WWE Smackdown Live results and observations (4/25/17): Natalya and Carmella and Tamina and James Ellsworth

While Raw struggled to put forth anything eventful over the course of three hours Monday, Smackdown Live made the most of its two hours with a solid installment Tuesday.

That is not to say this week's episode of Smackdown Live was without its flaws because I will definitely point out a few, but the show provided multiple things that I am intrigued to watch moving forward.

Before I go any further, here are the full match results from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa:

- AJ Styles def. Baron Corbin

- Beat the Clock Challenge – American Alpha def. The Colons

- No disqualification – Randy Orton def. Erick Rowan

- Beat the Clock Challenge – Breezango def. The Ascension

- WWE Smackdown Women's championship – Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair ended in no contest

Natalya, Carmella, Tamina ruin women's title match

There is a trio of new sheriffs in town on Smackdown Live, and they go by the names of Natalya, Carmella and Tamina.

This was made quite clear after the trio ruined the Smackdown Women's title match by storming the ring and beating up both Naomi and Charlotte, forcing the match to be tossed out.

After wreaking havoc on the title match, the three women stood in the ring and admired their destruction alongside their de-facto mascot, James Ellsworth.

Earlier in the night, all three women confronted Becky Lynch and gave her an ultimatum: Either she is with them or against them. They provided Lynch with an example of they would do if she were to oppose them by beating up both Naomi and Charlotte.

I know this may be quite the stretch, but this reminded me of what The Shield used to do back in 2013 and early 2014. I know, I know. It has only been one night and this particular trio will almost certainly not have the same success The Shield had, but I'm just talking about this angle in particular on this night.

I'm not saying Natalya, Carmella and Tamina are going to be a female version of The Shield or Hart Foundation or whatever. What I am really saying is that this was a cool way to end the show and created a whole new level of intrigue for Smackdown Live's women's division moving forward.

The best part about this was that it was not out of nowhere. Smackdown Live had planted the seeds for these three women to come together last week when they were all upset about Charlotte waltzing onto the brand and quickly being granted matches against the women's champ.

If Smackdown Live had not done that last week, I probably would feel indifferent toward this angle because it would have come from out of nowhere.

Instead, Smackdown Live took the time to tell a story and I appreciate that. I appreciate when I can follow a logical story arch.

By the way, Lynch made it clear on Talking Smack that she was against what Natalya, Carmella and Tamina did Tuesday, so expect her to join forces with Naomi and Charlotte at some point to even the odds.

Is Charlotte becoming a babyface?

If that scenario were to eventually play out — which I fully expect it will — it would put Charlotte on the babyface side of the ledger for the first in almost two years.

Charlotte has not been a full-fledged babyface since 2015. By the end of the year, she had linked up with her father Ric Flair to form a villainous duo.

Since then, she has been arguably WWE's top heel. She may not be the white-meat babyface she was back in 2015, which was not the best role for her anyway, but when you are aligned with Naomi and Lynch — two characters that are as babyface as it gets — you will be looked at as a babyface.

I think a babyface turn would be interesting for Charlotte. She has proven that is very capable of being a dominant heel, but in doing so, she has earned the respect of the diehard fans.

That is not anything groundbreaking in wrestling and it is a path that fans and pundits have begged WWE to send Roman Reigns on for a good two years now.

Turning heel has certainly helped Charlotte, as it allowed her confidence to blossom without the pressures of being a fan favorite.

With her confidence up and her character firmly established, I believe Charlotte could be a very successful babyface on Smackdown Live and in WWE in general.

Jinder Mahal stole the WWE title

A week after some people said he stole the right to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE championship Mahal literally stole the WWE title.

No, Mahal didn't defeat Orton to become champion. He actually stole the physical title belt and rode off into the night hanging out of the sunroof of a limousine while holding it above his head.

I know this was supposed to get some heat on Mahal and it is nice that he gets to walk around with the title for a while, but really? Who cares that he stole the title.

That was unique maybe 17 years ago when The Rock stole Steve Austin's WWE title, but that was 17 years ago.

All this did in my mind was confirm that Orton's House of Horror's match against Bray Wyatt at Payback will not be for the WWE championship. How could Wyatt win the title when it the title isn't even in the building?

