WWE Smackdown Live results and observations (1/10/17): They all can't be home runs

For the first time in a long time, Smackdown Live presented what I felt was a rather pedestrian show.

Prior to this week, Smackdown Live found a groove by producing a slew of eventful episodes at the end of 2016 and started out 2017 doing the same.

As the old saying goes, however, all good things must come to an end.

The saving grace for this week's episode of Smackdown Live was the same one it always has: It was only two hours.

Although it wasn't the most fun show in the world to watch, it didn't overstay its welcome, which is always good.

With that said, here are the full match results from the Raising Cane's River Center in Baton Rouge, La.:

- Nikki Bella vs. Natalya ended in a no contest

- Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler

- WWE Smackdown Tag Team championship – American Alpha def. The Wyatt Family

- Carmella def. CJ Lunde

- John Cena def. Baron Corbin

Cena vs. Corbin left a little to be desired

I had very high expectations for this match heading into Smackdown Live because I believe both men are capable performers in the ring.

I have been touting the talents of Corbin since he was in NXT and there really isn't much that needs to be said about how good Cena is.

Despite the talent involved, I thought this match was a bit of a letdown. It wasn't that the match was bad. It was a perfectly fine television match that helped Cena build some momentum heading into his WWE championship match against AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble.

But I don't think that was enough. I think more should have been done, especially since Corbin was involved.

Corbin had been on such a roll lately and I figured that Cena would win the match, but would do so in a much more climactic fashion.

Instead, the match was simple and to the point. Corbin dominated a majority of the match until Cena finally mustered enough strength to mount a comeback and pick up the win with an attitude adjustment.

If Corbin's momentum was going to come to a halt, I figured it would happen in a little more dramatic of fashion.

What we got Tuesday night was good, but it lacked any real drama. The loss didn't necessarily hurt Corbin, but I don't think it helped him either, which should have been the most important objective other than giving Cena some momentum for the title match.

Wyatt Family matters

The Wyatt Family lost its Smackdown Tag Team title rematch against American Alpha, but the bigger story is the dissention amongst all three members of the group.

The crux of the issue is the disdain Randy Orton and Luke Harper have for each other. They constantly got in each other's way Tuesday despite Harper not even taking part in the match, as Orton partnered with Bray Wyatt Tuesday.

Wyatt tried to get in between his two running mates, but was inadvertently super kicked by Harper in the process.

On paper, this sounds like a very good story. In reality, there was something missing. Maybe it was in the execution or maybe it was something else. Regardless, I don't think the story WWE was attempting to tell came across quite like the company wanted it to.

Ziggler is mean and people like it

Ziggler continued his heel turn Tuesday by beating down Kalisto with a chair after taking yet another loss.

Crews then came out to get him some more of Ziggler after having an altercation with the former world champion last week, but he also took some chair shots for his troubles.

All of this happened while some fans booed, but a lot of fans cheered "Yes!" and "One more time!" as they urged Ziggler to dole out more punishment.

I agree with the cheering fans that Ziggler's turn is entertaining to watch, but it isn't the reaction WWE was looking for.

It would be easy to blame the fans for going rogue and not playing along, but I put the blame on WWE for how it presents its good guys.

Most of WWE's good guys are cornballs that are routinely fooled by the much cooler heels, who come across more like everyday people as oppose to robotic babyfaces looking for the fans' adulation.

With the exception of a character like Bayley, fans aren't really interested in that anymore and haven't been for a long time. Even a character with a strict moral code can have an edge to them and that is what people like, which is why they cheer the heels.

Think about the people that get the biggest crowd reactions in WWE on a weekly basis. People like Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Styles, The Wyatt Family. They are all heels.

Sure, babyfaces like Ambrose, Cena and Rollins receive good reactions, too, but we shouldn't have to compare Ambrose's favorable reactions to the ones that Styles gets.

Because of that, someone like Ziggler is still getting cheered while beating the crap out of two men with a steel chair.

That's not good.

Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch in a steel cage next week

A big announcement that came out of Smackdown Live was that Bliss will defend her Smackdown Women's title against Lynch in a steel cage match next week.

While I am excited for the match and believe these two have done a good job with their storyline together, the matches have not lived up to their billing.

On Raw, the stories haven't been all home runs, but the big matches between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks has been. While Lynch and Bliss have put on decent matches, they haven't come close to the quality that Banks and Flair have produced.

With that said, I hope next week's match is finally the one that turn people's heads the same way the Raw Women's title matches did late last year.