UPDATED: Title Change, Major Heel Turn, Rumble Entrant Announced On SmackDown
Major developments were all over the place on Smackdown tonight.
Dolph Ziggler turned heel in frustration after yet another loss, Baron Corbin announced himself as the first official Smackdown entrant in the Royal Rumble, and Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
After the first match on SmackDown Live tonight, a win by Corbin over Ziggler, Corbin retrieved a chair from ringside and was poised to attack Ziggler in a post match beatdown. Erstwhile Corbin opponent Kalisto ran out to assist, was able to disarm Corbin and send him to the outside. Ziggler got up and attacked Kalisto, screaming "I don't need you! I never did!" You can watch this segment in the video at the top of the page.
Ziggler headed for the locker room and after rearranging the furniture, got into a brawl with Apollo Crews.
Later in the night, after the Contract Signing between John Cena and AJ Styles for their WWE Title Match at the Royal Rumble, Corbin returned to the ring and announced that he would be entering the Rumble, the first to do so from the Blue Brand.
He cited his success in the 2016 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal as the reason why he will be victorious in the 2017 Rumble, and that he will go on to defeat either AJ or Cena at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando.
It was also announced that Corbin will go one on one with Cena next week on Smackdown Live.
The Main Event saw The Miz defend his IC Title against Dean Ambrose. Ambrose won after Maryse slapped him and he convinced the ref not to disqualify The Miz, and instead to eject Maryse from ringside. While the ref was busy doing that, The Miz hit Ambrose with the IC Title, then tried for the Skull Crushing Finale, which was reversed into the Dirty Deeds for the pinfall.
The Miz is listed as a guest on Talking Smack tonight, so it's possible that he demands the title back, since by all rights, Miz did deserve to be disqualified, and besides that, Dean did manhandle the ref a little bit there.
We'll keep you updated.
