Baron Corbin continued his ascent to the top of SmackDown Live on Sunday at WWE TLC, where he defeated Kalisto in a chairs match.
The turning point came when Corbin delivered a chair shot to Kalisto as the former NXT tag champion attempted an aerial attack from the top rope.
WWE shared a replay of the sequence:
With Kalisto reeling, Corbin hit the End of Days to put the finishing touch on his win.
Former WWE star Taz thought the two wrestlers put on an entertaining spectacle:
Justin LaBar of Chair Shot Reality has enjoyed watching Corbin's commitment to his craft:
The rivalry between Corbin and Kalisto is among the longest-running feuds in WWE, as The Lone Wolf and the former Lucha Dragon locked horns during the summer. Multiple backstage assaults at the hands of Corbin landed Kalisto on the injured list.
After months on the shelf, the exciting luchador returned to television in November and returned the favor by injuring Corbin's leg. That resulted in Corbin being left off SmackDown's five-on-five Survivor Series team Nov. 22.
Corbin still made his presence felt at WWE's fall classic, however, by interfering in the Cruiserweight Championship match between Kalisto and Brian Kendrick.
If Kalisto had won the title, it would have been a major coup for SmackDown, as it would have resulted in the entire cruiserweight division switching brands, but that was foiled by Corbin, whose interference resulted in a disqualification.
Corbin showed no remorse for his actions:
Corbin's selfishness rubbed SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan the wrong way and prompted him to put the former NXT Superstar in a match against Kane.
Kalisto used that as an opportunity to get back at Corbin, but Corbin turned the tables the following week during Kalisto's Intercontinental Championship match against The Miz.
With both men constantly sticking their noses in each other's business, Bryan was left with no choice other than putting them in a match together, and he did so with the stipulation that the use of chairs would be legal.
Although Corbin had a significant size advantage, the use of chairs stood to level the playing field, which Kalisto used to his advantage leading up to their bout.
Kalisto is no stranger to taking on and defeating bigger opponents, including Ryback in a United States Championship match at WrestleMania 32 in April.
Corbin has been on a roll, though, and all signs point to his being positioned as a top heel for the blue brand moving forward.
In addition to butting heads with Bryan, Corbin has been given some background and character development as of late, which has gone a long way toward pushing him to the forefront.
Sunday's win over Kalisto suggests there are bigger plans in place for Corbin in the near future, which means he could be on the verge of realizing the immense potential he has long flashed.
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