Breezango are No. 1 contenders

A couple of weeks ago, Breezango were just like Mahal in that they were wrestlers that no one saw as legitimate threats to win.

Now, both entities are No. 1 contenders for their respective titles after Breezango defeated The Ascension in a Beat the Clock Challenge to earn a Smackdown Tag Team title match against The Usos at Backlash next month.

American Alpha set the Beat the Clock time after they defeated The Colons in five minutes and 17 seconds. However, Breezango beat that time later in the night with two minutes and 36 seconds to spare.

No, I will not express outrage over Breezango not being built up before being put into this spot like I did about Mahal. For one, this is only for the tag team titles. Sure, they're important, but not nearly as important as the WWE championship.

Secondly, Smackdown Live does not have a ton of options sitting around in its tag team division. On the other hand, there are plenty of other directions it could have gone in to determine the next No. 1 contender for the WWE title.

Rusev is staging a holdout

There was a Rusev sighting this week, but it was not in the arena. Rusev appeared via a video, as he is still recovering from an injury.

In that video, Rusev said that he is refusing to show up to Smackdown Live because he does not like general manager Daniel Bryan or commissioner Shane McMahon, and the only way he will wrestle for the brand is if he receives a WWE championship match at Money in the Bank in June.

Essentially, Rusev is staging an NFL-style holdout from Smackdown Live until he gets what he wants. Instead of more money or a long-term contract, Rusev is holding out for a WWE title match.

I am going to assume that Orton will still be champion by that point, which means we could be seeing Orton defend the title against Rusev at Money in the Bank, which I am all for.

Rusev has never received a one-on-one WWE title match since debuting on the main roster in 2014, which boggles my mind. Rusev even pointed out this fact on Twitter.

If this plays out like I think it will, Rusev will finally get one at Money in the Bank. Not only is it about time for him to get a title shot, but it is about time for the audience to take him seriously again.

While Rusev has fantastic comedic timing, WWE could make way more money with him being a dominant heel. Hopefully, this potential feud can get him back to that point.

Dolph Ziggler-Shinsuke Nakamura promo was weird

We finally received another appearance from Nakamura Tuesday, which was good news.

The bad news was that the creative he and Dolph Ziggler were dealt was painfully bad.

Nakamura opened the show to conduct an interview with Renee Young, but before it could get started, Ziggler showed up and essentially accused Nakamura of being Michael Jackson that is living under the disguise of a Japanese wrestler.

Not someone like Michael Jackson, but actually Michael Jackson living in disguise. This was weirder than all of the rumors and theories surrounding Tupac Shakur combined.

Worst of all, it helped neither guy. I just didn't understand the point. Was Ziggler trying to be funny? If he was, he failed miserably, which is unlike him considering he moonlights as a comedian.

Eventually, Nakamura got to suplex Ziggler, which the crowd got up for, but it came after some woefully bad dialogue between the two.

Another thing I am not too fond of is this new moniker for Nakamura WWE has decided to beat into everyone's heads. Shinsuke Nakamura is no longer just Shinsuke Nakamura or the King of Strong Style.

Now, he is the Artist Known as Shinsuke Nakamura as if he is Prince.

Sure, Nakamura's mannerisms and style remind you of Prince, Michael Jackson or even Freddie Mercury, but he is not any of them. He is Shinsuke Nakamura.

Instead of giving him a nickname that is closely associate with Prince, why not let him use the name that is closely associated with, you know, Nakamura? The King of Strong Style is a great nickname.

The best part about it is that it's Nakamura's. It was used in NXT on merchandise and whatnot, but I guess this is just another example of how the main roster is a completely different animal because he is now an artist.

For whatever reason, WWE felt it was necessary to give him its own moniker despite him already having a perfectly fine one. It's just like what it did with Rich Swann by calling him "The Outlandish" Rich Swann.

Sami Zayn vs. Corbin incoming

Corbin attacked Zayn at the end of Talking Smack, which means a feud between the two is on the way. I guess it was revenge for Zayn sticking his nose in Corbin's business earlier in the night.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters. Check it out here HERE.