackDown.
#2: Roman Reigns brutalized Kevin Owens and sent a message to his family on WWE SmackDown
Kevin Owens didn't like the fact that Roman Reigns brought up the topic of his family on last week's WWE SmackDown. Owens doesn't fear Reigns, as he cut a TLC-centric promo to send a warning to The Tribal Chief during this week's episode.
Jey Uso arrived to beat up The Prizefighter, but the latter prevailed and put Uso through a table on WWE SmackDown. The interesting part about this exchange was that Reigns wanted to take care of business himself after what Owens did to his cousin.
But it was Paul Heyman who reminded The Tribal Chief that he must conduct this business on his own time. This prompted Reigns to stand down and head backstage.
Owens seemed incensed to a point where he walked right into The Tribal Chief's trap by searching for him in the backstage area. Roman Reigns was able to brutalize The Prizefighter when the latter didn't see it coming.
The main takeaway from their feud this week came when Roman Reigns looked straight into the camera and advised the Owens family to talk some sense into Kevin Owens before Reigns takes the food off their table.
This was another good segment as far as the Universal Title scenario on WWE SmackDown is concerned. Kevin Owens once again displayed that he isn't intimidated by The Tribal Chief, while Roman Reigns didn't lose his composure and took advantage of the situation on his own terms.
#1: Carmella's UNTOUCHABLE gimmick outshined Sasha Banks as they fought in the main event for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
A contract signing segment between Carmella and Sasha Banks for their TLC match kicked-off this week's WWE SmackDown, but it evolved into a night where Carmella's character was showcased in a major way.
Carmella introduced her sommelier - or a wine waiter - and displayed that she would keep him under her command.
Just like Roman Reigns, Carmella wanted to be in charge of the narrative, except the UNTOUCHABLE Carmella has an attitude that seems like a cross between a WWE Diva and Alexis Rose from Schitt's Creek.
The clash of attitudes between Sasha and Carmella led to an impromptu main event match with the SmackDown Women's title on the line. Carmella and Sasha Banks put on an entertaining back-and-forth main event. But shenanigans took over their clash as Carmella's sommelier made the save for his boss.
This enraged Sasha Banks to a point where she disobeyed the referee and kept assaulting her opponent in one corner. It led to a DQ finish, which gave Carmella a victory, but The Legit Boss would remain as the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion.
After their match was over, the tables turned when Carmella used the champagne bucket setup near ringside to her advantage against Banks. This way, Carmella stood tall at the end of this week's SmackDown, thus making a major statement on the road to TLC.
WWE invested a lot into Carmella's character on last night's episode. It showed that Carmella could become one of SmackDown's top names over the course of this feud, even if she doesn't become the champion after it's over.
Do catch SK Wrestling experts Rick Ucchino and Denise Salcedo as they share their thoughts on all that went down during last night's WWE SmackDown in the video linked above.
