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This week's Christmas-themed edition of WWE SmackDown Live (25th December 2018) saw a lot of contrasting moments, from AJ Styles snapping at the end to Rusev becoming the new United States Champion.
However, there are always a few subtle moments that the audiences might overlook due to WWE's weekly schedule of programming.
Make sure to send in your thoughts in the comments section below if you want to point out other obscure and interesting moments from this week's SmackDown Live.
With a brand new year on the horizon, here are a few moments that you might have missed from the 25th December 2018 edition of WWE SmackDown Live...
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#3: The symbolism represented in Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe was quite admirable
After absorbing weeks of insults from Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy finally got to face the Samoan Submission Machine during last night's Christmas-themed episode of SmackDown Live.
What really stood out as quite impressive was the fact that there were a lot of symbolic themes that struck only a few ardent viewers attention during this bout.
Jeff Hardy chose to wear very similar attire, as well as sported a face-paint which was reminiscent of Hardy's infamous match against Sting at TNA Victory Road 2011. Of course, it is no secret that Hardy was going through a dark phase in his life at that point in time, and he showed up intoxicated at Victory Road 2011 for his match against Sting.
Coincidentally, Jeff Hardy's current feud against Samoa Joe includes a lot of callbacks to Hardy's dark past. Therefore, The Charismatic Enigma's choice of attire during last night's show symbolizes his past demons and how they keep lurking around in the background at all times.
This ideology plays into a darker turn of events, where Hardy snaps towards the end and gets disqualified by handing a relentless beating to Samoa Joe.
Of course, the segment ended with Samoa Joe gaining the upper hand, but using symbolism to showcase several themes on a wrestling show makes it more compelling to watch...
#2: Daniel Bryan is the Grinch of SmackDown Live
It's Christmas! Except, SmackDown Live has its own version of The Grinch who wants to dampen the spirit of Holiday celebrations. That's right, Daniel Bryan (or the NEW Daniel Bryan) is the Grinch of SmackDown Live.
Last night's show opened with 'Santa' R-Truth and Carm-elf-a spreading the Christmas spirit, only to be interrupted by the WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan who went on to call R-Truth's career a joke. The segment ended with Bryan putting R-Truth in a LeBell Lock, thus, dampening the collective mood of fans and viewers alike.
Not only that but later on in the show, Daniel Bryan would also go on to beat Mustafa Ali backstage, just when the latter was being congratulated by his 205 Live peers and Shelton Benjamin.
Even if Ali was heartily welcomed to SmackDown Live by its roster, Daniel Bryan's character is the one to think that Mustafa Ali doesn't deserve to be featured on SmackDown week-after-week.
Undoubtedly, Bryan's entire arc for the whole night displayed some impressive heel-work, and the similarity between him and The Grinch was so uncanny, that you could almost hear the NEW Daniel Bryan say, "One man's toxic sludge is another man's potpourri..."
#1: Here is what AJ Styles snapping at the end of the show really meant
We all know that Vince McMahon and AJ Styles have a great professional relationship, as evidenced by Styles' WWE 365 Special on the WWE Network.
This segment was a lot similar to the moment when Kevin Owens had headbutted Vince McMahon back in 2017 in terms of the fact that McMahon got personally involved in both cases to elevate the respective wrestler's status in the company.
The whole point of this segment was for McMahon's character to bring out the 'real' AJ Styles hidden underneath the former WWE Champion we see on television every week. This dynamic was further confirmed when Mr. McMahon has a smirk on his face after AJ Styles attacked him, proving that Vince had been successful in executing his 'master plan'.
From a real-life as well as 'kayfabe' perspective, it only makes sense that pairing an aggressive AJ Styles against the NEW Daniel Bryan would draw more attention simply because this feud would cross lines and boundaries when it comes to differentiating between the 'good' guy and the 'bad' guy.
We could witness an amazing program between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles if WWE decides to carve out AJ's new persona in further weeks to come.
In the end, it is important to remember that AJ Styles attacking Vince McMahon at last night's SmackDown Live is more complicated than it sounds. Is it Vince McMahon who is benefitted in the end after all things are said and done?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can follow me here to stay updated regarding the latest posts. Thanks for reading this article and share it around to spread the word. Happy Holidays!
