5 Mistakes WWE made on SmackDown: Former champion takes an unnecessary loss, possible mistake with Bianca Belair (December 18th, 2020)

Just two days before the final pay-per-view of the year, TLC 2020, WWE presented the go-home SmackDown episode. As has been the case in the last several weeks, the Blue brand had a better outing as compared to Monday Night RAW, which saw record low ratings earlier this week.

The storyline at the center of this episode of SmackDown was that between the Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his challenger this Sunday, Kevin Owens. In an angle that went on throughout the show, WWE did a good job to hype up the upcoming pay-per-view involving tables, ladders, and chairs. As good as the storytelling is, it's highly unlikely that KO will get his revenge this Sunday and walk out as the new Universal Champion.

.@WWERomanReigns is burying @FightOwensFight in the rubble of #WWETLC! 👀#SmackDown @WWEUsos @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/WRXl5EdNIJ
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2020

SmackDown this week was nowhere near perfect and a lot could have been improved and avoided. Let's take a look at five mistakes WWE made on SmackDown this week. Be sure to comment down and let us know your opinions, whether they match with the one mentioned in this article or not.

#5 Bianca Belair loses her big match on WWE SmackDown

.@BiancaBelairWWE took her to the limit, but @itsBayleyWWE (with a few tricks up her sleeve) was able to outlast The #ESTofWWE on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/4jYNx8OZUS
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2020

Arguably the biggest match on tonight's episode of the Blue brand was the one between 'The EST of WWE' Bianca Belair and the former SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. A match that certainly was worthy of being on a pay-per-view, it was Bayley who managed to pick up the victory over Belair, after some dirty tactics.

While this is probably WWE's typical way of making the babyface lose and then get a revenge victory, it probably wasn't the best decision to have Belair lose this big match. It's unlikely that the two will have a rematch at the next pay-per-view, which is Royal Rumble 2021, as both will probably be in the over-the-top-rope match.

Interestingly, Bianca Belair is also one of the favorites to win the women's Royal Rumble match next year. Her picking up a victory over Bayley on SmackDown would have certainly helped her gain a lot of momentum heading into the new year.