SmackDown Wild Card Finals and the Best WWE Matches for Week of Dec. 29

WWE put quite the bow on 2016 with the SmackDown Wild Card Finals and NXT's two-hour special from Osaka, Japan.

An already stacked calendar crammed in a pair of big events at year's end. Each one delivered a number of engrossing title bouts.

AJ Styles defended the WWE Championship in a scintillating Triple Threat match. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano took on a pair of Japanese warriors. And The Wyatt Family faced three teams with eyes on the tag titles.

The WWE Championship contest confirmed that Styles has been WWE's MVP this year. Nobody delivered more often than The Phenomenal One.

Read on for a look at where Styles' latest showdown ended up on the list of the week's best offerings. Stories, stakes, big moments and the excitement level of the in-ring action determined the rankings.

Honorable Mention

• Oney Lorcan vs. Andrade Almas (NXT)
• Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The New Day (Raw)

Lorcan and Almas kicked off NXT's Japanese special with a strong slugfest.

Both men knocked each other around good. It was a hard-hitting, back-and-forth affair.

The bout featured few stakes, though. It's hard for a singles bout with zero build and no history between the opponents to compete with a flurry of championship matches.

The latest Raw Tag Team Championship clash was enjoyable, too.

Sheamus and Cesaro always have good chemistry with The New Day. The champs were more cohesive than usual, leading to an impressive performance. This was shorter and less electric than some of their other collisions, though.

5. Four Corners Elimination Match (SmackDown)

The Wyatt Family vs. American Alpha vs. The Usos vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan dethroned The Wyatt Family to open SmackDown's Wild Card Finals show with a bang.

American Alpha's suplex frenzies were fun to watch. Randy Orton and Luke Harper compelled as overwhelming predators.

The unexpected title change was certainly an interesting moment, but not one that will go down in history. There wasn't enough buildup to that climax beforehand, and The Wyatt Family only recently claimed the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

The infighting after the bout offered some added intrigue. Orton and Harper bickered to the point that Bray Wyatt had to separate them.

Had more of the match been as dramatic as it was when only two teams remained, this would have ranked higher. It took a good while before the bout really caught fire.

4. Asuka vs. Nia Jax (NXT)

Asuka and Nia Jax improved upon their NXT TakeOver: The End battle.

Jax took a break from her Raw duties to attempt to take down Asuka in her home city. The powerhouse barreled over the champion and flung her around the ring.

Asuka countered with an array of submission holds and thunderous kicks.

The dynamic worked well. The two rivals had more chemistry this time around. And it all ended with one hell of a lasting image—Jax roaring from her knees before Asuka kicked her head in.

There was an added energy to the bout thanks to Asuka's home-field advantage. Jax delivered her best effort to date.

The two-hour NXT, however, had a bigger, better match on the card.

3. Rich Swann vs. Neville (205 Live)

The king of the cruiserweights took down the division's champion by zeroing in on his back.

Neville and Rich Swann's non-title affair on Tuesday's 205 Live showcased the former's vicious side. He wrecked Swann's spine by throwing him into the security barricade and leaping onto the small of his back.

The strategy helped set up a dramatic encounter, one where Swann tried to gut out a victory, but ultimately fell. This was the opening chapter of what promises to be a compelling saga.

Not everyone will like that the bout ended on an non-finishing move, but it fit the story. Neville caught Swann midcomeback and pounced on his weak point to put him away.

Indy wrestler Gran Akuma tweeted: "Neville/Swann was my favorite 205 Live match by a mile. Love the dives being treated like big bombs. Love the superplex finish. Must see."

What a reminder that Neville should be a higher priority moving forward. He and Swann are sure to tear down the house moving forward.

2. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano vs. Tajiri and Akira Tozawa (NXT)

DIY made a clear statement as 2016 drew to a close—they are going to be one of the key reasons to tune into NXT each week.

Ciampa and Gargano defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against a one-time pairing of Japanese stars Tajiri and Akira Tozawa. High-octane action and great chemistry led to this being the night's best bout.

As Sean Coyle wrote for ESPN.com, "The match was incredibly entertaining—full of swift kicks, stiff chops, aerial assaults and supreme intensity on the way to stealing the show."

Gargano and Tozawa's history on the independent circuit showed here as they gelled perfectly as rivals. Tajiri and Tozawa impressed as a duo.

The lengthy, dramatic match had no pre-match narrative to speak of but was tremendous regardless. WWE would be wise to return to this pairing in the future, adding some personal issues to the mix.

1. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler (SmackDown)

Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler charged at Styles with the WWE Championship on the line in a thriller.

Ziggler had the No. 1 contender spot all to himself two weeks ago when he won a Fatal 4-Way match. He put up that prize in a fight against Corbin last Tuesday, and a double count-out led to a Triple Threat match on 2016's final SmackDown.

Fans had to be glad things turned out that way. The three-way tilt was tremendous.

The Lone Wolf went on an eye-catching rampage during the bout. The A.V. Club's LaToya Ferguson wrote, "Corbin is on fire this match, putting the perfect end to his own pretty impressive 2016 and proving he can hang with the figurative big dogs."

Styles' creative reversals, Ziggler's usual dramatic flair and excellent chemistry among all three opponents made this match sing.

Of the many memorable moments, Ziggler and Styles both leaping onto Corbin, smashing him through a table, most stands out.

Rack this up as one more stellar showing in a year full of them for The Phenomenal One. It's only fitting that WWE's 2016 ended with its best star all year hitting another one out of the park.