5 Biggest Moments From SmackDown Live-December 26, 2017

Monday nights undoubtedly play host to some of the bigger competitors in WWE. Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, even the biggest woman on the roster Nia Jax. That by no means dictates that Raw also plays host to the biggest moments and the biggest moves. SmackDown Live's roster may be smaller in stature, but you had better believe that they can give as good as their red brand counterparts. Here are what we believe to be the five biggest moments from this week's edition of SmackDown Live and how they helped shape a frankly terrific episode of the Tuesday night show.

5. Riott Kick Ends It Quick

Absolution hasn't really shown any signs of weakness on Raw so far. The Riott Squad are beginning to reveal that they have chinks in their armor, however. They did go about remedying that this week though. Their fearless leader Ruby Riott went one on one with two-time SmackDown Women's Champion, Naomi. Well, we say one on one, it was actually thanks to Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan hopping up on the apron that led to what would ultimately be the end of the match. A distracted Naomi turned around only to be struck by Ruby's Riott Kick. It's a terrific and extremely effective finishing maneuver.

4. Erick Rowan's Apron Slam

The last time we saw The Bludgeon Brothers take on Breezango it wasn't a pretty sight, at least not for fans of The Fashion Police. For some reason though, Tyler Breeze and Fandango thought a rematch would be a good idea this past week on SmackDown Live. Harper and Rowan's move set is pretty brutal and one move in particular that the latter keeps using looks particularly devastating. Rowan picks up his opponent and slams them face first into the ring apron. We've witnessed it twice now and both times Breeze has been the man suffering from it. Had Rowan rolled him into the ring and covered him the match would have been over there and then.

3. An Innovative Elbow Drop

Kevin Owens and AJ Styles may very well be the two most talented and experienced men on the SmackDown Live roster today. Both men have wrestled all over the world picking up bits and pieces of various styles wherever they have gone. That means regardless of how many times they face off, we're always going to be treated to something new. KO certainly did that with one move in particular on Tuesday night. First off, Owens delivered a very impressive gutbuster, a move that would have warranted a place on this list all by itself. Then he immediately followed it up with an elbow drop from the second rope while his back was to his opponent. Anyone who thinks Owens' size and weight holds him back clearly has never seen one of the Superstar's matches.

2. A Super Accolade

Right from the off on this week's SmackDown Live the festive Chicago crowd made it very clear who they were looking forward to seeing most. While those attending Raw kicked things off by chanting CM Punk, on Tuesday night they opted for the much more relevant Rusev Day. Luckily for them, The Bulgarian Brute and his musical companion were in the opening match of the night. The two of them squared off in a triple threat tag team match against The New Day and Benjamin and Gable with the winning team earning themselves a title shot. Towards the end of the match, Rusev managed to lock in his patented Accolade on not one, but two people at the same time, a super accolade if you will. Chad Gable and Xavier Woods were the recipients, but Shelton Benjamin broke things up before either man tapped.

1. A Double German Suplex

Rusev's super accolade (or Stacked Accolade as The Bulgarian Brute prefers it to be called) wasn't the only move to be marveled during SmackDown Live's opening match. Chad Gable has recently been wowing the wrestling world with his impressive looking German suplexes. Well, this past week he raised the bar with them yet again. The former amateur wrestler managed to deliver one German suplex to two men at the same time. When you take the former NXT Tag Team Champion's physical size and stature into account the feat is simply astounding. Big E and Aiden English suffered the devastating move relatively early on in what turned out to be a pretty terrific match. It didn't win Gable and his partner the bout at the time, but they would, of course, go on to pick up the victory.