With Clash of Champions -- WWE's final pay-per-view of 2017 -- just a handful of days away, SmackDown Live took a major step forward in building its co-main event of the show.

While the AJ Styles-Jinder Mahal feud feels incredibly forced -- as did most things with Mahal in 2017 -- the swerving controversy surrounding SmackDown's authority figures and four of its best wrestlers played a major role throughout the entire episode.

Let's take a look at what transpired Tuesday night and how Clash of Champions now stands with everything settled on the blue brand. CBS Sports will be covering Clash of Champions live on Sunday, Dec. 17, so be sure to stop by.

Daniel Bryan dons stripes, continues Shane McMahon feud

Early in the show, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn -- wearing "Yep! Yep! Yep!" parody T-shirts -- were shown passing out anti-Shane McMahon fliers backstage and declaring that the "Yep! Movement" had begun. General manager Daniel Bryan was later shown on the phone with McMahon assuring the commissioner that everything would be OK while he's away this week just as Owens and Zayn entered to hand him a flier. When they hit the ring midway through the show, Owens declared Shane as the worst McMahon of all-time and attempted to Occupy SmackDown just as Bryan did Raw a few years ago. When Owens asked for others to join them and flood the ring, Bryan appeared and received praise from the best friends.

Bryan said Owens and Zayn are nothing like him and that the "Yes! Movement" was not selfish (about him) but selfless (about the fans). "It was about what the WWE Universe wanted, and it was about what they deserved," he explained. Bryan went on to say that he and McMahon have each other's back, and for that reason, he will also join the main event of Clash of Champions as a second special guest referee. It was made clear by Bryan that the firing stipulation would remain for Owens and Zayn, and they would have no one to blame but themselves for their ouster if they lose.

Later in the show, Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura were interviewed in the ring by Renee Young and finally given an opportunity to explain why they are even in this match. "They are both obnoxious and self-entitled," Orton said of the best friends, to which Nakamura responded, "Yep!" During the ensuing Nakamura-Owens match, Bryan argued constantly with Byron Saxton about his decision while showing some definite heel tendencies as Saxton claimed Owens and Zayn had Bryan in their pocket. When Owens inadvertently knocked out the referee, Bryan stole his shirt and took control of the squared circle. A distraction from Zayn allowed Owens to hit Nakamura with the Pop-Up Powerbomb and pick up the 1-2-3 from Bryan.

Business is certainly picking up here both in terms of the McMahon-Bryan storyline and hints that perhaps Bryan will actually return to a WWE ring as a performer. It may all be a swerve -- working as a referee is not taking dangerous bumps -- but this is the most Bryan has done physically since his concussion diagnosis. The angle is also being taken to a level where one would think physicality between Bryan and McMahon is the end goal.

WWE allowed Orton and Nakamura to actually explain their roles in the feud with Owens and Zayn on Tuesday, which was too little too late but much needed for the build to Clash of Champions. The two main segments for this feud -- along with the match itself -- were all top quality. SmackDown took a major step forward from a week ago but still has a long ways to go to compete with Raw, which is sad considering earlier this year SmackDown was easily the more critically acclaimed show.

What else happened on SmackDown?

  • AJ Styles opened the show by cutting a promo on Jinder Mahal. It was rather benign. When the Singh Brothers hit the ramp to respond, Styles played footage from Mahal's beating them up and invited them to the ring to "hug it out," which they did. The Singhs thanked him for his support and offered to be in his corner -- instead of that of Mahal -- at Clash of Champions. Styles encouraged them to let it all out, so Sunil Singh began insult Mahal while Samir Singh tried to calm him down. That led Styles to show more footage of them by Mahal's side just last week in India; he then called them liars and delivered a couple headbutts while Mahal stared him down outside the ring. Later in the show, Mahal and the Singhs attacked Styles backstage and talked a bit of trash. It is crazy that the WWE title continues to be a secondary storyline on SmackDown, which it has been since the day Mahal became the No. 1 contender. 
  • Chaos ensues after Charlotte Flair def. Ruby Riott via disqualification: Natalya sat on commentary, while the rest of the Riott Squad hung around at ringside. Flair found herself outside the ring late in the match and started swinging at everyone at the ringside area. Natalya eventually retaliated, resulting in the DQ. The Riott Squad attempted to take Flair out the same way they did Naomi, but she ran down to the ring and hit a fantastic double falling dropkick before laying out Riott inside the ring. The rest of the lumberjacks set to participate Sunday then attacked the Riott Squad from behind as the various groups of women stared each other down.
  • Dolph Ziggler def. Baron Corbin via disqualification: Bobby Roode sat ringside and just randomly decided to insert himself into the action midway through the match. He hit both Ziggler and Corbin with a Glorious DDT -- one after another -- before posing in the center of the squared circle. There was no reaction from the crowd whatsoever.
  • Fashion Files is no more ... at least on TV. You can now find it on WWE.com, though they showed enough on SmackDown to make it clear that Breezango would be challenging the Bludgeon Brothers at Clash of Champions.
  • The Bludgeon Brothers def. Colin Delaney & Joe Monroe via pinfall: Another squash match over some jobbers. They debuted an assisted sit down powerbomb that should be their finisher as opposed to the one they actually use.
  • Rusev & Aiden English def. The Usos via pinfall: All four teams in Sunday's championship match cut short promos before the bout began. With everyone but English outside the ring, Rusev delivered a superkick onto Jey Uso (who was laying on the ring apron), allowing English to capitalize for the 1-2-3. It is the second clean win for Rusev & English in as many weeks as they beat The New Day one week ago.