WWE SmackDown: Burning Questions to Address After Dec. 13 Show

Contenders emerged on the Dec. 13 edition of WWE SmackDown, but championship gold is far from guaranteed for any of them. Uncertainty followed their victories in Washington D.C. 

Dolph Ziggler earned a shot at the WWE Championship. Zack Ryder helped The Hype Bros claim the No. 1 contenders' spot to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. 

But fans shouldn't bet on those Superstars. If history repeats itself, The Showoff will fall short. 

As for Ryder, he left Tuesday's SmackDown more focused on an MRI than The Wyatt Family.

Will injury derail The Hype Bros' hopes? Will Ziggler pull off the unexpected? And what of Luke Harper and Nikki Bella? What did the latest SmackDown reveal about WWE's plans for those competitors?

Read on for an exploration of those questions as we try to make sense of what Tuesday's show left unanswered.

How Badly Is Ryder Hurt?

The Hype Bros are now the top contenders to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, thanks to Ryder being the last man standing in a Battle Royal on Tuesday. Ryder ousted Konnor of The Ascension to seal the deal.

But unfortunately, the wincing he did after the elimination was real.

Ryder injured his knee during the bout. WWE announced on its official website, "After the match, Ryder was carried to the trainer's room and is currently on crutches." He is scheduled to have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

Suddenly, his and Mojo Rawley's date with The Wyatt Family is in jeopardy.

If it's only a sprain, WWE will likely wait to have The Hype Bros take on The Wyatt Family. There's no rush, with the next pay-per-view not coming until the end of January.

Should Ryder's diagnosis be worse than that, he would be out of action just before the Royal Rumble and would be in danger of also missing WrestleMania. Rawley would be on his own. And the already thin SmackDown tag team division would take a big hit.

Has WWE Finally Realized What It Has in Harper?

Long used as a background player and midcarder, Harper thrived in a more high-profile spot on Tuesday night.

The big man bowled over Dean Ambrose during a Miz TV segment before entering the Fatal 4-Way match to decide the next No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship. Harper was a beast in that bout, steamrolling over his foes.

It was the best he's looked in a long while.

This is the Harper we need to see more of. This is the kind of treatment he should be getting more often.

Total Wrestling magazine pleaded for WWE to utilize Harper more:

The company should oblige. It makes zero sense to not try to tap into Harper's potential. As a bruiser and a menacing presence, he's stellar. 

Tuesday's SmackDown is hopefully the start of a shift in how WWE presents him.

Where Is the Natalya-Bella-Carmella Story Going?

The mystery remains unsolved. Who blindsided Nikki Bella at Survivor Series in November?

Carmella continued to contend it was Natalya. The Hart Dungeon Diva continued to deny the allegations. 

Before her match with Carmella, Natalya tried to convince Bella she was not behind the ambush.

This story of distrust and accusations is not any closer to being resolved after Tuesday night. Carmella and Natalya are still squabbling. Bella remains uncertain of what to believe.

Is WWE going to swerve us all and announce it was someone else entirely behind the attack? Who is telling the truth? And what's the end game for all of this?

Not enough time has passed in this narrative to get antsy. WWE has done well to hook fans here. The truth will rise to the surface, resulting in an explosion between enemies.

As long as WWE doesn't reveal Hornswoggle did it in a flashback to the Anonymous General Manager angle, this three-way rivalry has potential.

Does Ziggler Have a Real Shot?

Dolph Ziggler, much like he did in July, fended off a number of Superstars to earn a WWE Championship match.

The Showoff won a Fatal 4-Way bout against Harper, Ambrose and The Miz on Tuesday's SmackDown. A date with AJ Styles now awaits—Dec. 27, to be exact.

Ziggler's resume says he stands little chance of taking down Styles.

WWE title matches haven't been kind to him. Ziggler lost to Ambrose at SummerSlam with that prize on the line. Before that, he failed to advance past the quarterfinals in a WWE Championship tournament and dropped title bouts to the likes of CM Punk and Chris Jericho.

That lack of success makes it hard to buy into Ziggler as someone WWE would crown in two weeks. In a poll Wrestle Zone posted, the majority of fans doubted Ziggler's chances:

Does WWE have one last surprise for 2016 in store for us? Will the narrative of Ziggler's career change?

All signs point to no, but the company's job ahead of Styles vs. Ziggler is to convince the crowd The Showoff can indeed win.