The biggest winners and losers of last night's SmackDown (March 19)

As usual, last night's SmackDown did a better job than Raw in advancing its WrestleMania angles, though these advancements weren't always for the good.

The night would be highlighted by a gauntlet match where Kofi Kingston would have his last chance in getting to WrestleMania. How successful was he? And who else had good or bad fortunes last night? How well did the night's events do in hyping up the Show of Shows?

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Winner: The Miz

When this angle started, it was the worst of a good lot on SmackDown. Now, it might have stealthily made its way to the top of the blue brand's offerings. The Miz has always been one of the few men capable of authentically delivering one of WWE's scripted promos, but this one stands out as among his best.

He vowed he would give Shane McMahon what he deserved at WrestleMania and also did his best to hype up Kofi Kingston as well. Who would have known that Miz would have been such an effective babyface? It's a surprising role reversal, and proves that Miz has grown so much as a performer that he no longer needs to be typecast.

Miz's match already feels like one of the most personal on April 7th.

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Winners: The IIconics

Yes, this was a major win for the IIconics. They've escaped battle royal hell and have found themselves in a title match with little resistance.

But why does WWE insist on booking its champions this way? All of these nontitle losses just devalue them, and it feels like Sasha and Bayley have done nothing but lose on TV since they won their titles in February.

This win guarantees the IIconics won't walk out of WrestleMania as champions, but we knew that already. They could have entered the match some other way.

Losers: Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch

While other angles have been advancing toward WrestleMania, this one is just spinning its wheels, and its amazing how much air has been let out of it since the Royal Rumble. The night after that seminal event, when Becky Lynch challenged Ronda Rousey, it looked like it would be one to remember forever. Now? Convoluted booking and overexposure have simply removed the magic that could have been there.

Why couldn't this exact same segment have happened on Raw with Ronda Rousey present? Why does this have to be on both shows?

Couldn't have this time have been better used to advance Asuka or The Usos' angle instead of serving up yet another Charlotte vs. Becky brawl the likes of which we've seen almost nonstop since last summer?

It will be a relief when this ends at WrestleMania, or at least after when Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair probably move to Raw. At least it will be confined to one show.

Winner: Kofi Kingston

It's official, this is now the best angle in the company, leaving the Raw women's title mess far in the dust.

Last week, Vince McMahon gave Kofi Kingston an impossible task. If he won a gauntlet match, he'd get his title shot at WrestleMania. Kingston did just that, surviving grueling matches with Sheamus and Cesaro, a beatdown by Rowan, the onslaught of Samoa Joe, and the cunning of Randy Orton.

After a celebration, Vince McMahon changed the goalposts at the last minute and demanded Kofi Kingston beat Daniel Bryan. He didn't.

WWE's swerves are usually terrible, but this one wasn't. This is the right kind of heat, and it's now a certainty that Kofi Kingston is going to walk out of WrestleMania as champion. He just needs to get there with little time left.

It's edge of your seat stuff and it's WWE at its finest. Too bad things can't always be this way.