 AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton Staked Their Claim at an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship OpportunityStyles was definitely giving off "lone wolf" 2013 vibes with what he was wearing and how he came across. I really hope that's the direction he's taking his character in because that would be such a breath of fresh air. All three of these guys cut pretty basic promos and made their case for why they should face Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, leading to Nick Aldis announcing they will face off in a number one contender's Triple Threat match in two weeks on the New Year's Revolution edition of SmackDown. It was a solid segment to start the show. Michin, Zelina Vega, Shotzi and Bianca Belair def. Damage CTRL (WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY, Bayley and The Kabuki Warriors) in a Holiday Havoc MatchThis was basically a holiday version of the women's WarGames match we got last month, except without the two cages. I'm a sucker for the Christmas silliness and that's what this was, so I thought it was fun. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre returning and attacking The Kabuki Warriors was a pleasant surprise, but does that mean they'll be babyfaces going forward? Michin pinning SKY was another pleasant surprise as I would assume sets her up for the next WWE Women's Championship opportunity on the New Year's Revolution show. NXT North American Champion Dragon Lee def. ButchLee hasn't been champion for a full two weeks and he's already successfully defended his title three times if you include here. He's the perfect person to book as a fighting champ because he can work well with just about anyone. Butch obviously needs to be established a bit more and rack up more wins, but this was a very fun match and both guys had a chance to shine. WWE has done a really good job spotlighting Lee on the main roster and I hope it continues in the new year. Kevin Owens def. Carmelo Hayes in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal MatchThe presentation of Hayes on the main roster has been perfect so far. I don't think this is a full-fledged call-up for him just yet, but he's really stood out the past two weeks and this was another impressive performance from him. They had a top-notch television match with Hayes being made to look credible in defeat. I still have Owens winning the entire tourney. We found out the finals will take place in two weeks and the title match will happen at the Royal Rumble. Santos Escobar def. Bobby Lashley in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal MatchI still have no idea whether Lashley is supposed to be a babyface or a heel. I'm going to assume he's a babyface because the live crowds simply refuse to boo him and The Street Profits. Both of these guys are great, but this was actually a pretty forgettable affair. They never seemed to click and the finish overshadowed the action, anyway. Escobar advancing was logical and I'm happy Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo are joining Escobar as has been rumored recently. AJ Styles def. Solo Sikoa by DisqualificationStyles was out for revenge after Sikoa put him on the shelf three months ago. They had a quality contest and running a non-finish with Reigns interfering and attacking Styles made sense in that it protected both Styles and Sikoa. Styles, Orton and Knight fended off The Bloodline before brawling among themselves. I want to see Styles vs. Reigns at the Rumble, but it's possible it ends up becoming a Fatal 4-Way considering they all have issues with each other. Overall ShowThe crowd must have been quiet because the piped-in noise was very apparent throughout, though it's hard to blame them because this was taped immediately after last week's episode. Otherwise, this edition of SmackDown exceeded my expectations. There was plenty of entertaining wrestling as well as hype for New Year's Revolution in two weeks. Garza and Carrillo showing up was notable along with Authors of Pain being revealed as returning in the latest Karrion Kross vignette.
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