*OFFICIAL* SmackDown Discussion Thread: 3rd January 2017

[Awesome]

Last week, John Cena returned to SmackDown LIVE to issue a Royal Rumble WWE Championship Match challenge.  After AJ Styles overcame Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in a brutal Triple Threat main event to keep his illustrious title, a handshake between the two longstanding adversaries solidified that “The Champ That Runs the Camp” will once again square off against the leader of the Cenation on the Jan. 29 pay-per-view.

Tonight, Styles and Cena will ring in the new year with the official contract signing for the epic showdown. Considering the tumultuous history between the competitors, not to mention that of contract signings in general, there’s a better chance that James Ellsworth will win a beauty contest than of things ending peacefully. Translation: You won’t want to miss a second of the action.

The first SmackDown LIVE of 2017 just got a marquee matchup, as The Miz will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose.

The Superstars’ rivalry intensified on the Dec. 20 edition of SmackDown LIVE as The A-Lister went out of his way to bring Ambrose’s girlfriend and SmackDown LIVE announce Renee Young into their beef. Matters exploded last week when Ambrose looked to get a measure of retribution with a surprise attack backstage.

Will The Lunatic Fringe be able to take The Miz’s coveted Intercontinental Championship as well? Or, will The A-Lister’s mind games pay off and carry on with the Intercontinental Championship Reunion Tour? Find out tonight on SmackDown LIVE!

Speaking of Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, it appears the two tough-as-nails Superstars did not get enough of each other in last week’s WWE Championship Triple Threat Match. As first announced on Twitter, they will square off one-on-one tonight. Both athletes are out to prove themselves, though for different reasons. Can The Showoff possibly withstand another vicious assault by the hungry Lone Wolf?

On the final SmackDown LIVE of 2016, American Alpha captured the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in an explosive Four Corners Elimination Match. But with no shortage of contenders, how long will Chad Gable & Jason Jordan be able to hold on to those titles?

It’s a safe bet (although, “safe” is perhaps the wrong word) that The Wyatt Family will be out to wreak havoc on the new champions and position themselves to take back the titles. Yet, after the post-match friction witnessed between Randy Orton and Luke Harper, there is no guarantee that internal turmoil won’t derail the Wyatts’ pursuit. Perhaps The Usos, who have no love for American Alpha, will smell blood in the water and leap to the forefront of tag team contention. Or, could another SmackDown tandem that’s thirsty for the championship gold strike?

American Alpha wanted to be the best. All we have to say is, be careful what you wish for.

Two weeks ago on SmackDown LIVE, a masked La Luchadora scored a non-title victory over SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, only to reveal herself as Becky Lynch. Last week, however, La Luchadora returned while Becky was in the ring battling Alexa for the title, effectively costing The Irish Lass Kicker the match.

Find out if the identity of the new masked disruptor will be revealed tonight.

[Awesome]

I was thinking that there would perhaps be an appearance from Renee Young, if only to distract Maryse for long enough that she wasn't able to be a distraction herself. The way things played out instead, with Dean Ambrose convincing the referee not to call for the disqualification after Maryse's slap, but rather expel her from ringside, as well as Ambrose going on to get the victory with a Dirty Deeds to become the new Intercontinental Championship was an unexpected but still welcome outcome that I look forward to seeing what happens from here.