Carmella Rising, KO's Inevitable Fate vs. Roman Reigns, More SmackDown Fallout

December has not been great for SmackDown, which is struggling to find a balance between building WWE TLC: Tables, Ladder & Chairs on Dec. 20 and positioning stars for the Road to WrestleMania.

Friday's edition of SmackDown gave some hope for the future, though it also set up several stars to continue down the wrong path. This was a night that teetered on the edge of relevancy.

Carmella made a statement. She opened and closed the show standing tall. She showed off at the expense of Sasha Banks, and The Legit Boss helped establish her as one of the most dangerous challengers she could possibly face early in her title reign.

Other contenders to SmackDown championships were not so fortunate. Big E fell to Sami Zayn's count-out tactics once more. Kevin Owens struggled to build himself up as a true challenger to Roman Reigns.

Worse off than all of them was Otis. The big man has fallen far, and Friday saw his alliance with Chad Gable put to the test. The two lost in tag team action, and it seems both men are heading straight to the bottom of the card.

This show brought up several concerns SmackDown will need to sort to begin building toward the future. It is no longer just enough to coast until fans can attend shows again. WWE must find more reliable stories to tell.

Carmella convinced Sasha Banks to put her SmackDown Women's Championship on the line in the main event. The Untouchable came out firing against The Legit Boss, but Banks trapped her in the Bank Statement. After Carmella's aide got involved, Banks lost it and got disqualified.

Afterward, The Untouchable went on the attack. She brutalized Banks, including smashing a champagne bottle on her back. She was content taking a DQ victory and standing over her fallen rival.

This was a statement night for Carmella. She has spent so much time on the sidelines in a division in desperate need of big names. She should have been used more, and this fresh start looks to be proving that quickly.

She and Banks had a great title fight that ended too soon. They have even better in them sooner rather than later. It is rivalries like this that can elevate both women and solidify the prestige of the SmackDown Women's Championship.

It is clear that SmackDown needed this Carmella. While the character change may be unwarranted, her attitude and talent has been missed. Whether or not she dethrones The Boss, Carmella should leave this rivalry as one of the top heels on the blue brand.

If any women's roster can slowly but surely rise to the level of NXT's, it's SmackDown's. It is all down to using the talent properly.

Sami Zayn was clearly out of his depth when fighting the powerful and motivated Big E on Friday. However, he showed his ingenuity once more. He tricked the former New Day man into staying outside the ring too long, getting him counted out.

Big E has barely been established as a singles star to this point. He disappeared from television after the WWE draft in October. He came back to lose out on major opportunities and then finally get a shot in this non-title bout. It would have made sense for him to win and earn an opportunity to win the Intercontinental Championship.

Instead, he fell for the same tricks that have tripped up others like Apollo Crews. While it does not hurt his credibility, Big E has yet to build any momentum. If he wasn't going to be the one to outwit The Critic of the Critics, why is he in this feud at all?

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are dominating Monday Night Raw as tag team champions. Big E should be there at their side. Instead, he is stuck waiting for a real opportunity.

Zayn may be a great performer. But it has to be Big E's time sooner rather than later. Otherwise, he will fade into obscurity until the next draft reunites New Day and makes this entire year a waste of a massive talent.

Kevin Owens talked up all that he could do in a TLC match against Roman Reigns. Jey Uso tried to deal some early damage to KO, but Owens fought him off. The Tribal Chief arrived, only to be run off as well by a motivated Owens. But Reigns attacked him backstage thereafter and warned KO's family to tell him to quit.

While Owens is immensely talented, it is hard to believe that he has any chance against The Tribal Chief. He has been wasted over the past year and there has been no build to his forthcoming opportunity at the WWE Universal Championship.

No matter how much work the two men do together, this battle feels too much like filler. This can get personal, but it won't feel like the right time for either man. This is a rivalry that should have been kept on hold until 2021.

There were plenty of stars who could have gotten the rub by working with Reigns for a month. Jey Uso was established as a singles competitor through his matches with The Tribal Chief. An underused star like Apollo Crews or Otis would have been a fascinating challenger in the build to an expected loss instead.

There's not enough time or depth to a rivalry that should feel special. These men have fought before, and they have great chemistry. All they needed was a little time to build toward their fight.

Chad Gable tried to motivate Otis with unusual training tactics Friday. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro made fun of them for it. In an ensuing tag team match, Otis looked poised to win, but Gable demanded the tag. He got caught in the giant swing before being hit by the Kinshasa and pinned.

Afterward, Gable tried to explain to Otis that he shouldn't have tagged in his mentor, making it all out to be a test.

This tag team pairing has not worked from the outset. It's still unclear why Otis and Tucker broke up. One lost momentum from that move. The other is not on television anymore.

It is a huge shame because Otis was on a roll. Now he is a comedy act again. He and Gable are barely making an impact. Gable, especially, is still losing repeatedly, playing the awkward, smarmy heel.

Otis has rarely lost since winning the Money in the Bank ladder match. However, he does not have chemistry with Gable. He worked so well with Mandy Rose and Tucker, yet all of that disappeared without warning.

If there is any plan to elevate these two together, a change is already in order. Things are not working. They both deserve better and could do more with better storytelling.