Here are your quick and dirty, editorial-free WWE Smackdown Live results for December 20, 2016. The show featured new No. 1 contenders to the tag titles (again), and the long-awaited WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth.
Be back here tomorrow for the full Best and Worst of Smackdown column.
WWE Smackdown Live Results:
1. WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) defeated James Ellsworth. Styles quickly hit his strikes combo and pinned Ellsworth with ease.
— After the match, Styles battered Ellsworth all around ringside. When he was done, he grabbed the microphone and said he was moving on to bigger and better things for 2017. Dolph Ziggler came out and said he would do anything to get the WWE Championship. Then Baron Corbin came out and got in Ziggler’s face. Corbin says he deserves the opportunity, not Ziggler. He attacked Ziggler and hit him with the End of Days.
2. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz (c) defeated Apollo Crews. Maryse got tossed from ringside, but Miz still managed to rake the eyes and hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall victory.
— Natalya, Nikki Bella, and Carmella all came out to talk to each other. Natalya chased Carmella off, then admitted she attacked Nikki, and that she’s always despised her.
3. Dean Ambrose defeated Luke Harper. Ambrose managed to get a flash pin with a La Magistral cradle. Immediately after the match, Ambrose was jumped by Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton.
— Wyatt and Orton hit their Sister Abigail/RKO finisher on Ambrose, then teleported out of the ring. The Miz and Maryse came to the ring, and Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Ambrose.
4. La Luchadora defeated Alexa Bliss. This was a non-title match. La Luchadora got Bliss to tap out to the Disarmer, then took off her mask to reveal herself as Becky Lynch.
5. Mojo Rawley defeated Curt Hawkins. Ryan Phillippe was on commentary for this match. Rawley won by pinfall after a running punch in the corner.
6. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler ended in a double count-out. This was a match for the right to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship next week. Styles sat in on commentary, and near the end of the match, Corbin tossed Ziggler into Styles. Both men got counted out.
— After the match, Styles attacked both Ziggler and Corbin with a chair. Daniel Bryan came out to announce a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship next week between the three men.
