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After two full weeks of truly questionable booking and storyline, WWE delivered on Tuesday night with an action-packed and plot hole-filling edition of SmackDown that was as solid as a two-hour show could be. Not only was the episode fast-paced, the actual in-ring wrestling was tremendous throughout the show, a rarity these days in WWE.

Consider the build to Survivor Series officially on as SmackDown provided an explanation for the "under siege" invasion -- one week too late -- and put on a number of high-intensity matches that did a good job advancing storylines while not affecting the build to the company's fourth-biggest pay-per-view each year.

Here's what went down on Tuesday night.

Invasion explanation finally provided

Shane McMahon opened SmackDown by finally giving a more detailed storyline explanation for the invasion of Raw last week. McMahon shared that while Raw deserved respect for being around longer, SmackDown has always been treated as inferior to its counterpart despite it making incredible strides since the brand split including management changes, going live and providing opportunities to more talent. The purpose of the under siege takeover of Raw, McMahon explained, was to make an impact and change the perception of SmackDown for good. McMahon promised Raw would have hell to pay for taking out general manager Daniel Bryan on Monday, telling Raw GM Kurt Angle to bring Braun Strowman and three other superstars because McMahon -- the team captain -- Randy Orton and three other SmackDown stars would be there to meet them.

Finally! After struggling through two weeks of the worst product WWE has put out in quite some time, SmackDown booked McMahon to say what he should have a week ago in providing an explanation for the invasion that suddenly put the brands against one another for Survivor Series. In this case, it makes sense that SmackDown would rally faces and heels together to go up against Raw in such a way, though it remains curious why McMahon never told Bryan about it. The opening segment with McMahon was strong and got his point across with ease. Combined with the return of Stephanie McMahon and the ultimatum she gave Angle on Raw, there is now some momentum heading into the pay-per-view.

Reunion still not paying dividends in the ring

Midway through the show, Sami Zayn complained to Kevin Owens that he was upset about McMahon making himself Survivor Series captain. Owens said he would take care of business and ensure at least he made it on the team by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event. Nakamura had the match in hand when Zayn appeared and distracted the King of Strong Style, giving Owens an opportunity to throw his opponent into the steel steps and hit a massive frog splash for a two count. When Owens ordered Zayn to clear off the announce table, Randy Orton appeared out of nowhere to side suplex Zayn onto it. Back inside the ring, Nakamura nailed a distracted Owens with Kinshasa to get the win and join the team.

Despite Owens and Zayn working well together cutting promos and earning a tag team match victory, they are 0-2 in singles matches since reuniting with both missing opportunities to be on the Survivor Series team for SmackDown. Considering they are at odds with McMahon, Nakamura and Orton, one can expect a tag match next week, perhaps with some Survivor Series stipulation. That could provide some nice internal SmackDown conflict ahead of Survivor Series and the opportunity for Owens and Zayn to turn on their peers at the PPV.

What else happened on SmackDown?

  • Bobby Roode def. Dolph Ziggler 2-1 in a two-out-of-three falls match: Ziggler picked up the first fall just a few minutes into the match by catching Roode with a superkick out of nowhere as Roode rolled into the ring. Roode tied things up when Ziggler, woozy from a slingshot into the turnbuckle, was sunset flipped into a 1-2-3. Ziggler appeared ready to close things out when he reversed a Glorious DDT into a Zig-Zag but was unable to get his second fall. Roode then converted a series of rollups into a Glorious DDT to earn the final pinfall and a spot on SmackDown's Survivor Series team. This was a fantastic match, and the crowd was completely into it. It was tough to see Ziggler job yet again, but it made sense in this case.
  • Becky Lynch gave a pep talk to the women's roster as their Survivor Series captain, telling them to stick together above all else and be prepared for a Raw invasion. James Ellsworth was dressed up like a dog and made to sit and stay by Carmella. Natalya then showed up and wondered allowed who the weak link of the team would be.
  • United States Championship -- Baron Corbin (c) vs. Sin Cara ended in a no contest: Corbin attempted to rip Sin Cara's luchador mask off early in the match, and Sin Cara would have none of it. The two quickly battled violently outside of the ring with Sin Cara beating Corbin down and spearing him onto the announce table. The referee could not contain the wrestlers, so he ruled the match a no contest as Corbin got stomped and then scurried away as Sin Cara threw a desk chair at him. Business has picked up in this cookie-cutter rivalry, and we may see a gimmick match (mask vs. hair?) in the near future.
  • The Usos cut a promo on Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins backstage ahead of Survivor Series, but Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin interrupted them to let them know they may not get to fight in that match because they have been granted a title opportunity next week on SmackDown.
  • AJ Styles def. Samir Singh via pinfall: After a promo by Jinder Mahal on Brock Lesnar, in which Mahal promised he would become the "Beast Master," the match started. Singh smacked Styles, who immediately kicked his ass and hit the Styles Clash for the 1-2-3. Mahal then attacked Styles from behind and beat him down, hitting The Khalas twice.
  • There was another Bludgeon Brothers vignette. It was awful.
  • Rusev def. Big E via pinfall: Dressed up like Jimmy Hart (Xavier Woods), Akeem (Big E) and Brother Love (Kofi Kingston), The New Day were trick or treating backstage only to be admonished by Rusev and Aiden English for having fun while a Raw invasion could take place at any minute. Rusev said Halloween was a dumb holiday and the only day that mattered was Rusev Day before pouring out Big E's candy and stomping all over it. The match between the two big men was solid until English interfered, allowing Rusev to kick a distracted Big E in the back and pick up the win. Backstage, McMahon gave Rusev a chance to get on the Survivor Series team in a match against Styles next week.
  • Fashion Files -- Strangerer Things: Tye Dillinger made an appearance this time. The lights went out except for around a picture of the Bludgeon Brothers on the pinboard and everyone in the room got attacked in the dark. These have fallen off in a major way.